Health

Families and winter enthusiasts may be heading out to the slopes for some fun this weekend after a much-needed snowstorm hit the Spokane area. But it’s important to stay safe while you do so.

Under broadening research, doctors have more reasons to tell patients to spend time in open spaces regularly for better mental health. Now, a statewide study suggests that even small differences in having available urban green spaces and access to waterfronts have ties to improved self-reported mental health among people ages 65 and older, according to Washington State University researchers, who say this also might help offset dementia.

Mikki Hatfield did not feel comfortable being truthful with their doctor. Hatfield hoped to be prescribed medication to facilitate a gender transition, but feared denial if truthful.

Recent weeks have seen the first flu-related deaths of the season in Spokane and North Idaho.

A few years ago, Demitri Van Liew would be “physically sick” in public without wearing a tight-fitting binder or specialized tape flattening his chest.

In 2022, Duke Health surgeons made history when they successfully performed the world’s first partial heart transplant on a newborn. Doctors thought the groundbreaking, eight-hour surgery — which fused living arteries and valves from a donor’s heart to a newborn’s heart — could create a new field of cardiac surgery that spared young patients from numerous risky procedures later in their lives. ...

Spokane’s outbreak of Shigella has continued into the new year and is now spreading among the general population.

Kootenai Health enters 2024 with big changes, including its Jan. 1 transition from a public hospital district to a private nonprofit to operate Coeur d’Alene’s 397-bed hospital, two rural facilities and more than 20 clinics.

Cutting out booze improved Bailey Bowerman health, but unexpectedly, she also noticed her feelings of anxiety drop significantly. She and her friend recently launched Diversion Events, a business that scheduled its first gathering with mocktails, DJ music and dancing.

MultiCare clinical psychologist Kimberly Chupurdia agrees with recent reports on higher rates of depression among teens – and for some – suicidal thoughts. A Washington state report in 2023 cites that more youth are reporting mental health issues. Chupurdia thinks factors include lingering effects from COVID shutdowns and an uptick in social media use. Some teens have had difficulties transitioning back into social structures, even in recent months, she said.

To improve your eating habits this year, you don’t need to count calories or carbs. Instead, focus on how much your food has been processed before it gets to your dinner table.

An organization aimed at combating substance abuse is hoping to revive a local opioid task force that was expected to shut down this month after grant funding ran out.

In mid-December, the Safe Passage Children's Advocacy Center received accreditation from the National Children's Alliance under its standards for best practices. The Coeur d'Alene facility provides support, interviews and exams for child victims of sexual and physical abuse, and family support. Nationwide, centers follow standards in response to allegations by using evidence-based practices and coordination with local agencies for investigation, prosecution and treatment. The center serves North Idaho and conducts 250 forensic interviews a year, working with children ages 3 to 17, and a small number of adults with cognitive disability.

Wildfire smoke is lowering life expectancy in Spokane and across Washington , according to a new report by the Washington Department of Ecology.