Tag: health care
Local Health Officials Plan to Increase Monkeypox Vaccinations
Judge’s Ruling a “Sigh of Relief” for Families of Transgender Youth
A federal judge in Alabama ruled to block part of a law that makes it a felony to provide gender-affirming care to minors on Friday. Families with transgender kids tell WBHM they are cautiously relieved. Read more.
Judge Hears Testimony in Challenge to Alabama’s Ban on Gender-Affirming Care
A group of parents and doctors want the judge to stop the law from going into effect while a lawsuit continues. Read more.
Travel nurse salaries are rising due to demand. Some hospitals say it’s price gouging.
Demand for well-paid travel nurses has quadrupled since the pandemic began. Some nurses have even left their hospital jobs to become travel nurses because of the difference in pay, but that has left hospitals struggling even more with staffing issues and rising costs. Read more.
UAB Surgeons Transplant Pig Kidneys Into a Human Body for the First Time
A team of scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is the first to successfully transplant the kidneys of a genetically modified pig into the body of a brain-dead recipient. Read more.
JeffCo Commission Compromises, Buys 100 CPR Devices to Distribute
Jefferson County commissioners approved the purchase of 100 Lucas CPR devices Thursday, bringing to 238 the county has or will buy with federal funds related to COVID-19.
The sheriff’s department initially sought 250 devices to go into patrol cars on remote beats. That number was whittled to 138 and then 100. Commissioners debated how many devices to buy, considering the purchase would have to meet the criteria for spending of federal COVID funds. Read more.
UAB Partnership to Study Cancer Disparities Gets Grant Renewal
UAB’s O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of three research institutes collectively awarded a five-year, $18 million grant to study and address cancer disparities in underserved communities across the South. Read more.
Gulf South Health Care Systems Are Failing to Equally Serve People of Color, Study Says
WBHM Health care systems across the United States are failing to equitably serve people of color. But, according to a new analysis, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama are among the states with the worst health outcomes for people of color — Black and Latinx residents, in particular. Read more.
Biden Budget Plan Could Close ‘Coverage Gap’ for 300,000 Alabamians
MONTGOMERY — A provision of the massive budget proposal being considered in Congress this week would offer as many as 300,000 low-income, uninsured Alabamians tax credits to pay for health coverage.
Billed as President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan, the far-reaching proposal would spend $1.75 trillion on long-sought Democratic priorities, including universal pre-school, an expanded child tax credit, measures to combat climate change, low-income housing and reduced prescription drug costs.
As written, the budget also extends tax credits for the uninsured in the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, including Alabama. The White House estimates that will allow 4 million Americans to afford private insurance through the healthcare.gov exchange, including 300,000 in Alabama.
Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Selma, has pushed for expanded health coverage in the bill and worked with colleagues in other non-expansion states to see the provision included in the final House bill.
“Alabama has over 300,000 people that fall in that gap, where they make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to afford health insurance premiums,” Sewell said in an interview. “We just made this our No. 1 ask. In every room that I’ve sat in, whether it’s at the White House or smaller tables here in Congress, health care is just my No. 1 issue. Read more.
Medical West Begins Work on McCalla Hospital
Medical West Hospital Authority broke ground Wednesday on a 200-bed hospital with a five-story medical office building. The facility, on 4501 Bell Hill Road in McCalla, is expected to open in 2024 and will replace the authority’s current hospital. Read more.
