Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Each week, KHN finds longer stories for you to enjoy. This week's selections include stories on covid, Alzheimer's, domestic abuse, rights for people with disabilities, and more.
The New York Times:
Marc Lewitinn, Covid Patient, Dies At 76 After 850 Days On A Ventilator
As the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the country in March 2020, the family of Marc Lewitinn, their 74-year-old patriarch, urged him to stay indoors. He had survived lung cancer and a stroke that left him unable to speak, and doctors were already warning that older people with his sort of medical history were especially vulnerable to the virus. (Risen, 9/9)
ProPublica:
How to Avoid Being Overcharged for a Funeral
For the funeral industry, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant flush times. Revenues have surged at Service Corporation International, the largest such chain in the U.S., with more than 1,500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries. And “COVID impact,” according to a recent investor fact sheet, helped SCI more than double its earnings per share between 2019 and 2021. (Kessler, 9/9)
Bloomberg:
Aduhelm Drug Approval Saga Has Alzheimer’s Patients In Limbo
Geri Taylor ran a large long-term care facility into her mid-60s, when she started becoming forgetful. One time, she was in the middle of running a staff meeting and lost her train of thought, couldn’t get it back, and one of her deputies had to take over. Another time, she got off at the wrong Manhattan subway stop and had no idea why she was there or where she was going. Incidents like these led her to retire earlier than she might have, but she put off seeing a neurologist for years, until one day she went into the bathroom and couldn’t recognize her own face in the mirror. Finally, in 2012, came the diagnosis she’d feared: mild cognitive impairment, likely due to Alzheimer’s disease. (Langreth, 9/12)
Politico:
What If Doctors Are Better At Treating Domestic Abuse Than Cops?
Anita Ravi runs an unusual clinic dedicated to treating women who have endured intimate partner violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. At her clinic, PurpLE Family Health, in New York City — the name stands for Purpose: Listen and Engage — Ravi treats these patients’ immediate medical needs, connects them to a network of social and behavioral health services that can help them get out these relationships if they want or need to, or help them reduce the harm if they decide to stay. All the care is free, paid for by the PurpLE Health Foundation, which Ravi also started. (Kenen, 9/14)
The Washington Post:
A Congressman Wasn’t Allowed On A Flight — Because Of His Wheelchair
When Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) made plans to travel to military bases in Italy last month, the Defense Department called ahead to make sure his power wheelchair would be permitted on the flight. But Langevin, who is a quadriplegic, never made it past the check-in counter. When airline staff learned that his wheelchair used lithium-ion batteries — a lighter weight, more durable type of battery — they refused to let him bring it on the flight. (Morris, 9/12)
Fortune:
Signs You’re Suffering From Social Exhaustion—And 5 Tips To Beat It, According To Psychologists
There are a few signs that may indicate you’re falling prey to social burnout. “What I would say is, if you are noticing signs of irritability, you’re feeling a little bit more impatient, or if you’re no longer finding joy in those social engagements that you used to find joy in, those are signs that you may be having social exhaustion,” says Camille Tenerife, a Los Angeles–based therapist who works with the BIPOC community. (McPhillips, 9/12)
