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Health category, Page 78

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Veil of silence: As outbreak spun out of control, Brighton Rehab ownership group remained mum. It still does.
A knock on the door at two Long Island addresses listed for the owners of Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center did nothing to lift a veil of silence surrounding the company since 73 patients and a housekeeper at the Beaver County nursing home died earlier this year. The reporter who...
Local, federal officials warn against drinking hand sanitizers to combat coronavirus
Local and federal officials are warning people not to ingest hand sanitizers as more people turn to the popular cleansing agent to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are liquids, gels or foams that can disinfect hands. Such products should contain only ethanol or isopropanol. But...
Doctors, hospitals launch voter registration efforts
An emergency room doctor in Boston is assembling thousands of voter registration kits for distribution at hospitals and doctor’s offices. Later this month, students at Harvard and Yale’s medical schools are planning a contest to see which of the Ivy League rivals can register the most voters. And a medical...
Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure goes virtual this year
Thousands of Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure participants may not be gathering in Schenley Park this year, but event organizers are not letting that stop their mission. The race, which typically draws 15,000 people to the Flagstaff Hill section of the park, will celebrate its 28th year virtually, said...
CDC predicts seasonal outbreak of rare childhood paralysis linked to virus
Starting this month, the United States should expect an outbreak of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a form of childhood paralysis thought to be caused by a viral infection, government health officials said Tuesday. Though AFM remains uncommon, it spikes in even-numbered years, with 238 cases identified in 2018, the Centers...
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb: Investigate state health department over coronavirus oversight at Brighton Rehab
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb on Tuesday renewed his criticism of the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County, calling for an additional investigation into how the Pennsylvania Department of Health oversaw the facility during the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter dated Monday to the federal Centers for Medicare &...
National Guard captain from Washington County targets Pittsburgh Half Marathon after leukemia battle
What happened there? What was that about? In October 2019, those questions scrambled through Jason Mounts’ mind. A quick, three-mile run wiped him out. It was supposed to be just a warm-up for an extended workout. But he was whipped. That was odd for Mounts. A former soccer player at...
Walmart to open 9 added covid-19 test sites in Pennsylvania
Retail giant Walmart will open nine additional covid-19 drive-thru testing locations at stores across Pennsylvania this week, most of them in Western Pennsylvania, state health officials announced Monday. But one health expert is concerned those sites will do little to help control the outbreak. “It is an important goal to...
Pitt researchers involved in clinical trial for covid-19 treatment option
University of Pittsburgh researchers are collaborating with other universities for a clinical trial testing convalescent plasma in the treatment of covid-19. The group, which includes scientists from Michigan Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina and Stanford Medicine, were awarded more than $7 million from the National Heart, Lung and Blood...
Poll shows Pennsylvanians think it’s important to follow covid safety guidelines. But are they actually doing it?
Pennsylvania’s registered voters strongly approve of coronavirus-related safety guidelines suggested by state and federal health authorities, a recent poll shows. According to a Franklin & Marshall College Poll, two in three, or 68%, registered voters believe it is “extremely important” to wear a mask whenever they leave home, and close...
‘Yoga in the Square’ returns to Downtown Pittsburgh
Strike a pose. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and several area yoga studios are reintroducing “Yoga in the Square.” The one-hour outdoor classes at Market Square will be offered free, Wednesdays and Sundays beginning Aug. 5 and running through September. The Wednesday sessions begin at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday sessions at...
Pittsburgh’s Jewish Community Center back in operation after receiving $2.5 million JHF grant
Brian Schreiber takes daily morning walks past the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh in Squirrel Hill. “I live less than a mile and a half away, and when we were closed (because of the pandemic), I would walk by and think ‘my baby needs help,’ ” said Schreiber, president...
Brain surgery helps Kittanning toddler become seizure free 
Breane DeComo Kotyk was waiting to hear her daughter cry for the first time. Nothing. Not a sound. Little Khaleesia wasn’t breathing. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. She was lifeless and blue. It took doctors at West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield 18 minutes to resuscitate her. The...
Managing ‘maskne’: Simple steps to keep your complexion clear 
Summer sun, heat and humidity can do a number on sensitive skin. Put a mask on top of it and you might end up with irritation and breakouts that have been labeled “maskne.” “For some of our patients, it is a problem,” says Dr. Charles Mount, director of the Allegheny...
Pitt’s School of Public Health welcomes students with opera about obstetrician who championed hand-washing
With uncertainty hanging over the campus during the pandemic, the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health was kicking around socially distanced ideas of how to welcome students back. That’s when the school hit upon the notion that a screening of a modern opera about the “father of sanitation...
CORE launches social media campaign to promote organ donation
The Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) launched a social media campaign to spread awareness and recruit new organ donors. The campaign, dubbed #JustOne, aims to demonstrate how many lives just one new organ donor could save. “The very fact that one donor can save eight lives showcases the...
Scientists get closer to blood test for Alzheimer’s disease
An experimental blood test was highly accurate at distinguishing people with Alzheimer’s disease from those without it in several studies, boosting hopes that there soon may be a simple way to help diagnose this most common form of dementia. Developing such a test has been a long-sought goal, and scientists...
Pa. school leaders to state officials: We need specifics, not guidance, for reopening plans
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s existing reopening guidance for schools is too vague, and superintendents and school boards need more specifics from the state Department of Health about how to do it safely, a superintendents group said Monday following a call with Wolf administration officials. The superintendents asked for more concrete recommendations...
FDA warns Americans of toxic hand sanitizers
WASHINGTON — U.S. health officials are warning Americans again to avoid a growing list of imported hand sanitizers that may be contaminated with the toxic chemical methanol. The Food and Drug Administration said Monday there have been increasing reports of injury due to people using— sometimes ingesting—the unauthorized sanitizers, which...
AHN Cancer Institute at Allegheny General unveiled in Pittsburgh
Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Health on Monday unveiled the new AHN Cancer Institute at Allegheny General, the centerpiece of AHN’s cancer care expansion. The cancer center will provide cancer fighting technology and access to cutting-edge research and clinical trials, as described by AHN officials. The new facility in Pittsburgh’s...
Experimental covid-19 vaccine is put to its biggest test 
The biggest test yet of an experimental covid-19 vaccine got underway Monday with the first of some 30,000 Americans rolling up their sleeves to receive shots created by the U.S. government as part of the all-out global race to stop the pandemic. The glimmer of hope came even as Google,...
New AHN Cancer Institute-Allegheny General opens Monday
Allegheny Health Network plans to open its new 90,000-square foot AHN Cancer Institute-Allegheny General on Monday morning. It’s the centerpiece of Highmark and AHN’s $300 million expansion of cancer care throughout Western Pennsylvania, according to an AHN statement. The institute will serve as a hub for Allegheny Health Network’s community...
Legal experts: Mask requirements likely don’t violate Americans with Disabilities Act
Cries from across the country claiming constitutional rights are being stripped away by mask requirements might not be as valid as some people think. Mask requirements, put in place to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, are being challenged with lawsuits claiming they violate the Americans with Disabilities Act....
Medical study is seeking people who may have tick immunity or resistance 
Jason Bobe is looking for a few of what he calls “medical superheroes.” Bobe, an associate professor in the genetics and genome science department at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, is part of Mount Sinai’s Resilience Project. It seeks to find people who,...
Pepcid as a coronavirus remedy? Trump administration’s $21M gamble fizzled
A nearly $21 million government-funded study to see if a popular, over-the-counter heartburn medication could be a covid-19 remedy has fizzled amid allegations of conflicts of interest and scientific misconduct, according to interviews, a whistleblower complaint and internal government records obtained by The Associated Press. In mid-April, the Trump administration...


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