Health

News > Health

Legionnaires’ disease reported at Gonzaga fans’ hotel in Las Vegas

UPDATED: Mon., March 6, 2023

Some Gonzaga fans staying at The Orleans Hotel & Casino, which is hosting the West Coast Conference Tournament, recently received notices that the hotel had recently tested positive for Legionnaire's disease in its water system.

News > Features

Spokane leaders: CDC girls’ trauma report part of unfolding sex abuse cases after pandemic isolation

Mon., March 6, 2023

Local leaders also describe the same wave of reported trauma among children and adolescents as highlighted in a mid-February federal analysis showing increases in rape and sexual violence among teen girls, as well as their record levels of feeling sad or hopeless.

News > Features

Are Washington kids eating fruits and veggies? Data shows where we rank in U.S.

Mon., March 6, 2023

Mar. 1—When it comes to nutrition, a lot of Americans are starting off on the wrong foot. According to newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in three kids ages one to five did not eat fruit every day, nearly half did not eat vegetables every day, and more than half drank a sugar-sweetened beverage at least once in the past week. The data is also ...

News > Health

Viruses hiding out in patients hold answers to long COVID

UPDATED: Sun., March 5, 2023

Tracking microbes through a malodorous network of sewer lines led virologist Marc Johnson to the source of unusual coronavirus mutants.

News > Health

Diabetes and obesity rising in young Americans, study finds

UPDATED: Sun., March 5, 2023

Diabetes and obesity are rising among young adults in the United States, an alarming development that puts them at higher risk for heart disease, according to a study of 13,000 people between 20 and 44 years old.

News > Health

Idaho dropped thousands from Medicaid in the pandemic’s first years. It offers a preview of what could happen nationwide

UPDATED: Sun., March 5, 2023

During the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the federal government was trying to prevent people on Medicaid from losing health coverage, Idaho dropped nearly 10,000 people from the safety-net program.

News > Health

As drug deaths soar, experts urge expanded access to methadone

UPDATED: Sun., March 5, 2023

Krystal Parker, a former heroin user, spent years making long daily bus trips with other patients to a methadone clinic in southwest Florida. For over a decade, the medication has kept at bay her crippling anxiety and the agonizing nausea of withdrawals.

News > Features

Food insecurity remains high in Spokane and statewide, UW-WSU survey shows

Sun., March 5, 2023

A recent statewide survey found that food insecurity remains high among low-income residents as they face increased food prices and ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. University of Washington and Washington State University professors tapped more than 5,000 people, with nearly half reporting they experienced food insecurity. In Spokane County, 48% among about 400 people reported using food assistance in the past month.

News > Health

Washington lawmakers are trying to protect out-of-state abortion patients. Here’s what you need to know:

UPDATED: Mon., March 6, 2023

Supporters say the "shield law" is necessary as states try to find ways to prosecute for abortions that happen outside of their state while opponents say the bill is unnecessary "fear mongering" that could hurt Washington's relationships with other states.

News > Crime/Public Safety

Dose of prevention in Clark County’s fentanyl fight

Sun., March 5, 2023

The tasks of teaching about the dangers of fentanyl and how to save someone suffering from an overdose are being spearheaded by a Vancouver Girl Scout and a Clark County sheriff's sergeant.

News > Health

WA resumes free telehealth appointments for COVID-19

UPDATED: Fri., March 3, 2023

The Washington State Department of Health has resumed its free telehealth program, allowing people with a positive COVID-19 test to get oral antivirals like Paxlovid.

News > Education

Kay Olson went back to school at 42 and went on to become an ‘extraordinary champion’ for local COVID vaccine access

Thu., March 2, 2023

When Kay Olson was fresh out of high school, she had to choose between working to pay her bills or continuing school. She chose work but never lost the desire to continue her education. Decades later, she went back to school and decided to become a nurse.

News > Health

VA Deputy Secretary stepping down after overseeing computer system rollout in Spokane

UPDATED: Wed., March 1, 2023

WASHINGTON – The No. 2 official at the Department of Veterans Affairs will step down on April 1, he told colleagues in an email on Wednesday.

News > Features

38,000 people in Spokane County could lose Medicaid coverage as COVID public health emergency ends

UPDATED: Wed., March 1, 2023

Some Apple Health members who were covered during the pandemic could lose Medicaid insurance this spring. States will soon return to normal operations, those in place before emergency measures were enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. When President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, it removed what was called continuous Medicaid enrollment from the Public Health Emergency. This spring, people on continuous enrollment will be required to renew eligibility.

News > Health

Jon Tester, Mike Crapo lead bipartisan effort to give full benefits to all combat-injured veterans

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 28, 2023

WASHINGTON – A bill to give full military benefits to all veterans injured in combat will be the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s top legislative priority this year, the Montana Democrat who heads the VA panel and who sponsored the bill with an Idaho Republican said Tuesday.

News > Features

When the words won’t come. This is my life with aphasia

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 28, 2023

Aphasia results from damage to the brain that affects speech and language comprehension. Frequently, aphasia follows a stroke, but it can also result from a traumatic brain injury; in my case, I suffered a "coup contrecoup injury with diffuse axonal shearing of the brain" - and, consequently, aphasia - when a drunk driver plowed into a parked car that I was sitting in one Tuesday morning in 2006.

News > Features

People’s Pharmacy: Grapefruit juice can boost statin levels

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 28, 2023

Q. I told my endocrinologist that I wanted to stop taking my statin due to reports about serious side effects. He said, "I'll make you a deal, pal: I'll cut your dose in half, and you start taking grapefruit juice." Done deal.

News > Health

Despite recent historic investments into child care, workforce is still struggling in Washington

Sun., Feb. 26, 2023

But even historic state investments into the system have not been enough to support the workforce, who often leave the profession for higher paying jobs with better benefits.

News > Education

‘It’s important that patients see themselves’: Rogers High School students receive medical training Friday

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 24, 2023

The event was a collaboration between the Spokane NAACP Health Committee, Providence Health Services and Spokane Public Schools to offer medical training to students of color and other groups underrepresented in medical fields.

News > Health

Washington, Bob Ferguson lead lawsuit against Biden administration demanding increased access to abortion drug

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 24, 2023

Attorney General Bob Ferguson, along with 10 other states, filed a complaint Thursday against the Biden administration, demanding that it abandon certain restrictions to prescribe one of two drugs popularly used in providing a medical abortion. The complaint argues that mifepristone, a drug that blocks a hormone necessary in carrying a pregnancy to term, is treated discriminatorily by the Food and Drug Administration, which continues to require certain medical professionals to prescribe it and forms to be completed that could fall into the hands of people targeting abortion providers with violence.

Latest Stories

Legionnaires’ disease reported at Gonzaga fans’ hotel in Las Vegas

Spokane leaders: CDC girls’ trauma report part of unfolding sex abuse cases after pandemic isolation

Are Washington kids eating fruits and veggies? Data shows where we rank in U.S.

Viruses hiding out in patients hold answers to long COVID

Diabetes and obesity rising in young Americans, study finds

Idaho dropped thousands from Medicaid in the pandemic’s first years. It offers a preview of what could happen nationwide

As drug deaths soar, experts urge expanded access to methadone

Food insecurity remains high in Spokane and statewide, UW-WSU survey shows

Washington lawmakers are trying to protect out-of-state abortion patients. Here’s what you need to know:

Dose of prevention in Clark County’s fentanyl fight

WA resumes free telehealth appointments for COVID-19

Kay Olson went back to school at 42 and went on to become an ‘extraordinary champion’ for local COVID vaccine access

VA Deputy Secretary stepping down after overseeing computer system rollout in Spokane

38,000 people in Spokane County could lose Medicaid coverage as COVID public health emergency ends

Jon Tester, Mike Crapo lead bipartisan effort to give full benefits to all combat-injured veterans

When the words won’t come. This is my life with aphasia

People’s Pharmacy: Grapefruit juice can boost statin levels

Despite recent historic investments into child care, workforce is still struggling in Washington

‘It’s important that patients see themselves’: Rogers High School students receive medical training Friday

Washington, Bob Ferguson lead lawsuit against Biden administration demanding increased access to abortion drug

Latest headlines

Gonzaga's Drew Timme, Julian Strawther named to West Region All-Tournament team

A Grip on Sports: Enjoying the Great Outdoors in late March can come with a price

Long delay in confirmation of Washington wildlife commissioners an act of protest, per committee chair

Miss Manners: I like your dress, but don't need the designer's name

Getting There: Euclid Road bridge is still closed. But it's reopening in September.

Most read stories

Spokane County will consider buying 103 acres in Dishman Hills for conservation this week

'I feel like I lost my edge': Effects of Freeman High School shooting still echo for teachers

Tim Archer, former Spokane fire union president, running for mayor as conservative alternative

State, city both declare early victory in unfinished Camp Hope suit. Now they need to agree on a plan.

Experience the wonders of spring cycling in Spokane