McALLEN, Texas — For three days, the staff of an Orlando medical clinic encouraged a woman with abdominal pain who called the triage line to go to the hospital. She resisted, scared of a 2023 Florida law that required hospitals to ask whether a patient was in the U.S. with legal permission. The clinic had … Read more
More than 200 cities and counties declared racism was a public health crisis in the past few years, mostly after George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis in May 2020. Racial justice advocates said they finally felt heard by the quick swell of political will to address disparities like disproportionate COVID-19 deaths or infant … Read more
Across the U.S., programs at all levels of government — federal, state and local — are striving to reduce maternal mortality and erase the racial gap. Many are making headway in their communities and paving the way for other places. The Associated Press examined efforts that are focused on individual patient needs and efforts seeking … Read more
Darrell Dixon’s father was just 25 when he had a major heart attack in the rural Mississippi Delta. By his early 40s, a series of additional attacks had left his heart muscle too weak to pump enough blood to his body. He died in 2013 at the age of 49. “It was a big jolt … Read more
Haywood Park Community Hospital was the closest hospital for many in Brownsville, Tennessee, a rural city in the eastern part of the state. Some residents believe it kept their loved ones alive. But others in this majority-Black city said they drove to a hospital miles away or skipped care completely. The facility eventually closed in … Read more
MINEOLA, N.Y. — Suburban New York officials looking to stop violent protesters from obscuring their identities have banned wearing masks in public except for health or religious reasons. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, signed the legislation Wednesday, calling it a “bill that protects the public.” Nassau County is on Long Island just east … Read more
NEW YORK — Michael Bloomberg’s organization Bloomberg Philanthropies is announcing a $600 million gift to the endowments of four historically Black medical schools. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and the billionaire founder of Bloomberg LP, will make the announcement Tuesday in New York at the annual convention of the National Medical Association, an … Read more
A popular obesity drug may help treat a dangerous disorder in which people struggle to breathe while they sleep, a new study finds. Tirzepatide, the medication in the weight-loss drug Zepbound and also the diabetes treatment Mounjaro, appeared to reduce the severity of sleep apnea along with reducing weight and improving blood pressure and other … Read more
Demetrio Jackson was desperate for medical help when the paramedics arrived. The 43-year-old was surrounded by police who arrested him after responding to a trespassing call in a Wisconsin parking lot. Officers had shocked him with a Taser and pinned him as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe. Now he sat on the ground with … Read more
The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. At least 94 people died after they were given sedatives and restrained by police from 2012 through … Read more
