Healthcare

Many who work on the frontlines of the overdose crisis want to see more emphasis on reducing the risk of illness and death from substance use. But in some communities, they face opposition.

Millions of people are poised to lose access to abortion across Kentucky and parts of the Midwest pending court battles and elections. More pregnancies mean more need for prenatal care in a region already lacking.

In the wake of the reversal of abortion rights, DeJear said she would fight for abortion access.

In 2020, the maternal mortality rate for pregnant non-Hispanic Black people was three times the rate for white individuals. And in Iowa those numbers are even starker: Black people in Iowa are six times more likely to die during or shortly after childbirth than white individuals.

Modern medicine helps us live longer, but what about the quality of those extra years?

More seniors and people with disabilities are choosing to stay in their homes, and home health aides are vital to providing them basic assistance. The profession is projected to be one of the fastest growing nationally in the next decade, but it’s getting harder to recruit and retain these workers.

Congress rejected pleas from the White House to pump more money into programs that ensure COVID tests, treatments and vaccines are free for everyone. Public health experts warn the funding cuts will worsen health disparities and hurt those who are already most vulnerable.

A peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare found less than 8 percent of COVID patients in a remote monitoring program were hospitalized early in the pandemic.

The Great River Health Foundation is granting up to $10 million to Southeastern Community College.

Many of the things people did to protect themselves from COVID are slowly becoming a thing of the past as we approach two years of living in the pandemic. But, many of the state’s Latino communities are still having trouble getting good information about resources for getting through the pandemic.