Hundreds of thousands of nursing home workers have quit since the pandemic began, and the ones still working suffer from burnout. Industry leaders worry the system is fracturing.
Scott Simon speaks to Rachel Weiskittle, a psychologist specializing in the aging process, about the impact loneliness has had on elderly people during the pandemic.
Hospitals are starting to provide health care in patients' homes, including things like x-rays and bloodwork. The approach saves a hospital bed for more urgent needs and lets patients heal in comfort.
The symptoms of Parkinson's disease can vanish briefly in the face of stress or a strong emotion. Now scientists are searching for a treatment based on this phenomenon, a form of the placebo effect.
In his final days, Alim asked people not to visit him or his family due to rising COVID cases in his community. "Even in death he wanted to keep people and our family safe," says his son.
Microglia are amoeba-like cells that scour the brain for injuries and invaders. But sometimes the usually helpful cells go into overdrive and damage the brain, researchers say.
COVID cases and deaths are rising again in nursing homes across the country due to the highly contagious omicron variant. Staffing shortages are adding to strain and workers report "moral distress."
Aduhelm is the first treatment approved in the country to slow cognitive decline in those living with Alzheimer's. Doctors have refused to prescribe it, given the lack of data and evidence behind it.
Libraries in some cities are investing in staff members who can help patrons with complex issues such as housing insecurity, finding mental health and more.
Black patients and their families are less likely to sign up for end-of-life comfort care. To reach them, investors are starting hospice agencies run by people who look like the patients they serve.
Your college kid just got home and may be a bit jaded about COVID. But your coming holiday visit could be a real risk to grandparents. Here's how one mom is getting through to her sons about safety.
The virus that causes COVID-19 can cause strokes, inflammation, oxygen deprivation and infection in the brain. And each of these may lead to long-term neurological problems.
Scientists may not know for a couple weeks yet how risky the new coronavirus variant will be to public health. But getting out front now about what is known helps dispel misinformation, they say.
Determined to improve the way doctors connect with their patients, a new wave of innovators are using technology to match people of color with culturally competent professionals.
The second time Vanessa Quintero's family caught the virus, probably from her 8-year-old daughter, fewer people got sick. They and their doctors credit the protection of vaccination.