Alabama’s Health Care System for Women Ranks Near the Bottom of This New Scorecard
The Commonwealth Fund’s new report includes 12 new measures that evaluate and rank states on reproductive services and women’s health care. Read more.
Science
Alabama’s Hemlocks Face Threat From a Deadly Insect
In the Bankhead National Forest, Eastern Hemlock trees foster unique habitat for a wide range of species. But a deadly insect is moving closer and closer. Read more.
Heart Disease, Hypertension Take Toll on Alabama Women
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women, both nationally and in Alabama. Alabama had the third-highest rate of death from heart disease in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only trailing Oklahoma and Mississippi. That year, the death rate from heart disease for Alabama women was 193.7 per 100,000, compared to 135.6 for women nationwide. Read more.
An Alabama program helps residents stormproof their homes. Louisiana wants to copy it.
Strengthen Alabama Homes gives residents up to $10,000 to retrofit homes to the Fortified standard. Other states see it as a model for their own insurance woes. Read more.
Cahaba Lily Season Draws Crowds, Inspires Conservation Efforts
Alabama is thought to be home to the world's largest population of the rare flower, which is only in bloom a few more weeks. Read more.
COVID by the Numbers
COVID-19 has had a lasting impact on Alabama in the 38 months since the first case was reported in the state. One in three Alabamians have had the virus, and 21,138 Alabamians have died with it, according to numbers from the Alabama Department of Public Health. Just this year, 251 people in the state have died with COVID, illustrating that, while the “emergency” is over, the virus is still out there. Globally, COVID has killed almost 7 million people so far. Read more.
Field of Streams: Reconnecting the Alabama and Cahaba Rivers Would Restore Ecosystem Lost to Dams
Dams were built across the United States from the 1920s to the 1960s with the hope they would change economies and do great things for people all over the U.S. But there was an unintended consequence in many places, including Alabama. “Looking back with hindsight, if they were going to build a dam below the Cahaba River, they should have accounted for maintaining the connection of the ecosystem, but they didn't,” said Mitch Reid, director of The Nature Conservancy in Alabama. “We're trying to make it right now.” The plan from the U.S. Corps of Engineers that would build a system of canals to reconnect the Cahaba and Alabama rivers and allow fish to make their way along the river system down to the Mobile area. Read more.
To Improve Birth Outcomes for Uninsured Moms, Birmingham is Training More Doulas
The city of Birmingham has teamed up with BirthWell Partners’ community doula project to sponsor 32 trainees to work in underserved communities. Read more.
COVID Continues Decline in Alabama, but It Is Still Out There
COVID-19 cases have declined across Alabama and hospitalizations are down from months past, Dr. Wes Stubblefield, district medical officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health’s northern third of the state. But don’t be tempted to think it’s gone. Stubblefield said it is important to remember that COVID is still circulating in Alabama, it still is infecting people and it still is killing people. Since early March, Alabama’s COVID-19 hospitalization numbers have hovered around 200. As of Friday, statewide there were 136 adults and seven children hospitalized with it, far below the highs of 3,000 patients seen periodically in previous years. Stubblefield said most of the current COVID infections are due to the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant. Read more.
Health Advocates Hope Narcan’s Over-the-Counter Status Will Bypass Alabama’s Strict Laws
Public health officials say the federal rule change should expand access to the overdose-reversing medication, after years of navigating tough state restrictions on who can dispense Narcan. Read more.