HEALTH

COMMENTARY

Virginia’s Langley-Eustis base shares toxic PFAS legacy similar to NC’s Camp Lejeune

BY: - May 5, 2023

By Jonathan Sharp For nearly a century, countless service members have been inadvertently placed in harm’s way due to the U.S. military’s negligent use and disposal of chemical hazards on or near its installations. In instances such as North Carolina’s infamous Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base, contamination occurred unabated for over three decades. Between 1953 […]

U.S. Supreme Court holds off on abortion pill ruling until midnight Friday

BY: - April 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito postponed a ruling on access to the abortion pill until Friday as the high court continues considering arguments from anti-abortion organizations and the federal government. Alito’s two-day-long pause, issued Wednesday, keeps a ruling from U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk on […]

56% of Virginia abortions were performed via medication in 2021

BY: - April 19, 2023

The use of medication abortion has been rising in Virginia over the past seven years, with more than half of all abortions in the state induced with pills rather than performed by surgery in 2021.  According to data from the Virginia Department of Health, 56% of the roughly 17,000 induced terminations of pregnancy — the […]

AdvanSix's plant in Hopewell. (Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)

EPA sued over failure to set, update pollution limits 

BY: - April 18, 2023

More than a dozen environmental groups are suing the federal Environmental Protection Agency over its failure to set water pollution limits for some industrial contaminants as well as its reluctance to update decades-old standards for others, arguing that the agency’s inaction amounts to a “free pass to pollute” for hundreds of chemical and fertilizer plants, […]

Petersburg maternal hub opening reignites discussion over commercial doula benefits

BY: - April 17, 2023

Virginia officials say the expansion of Medicaid coverage to include doula services last year is one of several accomplishments that has made the state a leader in increasing access to maternal health resources.  Now the state’s Health Insurance Reform Commission is weighing whether this coverage should be mandated for commercial insurers as well. In a […]

All Virginia schools will soon be required to have defibrillators

BY: - April 13, 2023

Under a law recently passed by the General Assembly, Virginia will require public schools to acquire and maintain automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, a medical device commonly used to help a heart return to a normal rhythm in an emergency.  It’s unclear how many schools in the commonwealth already have defibrillators, but the new law […]

Viable male birth control options could be on the horizon

BY: - April 11, 2023

Heather Vahdat has been advocating for male contraceptive options for nearly a decade, but she is the first to say it is a lonely space to occupy in the health science field. Vahdat is the executive director of the Male Contraceptive Initiative, based in Durham, North Carolina, which has been working with a single donor […]

Rise in absences prompts Virginia to consider changes in accreditation requirements

BY: - April 6, 2023

Virginia education leaders are mulling another temporary pause in the use of chronic absenteeism as a factor the state considers in school accreditation decisions because of increases in student absences due to the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. Chronic absenteeism, defined as a student being absent for 10% or more of the academic […]

Youngkin amends bill ending subminimum wage for disabled workers

BY: - April 6, 2023

By Ryan Nadeau / Capital News Service Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently recommended the General Assembly accept an amended version of a bill that ends the practice of paying subminimum wage to certain Virginia workers with disabilities. A certificate exemption under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act allows employers to determine pay for disabled workers based […]

Expanded telehealth services are ‘here to stay’ in Virginia as public health emergency ends

BY: - April 3, 2023

As the federal public health emergency spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic expires this May, so will waivers that expanded the amount of health care services patients can access through telehealth.  But Virginia officials say most of the services the waivers allowed, such as being able to have virtual appointments instead of in-person visits at a […]

COMMENTARY

Irvo Otieno is gone; how many more Black people must die before real change comes?

BY: - March 31, 2023

Within the cavernous sanctuary of First Baptist Church of South Richmond on Wednesday, hundreds of mourners viewed a vignette of Irvo Otieno’s brief life. Photos and videos showed him sporting a wide grin alongside classmates and football buddies. His rich baritone voice rapped lyrics to a song he’d written about his love for his family. […]

As 988 crisis line sees more use, states debate how to pay for it

BY: - March 31, 2023

By Noelle Straub / Stateline, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts Editor’s note: If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. Almost everyone agrees that putting money behind the national suicide and crisis hotline is a good thing. But not everyone thinks a new phone tax is the […]