Grand Canyon National Park, in response to guidance from Center for Disease Control and Prevention, is announcing additional modifications to operations to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/grca-modify-additional-opps-to-implem-loc-health-guid-03-26-2020.htm

Nurses, doctors, and medical personnel in New York City and England will now have access to free hotel rooms during the novel coronavirus outbreaks.

The post Hotels Are Opening Up Free Rooms to Healthcare Workers Battling the COVID-19 Outbreaks appeared first on Good News Network.

For two hours on Sunday mornings, all Sam's Club stores will be open to first responders and hospital workers—no membership required.

The post Sam’s Club is Offering ‘Hero Shopping Hours’ to Healthcare Workers Regardless of Memberships appeared first on Good News Network.

Nike is donating 32,500 pairs of shoes designed specially for healthcare workers, the Air Zoom Pulse, to hospitals hardest hit in the US and Europe.

The post Nike Donates Tens of Thousands of Shoes They Designed Exclusively for Healthcare Workers appeared first on Good News Network.

A balanced diet and regular exercise are fundamental for good health, and a daily dose of nature may be equally important. Nearly 40 years of research has demonstrated that “metro nature”—nature found in urban environments, such as parks or tree-lined streets—provides positive and measurable health benefits and improves people’s quality of life.

The compilation of papers in this proceedings is based on a symposium sponsored by the Insect and Diseases Working Group (D5) at the 2007 Society of American Foresters (SAF) convention in Portland, Oregon. The selection of topics parallels the research priorities of the Western Bark Beetle Research Group (WBBRG) (USDA Forest Service, Research and Development), which had been recently formed at the time of the symposium. Reflecting a unique partnership within the Forest Service, each paper was jointly prepared by a research scientist with the WBBRG and one or more entomologists with Forest Health Protection (USDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry). Among these papers is a description of the currently elevated impacts of bark beetles in the Western United States; descriptions of the current state of knowledge of bark beetle response to vegetation management and also to climate change; discussions of the complex interactions of bark beetles and fire and of the complex ecological and socioeconomic impacts of infestations; an overview of the use of semiochemical (behavioral chemicals)-based technology for conifer protection; and a case study exemplifying efforts to assess risks posed by nonnative invasive bark beetles.

SPANISH BROADCASTING SYSTEM joined with the SOUTH FLORIDA HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, HOLIDAY BAKERY, and ART DECO SUPERMARKET AND CAFETERIA to deliver 100 hot meals and treats for … more

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS (NAB) has added new public service announcements on mental health wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new PSAs are part of the NAB's … more

ENTERCOM has launched a daily public service announcement series as part of its "I'M LISTENING" mental health awareness initiative. The "capsules" will feature … more

Washington, D.C.—March 2, 2020— Patient and health advocacy groups representing millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions are applauding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments in the case of Texas v. United States this term. The...

DALLAS, April 2, 2020 – The American Heart Association — the world’s leading voluntary organization dedicated to a world of longer, healthier lives — announced today more than $14 million in scientific research grants are being awarded to four...

Research Highlights: Hypertensive pregnancy disorders, especially preeclampsia – may increase the risk of psychological development disorders and behavioral and emotional disorders in children. This is the first study to show that preeclampsia...

Washington, D.C.—March 20, 2020—Patient groups representing millions of people with serious health conditions are urging a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to reject a federal rule expanding the availability of short-term limited-duration...

  WASHINGTON, D.C., March 30, 2020 — As longstanding organizations representing and supporting those on the front lines who are risking their lives caring for the world’s most vulnerable patients, we stand united in voicing our concern over the ...

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 1, 2020 – 28 patient and consumer groups representing millions of people nationwide with pre-existing health conditions issued the following statement regarding the administration’s decision not to initiate a special enrollment...

WASHINGTON, D.C., 1 de abril del 2020 – 28 grupos de pacientes y consumidores que representan a millones de personas en todo el país con afecciones de salud preexistentes emitieron la siguiente declaración sobre la decision de la administración de no...

AHA COVID-19 newsroom DALLAS, April 10, 2020 — Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, the world’s leading voluntary organization focused on heart and brain health, joined the chief executives of other leading national public...

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule that threatens to undermine the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. The American Lung Association, Allergy & Asthma Network, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, American...

Research Highlights: Upward income mobility is associated with a trade-off between well-being and cardiometabolic health. Reaching a higher income status is not always beneficial for cardiometabolic health, even if it improves economic standing and...

DALLAS, April 3, 2020 — With the COVID-19 pandemic, more patients are having difficulty breathing and requiring ventilators to help them breathe. As hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) volumes increase with COVID-19 patients, health care ...

DALLAS, April 8, 2020 – Approximately 120 million people in the United States have one or more cardiovascular conditions that may increase their risk for COVID-19 complications and those with hypertension, diabetes or cardiovascular disease are...

DALLAS, May 5, 2020 — Ten college students are receiving $10,000 scholarships from the American Heart Association for their work to help close health disparity gaps – which appear to contribute to disproportionately high rates of sickness and death among...

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability. Older adults are more likely than younger individuals to sustain TBIs and less likely to survive them. TBI has been called the “silent epidemic,” and older adults are the “silent population” within this epidemic. This study evaluates whether indicators of preinjury health and functioning are associated with risk of incident traumatic brain injury (TBI) with loss of consciousness (LOC) and to evaluate health‐related factors associated with mortality in individuals with incident TBI.

Several hundred cars were parked outside a food bank in San Antonio on Good Friday — the food bank fed 10,000 people that day. Such scenes, increasingly common across the nation and evocative...

MARION — Marion’s 14-member COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force is beginning to work on recommendations of how to get people back to work, while keeping everyone...

Some Eastern Iowans are ready to go camping. With Gov. Kim Reynolds allowing campgrounds across the state to open Friday, some people wasted little time in heading outdoors. “They’re...

I am a longtime resident of Johnson County, currently in my 25th year of law enforcement. I worked for the Coralville Police Department in the late 1990’s and transferred to the Cedar Rapids Police Department in 1999 where I am a sergeant of the patrol division. I have degrees in criminal justice and organizational leadership and have advanced leadership training from Northwestern University in the School of Police Staff and Command.

Working in the second-largest city in the state has offered me many opportunities to lead. I have taught in the police academy and defensive tactics and as a field training instructor. I was the director of the Eastern Iowa Heroin Initiative, where I founded CRUSH of Iowa (Community Resources United to Stop Heroin). CRUSH is a community-based, grassroots organization helping all those affected by substance abuse disorder.

My passion has been community outreach. Currently I am a member of the Johnson County Human Trafficking Coalition and the Johnson County Prevention Partnership. Through these partnerships I will create a criminal interdiction team to fight the trafficking of humans, weapons and narcotics.

As sheriff, my top three concerns are substance abuse, mental health and human trafficking. I believe in creating long-lasting relationships with the community. I believe in common sense solutions without the haze of political bias. I believe that every citizen has a voice and should be heard. I believe in building a proactive and progressive law enforcement agency that serves with professionalism, compassion and dedication to the citizens. I believe we need to place the community back into community policing.

I am ready to be sheriff of Johnson County. I am a proven leader who is determined to build bridges with the citizens of the county and lead with accountability, trust and transparency. I will fight for all of Johnson County as sheriff because I have done so all of my life. This election is not just about me, it is about us. We, together, will make a positive impact on Johnson County. The status quo is not working. It’s time for change!

I would love to have your vote on June 2. We work better when we work together. People before politics!

Al Fear is a candidate in the Democratic primary for Johnson County sheriff. alfearforsheriff.com

In response to the coronavirus, Americans were told by their federal and state governments to shut down their businesses, stop going to church, work, school or out to eat, travel only when necessary and hunker down at home. Originally, Americans were led to believe this was for a two- or three-week period, in order to flatten the curve and not overwhelm our health care system.

At seven weeks and counting, with staggering economic loss that will leave families and thousands of small businesses and farmers with profound devastation, the question must be asked, are we trying to flatten the curve or flatten our country?

The initial models that pointed to staggering loss of life from the coronavirus have proved wildly inaccurate. As of May 2, the CDC placed the number of deaths in the U.S. from the virus at 66,746. While all loss of life is deeply regrettable, these numbers cannot be considered in a vacuum. For perspective, deaths from pneumonia in the U.S. during the same period were 64,382, with average yearly deaths from influenza in the same range.

The original goal of closing much of the U.S. economy and staying at home was to flatten the curve of new coronavirus cases so that our hospital systems would not be overwhelmed. Hospitals built by the Army Corps of Engineers to handle the increased volume have mostly been taken down. Except for a few spots in the U.S. the health care system was not overwhelmed. As the medical models of casualties from the coronavirus continue to be adjusted down, it is clear the curve has been flattened, so why do we continue to stay closed and worsen the economic devastation that tunnel vision has thus far kept many of our leaders from acknowledging?

Many health experts say 80 percent of Americans will get the coronavirus and experience only mild symptoms. The curve has been flattened. Our health care system is not overwhelmed. Why is our economy, for the most part, still closed?

A University of Washington study recently revised the projected number of deaths from the coronavirus in Iowa from 1,367 to a much lower estimate of 365. While all loss of life is horrific, we must also consider the devastation being done to our economy, our families and our way of life by actions taken to combat the coronavirus.

It must be noted that 578 Iowans died from the flu and pneumonia in 2017, a greater number than are likely to pass away from the coronavirus. We also know that many who die from the virus are elderly with underlying health conditions, increasing the likelihood that any serious illness could result in their death. Are draconian government restrictions in response to the coronavirus still needed and economically sustainable? The data shows that the answers to both questions is no. We are no longer flattening the curve; we are flattening our state and nation.

We have seen the medical data. What has been less visible in news conferences and in the overall reporting of the coronavirus and our response to it, are the economic and human costs of what we are doing:

• 30 million Americans are out of work and the number grows daily.

• Dairy farmers are pouring out milk they have no market for.

• Pork producers are euthanizing hogs they have no market for.

• According to a study by Iowa State University, the losses to Iowa Agriculture are at a staggering $6.7 billion and growing, with the largest losses in pork production and ethanol.

• In Iowa, the economic loss for corn is estimated to be $788 million, $213 million for soybean and $34 million for cattle.

• The Iowa Restaurant Association estimates that between 10 & 25% of Iowa’s restaurants will not reopen.

• Iowa’s public universities are predicting a $187 million loss.

• Iowa is spending $200 million or more per month on unemployment claims, with over 171,000 Iowans unemployed.

• 29 percent of the U.S. economy is frozen as a result of government action, with U.S. economic output down 29 percent.

• U.S. unemployment could soon hit 47 million.

• Losses to U.S. tourism are predicted to top $910 billion.

• Retirement plans for millions of Americans are being decimated, with recent reports projecting the average 401(k) loss at 19 percent.

• Drug and alcohol addiction and relapse are increasing.

• Testing for chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease are being delayed, which could lead to increasing health problems and life-threatening illnesses in the future.

• Economic damage to rural hospitals could lead to hospital closures and less access to health care in some areas.

• Warnings of a possible meat shortage in the U.S. have been issued by executives of Farmland and Tyson, with reports that the food supply chain is under stress. Several grocery store chains are now limiting meat purchases and some national restaurant chains are no longer offering certain meat products on their menus. Higher meat prices are almost certain in the months to come.

• Huge U.S. debt increases unlike anything seen since World War II, to the tune of over $3 trillion and counting, are adding to the already monstrous $22 trillion in U.S. debt. This does not bode well for our children or future economic stability.

The list of consequences goes on and on, and behind each of the statistics is a family struggling to survive, a father and mother fearful of how they will care for their children, a small-business owner seeing their dreams and hard work destroyed overnight by draconian government mandates, a restaurant owner deciding never to reopen, a dairy farmer throwing in the towel and a business owner postponing indefinitely plans for expanding.

Behind these numbers is an economy greatly impacted by the government response to the coronavirus, with implications for our economic well-being profound and long lasting. Expansion projects delayed, business closures, layoffs and contraction for many businesses will likely keep unemployment numbers high and depress economic expansion for an unknown amount of time.

Let us be clear, it grows worse every day we remain closed.

Steve Holt represents District 18 in the Iowa House.

Canusa Street in Vermont is the border between the United States and Canada. Roughly 200 years ago, when the border was decided, no one could have imagined that breaking your leg on one side of that street would have vastly different consequences than breaking it on the other.

I’m Kimberly Graham. I’m an advocate and attorney for abused kids and for parents in Iowa’s juvenile courts. I’m also a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa.

On one side of Canusa Street, that nation has a universal single-payer health insurance system. For 20 years, I’ve been friends with an international circle of moms who met in an online mommies group when our kids were infants. Some of us have had medical events requiring expensive care.

To this day, my Canadian (and Australian and British) friends are shocked when we American moms talk about $5,000 or $10,000 deductibles, plus astronomical premiums. We talk about medical debt and how we put off or avoid medical care. We talk about how our child’s broken leg and the resulting deductible has set us behind financially and will take years to pay off.

A poll commissioned in 2018 by West Health Institute and the University of Chicago showed that 40 percent of Americans are more frightened by the cost of health care than getting sick.

Are Canadians, Brits and Australians more deserving of health care without premiums, copays and deductibles than Americans?

Of course not.

In a moral and wealthy nation, health care should be a fundamental human right.

Human rights are not for sale.

Human rights are not commodities to be marketed, bought and sold.

We need a universal, single-payer health care system (Medicare for All) that covers everyone. It should work like a public library. We value libraries and all of us can use them. But libraries aren’t free, so we all pitch in and pay for them. When I want a book, I go to the library, hand them my library card, check out the book and never hand them a debit card or receive a bill in the mail.

Health care should work like that in a moral and wealthy nation. Please join me in working for the day when all of us truly have the health insurance system we deserve. You can learn more at www.kimberlyforiowa.com Onward to justice for all, Kimberly

Kimberly Graham is a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

Serving as state representative of House District 85 for the past few years has been a privilege and an honor. I have worked hard to stand for the people of my district fighting for issues that are important to them and to the voters of Iowa City. I want to continue that advocacy and am running for another term in the Iowa House and ask for your vote.

I vigorously support adequate funding for education from pre-school to our community colleges and universities. Our young people are Iowa’s future and deserve the best start available through our excellent education system in Iowa. But we need to provide the dollars necessary to keep our teachers in the classroom so our children are prepared for whatever may lie ahead of them.

I have advocated for the fair treatment of workers in Iowa and support their right to organize. I have worked on laws for equal pay for equal work and whistle blower protection.

I am for essential funding for mental health services for Iowans of all ages. Children and adults who are struggling with mental health issues should have services available to them no matter where they live in this state.

I have fought to keep government open and accessible to Iowans. I support open records and open meetings laws to ensure that availability and transparency to all Iowans.

Keeping voting easy and accessible to voters has been a priority of mine. I support a fair and balanced redistricting system for voting in Iowa.

I have advocated to keep the bottle deposit law in place and expand it to cover the many new types of containers available.

I have worked on oversight legislation after several investigations into defrauding government which involved boarding homes, government agencies and pharmacy benefit managers (the “middleman” between pharmacies/Medicaid and the healthcare insurance companies.)

I cannot avoid mentioning the challenge of the coronavirus in Iowa. It has impacted our health, jobs, families and businesses. No one could have predicted this pandemic but as Iowans, we need to do our best to limit contact and the spread of this disease. My sincere appreciation goes to those workers on the frontlines of this crisis: the healthcare workers, store owners, businesses, farmers, teachers and workers who show up every day to keep this state moving forward. Thank you all!

There is still much work to be done to keep Iowa the great place where we live, work and raise our families. I am asking for your vote to allow me the privilege of continuing that work.

Vicki Lensing is a candidate in the Democratic primary for Iowa House District 85.