Nursing home care, funding system need overhaul, report says
NEW YORK — Nursing home residents are subjected to ineffective care and poor staffing, while facility finances are shrouded in secrecy and regulatory lapses go unenforced, according to a report Wednesday that called for wholesale changes in an industry whose failures have been spotlighted by the pandemic. To anyone who...
Biden orders push on long covid, pandemic’s shadowy mystery
WASHINGTON — Confronting the pandemic’s lasting shadow, President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered a new national research push on long covid, while also directing federal agencies to support patients dealing with the mysterious and debilitating condition. Biden assigned the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate an urgent new...
U.S. health care system ‘consistently fails’ women of reproductive age
The U.S. health care system “consistently fails” to meet the basic needs of reproductive-age women, which may partly explain why women are more than three times as likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth in the country compared to other high-income countries, according to new research from the...
Obama, back at White House with Biden, celebrates his signature health care law’s anniversary
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama will return to the White House Tuesday for the first time since leaving office to celebrate the 12th anniversary of his landmark health care law, which President Joe Biden is planning to bolster with two new actions. Biden will sign an executive order to...
Bruce Willis’ aphasia battle: Living in a country where you don’t speak the language
Living with aphasia has been compared to living in a country where you don’t speak the language. Gestures, sign language or other forms of communication may not be much help. And the people who want to help you struggle to understand. “You know what things are. You are the person...
Scientists finally finish decoding entire human genome
Scientists say they have finally assembled the full genetic blueprint for human life, adding the missing pieces to a puzzle nearly completed two decades ago. An international team described the first-ever sequencing of a complete human genome — the set of instructions to build and sustain a human being —...
Poll: Americans ease up on masks, coronavirus safeguards
Many Americans have taken significant steps back from once-routine coronavirus precautions, with less than half now saying they regularly wear face masks, avoid crowds and skip nonessential travel. Americans are letting down their guard even as experts warn a new wave of covid-19 cases is coming. A new poll from...
Pennsylvania legislators urge support for bill requiring insurance to cover donor breast milkVideo
Pennsylvania legislators will join community advocates Wednesday to promote a bill that would authorize insurance coverage for medically prescribed pasteurized donor breast milk to infants with serious health conditions. “Without human donor breast milk, I don’t know where my babies would be,” said Jessica Rhodes of West Mifflin. “The alternative...
Payments to begin for UPMC employees who fell victim to data breach
UPMC on Thursday will begin making payments to 66,000 employees who were victims of a 2014 data breach — as part of a settlement approved late last year. Employees were notified via an email on Monday that they will receive a payment notification with a link to claim it electronically....
UPMC Matilda H. Theiss Health Center returns to Pittsburgh’s Hill District
The UPMC Matilda H. Theiss Health Center will begin seeing patients in Pittsburgh’s Hill District again on Friday. The clinic moved out of the Hill District last August because of structural problems at its prior facility, and it operated temporarily in the South Side, according to Dr. Jonathan Yadlosky, the...
Moderna says its low-dose covid shots work for kids under 6
Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine works in babies, toddlers and preschoolers, the company announced Wednesday — and if regulators agree it could mean a chance to finally start vaccinating the littlest kids by summer. Moderna said in the coming weeks it would ask regulators in the U.S. and Europe to authorize two...
Planning Commission approves UPMC plan for 363-bed hospital in Oakland
Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission signed off on UPMC’s plans for a new 363-bed hospital in Oakland on Tuesday, paving the way for finalized plans to go to the city’s zoning administrator for approval. UPMC said the new hospital, planned for the former Children’s Hospital site at the corner of Fifth Avenue...
Highmark reports $22B in revenue
Highmark Health reported Tuesday that its health care system earned $22 billion in revenue last year, up $301 million from the year before. Highmark employs 37,000 people and provides health insurance coverage to patients in the Mid-Atlantic region. It is the parent company of Allegheny Health Network, which operates 14...
U.S. adult smoking rate fell during first year of pandemic
NEW YORK — The first year of the covid-19 pandemic saw more Americans drinking heavily or using illicit drugs — but apparently not smoking. U.S. cigarette smoking dropped to a new all-time low in 2020, with 1 in 8 adults saying they were current smokers, according to survey data released...
Diabetes & covid-19: Scientists explore potential connection
When their 11-year-old son started losing weight and drinking lots of water, Tabitha and Bryan Balcitis chalked it up to a growth spurt and advice from his health class. But unusual crankiness and lethargy raised their concern, and tests showed his blood sugar levels were off the charts. Just six...
4th covid shot will be ‘necessary,’ says Pfizer CEO
Covid-19 shots could soon become an annual item on your to-do list. Due to waning effectiveness, particularly on variants like omicron, a fourth covid vaccine shot will be needed to keep hospitals and morgues quiet, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Sunday. “Right now, the way that we have seen, it...
Patients divided over Alzheimer’s drug: Is it a ‘risk I’m willing to take’ or just a ‘magic pill’?
If you listen to the nation’s largest Alzheimer’s disease advocacy organizations, you might think everyone living with Alzheimer’s wants unfettered access to Aduhelm, a controversial new treatment. But you’d be wrong. Opinions about Aduhelm (also known as aducanumab) in the dementia community are diverse, ranging from “we want the government...
How to deal with anxiety, stress when the world feels overwhelming
Anxieties are heightened around the world as Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine. Those who continuously monitor the European situation, as well as the ongoing political strife in the U.S. and the global pandemic, can feel anxious or in despair. “We’ve been hit by covid-19 for two years, and we’re...
How will covid end? Experts look to past epidemics for clues
NEW YORK — Two years into the covid-19 pandemic, most of the world has seen a dramatic improvement in infections, hospitalizations and death rates in recent weeks, signaling the crisis appears to be winding down. But how will it end? Past epidemics may provide clues. The ends of epidemics are...
Pittsburgh’s proposed 1% tax on college tuition, medical bills met with opposition
A proposal to impose a 1% tax on college tuition and medical bills in Pittsburgh is facing opposition and potential legal problems. Councilman Ricky Burgess introduced the measure Tuesday. Students seeking higher education in colleges, universities and advanced technical schools would be assessed a 1% tax on their tuition before...
U.S. man who got 1st pig heart transplant dies after 2 months
The first person to receive a heart transplant from a pig has died, two months after the groundbreaking experiment, the Maryland hospital that performed the surgery announced Wednesday. David Bennett, 57, died Tuesday at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Doctors didn’t give an exact cause of death, saying only...
Pittsburgh Councilman Ricky Burgess proposes 1% tax on higher-ed students, medical patients
A proposal introduced to Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday would impose a 1% tax on people seeking higher education and receiving medical care in the city, with the proceeds going toward a new fund for repairing the city’s aging infrastructure. “The strongest part of our economy is the educational and...
UPMC moves forward with plans for 636-bed hospital in Pittsburgh’s Oakland
Health care giant UPMC is moving ahead with plans to build a new 636-bed hospital in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission was briefed on the proposed development Tuesday. Called the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital bed tower, the project was first unveiled nearly five years ago. At the time, UPMC touted...
Covid can shrink the brain as much as a decade of aging, study finds
Even a mild case of covid-19 can damage the brain and addle thinking, scientists found in a study that highlights the illness’s alarming impact on mental function. Researchers identified covid-associated brain damage months after infection, including in the region linked to smell, and shrinkage in size equivalent to as much...
UPMC reports $24 billion in revenue in 2021
UPMC reported Monday that it posted $24 billion in operating revenue in 2021, up $1 billion, or about 4.3%, from the year before. Despite the increased revenue, the health care giant said that its overall operating income for last year totaled $843 million, down 4% from the year before. UPMC...
