Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Stateline: States Need To Keep PFAS ’Forever Chemicals’ Out Of The Water. It Won’t Be Cheap.
In recent years, Michigan has spent tens of millions of dollars to limit residents’ exposure to the harmful “forever chemicals” called PFAS. And some cities there have spent millions of their own to filter contaminated drinking water or connect to new, less-polluted sources. “We’ve made significant investments to get up to speed,” said Abigail Hendershott, executive director of the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team, which serves as a coordinating group for the state’s testing, cleanup and public education efforts. (Brown, 5/21)
The Washington Post: How Morgan Spurlock’s ‘Super Size Me’ Recast McDonald’s
“Super Size Me” is yet one more example of how storytelling — even imperfect storytelling — has the ability to move mountains, at least a little. Mountains like McDonald’s. The now-20-year-old documentary was a cautionary tale about obesity in America. Written, produced and directed by filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who died of cancer Thursday at 53, “Super Size Me” was a controversial experiment in human endurance: Spurlock put himself on a restricted diet of all McDonald’s, all the time: three meals a day from Feb. 1 to March 2, 2003. He would “super size” his order whenever asked if he wanted the larger portion. He would also limit his exercise to walking about 1.5 miles a day. (Carman, 5/24)
The Washington Post: How A Girl With Cerebral Palsy Found A New Way To Play Lacrosse
Stella Stakolosa loves playing lacrosse but needed help shooting the ball from her wheelchair. Engineering high school students in Maryland stepped in to help. (Heim, 5/29)
The New York Times: Inside The Factory Supplying Half Of Africa’s Syringes
On the stunning Kenyan coast, about halfway between 15th-century ruins and the vibrant city of Mombasa, a small factory is helping to achieve one of Africa’s biggest health care goals: self-reliance. With fewer than 700 employees, Revital Healthcare makes 300 million syringes a year, enough to meet more than half of Africa’s routine immunization needs. (Mandavilli, 5/27)
AP: A Synthetic Drug Ravages Youth In Sierra Leone. There’s Little Help, And Some People Are Chained
In Sierra Leone, a cheap, synthetic drug is ravaging youth. Trash-strewn alleys are lined with boys and young men slumped in addiction. Healthcare services are severely limited. One frustrated community has set up what it calls a treatment center, run by volunteers. But harsh measures can be used. The project in the Bombay suburb of the capital, Freetown, started in the past year when a group of people tried to help a colleague’s younger brother off the drug called kush. After persuasion and threats failed, they locked him in his room for two months. It worked. He has returned to university and thanked them for setting him free. (Cham, 5/27)
