Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Some Ivory Towers Are Ideal For A Pandemic. Most Aren’t.

KFF Health News Original

As reopening decisions approach for the fall semester, colleges and universities are casting about for strategies to keep students safe without bankrupting their institutions. A few have natural advantages.

‘We Miss Them All So Much’: Grandparents Ache As The COVID Exile Grinds On

KFF Health News Original

The pandemic has forced millions of families to weigh the risks of vulnerable grandparents getting too close to their beloved grandchildren — against the heartache of staying away.

Coronavirus Tests The Value Of Artificial Intelligence In Medicine

KFF Health News Original

The pandemic offers an opportunity to use artificial intelligence programs to help doctors in COVID-19 diagnosis. But some leading hospital systems have shelved their AI technology because it wasn’t ready to roll.

Por la cuarentena, hay menos accidentes de tránsito y faltan órganos para donaciones

KFF Health News Original

Del 8 de marzo al 11 de abril, el número de donantes de órganos que murieron en accidentes de tránsito disminuyó un 23% en todo el país, en comparación con el mismo período del año pasado.

The Pandemic Is Hurting Pediatric Hospitals, Too

KFF Health News Original

Children’s hospitals were generally in good shape before COVID-19, but now their revenues are plunging as beds they reserved to assist in the pandemic effort remain empty.

Beyond The Glam: Feeding The Coachella Valley’s Most Vulnerable Residents

KFF Health News Original

Poverty is real in the Coachella Valley, a region known for its glitzy resorts and music festival. During the COVID crisis, the California National Guard and California Conservation Corps are helping an area food bank distribute food to older residents and those with disabilities.

Racial Status And The Pandemic: A Combustible Mixture

KFF Health News Original

The novel coronavirus is affecting black Americans disproportionately, which some community leaders and public health experts say is not surprising. So why didn’t anyone sound an alarm?

Hospital Workers Complain of Minimal Disclosure After COVID Exposures

KFF Health News Original

From cafeteria staff to doctors and nurses, hospital workers around the country report frustrating failures by management to notify them when they have been exposed to co-workers or patients known to be infected with COVID-19.

Keeping The COVID Plague At Bay: How California Is Protecting Older Veterans

KFF Health News Original

Even as COVID-19 has ravaged nursing homes around the country, California has managed to keep the virus at bay at its eight state-run homes for frail and older veterans. What exactly went right?

Trying Out LA’s New Coronavirus Testing Regime

KFF Health News Original

Los Angeles is the first big U.S. city to offer COVID-19 testing to anyone who wants it. Will it help restore normal life to the 10 million residents of the city and surrounding county?

Eerie Emptiness Of ERs Worries Doctors As Heart Attack And Stroke Patients Delay Care

KFF Health News Original

Emergency department volumes are down 40 to 50 percent across the country. Doctors worry a new wave of cardiac patients is headed their way — people who have delayed care and will be sicker and more injured when they finally seek care.

COVID-Plagued California Nursing Homes Often Had Problems In Past

KFF Health News Original

Nursing homes with COVID-19 infections tend to violate health rules more often and have more complaints and fines, records show. But infections also plague highly rated facilities — while sparing some low-ranked ones.

Testing In California Still A Frustrating Patchwork Of Haves And Have-Nots

KFF Health News Original

It’s hard to overstate how uneven access to critical coronavirus test kits remains in the nation’s largest state. Even as some Southern California counties are opening drive-thru sites to make testing available to any resident who wants it, a rural northern county is testing raw sewage to determine whether the coronavirus has infiltrated its communities.

As Lawmakers Reconvene, Not Everyone Agrees On COVID-Only Agenda

KFF Health News Original

California legislators resume their work Monday after more than a month off. While the coronavirus pandemic has shifted the state’s priorities, many lawmakers say they still intend to push non-COVID health care bills to tax soda, ban vape flavors and more.