Health

Newly ratified by more than 1,400 health care workers at Deaconess and Valley hospitals, the new MultiCare contract includes up to a 25% wage increase for some workers.

ATLANTA – Disrupting dopamine levels and causing inflammation, oxidative stress and cellular damage, secondhand vape exposure can significantly damage a child, potentially even contributing to diabetes, heart disease and cancer. That’s according to a recent study by Atlanta-based Emory University.

Spokane International Airport is pushing back against a “disappointing” state Department of Ecology order to begin PFAS cleanup planning – stating the airport will move forward with its own investigation into the presence of the toxic chemicals.

The Washington Department of Ecology has ordered Spokane International Airport to begin making cleanup plans for PFAS, dangerous chemicals to which people on the West Plains have been exposed for decades, after the two sides negotiated unsuccessfully for six months.

On the verge of a labor strike, service and tech workers at Deaconess and Valley hospitals reached a tentative agreement with hospital system MultiCare late last week.

Before pickleball, racquetball bounced to the heights of popularity in sports. The fast-paced game boomed in the 1980s and into the 1990s, but then faded from the limelight. That doesn't mean racquetball has vanished in the Spokane area, said longtime player Rich Carver. Carver expects 100 enthusiasts will join a May 17-19 racquetball tournament at the Spokane Club. He estimates about 150 people in the area play regularly.

Federal officials are warning health care providers to be on the lookout for invasive meningococcal disease, a rare but potentially deadly illness that has increased in prevalence in recent years and requires prompt treatment with antibiotics to prevent long-term disability or death.

As pickleball's popularity has exploded the past five years – especially in the 50 and older crowd – the number of pickleball-related injuries also is rising. Problems include sprains, fractures and overuse issues such as elbow tendinitis.

While driving through downtown this week, you may have noticed something strange about the sign on Sacred Heart hospital. As part of a rebrand that includes updating the sign, varying letters may have been missing from Spokane’s flagship hospital, depending on the day.

Providence Health Care’s comprehensive sleep clinic is moving and expanding in an effort to relieve a backlog of patients.

Support staff at MultiCare Deaconess and Valley hospitals are prepared to strike as soon as next month should their contract demands not be met.

Don Duffy is leaving the Panhandle Health District, which covers five North Idaho counties, after a decade and three years at the helm during COVID-19. Panhandle Health has broad services: Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer water quality protection, nutrition services and operation of primary care clinics – one each of its counties. Duffy was the district's incident commander during the pandemic. Duffy said he didn’t choose a briefly-held masking mandate its board of health implemented that was largely ignored by the public. In hindsight, he thinks more focus should have gone toward vulnerable seniors in health care facilities. Leaving May 24, Duffy plans to run a medical consulting practice.

You may think that YouTube is an oasis of helpful home improvement videos. After all, anyone with a smartphone can upload a video . Each week I scour YouTube for videos I feel may help you save time and money. With each passing day, I’m convinced that YouTube is a cesspool of bad advice. For every decent video that contains good information, I see 20 or 30 that are created by fools.

Q. You have written that putting Vicks VapoRub on the soles of the feet can stop a nighttime cough. That’s pure fluff or maybe written as an ad for Vicks. You haven’t bothered to provide any scientific information to support this claim.

We see a lot of acute back pain this time of year, sometimes from slipping on ice, snow sports and just being inactive. Sometimes it’s been building up for a while with repeated stress and strain, then you are doing some seemingly harmless activity like picking up a newspaper and crunch - your back is stiff and painful. Those flares of back pain can put everything in life on hold and create anxiety about what is wrong. Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical care or miss work. In fact, back and neck pain are the leading cause of disability and affect 85% of adults in their lifetimes.

After several extensions and five months of negotiations, the Washington State Department of Ecology is telling the Spokane International Airport it will not accept any more delays for the initial stages of PFAS contamination cleanup.