Hawaii study: Respiratory, lung problems plaguing many Maui wildfire survivors
The Washington Post and Associated Press reported on a new University of Hawaii study on the effects of the Lahaina wildfires. Researchers found, among other things, that up to 74% of the 679 people studied had elevated blood pressure levels, meaning they were at higher risk of cardiovascular disease. Other news from around the country includes California, Missouri, North Carolina, West Virginia, Connecticut, Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana and more.
Associated Press: Hawaii study finds nearly 75% of Maui wildfire study participants had respiratory problems
A University of Hawaii study examining the health effects of last year’s deadly wildfires on Maui found that up to 74% of participants may have worsened respiratory health conditions, including difficulty breathing. Almost half were found to show signs of decreased lung function. This data comes from researchers’ long-term study of wildfire survivors lasting at least 10 years. The researchers announced the initial results of their study on Wednesday. (McAvoy, 5/16)
Washington Post: Maui fire survivors’ health is deteriorating
In western Maui, thousands of people live in or near fire zones, homes that absorbed large amounts of toxic smoke from the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history. A new health report released Wednesday and first reported by The Washington Post says many residents say their health is impaired or worsening due to exposure to ash, debris and smoke. . (Saxophone, 5/15)
Regarding other trends across the country —
POLITICO: Lawmakers plan to demand minimum wage for healthcare workers
State lawmakers on Wednesday expressed frustration with the lack of details on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promised $25-an-hour minimum wage for health care workers and urged them to move quickly to pass the new proposed budget. said he needed to know. “We need to make decisions quickly because we need to pass this budget in about a month,” Assembly Health Appropriations Chair Akira Weber told administration representatives during a Wednesday hearing. (Blues, 5/15)
KFF Health News: California’s $12 Billion Medicaid Rebuild Goes to Bank with Nonprofit Backing
For much of his youth, Jorge Sanchez regularly gasped for air, sometimes coughing so hard he almost threw up. His mother took him to the emergency room in the middle of the night and slept with him so he wouldn’t stop breathing. “My son has had these problems since he was born, and we didn’t know what triggered his asthma,” Fabiola Sandoval said of her son Jorge, now 4. He was willing to try anything. ” (Heart, 5/16)
Associated Press: Missouri lawmakers update critical $4 billion Medicaid tax program
Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature on Wednesday renewed a more than $4 billion Medicaid program that had been blocked for months by Republicans who used it as a bargaining chip. The bill, currently before Gov. Mike Parson, would renew a long-standing tax on hospitals and other health care providers. The money from taxes will be used to reverse his $2.9 billion in federal funding, which will be returned to low-income health care providers who receive Medicaid care. (Valentine, 5/15)
Associated Press: North Carolina state legislature pushes bill to ban wearing masks in most public places, citing crime
The move comes as Republican lawmakers in North Carolina move forward with a plan to repeal a pandemic-era law that allowed people to wear masks in public for health reasons. It was an anti-war demonstration that included masked protesters camping in Gaza. university campus. The bill passed the Senate on a 30-15 vote along party lines on Wednesday, despite several attempts by state Senate Democrats to change the bill. (Seminella, 5/16)
Associated Press: West Virginia Republican Senate leader and doctor opposes repeal of defeated vaccine law
West Virginia voters on Tuesday ousted the Republican state Senate president and a doctor who drew criticism for breaking with his party over school vaccination policy. They were among at least eight incumbent Republicans to lose in the state’s primary elections. (Willingham and Lavie, 5/16)
Missouri Independent: Cancer lawsuit over Missouri bill restricting pesticides faces long odds
Time is running out for a bill that would make it harder for pesticide manufacturers to sue over claims that their products cause cancer, and an unusual coalition of opponents is working to ensure it stops moving forward. I’m here. This bill protects large corporations at the expense of everyday Missourians who have developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is believed to be caused by the use of glyphosate-laced pesticides, most notably Roundup. critics claim. (Kite, 5/16)
CT Mirror: Connecticut’s ‘food insecure’ population will rise by 90,000 people in 2022, report finds
Nearly half a million people in this state, one of the top 10 wealthiest states, don’t know where their next meal will come from. According to hunger relief organization Feeding America’s latest annual report, Map of the Meal Gap, one in eight Connecticut residents will experience food insecurity in 2022, up from 10 in 2021. Increased from 1 person. (Philips, 5/15)
Colorado Sun: Colorado looks to take the lead in aviation fuel
In Colorado, the gas you put in your car has an octane rating of 85 to 91, but planes need a little more oomph to take off. Standard aviation fuel for piston-engine aircraft (think Cessnas and other small airplanes) has an octane rating of at least 100. But that extra pop comes at a price. Fuel usually contains lead. (Ingold, 5/15)
Lexington Herald-Leader: Two more pertussis cases in Lexington schools, six total.
Whooping cough is prevalent in Lexington schools, with six total cases to date, and all Central Kentucky families should be on the lookout for symptoms while making sure their children are up to date on vaccines. necessary, Lexington-Fayette Health Department officials said Wednesday. Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory disease that is spread by coughing and sneezing. It can affect people of all ages, but can be most severe in infants and people with chronic medical conditions, officials said. (Spears, 5/16)
Now: Travel time for inpatient mental health care for teens in Louisiana.
Until this year, Acadiana had no inpatient beds for children under 12 years old. Currently, the only local facility offering these services to patients under 18 has 10 available beds, but resources remain inadequate compared to the growing need for adolescent mental health services. are doing. Dr. Foster Kordish, who oversees Lafayette General’s emergency department, said the region “lack the resources to meet the needs of inpatient adolescents and children, and really all psychiatric needs.” He explained. The ER is often the entry point into the mental health system for people in crisis. (Mashkuru, 5/8)
Statistics: Cherokee National Medical College graduates first class
There are so few Indigenous physicians in the United States, only 0.3% of physicians, that their numbers barely show up in charts and graphs showing diversity in the health care workforce. But as of Thursday, there will be at least nine more. (McFarling, 5/16)
Baltimore Sun: Maryland to hire local companies to provide prison health care
Maryland will cut ties with a troubled health care provider in the state’s prisons after the Public Utilities Commission decided Wednesday not to renew its contract with the company. (Roberts, 5/15)
Billings Gazette: Utilities ignore health effects of Colstrip contamination
Colstrip power plant owners and politicians have accused the EPA of costly air pollution controls and ignored the public health impacts of air emissions, according to several health authorities. The environmental group made the announcement on Tuesday. Since the Environmental Protection Agency introduced stricter standards for mercury and air toxin emissions on April 25, Montana elected officials and power plant owners have argued that the new rules are unreasonably expensive and require Colstrip. has characterized it as having the potential to cost power plants their lives. But the rules have been years in the making, and the unmentioned health benefits are important, officials who spoke at Tuesday’s press conference said. (Ruti, 5/15)
KFF Health News: Medics at UCLA protest say police weapons drew blood and cracked bones
Inside an encampment of UCLA protesters, under a deafening backdrop of hanging flashlights and exploding flashbangs, obstetrician-gynecologist Elaine Chan suddenly found herself in a standoff that lasted several hours. At the end of the day, I felt like a battlefield medic when the police invaded the camp. Chan, 31, a medical tent volunteer, said protesters limped to the scene with severe stab wounds, but had little hope of making it to the hospital amid the chaos outside. (Castlework and Kelman, 5/16)
