Latest Morning Briefing Stories
‘All You Want Is to Be Believed’: The Impacts of Unconscious Bias in Health Care
One woman shares her experience trying to get care in a Bay Area hospital for COVID symptoms. At nearly every turn, a doctor dismissed her complaints. Is bias part of why people of color are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus?
Despite Pandemic Threat, Gubernatorial Hopefuls Avoid COVID Nitty-Gritty
As the pandemic continues to cast shadows on everyday life, some candidates for governor are talking about everything except the specifics of how they would manage COVID-19 into the future.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 4: So, 2 Nuns Step Off a Train in Kansas … A Hospital’s Origin Story
Mercy Hospital and the people of Fort Scott, Kansas, have a long, tangled history. To understand what the town lost when the hospital shut its doors, we rewind the story to 1886.
UVA Health Still Squeezing Money From Patients — By Seizing Their Home Equity
The University of Virginia promised reforms but has stopped short of announcing them, while hospital giant VCU Health has freed tens of thousands from property liens.
Musicians Improvise Masks for Wind Instruments to Keep the Band Together
Instrumentalists in ensembles, marching bands and other groups are getting creative with pantyhose, air filters, fabric and sewing machines to reduce the risk of COVID without silencing the music.
COVID en LA: prevención en los trabajos ha salvado vidas de latinos, dicen oficiales
La agresiva aplicación de las normas de salud y la apertura de líneas para denunciar si no se cumplen han contribuido a la disminución de muertes.
COVID Crackdowns at Work Have Saved Black and Latino Lives, LA Officials Say
Strict enforcement of coronavirus protocols at factories and shops where some of the worst outbreaks have occurred has reduced the racial and ethnic disparities in COVID deaths and illness, say public health officials. They want to expand the effort by creating workplace safety councils.
Aunque preferiría cerrar, la cadena de tiendas COVID-19 Essentials se expande
Las máscaras han evolucionado de ser un producto utilitario a una forma de expresar la personalidad, las inclinaciones políticas o el fanatismo deportivo.
Making Money Off Masks, COVID-Spawned Chain Store Aims to Become Obsolete
A new chain of stores is spreading in malls across America, just like the disease that is giving it business. COVID-19 Essentials is selling masks and all the gear needed to stay safe — and the owner can’t wait to go out of business.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 3: Patchwork of Urgent Care Frays After a Rural Hospital Closes
Fort Scott, Kansas, went without an ER for 18 days, after the local hospital shut down. Documenting local trauma during that “dark period” helped investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble unravel some of the complications that come after a rural hospital closes.
Black Doctors Work to Make Coronavirus Testing More Equitable
The Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium has increased access to coronavirus testing in the Philadelphia region, testing more than 10,000 people. The group’s mobile unit and pop-up testing sites also offer patients an opportunity to connect with African American health care providers.
New Moms Behind Bars Get Help From Someone Who’s Been There
Nina Porter of Indiana spent most of her adulthood behind bars, even raising an infant daughter in prison. Now out of prison, she’s drawing on her struggles to create a program that helps other moms get by in a sometimes unwelcoming post-prison world.
COVID Takes Challenge of Tracking Infectious College Students to New Level
Amid a surge of college coronavirus cases, some local and state health departments have been scrambling to properly trace contacts and assign cases across state and county lines.
With Senate Control at Stake, Trump and COVID Haunt Ernst’s Fight to Keep Her Seat
In less than six years, Sen. Joni Ernst has gone from being a rising star in the Republican Party to running neck and neck against a political newcomer. A poll last month showed more than 1 in 3 Iowa voters think Ernst’s relationship to President Donald Trump is “too close,” and her comments about the coronavirus death toll sparked a backlash.
COVID Stalks Montana Town Already Saddled With Asbestos Disease
Residents of a small Montana community exposed to decades of asbestos contamination are taking extra precautions to keep COVID-19 away.
Pandemia obstaculiza al preciado bloque de votantes en centros de adultos mayores
Muchos seniors que necesitan ayuda para obtener o llenar sus boletas podrían sufrir la consecuencias por el cambio de las reglas sobre visitas familiares.
Stigma Against D.O.s Had Been Dissipating Until Trump’s Doctor Took the Spotlight
Two types of licensed physicians exist in this country — M.D.s and D.O.s. Here’s what you need to know about the differences.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Pandemic Erects Barriers for Prized Bloc of Voters in Nursing Homes, Senior Facilities
Voting is a point of pride for many older Americans, and senior living facilities in past years have encouraged the civic act by hosting voting precincts, providing transportation to the polls and bringing in groups to help explain election issues. But fears of the spread of the coronavirus among this vulnerable population make voting more difficult this year.
Young Doctor Succumbs to COVID, One of the South’s Many Health Workers Lost
A 28-year-old Texas doctor tested positive in early July and died in September — one of a dozen young health workers nationwide whose deaths from the coronavirus have been profiled by KHN and The Guardian as part of the “Lost on the Frontline” project.
