As Water Levels Drop, the Risk of Arsenic Rises
When John Mestas’ ancestors moved to Colorado over 100 years ago to raise sheep in the San Luis Valley, they “hit paradise,” he said.
Now decades of climate change-driven drought, combined with the overpumping of aquifers, is making the valley desperately dry — and appears to be intensifying the levels of heavy metals in drinking water. - KFF Health News/ NPR
Lethal Plans: When Seniors Turn To Suicide In Long-Term Care
A six-month investigation finds that older Americans are quietly killing themselves in nursing homes, assisted living centers and adult care homes. - Kaiser Health News/ PBS NewsHour
Why Climate Change May Bring More West Nile Virus To The U.S.
As climate change brings more drought and pushes temperatures toward what is termed the “Goldilocks zone” for mosquitoes—not too hot, not too cold—scientists expect West Nile virus transmission to increase across the country. - Science Friday/ Kaiser Health News
Taken For A Ride? Ambulances Stick Patients With Surprise Bills
Consumer protections against surprise medical bills largely ignore ground ambulance rides, which can leave patients stuck with hundreds or thousands of dollars in bills, with few options for recourse, finds a Kaiser Health News review of 350 consumer complaints in 32 states. - The Washington Post/ Kaiser Health News
Hospice Patients Abandoned At Death’s Door
In a six-month investigation, involving 20,000 government inspection records, reveals that the hospice care that people expect — and sign up for — sometimes disappears when they need it most. Families across the country have called for help in times of crisis and been met with delays, no-shows and unanswered calls. - Kaiser Health News/ TIME Magazine
A Final Comfort: Palliative Transport Brings Dying Children Home
Anne Brescia sat beside her only child, Anthony, as he lay unconscious in a hospital bed at age 16. Just a few months before, he was competing in a swim meet; now cancer was destroying his brain. Brescia couldn’t save her son. But she was determined to bring him home. -The Washington Post/ Kaiser Health News
Overzealous in preventing falls, hospitals are producing an ‘epidemic of immobility’ in elderly patients
Dorothy Twigg was living on her own, cooking and walking without help until a dizzy spell landed her in the emergency room. She spent three days confined to a hospital bed, allowed to get up only to use a bedside commode. - The Washington Post/ Kaiser Health News
The Unrelenting Struggle Of Raising Brazil’s Zika Babies
RECIFE, BRAZIL — Brazil is entering a new phase of the Zika epidemic, in which families and doctors are discovering the long-term medical complications that baby Duda and the 1,748 other infants like her nationwide will confront. - STAT
When Covid Deaths Aren’t Counted, Families Pay the Price
Interviews with families across the U.S. shed light on reasons covid deaths are being undercounted — and the consequences loved ones have endured. - The Guardian/ Kaiser Health News
A Zen priest–scientist takes on climate anxiety
Extreme weather and alarming scientific reports are prompting more people to experience climate grief—feelings of loss, depression, or anxiety about climate change. Kritee, a Zen priest and climate scientist, says collective grief circles can fill in gaps in our overtaxed mental health system. - Harvard Public Health Magazine
Unlocked And Loaded: Families Confront Dementia And Guns
A four-month investigation uncovered over 100 cases across the U.S. in which people with dementia used guns to kill or injure themselves or others. We shed new light on an aspect of guns and public health that is rarely discussed. - Kaiser Health News/ PBS NewsHour
Dying at home in pain doesn’t keep relatives from stealing the pills
As more people die at home on hospice, some of the addictive drugs they are prescribed are ending up in the wrong hands. A Kaiser Health News review of government inspection records sheds light on what can go wrong. - The Washington Post/ Kaiser Health News
How Climate Change Is Putting Doctors In The Hot Seat
A 4-year-old girl was rushed to the emergency room three times in one week for asthma attacks. An elderly man, who’d been holed up in a top-floor apartment with no air conditioning during a heat wave, showed up at a hospital with a temperature of 106 degrees. … These patients reflect the subtler ways that climate change is showing up in the exam room. - Kaiser Health News/ Gatehouse Media