Viewpoints: Physicians Face Tough Decisions About Opioids When Treating Kids; Medical Evacuees Are New Refugees Of Climate Change, Wildfires
Opinion writers weigh in on these health issues and others.
Stat:
When Kids In Pain Need Opioids, Doctors Must Walk A Tightrope
As a physician who works in a pediatric emergency department, I see the downsides of trampolines, monkey bars, coffee tables with sharp corners, and even hot soup — all common sources of children’s injuries. No matter what the trauma, many of my patients are in pain. And with all of the publicity around opioids, treating injured children’s pain has become a complicated, and often emotional, issue. Pain can often be eased with acetaminophen or ibuprofen. But broken bones, burns, and other severe injuries that cause excruciating pain usually require something stronger, like an opioid. (Nkeiruka Orajiaka, 11/4)
The New York Times:
When ‘Do No Harm’ Means Evacuating Hospitals In California
I must have missed the wildfire evacuation course in medical school. Learning how to move critically ill patients while flames lick the ground just feet away wasn’t part of my residency training. Most physicians never anticipate having to empty their hospitals while smoke fills the halls and the sky glows red. This is becoming our everyday reality in Northern California, where I lead an emergency management team for more than 4 million patients. Just last week, the Kincade fire broke out in Sonoma county. The blaze, fueled by an extreme wind event, rapidly engulfed tens of thousands of acres of land. Nearly 190,000 people were evacuated. (Stephen Parodi, 11/1)
The Washington Post:
Trump Made An Empty Promise On Guns — Again
“WE CANNOT let those killed in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, die in vain. Likewise for those so seriously wounded. We can never forget them, and those many who came before them. Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks. . . .We must have something good, if not GREAT, come out of these two tragic events!” That tweet from President Trump after back-to-back shootings over the summer killed 31 people raised some hope that action would finally be taken to combat gun violence. But Mr. Trump’s talk about changing gun laws was — as is often the case with him — empty. No action has been taken, none is planned, and that means more lives will be lost and others tragically changed by gun violence. (11/3)
Austin American-Statesman:
Vaping Is Not A Safe Alternative, Especially For Young Adults
Vaping — the use of electronic cigarettes to inhale vapors that could contain substances such as nicotine, marijuana or flavoring — is a disconcerting habit gaining popularity across the country, especially among teenagers. From 2017-18, more than 3.6 million kids reported using e-cigarettes, which represents a 78 percent increase in adolescent vaping in one year. Even more frightening: Use among middle school students jumped by 48 percent in the same period. (Danielle Beachler, 11/3)
The Hill:
The Prognosis Is Poor For Stopping The Spread Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases
And STD rates will continue to climb dramatically as a result of the renewed assault on the Title X program, the only federal grant program dedicated to funding comprehensive family planning and related sexual health services, such as STD prevention and treatment. ...To put in perspective the far-reaching consequences of attacks on these centers, in 2010 more than half of all chlamydia and gonorrhea infections prevented by publicly funded care were handled by Title X centers. This crippling of Title X is forcing providers to withdraw from the program, leaving many people without needed STD care. Planned Parenthood, an organization specifically targeted by new Title X restrictions, for example, is the only Title X grantee in Utah and the largest grantee in Alaska, Connecticut and Minnesota, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Samantha Garbers, 11/3)
The Washington Post:
My Family Faces An Impossible Choice: Caring For Our Mom, Or Building Our Future
My final year at medical school began this fall with an unexpected flight home to Colorado. My mother has multiple sclerosis, and my sister, her caregiver for the past three years while I attended school in New Haven, was moving away to start a new job she’d suddenly gotten. There was no one else but me. I postponed my hospital rotation and canceled my board exam. I notified the school registrar, saying I was uncertain of when I could return and resume my studies. (Kristina Brown, 10/31)
The Hill:
The Erosion Of Abortion Availability
The U.S. Supreme Court has not overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, but lower courts and statehouses are threatening to turn the clock back nearly 50 years on abortion rights. The fate of Missouri’s only remaining abortion provider, a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis, hangs by a thread, awaiting the outcome of a recent arbitration hearing. If it is forced stop performing abortions, Missouri will become the first state without an abortion provider since Roe recognized the right to abortion in America. (Bridget Kelly, 11/2)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Reverses Obama’s Anti-Religious Decree
Pro-life Americans often get criticized for focusing too much on babies in the womb and not enough on those who’ve been born. Yet countless evangelical Christians devote their lives to foster care, adoption and similar services for vulnerable children. As born-again Christians, we have been adopted by Christ and have a special obligation to those who need a mother and father. But those who want to live out these convictions frequently find themselves stopped by the government. Last week the Trump administration took a major step toward addressing the problem. (Russell Moore, 11/3)
The New York Times:
Suicide Has Been Deadlier Than Combat For The Military
Struggling with mental demons, Kayla Williams went to her bathroom and held a gun in her hand, contemplating suicide. It was 2004, and she’d been home for only a few months after serving as an Army sergeant and Arab linguist in the Iraq war. But hers is one story that doesn’t end in tragedy: Ms. Williams held those demons at bay long enough to get help and learn to manage the challenges of marriage to a combat-wounded veteran while writing two books about her experiences. “I’m doing well,” she told me. She is now the director of the Military, Veterans and Society program at the Center for a New American Security. (Carol Giacomo, 11/1)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
State Gets Quick, Sound Result On Ethylene Oxide Emissions
When it comes to necessary government action, achieving results is often neither a fast nor simple process. That realization makes it all the more noteworthy that the state of Georgia achieved in just seven days a pretty comprehensive, yet simple-to-understand legal agreement that should better safeguard people living and working near a plant that uses a carcinogen to sterilize medical instruments. (Andre Jackson, 11/2)
Boston Globe:
Move Of DCF Offices Threatens Crucial Family Visits
As reported by the Globe’s Kay Lazar, these office relocations are making it more difficult for hundreds of parents who have lost custody of their children to visit with them. Those family ties, already under great stress, will be stretched to the breaking point, if a mother or father can’t physically touch their own child — not because they don’t want to, but because a DCF office is no longer close to public transportation and they don’t have access to a car. (11/3)
Georgia Health News:
The Time Is About To Change, But The Problems Will Remain
First, here’s the reminder: When you go to bed Saturday night, set your clock back one hour. At 2 a.m. Sunday, Georgia will make its annual autumn switch from Daylight Saving Time (DST) to Standard Time. Most of the nation will be doing the same.The “extra” hour means a bit more sleep for many people, so you may feel unusually refreshed on Sunday morning. Still, things may seem slightly off-kilter as the day wears on. (Gerdeen Dyer, 11/2)
