This week: Mysterious bacteria, screening for poverty, data for cities, cooking classes for doctors, and a gut check for senior care.
Most people infected in this outbreak are over age 65 and have serious underlying health conditions. The bacteria infects the blood and in worst cases can cause sepsis. To make matters worse, it's resistant to most antibiotics, and health officials aren't sure how it's spreading. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
"By ignoring poverty, we're actually undermining all the things we do in the health-care system," says Laura Gottlieb, a physician and professor at the UCSF. The American Academy of Pediatrics wants pediatricians to ask their patients' parents a simple question to determine their need, then try to connect them to services that can help. The Washington Post has more.
Eighty percent of Americans live in urban areas. But when city leaders try to implement policies to make their citizens healthier, most lack an accurate baseline of data to work from. A pilot project aims to change that. Side Effects' Andrea Muraskin has details.
It's a first in the US: medical students at Tulane University are taking required cooking courses. They're also being trained in "prescribing" healthy, affordable foods to their patients. YES! Magazine has the story.
Should a woman keep getting annual mammograms once she's turned 75? When should very ill patients enter hospice care? According to a report, the way things are usually done-- keep screening and fight disease as long as possible -- is causing more harm than good. Kaiser Health News has the story.
