May 01 Watch 4:43 ‘There’s always need’: Baltimore unrest highlights struggles with hunger and crime By PBS News Hour One in five people in Baltimore live in a “food desert,” an area without grocery stores and fresh food, made worse by the recent riots that destroyed some of the convenience stores on which many rely. But that’s just one… Continue watching
May 01 Watch 6:31 Rural Indiana struggles with drug-fueled HIV epidemic By Jason Kane and Sarah Varney, Kaiser Health News A rural region of Indiana has become the center of the state's worst-ever HIV epidemic. For the first time, that state's legislature passed a bill this week allowing drug users in high-risk areas to trade used needles for clean ones. Continue watching
May 01 Students in rural Indiana are suddenly experts on HIV By Jason Kane AUSTIN, Ind. — Holli Reynolds didn’t entirely understand what HIV was when the news broke earlier this year that 11 people in her tiny town had tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS. Neither did her classmates — a… Continue reading
May 01 Watch 2:56 In town overhwelmed by HIV, teens take matters into their own hands By PBS News Hour Continue watching
May 01 Medicare reveals how much it spends on prescription drugs for Americans By Jordan Rau, Kaiser Health News The data show that 14 drugs cost the federal government and Medicare beneficiaries more than $1 billion each, accounting for nearly a quarter of Medicare prescription drug spending in 2013. Most of those drugs are used to treat chronic conditions… Continue reading
Apr 30 ‘Getting old ain’t for sissies’: Cartoonist Jack Ohman draws his dad’s final years By Jack Ohman, The Sacramento Bee When editorial cartoonist Jack Ohman sat down to illustrate his father's final years, he did not want to sugar-coat his own experiences providing four years of long term care. Otherwise, none of it was worth doing, he explained. Continue reading
Apr 30 Studies say health plans stint on mandated birth control coverage By Julie Rovner, KFF Health News Women’s health advocates were thrilled when the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010, because it required insurance companies to cover a broad array of women’s health services at no additional out-of-pocket cost beyond premiums. Five years later, however, that… Continue reading
Apr 25 House GOP rebels blame party leaders as contributions falter By Alan Fram, Associated Press Tea party Rep. Thomas Massie and some other conservatives say the reason their business contributions have fallen is simple: GOP leaders are retaliating for their defiance. Continue reading
Apr 24 Watch 5:36 How maps packed with data help scientists fight malaria By PBS News Hour High-tech maps may help researchers understand and predict disease outbreaks like malaria, an illness that kills between 600,000 and 1 million people each year. Scientists have begun using temperatures, rainfall patterns and other data to better target areas most at… Continue watching
Apr 24 Improving dementia care requires a change in mindset By Kerry Mills People with dementia, more often than not, do not receive appropriate care. But we can establish care practices that maintain dignity, stimulate independence and cultivate consideration for the person within. Continue reading