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SARCIFILIPPO/PIXABAY

Nursing homes fell behind on vaccinating patients for COVID

Last winter, only 4 in 10 nursing home residents got an updated COVID vaccine. The low uptake leaves a fragile population vulnerable. Some industry watchdogs say it could be a sign of eroding trust between nursing home residents and providers.

Dec 4, 2024

DR. BRIAN DRUKER/OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY

Q&A: Star researcher Brian Druker says OHSU has lost its way

Dr. Druker, who pioneered the development of the life-saving leukemia drug Gleevec, says he's concerned that rapid growth and financial pressures have sapped Oregon Health & Science University's ability to pioneer cutting-edge, life-saving therapies.

Dec 3, 2024

Bottles of formaldehyde in a laboratory. | SHUTTERSTOCK

Formaldehyde causes more cancer than any other toxic air pollutant. Little is being done to curb the risk.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s attempts to reckon with formaldehyde have been repeatedly thwarted by the companies that rely on it. If the past is any guide, even modest steps toward reform are all but guaranteed to hit a dead end under Trump.

Dec 3, 2024

SHUTTERSTOCK

OHSU study sheds light on the role housing and other needs play in health care

A national survey of low-income households that receive Medicaid finds improved health outcomes when housing and food needs are met in clinic visits

Dec 3, 2024

United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. | FRANCINE SRECA/PIXABAY

Trump doesn’t need Congress to make abortion effectively unavailable

President-elect Donald Trump vowed on the campaign trail not to sign a nationwide abortion ban. But he wouldn’t need to do so to make abortion difficult, or illegal

Dec 3, 2024

The Oregon State Capitol in November 2024. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Oregon Gov. Kotek seeks state hospital fixes, more mental health in budget asks

As the legislative session looms, Kotek unveiled a spending plan that aims to bring Oregon closer to its treatment bed goal, ease federal scrutiny of the state hospital and put the Oregon Health Plan on better footing

Dec 3, 2024
Premium

Physician Peter Gliatto visits Carolyn Dickens, a lung cancer survivor who lives alone in the one-bedroom Harlem apartment she’s had for 31 years. Dickens doesn’t know what she’d do without ongoing medical attention from Gliatto. “Having to get up and go out, you know, putting on your clothes, it’s a task,” she says. “And I have the fear of falling.” | JUDITH GRAHAM/KFF HEALTH NEWS

Homebound seniors living alone often slip through health system’s cracks

It gets less focus from policymakers, but about 2 million adults 65 and older are completely or mostly homebound, while an additional 5.5 million seniors can get out only with significant difficulty or assistance.

Dec 3, 2024

KELSEY CHANCE/UNSPLASH

Oregon agencies renew campaign urging people against excessive drinking

Videos in English and Spanish show people drinking in a wide range of situations, including baby showers, interviews with people about how much they drink and posters linking drinking with liver disease and colorectal cancer

Nov 26, 2024

BRUNO/PIXABAY

State seeks comment from Oregon Health Plan members about managed care, social programs

The Oregon Health Authority wants input from people served by regional Coordinated Care Organizations to share their experiences, including with programs intended to address social and environmental needs such as by providing air conditioners and housing

Nov 26, 2024