Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lessons Were Learned From Recent Epidemics, But We're Still Not Prepared Enough, Expert Says
PBS NewsHour: We’re Not Close To Being Prepared For The Next Pandemic, Says This Doctor
Is the world ready for the next pandemic? Dr. Raj Panjabi of Last Mile Health joined Judy Woodruff at the Spotlight Health Conference in Aspen, Colorado, to discuss the challenges and importance of preventing, identifying and preparing for the next crisis like Ebola. (Panjabi and Woodruff, 8/18)
The Wall Street Journal: Congress Weighs Expanding FDA Power To Regulate Beauty Products
The Food and Drug Administration has received dozens of reports over a decade about hair-straightening treatments that contain the carcinogen formaldehyde and can sicken salon workers and customers with burning and blisters in the nose and throat, nausea, and flulike symptoms. (Burton and Hackman, 8/18)
The Star Tribune: Mayo, U Develop 'Robocop' Stem Cells To Fight Cancer
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota say they’re on the brink of a new era in cancer care — one in which doctors extract a patient’s white blood cells, have them genetically engineered in a lab, and put them back to become personalized cancer-fighting machines. The so-called CAR T cellular therapies are expected to receive federal approval this fall for certain rare blood cancers — B-cell forms of lymphoma and leukemia. (Olson, 8/19)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: 'Miraculous' Oxygen Treatment In New Orleans Saves Toddler Who Nearly Drowned
Kristal Carlson, of Fayetteville, Ark., was taking a shower Feb. 29, 2016, as Eden slipped through her baby gate and fell into their backyard swimming pool. Eden nearly drowned and was technically deceased for two hours. Doctors at Arkansas Children's Hospital were certain the brain-damaged toddler would never walk, talk or react to the world again. ...It was not long until her husband came across a medical treatment called hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which involves inhaling pure oxygen in a tube or room with air pressure three times higher than normal. With this newfound knowledge at hand, the Carlsons reached out to researchers at the LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine and the University of North Dakota School of Medicine to save Eden. (Nobles, 8/18)
Denver Post: Denver Foster Clinic Trains Doctors, Nurses To Care For Abused, Neglected Children
The extra time it took to start the boy’s exam is standard at the foster kid clinic inside Denver Health’s Eastside Family Health Center, in Five Points northeast of downtown. Unique in Colorado, the clinic was created because medical staff who examined kids during abuse and neglect investigations were concerned that children were shuffled between doctors’ offices as they bounced through the foster-care system. Clinic director [Lora] Melnicoe sees kids who won’t let her touch them. Some refuse to speak. (Brown, 8/18)
Kaiser Health News: Home Visits Help New Parents Overcome Tough Histories, Raise Healthy Children
Seated at a kitchen table in a cramped apartment, Rosendo Gil asked the young parents sitting across from him what they should do if their daughter caught a cold. Blas Lopez, 29, and his fiancée, Lluvia Padilla, 28, quickly answered: Check her temperature and call the doctor if she has a fever they can’t control. (Gorman, 8/21)
Tampa Bay Times: With A Tailored Approach To Cancer Treatment, Doctors At Moffitt See More Cures, Fewer Side Effects
Doctors already know how to more precisely deliver beams of healing radiation so they spare as much healthy tissue as possible. Their next step will be to tailor the dose and duration of radiation to each patient based on their tumor biology, genetics and complex mathematical equations. (Maher, 8/18)
WBUR: Inventive Help For Mental Health One College Student Would Suggest To Another
The growing number of students who need help with mental illnesses creates challenges for counseling centers on college campuses: They are simply not equipped or designed to help everyone who needs help. Many students end up on long wait lists and must look elsewhere for support. (Choi, 8/18)
