Health

My landlord recently installed a fence around the shared front yard of our building in Upstate New York. Each of her tenants has a dog, and she thought it would be nice to provide a safe off-leash space where they can run around and chase a ball. But this act of kindness has introduced an unfortunate new temptation. When it’s time for one of my dog’s three daily walks and the weather is bad, or I’m particularly busy (or particularly lazy), I now sometimes think: “Maybe I’ll just let him into the yard?”

Washington State University

As West Plains residents have learned more about how PFAS has seeped into their groundwater for decades, many are still in the dark about how much of the chemicals are in their body.

Watching the TV cartoon "Bluey" in a waiting room, 3-year-old Karl Hadley reluctantly walked away Wednesday for yet another of his frequent visits with a Spokane cardiologist. But surprises awaited him in the exam room: Balloons and a toy, Bluey's Family Home, complete with its dog figurine. Dr. Carl Garabedian watched along with Karl's parents Randy and Brenda Hadley as the boy played briefly until his routine checkup began. The gifts marked a milestone for the child three years ago, when Karl at 5 weeks received a liver transplant on Valentine's Day at Seattle Children's. A virus infection had caused his liver to fail. Karl still has ongoing health issues from an unrelated congenital heart defect, called pulmonary vein stenosis, which means progressive narrowing of veins. Since his birth Jan. 5, 2021 in Coeur d'Alene, he has spent most of life in hospitals or visiting them for procedures, both because of the initial liver failure and his heart condition.

A new robot-assisted surgical tool allows Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center to detect and treat lung cancer earlier than ever before. The doctors using the cutting-edge technology hope its existence will encourage patients to get a lifesaving screening.

Do you keep Narcan in your purse? If not, maybe you should.

Providence’s High Risk Pregnancy Clinic has expanded telehealth services to pregnant patients in North Idaho.

Coming back home always was the goal for Spokane Regional Health District’s new administrative officer, Alicia Thompson.

Providence hospitals in Washington must provide nearly 100,000 low-income patients with about $158 million in refunds and debt relief, per a Thursday agreement — almost two years after being sued for allegedly failing to offer them free or discounted medical care.

The wall sit, a simple body weight exercise that can be done nearly anywhere, isn’t just for building strength. It can help your cardiovascular health, too.

Though groundwater contamination in the West Plains is well-documented, many residents are still in the dark about whether their private well has been filled for years with dangerous PFAS chemicals.

Maddy Reyes will wear red Friday, although her color choice might lean toward crimson. A Washington State University sophomore on the school's cheer team, Reyes knows what it's like to have heart issues as a survivor of a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. Friday is the American Heart Association's national Go Red for Women day.

A Spokane clinic designed for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, has received designation as a certified treatment center of excellence. The ALS clinic is at Providence St. Luke's Rehabilitation Medical Center through its physiatry and neuromuscular services. It’s the region's first clinic to get the ALS Association's certification, according to Providence Health. Previously, the closest certified centers were in Seattle and Portland. ALS causes progressive degeneration of motor nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain, leading to weakness and eventually loss of control with muscles that can affect walking, chewing, swallowing, speaking and breathing.

As syphilis cases rise across Washington state, a proposed law would increase access to treatment of the sexually transmitted disease.

Your bedroom is probably not as dark as it should be. Even through closed eyelids, light streaming from the television or hallway can make its way into our retinas and harm our health and mental acuity the next day.