How to save a life: Easing grief from inside COVID ICUs

People with a mental illness are more likely to be addicts and fail to make good decisions. Because of a new law, a substance treatment program in a hospital in Sydney can insist that a person be interned for 28 days, allowing them to help people with severe cases.

Doctors at Stanford University developed per-patient and per-month payment plans to better support patients with complex medical needs. The approach upends the typical per-service payment model. It has radically improved primary care by incentivizing healthcare providers to offer more comprehensive support.

In Uruguay, illegality and stigma surrounding abortions resulted in problems with maternal mortality rates. Utilizing a unique solution, a medical protocol was created to provide initial information and followup care to women seeking abortions.

Hospitals in the United States spend over $340 billion on health services, but with those funds, they could also help the numerous neighborhoods struggling with poverty. The Democracy Collaborative is a research center that helps hospitals link up with local institutions to encourage job growth, buy regionally produced food, and reinvest into their local economy.

Prescription drug mointoring programs provide a doctor with information about a patient’s prescriptions and—in some states—drug-related hospitalizations and arrests. With this tool, doctors are better able to identify drug-seeking behavior and intervene with at risk patients.

Harm reduction is a quickly growing practices that aims to reduce drug-related deaths and the spread of disease often caused by dirty needles. Although public perception is still widely negative, the industry has seen success by using the act of offering clean needles as a first point of contact to offer other health and medical services.

By running a network of 3-D printers, universities like USC and UCLA Extension, as well as volunteer firms and nonprofits mobilize their resources to create backup masks. The masks are more effective than basic disposable surgical masks, and serve as reserves for hospitals in the region. The network operates with the assistance of the Los Angeles Mayor’s office.

Scientists have been mapping microbes in public places for a long time and are now tracking Covid-19 by swabbing subways, park benches, ATMs, and even the air, for traces of genetic material to better understand the virus’ transmission dynamics and detect hotspots before transmission becomes widespread. Molecular monitoring has identified how long the virus can live on different surfaces and the origin of different strains, which can flag sanitation priorities and help contact tracers. There are limits to what it can reveal because finding virus on surfaces does not always lead to definite infection.

The coronavirus pandemic drastically reduced the ridership of the Monterey-Salinas Transit District, so the system shifted services to help the mostly rural community it serves. Despite cash-flow problems, unused drivers and vehicles helped Meals on Wheels deliver 8,000 meals to seniors and persons with disabilities, wi-fi-enabled commuter buses parked in rural areas to provide hot spots for students, and the system donated unused vehicles to groups serving veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and at-risk youth. The system continues to adjust to rapidly changing circumstances.

Bronx shelters have teamed up with industry professionals to put together an after-school program offering students an opportunity to receive mentorship. In the program, which is based around video game-themed writing workshops, students are able to practice their writing skills, while being able to manage pandemic-induced isolation by connecting with other students and instructors.