Among Archives - Mediarabe

Lack of diversity among cardiovascular health-care professionals continues

October 13, 2020

Despite working for more than two decades to address underrepresentation of women in cardiology, disparities among cardiovascular professionals continue to exist. Profound inequities also exist for individuals underrepresented in medicine, such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans, who constitute 32 percent of the U.S. population but only eight percent of practicing cardiologists.

“The disparities amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic present disturbing evidence that we are far from cardiovascular healthcare equity in the work place,” says Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM, professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and corresponding author of a Comment in the journal Nature Reviews Cardiology. “Individuals, leaders and institutions must prioritize research, policies, and structures to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging that is essential to advancing workforce excellence and cardiovascular health.”

Diversity and equity in the health-care workforce have been shown to benefit patients and

Public invited to address disparities among Black community in Washtenaw County

October 13, 2020

| No Comments

| Community Health

PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI — Activists and public officials will gather to discuss disparities among the Black community in Washtenaw County.

Activists will focus on five key areas at the ” Getting Real About Race” event, including housing, employment, education, health care and the criminal justice system in the county. It will run from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Lillie Park, 4365 Platt Road in Ann Arbor. Anyone interested is encouraged to register online.

“It’s one thing to know there’s a problem but there’s a whole other element to put some solutions in place. In Washtenaw County, we’ve been protesting, we have people of all different races coming together. While marching is definitely a part of it, we wanted individuals to know there’s another layer of work that needs to be done,” said Trische Duckworth, founder and executive director of Survivors Speak, a nonprofit leading the event.

Policing is

Testing positive: New York has among lowest state rates of new COVID-19 cases

October 11, 2020

| No Comments

| Health Article

New York continues to have one of the nation’s lowest rates of people testing positive for the coronavirus, but experts say recent outbreaks and cooler weather could push those numbers up.

The state had the second-lowest positive test rate in the country, according to Covid Act Now, a nonprofit website run by epidemiologists, public health experts, data scientists and others that analyzes COVID-19 data. In the latest analysis, from Saturday, only Maine, at 0.5%,had a lower rate than New York, which was tied with Vermont for the second-lowest positivity rate of 1.2%. Idaho, with 23.9% of people testing positive, had the highest. The group uses a 7-day rolling average of test results.

In March and April, New York was the epicenter for the pandemic in the United States, with hundreds of residents dying of COVID-19 every day.

“We got from where we were in April because we distanced, we isolated,

CDC study: ‘Urgent need’ to slow spread of coronavirus among young adults

October 9, 2020

| No Comments

| Health Article

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study released Friday warned that there is an “urgent need” to address the spread of the coronavirus among young adults.

The study found that increases among transmission in younger people are often a precursor to transmission among older, higher-risk people.

The study examined 767 counties in June and July that were “hot spots,” meaning they had high levels of virus spread. The study found that the spread of the virus, measured by the percentage of positive tests, began rising first in people aged 24 and under, before later rising in older, more vulnerable age groups.

The findings “provide evidence that among young adults, those aged 18–24 years demonstrate the earliest increases in percent positivity; and underscore the importance of reducing transmission from younger populations to those at highest risk for severe illness or death,” the study said

“Addressing transmission among young adults

Rapinoe among athletes touting CBD’s benefits for pain

October 9, 2020

| No Comments

| Health Benefits

PORTLAND, Ore. — Long before she struck that iconic victory pose to become the face of women’s soccer, Megan Rapinoe endured her share of setbacks to play the game she loves: Notably, a series of knee surgeries stretching back to her college days.

She tore her left ACL as a sophomore at the University of Portland, then tore it again in her second game back the next season. Following the 2015 World Cup she tore the ACL in her right knee and then in 2017 she had surgery to repair a meniscus tear in her left.

Rapinoe said she’s found help in managing the pain and recovery from her injuries: CBD. Her twin sister Rachael, also convinced of the healing powers, helped launch a CBD products company, Mendi, which is aimed at athletes.

“When it’s taken after a hard training and before bed, I feel it gives me a better

Rapinoe among athletes touting CBD’s benefits for pain

October 9, 2020

| No Comments

| Health Benefits

“When it’s taken after a hard training and before bed, I feel it gives me a better night’s sleep and I feel like I’m able to relax a little bit easier,” Megan Rapinoe said. “So, I kind of just have it in my daily routine, like I would eat healthy and take natural products and drink a lot of water and take CBD and get as much sleep. It’s kind of the secret sauce.”

Mendi is just one company capitalizing on the ongoing interest in CBD. CBD, or cannabidiol, is found in cannabis. But CBD products like Mendi’s are derived from hemp and contain no THC, the chemical in marijuana that produces a

HAP Earns Highest Medicare Advantage Star Rating Among All Michigan-based Health Insurers

October 8, 2020

| No Comments

| Health Issues

HAP Earns Highest Medicare Advantage Star Rating Among All Michigan-based Health Insurers

PR Newswire

DETROIT, Oct. 8, 2020

HAP’s 4.5 Stars stand alone among Michigan-based insurers – Top 10% nationally

DETROIT, Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Health Alliance Plan (HAP), a Michigan-based, nonprofit health plan, is celebrating the only 4.5 Star rating awarded to a Michigan-based insurer. HAP’s Medicare Advantage (MA) HMO earned 4.5 Stars (out of 5) from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), ranking HAP’s plan first among Michigan-based insurers and in the top 10% nationally. CMS uses Star Ratings to help consumers make informed decisions about Medicare supplement options, measuring more than 40 performance metrics in five categories. HAP’s Medicare Advantage PPO earned a strong 4.0 rating.

“We have been laser focused on providing competitively priced, high-quality health insurance with an emphasis on customer service,” said Michael Genord, M.D.

Coronavirus Outbreak Among UW’s Greek System Grows To 212 Cases

October 8, 2020

| No Comments

| Health News

SEATTLE — A coronavirus outbreak among the University of Washington’s Greek system grew to 212 students Wednesday, up 35 cases from the day before. The latest surge in illnesses connected to off-campus fraternity and sorority houses in Seattle began with two cases reported Sept. 11. It is the second outbreak associated with UW’s Greek system since the pandemic began.

On Tuesday, the university and Public Health – Seattle & King County sent a joint letter to the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic chapters, urging members to step up and help prevent further spread by following established guidelines.

The letter goes on to remind students that failing to comply with university and Public Health guidance could lead to “additional steps” being taken, including disciplinary actions up to expulsion. Other actions, officials said, could include sending notices to landlords of off-campus properties, if parties, gatherings and “flagrant disregard” for prevention measures continue.

“This

Mental illness, mental health care use among police officers

October 7, 2020

| No Comments

| Health Center

What The Study Did: A survey study of Texas police officers examines how common mental illness and mental health care use are in a large urban department.

Authors: Katelyn K. Jetelina, M.P.H., Ph.D., of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health in Dallas, is the corresponding author.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.19658)

Editor’s Note: The article includes funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

###

Media advisory: The full study and commentary are linked to this news release.

Embed this link to provide your readers free access to the full-text article This link will be live at the embargo time http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.19658?utm_source=

Massive Consolidations Taking Place Across Health Care, Especially Among Private Practices | News

October 7, 2020

| No Comments

| Better Health

PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — In the U.S., family physicians are front-line caregivers to people from different socioeconomic backgrounds in urban and rural areas across the 50 states. One in every five office physician visits is made to a family physician which accounts for around 192 million visits annually. Family physicians are an integral part of the rural primary care system and the U.S. healthcare system relies, in a major way, on primary care doctors to lower the overall Medicare spending. Government bodies have realized the importance of primary care physicians in developing a value-based healthcare system in the U.S. and have undertaken various initiatives to bridge these gaps between revenues of different specialties. These initiatives are anticipated to empower primary care physicians to spend more time with patients rather than performing other administrative work. A report from Grand View Research predicts that the U.S. primary