Immunization

Politics & Policy A Fundamentalist East Texas Church Bought a Sawmill. Injuries and Child Labor Violations Began to Pile Up. Almost 25 percent of severe injuries at mills in the state since 2017 have occurred at a single facility, owned by members of the Church of Wells. By Sonia Smith March 28, 2022 1 Illustration by Lore Mondragón On a humid July afternoon, two investigators from the Texas Workforce Commission's Child Labor Law Unit pulled into the red-dirt parking lot of Custom Cut Lumber, a sawmill located in Alto, amid the Piney Woods about an hour south of Tyler. They walked onto the seventeen-acre property strewn with milled planks, piles of sawdust, and unhewn logs, and headed toward the main building. Richard Gordon Trudeau, a stocky man with an auburn beard and a soft, raspy voice, came to greet them in the sawmill's pine-paneled office. Samples of wooden ...

For 2 years, the health system has grappled with depleted resources and previously unimaginable challenges that magnified longstanding shortcomings. Hospital revenues plummeted, "burnout" and resignations among healthcare professionals soared, and the health of the population suffered. But even in the face of overwhelming obstacles, "American ingenuity" hasn't waned. Authors of a recent article observed that although the profitability of the industry over the next few years is uncertain, there is substantial opportunity -- and pressing need -- for innovation in healthcare. They go on to describe emerging business models that show real promise in terms of providing higher quality, more accessible care at a lower cost. The new, innovative models that are generating better returns for payers are those that incorporate care delivery and advanced analytics to better serve individuals with complex healthcare needs (i.e., chronic disease and long-term conditions ...

According to Maya Johansson , CEO, Owner, and Co-Founder of Well Clinic, "we can no longer ignore the impact of our broken economy on our individual and collective mental health. It is unethical for anyone to grow rich off of the suffering of others and the current mental health system is deeply flawed. We believe clinicians, the actual experts in the field, should have ownership over the practice of psychotherapy: not a third-party owner. This will ensure greater quality of care, more affordable services, and the ability to create wealth for workers instead of corporate owners." Well Clinic's transition to a worker-owned cooperative will directly benefit clients, clinicians, and the greater San Francisco community. Rutgers University has engaged Well Clinic for a case study in their current research on worker-owned cooperatives in the healthcare space. Research shows that when successful businesses become employee-owned, local economies get stronger, workers...

Why you need it: Pertussis, or whooping cough, isn't a major health threat to adults. But it can be extremely serious in infants, and adults can spread it to babies who haven't received the vaccines yet. (They get their first pertussis shot at 2 months.) A dose of the "Tdap" vaccine is advisable before you interact with an infant, says Laura Haynes, PhD, professor of immunology at the UConn Center on Aging in Farmington, Conn.  When to get it: If you've never had a dose of Tdap, as soon as possible.  Keep in mind: Tdap contains the tetanus and diphtheria vaccines, too, so you can also use this as one of your every-10-years tetanus booster shots.

The health consequences of COVID-19 are most often illustrated with numbers like case counts, hospitalizations, and deaths. It's better told by the people behind those numbers who are months or years beyond infection and still living with lingering pain, illness, fatigue, heart conditions, brain fog, anxiety, and depression. They are people like Christopher Stephenson of Marlborough, who spent 63 days on a ventilator in Cheshire Medical Center's ICU and another 30 in a Connecticut rehabilitation hospital. And Tara Reardon of Concord, who now manages a new heart condition. And the Rev. Heidi Heath of Exeter, who went from a 5K runner to someone on rheumatoid arthritis medication and hoping to run a mile by summer's end. "I think we've reached the new baseline for me," Heath said. "It's not what it was, and I don't know that it will ever be." Reardon and Heath are among the estimated 10 percent to 50 percent of people infected with COVID-...

March 25, 2022 Meanwhile, Democrats are focused on continuing to cut health care costs, as they did with the American Rescue Plan  This week in the states, as Democrats across the country celebrated the Affordable Care Act (ACA) being signed into law 12 years ago, they also sounded the alarm on Republicans pushing an agenda that would gut coverage, make health care more expensive, and do nothing to lower drug costs for the American people. And highlighted how the ACA and Democrats' continued work to build on it has helped to lower costs and increase coverage for people across the country. DNC Chair Jaime Harrison helped lead the chorus of Democratic voices, trumpeting how the ACA has helped Georgians and South Carolinians to lower health care costs and access insurance.  ###

The relationship between patients and their health care team is the foundation of safe, effective health care. Critical to this relationship is trust. Patients need to be able to trust their health care team with their lives and know that this team is putting their needs first. A solid trusting relationship does more than just feel good. It also improves patient outcomes. A 2017 study found that patients who trusted their health care team report healthier behaviors, fewer symptoms, higher quality of life and greater satisfaction with their treatment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, trust became even more important. Information about the virus and safety recommendations have been ever-evolving. It can be difficult to keep track of what's fact, what's fiction and the right action for you and your family. During times of uncertainty, turn to and trust the expert advice of your primary care provider. Role of a primary care provider The term primary care provider can seem like...