As dementia rates increase, experts warn hospital emergency rooms are underprepared An Associated Press and Side Effects Public Media data analysis shows one in six visits to the emergency department in 2022 that resulted in hospital admission had a wait of four or more hours.

ER boarding, or keeping patients for longer than 4 hours, disproportionately affects elderly people. The experience can be especially harrowing for those with dementia.

As the U.S. grays, experts say things are poised to worsen. More from me and @sadradiolad.bsky.social: apnews.com/article/er-w...

RFK Jr. wants to target chronic disease in US tribes. A key program to do that was gutted A key program using traditional medicine and foods to tackle chronic disease in Native American and Alaska Native communities has been gutted in the federal health layoffs.

ICYMI: A program that supports Native communities using traditional medicines to combat persistent chronic disease rates has been gutted in federal layoffs.

Leaders say it’s another violation of the federal government’s legal responsibility to tribes. apnews.com/article/heal...

CDC vaccination committee meeting postponed days after RFK Jr. took over at HHS A panel of experts that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy will not meet as previously scheduled next week.

Meeting postponed for CDC's vaccine advisory committee. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was critical of the panel, known as ACIP, during his confirmation process. @devnabose.bsky.social has the story. #medsky apnews.com/article/vacc...

Direct primary care cuts out insurance companies. Could it gain traction under Trump? Direct primary care is an increasingly popular health care option. Patients at these clinics pay a fee of roughly $50 to $100 month and get easier, direct access to their doctor for routine care as of...

Doctors and patients say direct primary care — a health care model that cuts out insurance companies — makes it easier to get routine medical care. But experts warn that DPC shouldn't replace insurance.

Here's why it could become more common under President Trump. apnews.com/article/dire...

Some hospitals pause gender-affirming care to evaluate Trump's executive order Hospitals in Colorado, Virginia and the nation’s capital say they have paused gender-affirming care for young people as they evaluate President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at cutting federal ...

Hospitals in Colorado, Virginia and Washington, D.C. have stopped providing gender-affirming health care for trans youth in light of President Trump’s order to cut federal support for such care. apnews.com/article/tran...

CDC ordered to stop working with WHO immediately, upending expectations of an extended withdrawal U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately. The surprise decision is focused on the U.S.

U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately.

How Donald Trump and Project 2025 previewed the federal grant freeze A sweeping White House order to freeze federal grants and allocations reflects a theory of presidential power that Donald Trump clearly endorsed during his 2024 campaign.

AP examines the theory of presidential power underlying the federal grant freeze. apnews.com/article/dona...

On Jan. 21, 2020, the U.S. reported its first known case of the 2019 novel coronavirus circulating in China, saying a Washington state resident who had returned the previous week from the outbreak’s epicenter was hospitalized near Seattle.

Read more about what happened on this date: t.ly/TBJnk

Vulnerable Americans live in the shadow of COVID-19 as most move on People with immune system health problems continue to take precautions against COVID-19 five years into the pandemic.

What we can learn from people who are #covidcautious 5 years into the pandemic. Here's my story for AP with my writing partner @devnabose.bsky.social and video by @lbargfeld.bsky.social apnews.com/article/covi...

In New Orleans since New Year's Day, journalists have worked tirelessly to find, vet and share information about the attack that killed 14 on Bourbon Street.

Here are highlights of some of that vital reporting (in no particular order). 🧵 #lalege #lagov

Vulnerable Americans live in the shadow of COVID-19 as most move on People with immune system health problems continue to take precautions against COVID-19 five years into the pandemic.

It’s been 5 years since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the US.

While most Americans have returned to some version of normalcy, there are others who still live in the shadow of the virus. apnews.com/article/covi...

The Story of One Mississippi County Shows How Private Schools Are Exacerbating Segregation A new ProPublica analysis shows a stark pattern across states in the Deep South: Alongside majority-Black public school districts, a separate web of private academies are filled almost entirely with white students.

A new ProPublica analysis shows a stark pattern across the Deep South: Alongside about 200 majority-Black public school districts are private academies filled almost entirely with white students.

@jenniferberryhawes.bsky.social,
@natlash.bsky.social, @mrsimon22.bsky.social
propub.li/3BFytzN

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield reverses decision to put a time limit on anesthesia Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield says it won't tie payments to the length of time a patient went under anesthesia.

BREAKING: Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield reverses its decision to put a time limit on anesthesia after widespread outcry. apnews.com/article/anth...