A case of coronavirus reinfection shows the complexities of the pandemic – The Verge

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Danzig

The scary thing finally happened: someone caught the coronavirus twice and got sicker the second time around. A 25-year-old man in Nevada got COVID-19 in March, got better in April, and got sick again in May. He had worse symptoms on the second bout, bad enough that he had to be hospitalized.

Three other cases of confirmed reinfection were also reported this week: one in Hong Kong (the first documented case) and two in Europe. These dont necessarily make me any more worried about our vaccine prospects, though, and they dont mean the pandemic will go on forever. We have four documented cases of reinfection. But thats out of the 24 million cases of this disease so far, and rare shit happens. Most experts expected that wed see at least a few.

For months, there have been occasional, anecdotal reports of people testing positive for COVID-19 twice. None of those were proven to be reinfections. For most of those people, the second test probably picked up residual, dead virus that was still floating around in peoples noses and throats after their first infection.

In these reinfection cases, though, researchers actually analyzed the virus from the first time the people got sick and compared it to the virus from the second time they got sick. In each case, the two viruses had slightly different genetic sequences, showing that the second positive tests werent just leftover virus.

Heres the other important thing: in the Hong Kong case, the second infection caused no symptoms at all. That means his immune system probably recognized the virus from the first infection and kept it in check. We dont know why that didnt happen for the man in Nevada. He wasnt tested for antibodies the first time he got sick, so its possible that he just didnt make any. Thats the more encouraging option. The other possibility is that he had antibodies, but they made the infection worse (it happens with other viruses, like dengue).

Case studies only answer one question: can you catch COVID-19 twice? But thats about all they do. Mostly, they raise questions rather than answer them. How common is reinfection? How infectious are people if they get sick a second time? Are people who dont generate many antibodies the first time they contract the virus the only people who can catch it again?

The pandemic feels like its gone on for 1 million years, but in a more real way, the coronavirus has only existed in the human population for about nine months. Scientists have learned so much, so fast, but theres still a long way to go. The human immune system is weird and confusing, and its squaring off against a new, never-before-seen virus. Its going to take time to understand whats happening.

Oh, and the other thing this is a reminder that even if youve already had COVID-19, you still need to be careful.

Heres what else happened this week.

Biogen conference likely led to 20,000 COVID-19 cases in Boston area, researchers say

In February, before we knew the extent of COVID-19 in the US, 175 biotech executives gathered for a conference in Boston. At that meeting, the virus spread from attendee to attendee and the outbreak eventually led to tens of thousands of cases all around the world, according to one analysis. The study shows that even a small gathering can have wide-ranging, devastating ripple effects on the course of the pandemic. (Jonathan Saltzman / The Boston Globe)

Four scenarios on how we might develop immunity to Covid-19

Months into the pandemic, scientists still arent sure what happens to our immune systems after we recover from COVID-19. Most researchers think people will have some protection against the virus, but they still dont know what that protection will look like. Stat News broke down some of the possibilities. (Helen Branswell / Stat News)

FDA authorizes Abbotts fast $5 COVID-19 test

The Food and Drug Administration authorized a $5, 15-minute COVID-19 test that works like a pregnancy test: a nasal swab gets inserted into the bottom of a test card and a colored line appears if the sample is positive for the coronavirus. Its a big step forward, experts say. (Nicole Wetsman / The Verge)

Moderna Says Covid-19 Vaccine Shows Signs of Working in Older Adults

The drug company ran a small study testing their COVID-19 vaccine candidate in people over the age of 56, and it found they produced the same types of immune response that younger people did. This doesnt mean that theyre protected from infection with the coronavirus we still need data from much bigger trials to prove that. But it is a promising sign: older peoples immune systems are weaker than younger peoples, and vaccines sometimes dont work as well for them. (Peter Loftus / The Wall Street Journal)

What if the First Coronavirus Vaccines Arent the Best?

While companies like Moderna and Pfizer are racing to collect data on their COVID-19 vaccine candidates by the end of the year, dozens of other companies are moving at a slower pace. Theyre building their vaccines using different types of technology than the ones at the head of the pack, and some researchers think they may have more staying power. The first vaccines may not be the most effective, Ted Ross, the director of the Center for Vaccines and Immunology at the University of Georgia, told The New York Times. (Carl Zimmer / The New York Times)

What happened in Room 10?

Reporter Katie Engelhart investigated the deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the Life Care Center of Kirkland, Washington, the first virus hotspot in the United States. Something clearly went wrong but who was to blame?

Later, the story of the Life Care outbreak would be flattened by the ubiquitous metaphors of pandemic. People would say that COVID-19 hit like a bomb, or an earthquake, or a tidal wave. They would say it spread like wildfire. But inside the facility, it felt more like a spectral haunting. A nurse named Chelsey Earnest said that fighting COVID was like chasing the devil.

(Katie Engelhart / California Sunday)

Were Living The News: Student Journalists Are Owning The College Reopening Story

On college campuses around the country, student journalists are tirelessly documenting reopening plans and COVID-19 outbreaks. It takes a toll. We are scared because not only is this news that were writing about for other people to hear, were also hearing about it ourselves for the first time usually when were writing about it, Brandon Standley, managing editor at UNCs The Daily Tar Heel, told NPR.

(Elissa Nadworny and Lauren Migaki / NPR)

More than numbers

To the more than 24,775,245 people worldwide who have tested positive, may your road to recovery be smooth.

To the families and friends of the 837,908 people who have died worldwide 181,779 of those in the US your loved ones are not forgotten.

Stay safe, everyone.

Originally posted here:

A case of coronavirus reinfection shows the complexities of the pandemic - The Verge

Coronavirus news of the week (VIDEO) – Live Science

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Danzig

Since the discovery of the virus that causes COVID-19, the daily news cycle has become swamped with updates about how the pathogen spreads, what the bug does to the body and what solutions might finally bring an end to the pandemic.

But staying up-to-date on all the latest coronavirus news can be a challenge. To help keep you informed, we at Live Science have compiled a short list of standout news stories from the week these are the ones that really caught our attention.

Related: 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history

Researchers reported the first confirmed case of COVID-19 reinfection in a man in Hong Kong. The news initially came out on Aug. 24 in a press release from the University of Hong Kong, and the formal study was published Aug. 25 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. But don't panic an expert called the case "a textbook example of how immunity should work."

The 33-year-old was first diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 26 and had mild symptoms at the time, including a cough and fever. The man was released from the hospital on April 14 after testing negative for the virus twice, but he tested positive again during an airport screening on Aug. 15. The virus that infected the man the second time around carried several genetic differences to the first one, suggesting that the man had been infected by a new variant of the virus that subtly mutated through time, as all viruses do. But the man showed no symptoms of illness the second time, hinting that his body retained some immunity against the pathogen.

"While this is a good example of how primary infection can prevent disease from subsequent infection, more studies are needed to understand the range of outcomes from reinfection," Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology and molecular, cellular and developmental biology at the Yale School of Medicine, wrote on Twitter.

Since this news came out, two more cases of reinfection have been confirmed in Europe, and one in the U.S., The New York Times reported. Like the Hong Kong case, the two European cases showed milder or no symptoms during the second infection; however, the U.S. patient developed severe symptoms and scientists are investigating several theories as to why. We don't yet know how commonly reinfection occurs, how often people develop severe symptoms the second time around or what these trends mean for vaccine development that information will only come from further research.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) abruptly changed its COVID-19 testing guidance, stating that those who have come in contact with an infected person don't necessarily need a test if they are not in a high-risk group or showing symptoms of the disease.

Prior to the change, the CDC recommended that all close contacts of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 also be tested, given that we know the virus can spread before people show symptoms, and that testing close contacts helps keep outbreaks in check. The Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Dr. Brett Giroir told CNN that the new guidelines are intended to encourage tests to be used "appropriately," and not to reduce the number of tests given overall. But public health officials say the guidance directly conflicts with scientific evidence.

"These testing recommendations make no scientific sense, unless there are plans to demand isolation of all known contacts of COVID-19," said Krys Johnson, an assistant professor of instruction in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Temple University in Pennsylvania. Especially as schools and universities reopen, the U.S. should be testing more asymptomatic people for the virus, not fewer, she said.

In response to outcry from public health officials, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield clarified the new guidance on Aug. 27, saying "testing may be considered for all close contacts of confirmed or probable COVID-19 patients," but should be prioritized for symptomatic people, people with risk factors for severe infection and people at high risk of exposure. However, at the time of this verbal statement, the official guidance on the CDC website remained unchanged.

Last week, we highlighted news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would not authorize the use of blood plasma to treat COVID-19 patients without more data from clinical trials. This week, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for the treatment without any additional data in hand.

Emergency use authorization allows doctors to administer an unapproved medical treatment "when there are no adequate, approved and available alternatives," and patients don't need to be enrolled in a clinical trial to receive the therapy, according to the FDA website. But infectious disease experts and public health officials argue that convalescent plasma therapy which uses antibody-rich plasma from people who have recovered from a disease has not earned this seal of approval.

To demonstrate that plasma helps COVID-19 patients recover, scientists must conduct randomized controlled trials (RCTs), wherein participants randomly receive either plasma or the standard of care; outcomes can then be compared between the two groups without bias. RCTs of plasma have proven difficult to organize, given that the supply of eligible plasma and number of people sick with COVID-19 varies from region to region.

With many RCTs for plasma still underway, the authorization of the treatment could make recruiting patients for these trials even more difficult. While patients in an RCT randomly receive either plasma or the standard of care, patients treated under the emergency authorization would not be subject to this randomization; the guarantee of plasma outside of an RCT could make participating in the trials a hard sell.

If RCTs do get derailed, it will be harder to collect solid evidence that plasma therapy works.

Originally published on Live Science.

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Coronavirus news of the week (VIDEO) - Live Science

New drool-based tests are replacing the dreaded coronavirus nasal swab – Science Magazine

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Danzig

A woman spits into a tube so that her saliva can be tested for the presence of the novel coronavirus.

By Robert F. ServiceAug. 24, 2020 , 5:00 PM

Sciences COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation.

First, a technician pushes a pencil-length swab to the very back of your nasal passages. Then you pay $100 or more, and wait days for an answer. But faster, cheaper, more pleasant ways to test for the novel coronavirus are coming online. This month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for two tests that sample saliva instead of nasal fluid, and more innovations are likely after FDA relaxed rules to allow new tests to be adopted more quickly. One candidate was announced last week: an experimental test, potentially faster and cheaper, that analyzes saliva in a new way.

There is real promise here, says Anne Wyllie, a microbiologist at Yale University who helped develop one of the new tests authorized this month. Takanori Teshima, chief of laboratory medicine at Hokkaido University, who also reported successful results testing saliva, agrees. It will have a big impact worldwide.

When SARS-CoV-2, the respiratory virus that causes COVID-19, emerged in December 2019, researchers scrambled to develop tests to detect the virus. Initially, they turned to a long-trusted technique for diagnosing respiratory infections: looking for viral genetic material in mucosal fluid, thought to be the best hunting ground for a respiratory virus, collected from deep in a patients nasal passages. Thats where the 15-centimeter swab comes in. The swab goes into a plastic tube with a chemical mixture that stabilizes the virus during transport to a diagnostics lab. There, technicians extract its genetic material and load it into a machine to carry out the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which amplifies snippets of genetic material unique to the virus.

The procedure accurately identifies infections about 95% of the time. But the test is uncomfortable and, because collecting the swab requires close contact with patients, it puts medical personnel at risk of contracting the virus. Nobody wants to do that job, Teshima says.

Testing saliva for SARS-CoV-2 was no sure thing. Studies with other respiratory diseases showed saliva tests identified only about 90% of people for whom swab tests indicated an infection. But the appeal of an easier and safer test for the new coronavirus led researchers to try. People being tested simply drool into a bar-coded plastic tube, seal it, and drop it in a pouch thats shipped to a lab for PCR analysis. Because the procedure directly tests the fluid responsible for transmitting the virus between people, it may give a better indication of who is most contagious, says Paul Hergenrother, a chemist at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), who led his universitys saliva test development.

As early as 12 February, researchers in Hong Kong and China reported inClinical Infectious Diseasesthat they couldidentify SARS-CoV-2 from salivain 11 of 12 patients whose swabs showed virus. Since then, groups in the United States, Singapore, and Japan have confirmed and further simplified the procedures, cutting out costly steps such as adding specialized reagents to stabilize the virus during transport and extract the genetic material.

In May, Wyllie and Yale colleagues teamed up with the National Basketball Association, which provided $500,000 to develop Yales saliva test; the test is now used for frequently testing players. On 4 August, the Yale team posted a preprint on medRxiv that said its saliva testagreed with swab results 94% of the time, at a cost of as little as $1.29 per sample, roughly 1/100 as much as commercial swab-based tests. On 15 August, FDA granted emergency approval for the SalivaDirect test, so that other FDA-approved labs can use the protocol. Last week, the agency extended approval to the UIUC test given its similarity to the Yale test. UIUC is now using its saliva test to test all 60,000 students, faculty, and staff twice a week, so they can isolate infected individuals as quickly as possible. Testing saliva makes sense scientifically, and it makes sense logistically, Hergenrother says.

Anew saliva test for RNA viruses, such as Zika and SARS-CoV-2, was reported last week inScience Advancesby researchers at the University at Albany. It could be even faster and cheaper because it does not need expensive lab equipment such as PCR machines. Rather than amplifying RNA to identify the virus, the approach uses snippets of DNA that bind to short, unique sections of RNA and change them from linear strands to loops. That alters how the RNA behaves in a common lab procedure known as gel electrophoresis, making it easy to detect. This is innovative, Wyllie says.

A relaxation of FDA rules announced last week could lead to still more variants. The new rules allow approved clinical labs to use tests they have developed without any additional approval step. In a tweet, Michael Mina, an epidemiologist at Harvard Universitys T.H. Chan School of Public Health, called FDAs decision Huge news!! because it would encourage labs to develop novel tests. It may also help speed development ofrapid tests that look for viral proteinsrather than genetic materialan efficient way to screen large numbers of asymptomatic people.

We dont need one test to be the end all and be all, Wyllie says. We just want options.

Originally posted here:

New drool-based tests are replacing the dreaded coronavirus nasal swab - Science Magazine

How Minnesota’s biggest beef producer is weathering the coronavirus – Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Danzig

OLIVIA, MINN. Tom Revier said he knew his cattle operation was in for a jolt when the Chinese government cordoned off the city of Wuhan because of the coronavirus.

That scared the heck out of me, he said. First time that I can recall a large city being quarantined.

This year has forced his farm, Revier Cattle Co., Minnesotas largest beef cattle operation, to shift how it raises animals and sells meat.

The farm near the central Minnesota city of Olivia is unusual in that it bypasses the commodity beef market to sell its own brand directly to customers.

About 50% of pre-COVID sales were to restaurants and food service. The business that was lost because of restaurant shutdowns had to be made up at the grocery store.

The biggest story for us was the transition from food service or restaurants to retail, said Revier, the fifth-generation owner of the farm. That was a big shift for us.

When he first heard about the trouble in China, Revier called ranchers raising his cattle out west to tell them to keep the animals longer than usual. By March, restaurants were shutting down across the country, beef prices had fallen by about a third, and his farm was running about half-full as his animals kept grazing in the Dakotas and eastern Montana.

The Revier model of raising cows in a specific way for a unique brand of beef is one strategy for weathering the vagaries of cattle farming. But amid a pandemic that has reshaped the way Americans get their food, it has been tested. And its an option thats only available to big farms.

Were about as small as you can be to do what weve done, Revier said.

Reviers great-great-grandfather started the farm in 1867 and it was a classic diversified, small operation cows, turkeys, hogs.

Now Revier can raise about 10,000 Black Angus cattle in Olivia at any one time. Compared to feedlots in Kansas, Texas and other states to the west, the operation is small. Its massive for Minnesota, though.

Revier, who pushed the Black Angus angle at his family farm, tried to start his own brand of beef called Medallion.

When I first did Medallion I didnt want to put my name on a box, Revier said. What I did back then was really vertical. We tried to do it all ourselves. We did the delivery, the selling, from the packing plant to distribution and sales. We learned that what were really good at is farming and producing cattle. Thats what we do best.

Having scrapped the brand, Revier still wanted to brand his beef to get a better price, and when he met a former Cargill executive named Paul Hillen, he found a kindred spirit.

Hillen, who was also a veteran of Procter & Gamble, was working in private equity at the time and brought distribution and marketing experience to the Revier farm.

The beef was the high-quality, sustainable beef Revier advertises now, but it was sold into the commodity beef market.

He was selling his cattle to other packing plants, but they were kind of trading off of his story, Hillen said.

Revier put his name on the box in November 2017. They now send the cattle to a packinghouse in Aberdeen, S.D., where the meat is cut into wholesale ribs, shipped under the Revier brand and sold through regional distributors.

We started working with packers without cattle, packing our cattle and beef, and using distribution and supply chain pieces that already existed, Revier said. We didnt need to own delivery trucks.

By the time COVID-19 hit, Revier was selling meat in 21 states, 300 grocery stores, and more than 2,500 restaurants. Last fall, they started selling to Cub Foods, where some beef in the service case is from Revier, and they launched Revier ground beef at Cub in the spring.

Some workers at the Aberdeen packinghouse contracted COVID-19 and the operation had to reduce production. But unlike hog farmers, cattle producers can leave the animals grazing and take them to slaughter at a later time. Revier got back to full capacity in early May.

Revier and Hillen stress the consistency of their meat. Cows get different diets in different parts of the country, so the meat at the grocery store can taste different on different days.

Revier cows always eat the same diet ground corn and corn bran and distillers grains in all different shades of brown and yellow.

In Minnesota, some of the biggest farms the Riverview and Lewiston dairies, for instance come under the most criticism from environmental groups. But their scale does allow them to do things smaller farmers cant.

The manure from the pens and barns gets flushed into a treatment plant that separates the liquid from the solid. They get fertilizer and fuel for methane from the liquid while the fluffy solid is used for bedding for other livestock.

Like the owners of the Riverview dairies not too far away, Revier wants to convert methane into clean natural gas. For now, the raw gas is flared from pits covered in black tarps.

The cows are big but timid, shying away from visitors, even Hillen and Revier.

Their pens are clean and the concrete is grooved so they cant slip as easily. Keeping the cows calm reduces stress and makes the meat more tender, Revier said.

The hope right now is that customers will notice the difference and keep paying a little extra for their beef.

People want to know where their food comes from or at least I think they do, Revier said. How its raised, where it comes from.

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How Minnesota's biggest beef producer is weathering the coronavirus - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Coronavirus worries force election officials to get creative – Wink News

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Danzig

COLUMBUS, OHIO (AP)

The coronavirus has upended everyday life in ways big and small. What happens when those disruptions overlap with voting? Thousands of state and local election officials across the U.S are sharing ideas and making accommodations to try to ensure that voters and polling places are safe amid an unprecedented pandemic.

Some are finding ways to expand access to voter registration and ballot request forms. Others are testing new products, installing special equipment or scouting outdoor voting locations.

Here are virus-related obstacles voters could face during this unprecedented presidential election year along with some of the solutions being tried:

CLOSURES AND CURTAILED HOURS

What if you need a voter registration form or absentee ballot application and all the normal go-to places are closed or open by appointment only? Its a problem nationwide.

The most recent American Library Association survey found that 62% of U.S. libraries, which are sources for voting documents, were fully closed while another 26% were offering only curbside service. Likewise, the vast majority of state motor vehicle departments the largest source of voter registrations nationally and of the voter IDs needed in some states are operating on limited hours, at reduced capacity or by appointment only, according to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Appointments in New Mexico, as just one example, are being scheduled two months out.

Benjamin Hovland, chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, said 40 states have online voter registration, a particular benefit during the pandemic. The commission has beefed up its website, http://www.vote.gov, with links to register in all 50 states. Among states, Ohio has earned points for its creativity. Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose struck partnerships with grocers and newspapers to distribute absentee ballot applications this spring, and hes tapped breweries to promote voter registration in the fall: Beer drinking and democracy go together, he said of the program, noting the pivotal role of pubs in Colonial America.

POLLING PLACE CONTAMINATION

Perhaps the most pressing worry of most voters is how polling places will be kept virus-free. A CDC study conducted after Wisconsins primary, the first in-person election after states began issuing stay-at-home orders, found 37 of the states new COVID-19 cases in the days after the election were among voters, a warning to other states.

As an example of how seriously theyre responding, California issued 50 pages of instructions to its election boards last month calling for site-specific virus prevention plans and extensive training. Thats on top ofCDC-recommended guidelinesthat include social distancing, wearing masks and frequent hand-washing.

In Maine, single-use pens have replaced the usual I Voted stickers for marking the occasion Nov. 3. South Carolina has piloted ear swabs for touchscreen voting, while Indiana and Louisiana are among states offering latex finger coverings. Voters might see Plexiglas shields at some check-in tables, and poll workers dressed head-to-toe in protective gear. Voting machines and poll books will be sanitized on a regular schedule throughout the day.

Public-private partnerships also are taking shape. Anheuser-Busch, the beer maker, is distributing 8 million ounces of hand sanitizer in coordination with the National Association of State Election Directors and others. Sanitizer is expected to be placed liberally around polling places. In Ohio, manufacturer RB Sigma has donated more than 450,000 surgical masks for use by poll workers and voters.

SICK OR QUARANTINED VOTERS

What if you plan to vote in person but receive a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, and its too late to request a mail-in ballot? Or perhaps youve traveled out-of-state and gotten held up by a virus-related travel restriction.

Planning ahead to vote early or by mail is still the best way to avoid getting tripped up by a virus diagnosis, quarantine or travel restriction ahead of Election Day, experts agree. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said his state is working to open more early voting locations to accommodate such concerns.

Dealing with voters who are sick is nothing new. In Alaska, for example, anyone unable to vote in person because of age, illness or a disability can appoint a personal representative to pick up and deliver their ballot. Many states provide similar options for emergencies though often not right up until Election Day. If you simply have no choice, election officials say to show up at your polling place, and you will be accommodated. Separate voting stations, far from the rest, are being set up where possible to accommodate those who know or suspect theyre infected with the virus and decide to self-report.

Ari Schaffer, a spokesman for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, said State Farm Arena in Atlanta is large enough to have a separate voting station for those who have a positive COVID-19 test, though not all polling locations will be.

In Iowa, curbside voting already available to voters with disabilities was expanded to other vulnerable voters during the primary. Polling locations also were consolidated in some cases into larger venues, such as school gymnasiums, auditoriums and stadiums, to allow for social distancing.

WHAT ABOUT UNMASKED VOTERS?

What if you, or a fellow voter, choose not to wear a mask, as election and health officials are pretty much universally recommending?

States are mostly stopping short of requiring masks on Election Day because voting is a protected right. The most common scenario envisioned is that voters who decline to wear a mask will be offered one. If they refuse it, theyll be directed to a voting station away from other voters, where possible. In some locations, no other voters would be allowed inside until the person has voted.

All the virus-related precautions states are pursuing will likely increase the average time its expected to take to cast a ballot. Thats yet another reason to heed the advice state and local elections officials are giving most often this year: Make a plan to vote and prepare early.

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Coronavirus worries force election officials to get creative - Wink News

When the Threat of Eviction Meets the Threat of Coronavirus – The New York Times

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Danzig

A week passed, then another, and Mr. Loaiza still did not know if the aid had arrived. On June 23, the landlord texted him. Jhon, u said u were vacating the home last weekend. Is the home vacant now?

Mr. Loaiza felt emptied out and powerless; impotent, he told me. He began to lose sleep, and the stress snaked through his body like poison. Mr. Loaiza thought seriously about killing himself. He had never before entertained that obliterating thought, but the sheer hopelessness of the situation was suffocating. Marshals that carry out evictions are full of suicide stories: the early morning rap on the door followed by a single gunshot from inside the apartment, the blunt sound of giving up. From 2005 to 2010, years when housing costs were soaring across the country, suicides attributed to eviction and foreclosure doubled.

Mr. Loaiza pushed through it, the pull to sleep, to bury himself, and with the rent assistance seemingly stalled, he began calling friends in San Antonio, asking if they would consider taking his family in. No one had room. Finally, friends in Florida offered two rooms in their home and storage space in their garage. Mr. Loaiza and Ms. Bedoya began packing and scrubbing the apartment, hoping to receive their security deposit back. To afford the U-Haul, Mr. Loaiza jumped at the first job opportunity he found, joining a construction crew working inside a large building.

Jhon, Is the home now vacant? Mr. Acosta again texted on July 1. It was. At dawn, the family had begun their trek east. Mr. Loaiza drove the U-Haul, while Ms. Bedoya and the girls followed in the family car. A few hours in, Mr. Loaiza began to feel sick, feverish. It got so bad that Ms. Bedoya took to keeping her husband on the phone to make sure he was lucid.

A legal aid lawyer from St. Marys volunteered to represent Mr. Loaiza and Ms. Bedoyas case in their absence. The day before the eviction court hearing, the lawyer called the Neighborhood and Housing Services Department to inquire about the familys stalled rental assistance payment. She learned that $3,000 had in fact been issued to the landlord, and that he had cashed the check weeks earlier, on June 19, days before he texted Jhon about vacating the house. (Mr. Acosta did not consent to an interview, despite multiple requests, but he did tell me by text that the tenant vacated the home in order to find work elsewhere. The court records will show that. Mr. Loaiza told me that he moved because he felt forced from his home and that he had never told Mr. Acosta that he was moving for job opportunities.)

All this pain the stress so crippling that suicide begins to appear as relief, the severing of church and school ties, friendships; uprooting a family from community and work it wasnt for $3,190. If it was for anything, it was for $190. The lawyer tried calling Mr. Loaiza, over and over, but she couldnt reach him. By that time, he was already in Florida, lying in a hospital bed with Covid-19.

Rent its the greediest of bills. For many families, it grows every year, arbitrarily, almost magically, not because of any home improvements; just because. Demand, they say, when they hand you a new lease with a stiff rent hike. Or costs are rising. What they mean is: Because I can. And unlike defaulting on other bills, missing a rent payment can result in immediate and devastating consequences, casting families into poverty and homelessness. If you cant afford enough food, you can usually qualify for food stamps. If you miss a mortgage payment, you typically have 120 days before your bank can initiate the foreclosure process. But if you cant pay your rent, you can lose your home in a matter of weeks. During the first half of July, landlords collected 37 percent of total rent from families living in Class C properties typically older stock, home to low- and moderate-income workers compared with 80 percent during the first three months of the year.

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When the Threat of Eviction Meets the Threat of Coronavirus - The New York Times

4D Molecular Therapeutics Appoints Susannah Gray to Board of Directors – BioSpace

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

Aug. 27, 2020 11:00 UTC

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- 4D Molecular Therapeutics (4DMT), a clinical-stage leader in the development of precision-guided AAV gene medicines based on directed evolution, announced the appointment of Susannah Gray to the Board of Directors. Ms. Gray brings more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical experience specifically in corporate finance and capital markets roles, most recently serving as EVP, Finance & Strategy of Royalty Pharma Management, LLC.

Susannahs extensive knowledge and experience in corporate finance and capital markets brings a valuable perspective to 4DMT. said David Kirn, MD, co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of 4DMT. Susannahs appointment reflects our commitment to augmenting the capital markets expertise on the 4DMT board as we contemplate the capital required to support the clinical and preclinical development of our product candidates, two of which have recently entered the clinic. We look forward to benefiting from Susannahs extensive experience as we advance 4DMTs next-generation gene therapy programs.

Prior to joining 4DMT, Ms. Gray spent 14 years as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Royalty Pharma before retiring in 2019 just ahead of the Companys initial public offering. At Royalty Pharma, Ms. Gray led the Companys efforts to maximize its financial capabilities. She spearheaded the Companys successful implementation of a $2.3 billion credit facility in 2007 and has helped raise over $1.4 billion in equity capital for the Company. Prior to joining Royalty Pharma, Ms. Gray had a 14-year career in investment banking. In her most recent role, she was a managing director and the senior analyst covering the healthcare sector for CIBC World Market's high yield group from 2002 to 2004. She worked in a similar capacity at Merrill Lynch prior to joining CIBC World Markets. Ms. Gray joined Merrill Lynch in April 1999 after nine years at Chase Securities (a predecessor of JP Morgan), working in various capacities within the high yield and the structured finance groups. Ms. Gray received a BA with honors from Wesleyan University and holds an MBA degree from Columbia University.

I am excited to be part of this outstanding team at this key moment in the companys trajectory, said Susannah Gray. 4DMTs next-generation Therapeutic Vector Evolution platform enables the development of gene therapies with improved therapeutic profiles, enabling the company to pursue previously untreatable patient populations and to address a broad range of both rare and large market diseases. I look forward to working closely with the 4D team and supporting its mission to bring optimized gene therapies to patients.

About 4DMT

4DMT is a clinical-stage precision gene medicine company harnessing the power of directed evolution to unlock the full potential of gene therapy for rare and large market diseases in lysosomal storage diseases, ophthalmology, neuromuscular diseases, and cystic fibrosis. 4DMTs proprietary Therapeutic Vector Evolution platform enables a disease first approach to product discovery and development, thereby empowering customization of AAV vectors to target specific tissue types associated with the underlying disease. These proprietary and optimized AAV vectors are designed to provide targeted delivery by routine clinical routes of administration, efficient transduction, reduced immunogenicity, and resistance to pre-existing antibodies -- attributes that could enable the development of gene therapies that overcome known limitations of conventional AAV vectors. 4DMT vectors are designed to exhibit improved therapeutic profiles that enable the company to pursue previously untreatable patient populations and to address a broad range of rare and large market diseases.

4D Molecular Therapeutics, 4DMT, Therapeutic Vector Evolution, and the 4DMT logo are trademarks of 4DMT.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200827005202/en/

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4D Molecular Therapeutics Appoints Susannah Gray to Board of Directors - BioSpace

Women Scientists Have the Evidence About Sexism – The Atlantic

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

The good news is that legions of women scientists have been fighting back against this sexism for years, in many cases with extraordinary success. Being trained to gather data to measure and document problems helped us prove that the issues we faced existed, and the problem-solving skills wed honed in our labs helped us figure out how to address them. For Nancy Hopkins and other women at MIT in the late 1990s, that meant taking out a tape measure and showing that, while senior male professors had labs averaging 3,000 square feet, senior female professors had, on average, just 2,000 square feet in which to workroughly as much as junior male faculty members.

Im happy to say that advances have been made to enhance the participation of women in science, mathematics, technology, engineering, and medicine since I began my career. By the mid-1980s, women in microbiology were banding together to make sure that nominations for leadership positions in professional organizations included womennot just once, but year after year, so that wed have time to make reforms last. During my tenure as director of the National Science Foundation, I worked with the president and Congress to increase the countrys overall budget for research in science, mathematics, and engineering. My team and I also made it a national priority to lift the status of women in academic science and to reform the misogynistic culture of universities. We launched ADVANCE, a program that, from 2001 to 2018, funded contracts to solve problems experienced by women in the sciences on more than 100 campuses.

Despite all of these efforts, major disparities persist. A study last year found that the typical National Institutes of Health research grant to a male principal investigator is $41,000 larger than to a female one. The gap between NIH grants for women and men is even larger at top universities: $68,800 at Yale and $76,500 at Brown.

In 2011, the biologist Jo Handelsman and her team at Yale decided to perform an experiment to see just how bad bias against women in science was. She persuaded 127 scientists in biology, chemistry, and physics departments at six leading research universities across the country to evaluate a job application. Ostensibly, the application came from a recent graduate seeking a position as a laboratory manager, and all of the applications were identical, or almost: half the applications were signed John, and half were signed Jennifer. The disturbing results revealed both men and women scientists judged the male applicant to be more competent than the female applicant with identical qualifications. More faculty members said theyd hire John than Jennifer, and those who were willing to hire her would pay her almost $4,000 less a year. All across the boardno matter their age, sex, scientific field, or tenure statusfaculty members preferred John.

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Women Scientists Have the Evidence About Sexism - The Atlantic

Im Optimistic That We Will Have a COVID-19 Vaccine Soon – The Atlantic

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

Read: The plan that could give us our lives back

The science is paying off. Novavax, a Maryland-based company working on this type of vaccine, recently reported the results of its Phase 1 trial. The levels of antibodies generated were stunning, about four times higher than those in individuals who are recovering from a COVID-19 infection.

Scientists are also using different strains of another virus, adenovirus, as a vector or a missile to deliver genes that code for these same spike proteins and that also provoke an immune response. The vector has been engineered in the lab to be replication-defective; that is, the vector is able to deliver the spike gene into humans but once its done its job, the vector cannot replicate any further. At least three groups are testing these vectors. A University of Oxford group, in partnership with AstraZeneca, has employed an adenovirus from chimpanzees and has already entered Phase 3 trials in humans. The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center group, in partnership with Janssen Pharmaceutica, is using Ad26, a human adenovirus, and the Chinese-based CanSino Biologics has begun Phase 3 trials with yet another human adenovirus, Ad5.

These examples are not just beautiful science (although they are beautiful science). By harnessing the increased power of the biological sciences, researchers are developing entirely new ways of rapidly developing vaccines.

My optimism doesnt stop with these early results, although they are key. Im also encouraged because at least five very different approaches (Ive walked through only three above) are being explored to make a vaccine. As we say in Canada, if you want to win, you have to take many shots on goal.

Equally important is the unprecedented global collaboration among scientists around the world, as well as the high degree of cooperation between scientists and clinicians, biopharmaceutical companies, government, philanthropic funders, and regulators. They are all working together toward the common goal of developing as quickly as possible a safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19.

I dont know which of the vaccine candidates undergoing clinical testing in humans will ultimately be shown to be safe and effective. They might all prove effective, albeit in different age groups or in people with different preexisting conditions. But the encouraging news is that all of the vaccine candidates that have entered trials in humans so far are safe and have elicited high levels of antibodies against COVID-19. Some have also been shown to activate the cellular arm of our immune system, another crucial component of our defenses against foreign pathogens.

The public-health imperative to obtain a safe and effective vaccine as quickly as possible goes hand in hand with the mandate that the approval process be above any political considerations and solely based on data from the clinical trials. Anything else risks losing the publics confidence in a vaccine or, in a worst-case scenario, might result in a vaccine that is less effective than those that might be approved later, or the widespread administration of a vaccine that turns out to have serious adverse side effects. That would be a public-health tragedy.

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Im Optimistic That We Will Have a COVID-19 Vaccine Soon - The Atlantic

Utah toddler one of first to receive groundbreaking gene replacement therapy – KSL.com

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

MORONI A Utah toddler is one of the first in the U.S. to receive a potentially groundbreaking therapy, and his father is doing everything he can to give his son the strength to win his fight.

Deep in the farm country of central Utah, a family is counting their blessings.

Yes, I would call it living the dream, yes maam, said Alex Wight, who lives with his family in Moroni.

Four years ago, while riding in the high country, Wight and his horse went off a cliff. The fall shattered Wights foot. Far from help, I was definitely going into some shock and I thought, Man, Im never going to get out of here,' Wight said.

Wight climbed back on that horse and rode for 20 miles. If I would have quit, I would have never made it out, he said.

Never was that toughness more vital than when his wife gave birth to their son, Cinch. I was pretty torn up. I cried a lot. Not gonna lie, Wight said.

Newborn screenings showed Cinch has spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA.

I cried. I was working at the sawmill, didnt even tell anyone I was leaving, (I) just put my machine away and left, Wight said.

The neuromuscular disorder paralyzes a baby in the first few weeks or months of life.

My first thought was that my son will never be able to ride broncs, rope, or just be a cowboy in general, Wight said.

Many babies with SMA dont survive to their second birthday, but the day after Cinch was born, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved a new therapy. We felt like our prayers were answered, Wight said.

In a single infusion, a virus delivers a new copy of the gene into the babys nerves, said Dr. Russell Butterfield, a pediatric neurologist with University of Utah Health and Intermountain Primary Childrens Hospital.

Only this time, its not delivering a diseased gene that just causes more virus to be made, but a gene that we care about, Butterfield said.

Its a $2.1 million treatment.

I was thinking, Man, theres no way Ill ever pay for it, Wight said.

Wight was determined. We just stayed on top of it. I wasnt going be the one to not get it, he said.

With help from insurance and Primary Childrens Hospital, Cinch got the gene replacement therapy through the Primary Childrens Center for Personalized Medicine.

The Wights wouldnt know for months if it worked. Amber Wight, Cinchs mother, said, Every days a waiting game, we have no idea.

Alex wrote a book to teach children they can do hard things, even when theyre hurt or discouraged.

Early one morning, a cowboy stepped out of his camp and into the corral, Wight said, reading the book to his son.

He held his breath the day Cinch took his first steps. He just cruises, Wight said.

It just brings a tear to your eye, to be honest, Butterfield said.

Time will tell if the gene replacement therapy is indeed a breakthrough. I just hope he never quits, Wight said.

With love wider than a prairie I guess on a scale of one to 10, Id call it a 12, Wight said and with the wonders of medical science, Cinch has a shot at a bright future, full of promise.

You can get Alex Wights book at Amazon.com.

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Serum CXCL13 Level is Associated with Tumor Progression and Unfavorabl | OTT – Dove Medical Press

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

Miao Mo,1 Shiyu Tong,1 Tao Li,2 Xiongbing Zu,1 Xiheng Hu1

1Department of Urology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, Peoples Republic of China; 2Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410008, Peoples Republic of China

Correspondence: Xiheng HuDepartment of Urology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Peoples Republic of ChinaEmail huxhxycsu@yeah.net

Background: Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligands (CXCLs) are important regulators of tumor progression in many cancers and could serve as potential cancer biomarkers. However, the expression patterns as well as functions of CXCLs remain unclear in penile cancer (PC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of serum CXCL13 as a potential cancer biomarker for PC.Patients and Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 76 patients diagnosed with PC between 2016 and 2018. Serum CXCL13 level was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify the prognostic factors that influence disease-free survival. Human penile cancer cell lines Penl1, Penl2, 149RCa and LM156 were used as in vitro models. The expression of CXCL13 protein in PC cell lines was analyzed by Western blotting.Results: Our initial analysis on GSE57955 dataset identified CXCL13 as a top CXCL gene enriched in PC. Higher preoperative serum CXCL13 level was detected in PC cohorts than in healthy male controls (P< 0.001). The area under the curve was 0.911 with the sensitivity of 84.2% and specificity of 87.0% to distinguish PC. Preoperative serum CXCL13 level was associated with pathological grade (P=0.048), T stage (P=0.009), nodal status (P< 0.001) and pelvic lymph node metastasis (P=0.005) in PC. Serum CXCL13 level could serve as an independent prognostic factor for disease-free survival with a HR of 3.818 (95%CI: 1.126 12.946). Furthermore, autocrine expression of CXCL13 was detected in PC tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of CXCL13 expression suppressed malignant phenotypes (cell proliferation, clonogenesis, apoptosis escape, migration and invasion), attenuated STAT3 and ERK1/2 signaling and reduced MMP2/9 secretion in PC cell lines.Conclusion: Serum CXCL13 could serve as a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for PC. CXCL13 signaling might activate oncogenic signaling pathways to promote malignant progression of PC.

Keywords: penile cancer, CXCL13, cancer biomarker, tumor progression

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.

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Innovation Wrap: Microscopic Robots, Asteroid Mining, A Flurry Of IPOs – ShareCafe

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

Heres your wrap of the latest technology, innovation, and finance news.

Robotics

UPenn researchers are building an army of microscopic robots. One day they could help us explore the world, or the human body, at a microscopic scale.

Through a process similar to that used in creating circuit boards, Miskin and his team were able to mass-produce more than a million of the microrobots, each of which is smaller than a tenth of a millimetre and is only visible under a microscope.

Spot has found a new job. Ford Motor Company is using two of the dog-like robots to map out their 200,000 square-metre Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Detroit. The data will be used to create a digital twin of the facility that will help Ford engineers better plan out process improvements, at a lower cost than traditional methods.

Over the years, factory plans get out of date as things are moved around and new equipment is brought in. Surveying the transmission plant by hand would take weeks and cost some $300,000. Ford reckons that Fluffy and Spot, which can both climb stairs and crawl into hard-to-reach areas, will cut the time required by half and complete the job for a fraction of the cost.

Biology

Harvard University researchers are helping mice keep weight off by using gene-editing to turn some of their regular white fat cells into energy-burning brown fat cells (see their paper).

In the future, this technique could potentially be used to treat people affected by obesity and metabolic disorders, says Tseng. It could be possible to remove a small amount of a persons white fat, engineer it into brown-like fat and re-implant it, she says.

Synthego, an AI-driven gene-editing startup founded by former SpaceX engineers, has raised $100 million.

Synthegos tools all of which are cloud-hosted cover over 120,000 genomes and 9,000 species. They provide guides to knock out genes with ostensibly minimal collateral effects. Underlying machine learning models predict overall editing efficiencies and even the set of mutations created for any given edit. Guide RNAs and cell engineering services for mammalian cell lines, primary cells, and more aid with editing experiments, along with guides that can be modified to resist degradation and prevent damaging immune responses.

Health

Stanford University researchers have found a way to wake dormant stem cells and grow new cartilage in the joints of arthritic mice (see their paper).

Primitive cells that can be transformed into new cartilage lie dormant at the ends of bones, the researchers reported in Nature Medicine. The cells just have to be awakened and stimulated to grow.

There is no cure for herpes, but were one step closer after researchers used gene therapy to significantly decrease latent infections in mice (see their paper).

This is the first time that anybody has been able to go in and actually eliminate most of herpes in a body, said Jerome, who is also spearheading research at Fred Hutch and the University of Washington on COVID-19. It is a completely different approach to herpes therapy than anybodys ever had before.

Gaming

CD Projekt announced a new mobile augmented reality game, The Witcher: Monster Slayer which is reminiscent of Pokmon Go. CD Projekts stock rose 7% on the day.

Are you familiar with Roblox? The Economist highlighted the game as one of the biggest entertainment success stories of the pandemic with more than 164 million active users and 2m+ creators.

Roblox is not itself a video game, but rather a game-creation platform. Users can design and build their own games and worlds using icons and pre-fabricated Lego-like blocks, rather than code, and then easily share them with friends.

Felipe Pepe concluded that Roblox is a MUD for the TikTok generation in a fascinating history of MUDs, virtual worlds, and MMORPGs. I spent a good deal of time playing MUDs growing up (and first learnt to program in one), so theyll always have a special place in my heart.

Renewables

The UK government has reduced its estimate of 2025 wind and solar costs by 30-50%.

The reasons for the renewable cost reductions are well documented. They include technological learning in the industry with larger, more efficient manufacturing plants for solar and larger turbines for wind but also operational experience, longer project lifetimes and cheaper finance.

French renewables developer Neoen is planning a $3 billion wind, solar, and storage project in South Australia.

The plan proposes a total of 1,200MW of wind energy, 600MW of solar PV, and 900MW/1800MWh of battery storage, an extremely large battery as Neoen describes it that will dwarf the 150MW/194MWh Tesla battery known officially as the Hornsdale Power Reserve.

Finance

Even great scientists like Sir Isaac Newton can get caught up in bubbles.

Newton had a simple explanation for his lapse. At the crucial moment, hed lost his mind. Or rather, others around him had lost theirs. I can calculate the motions of the heavenly bodies, his niece recalled him saying, but not the madness of the people.

It must be IPO season! Several companies filed for IPO (or a direct listing) fintech giant Ant Group, game engine developer Unity Software (S-1), data warehouse company Snowflake (S-1), data analytics company Palantir Technologies (S-1), work management tool Asana (S-1), business intelligence software company Sumo Logic (S-1), and developer tool company JFrog (S-1).

Other Snippets

DARPAs AlphaDogfight trials concluded with an AI pilot winning a flawless victory against a highly-trained US Air Force F-16 pilot.

Stratechery wrote a good summary of why Australias News Media Bargaining Code makes no sense.

Google released the alpha version of Jetpack Compose, which promises to let Android developers write apps with dramatically less code.

K-pop continues to break YouTube viewing records with BTSs new music video for Dynamite racking up 98 million views within 24 hours. This surpassed previous record Blackpink which saw 86 million views within 24 hours for How You Like That back in June.

Kurzgesagt explained the basics of asteroid mining.^

^ Well, kind of As Troy McCann, founder of space startup accelerator Moonshot, correctly points out, asteroid mining will focus on the use of the materials in space, not on earth, given materials in space are always more valuable than those on earth as they embed the cost to get the material there. As such, this video doesnt really represent early asteroid mining efforts which are more likely to focus on water in space rather than delivering material to earth.

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Innovation Wrap: Microscopic Robots, Asteroid Mining, A Flurry Of IPOs - ShareCafe

Maryland University of Integrative Health announces educational partnership with IM4US – Reported Times

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

Aug 27, 2020 10:00 AM ET

iCrowd Newswire Aug 27, 2020

Laurel, Md. Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH) Professional Continuing Education program is pleased to announce a new partnership with Integrative Medicine for the Underserved (IM4US). MUIH and IM4US have entered this educational collaboration with the shared goal of promoting the use of holistic and integrative approaches to promote wellbeing for underserved individuals and communities. This collaboration expands MUIHs role in supporting the health and wellness of Marylands residents to a broader national reach through integrative health and medicine. MUIHs Professional and Continuing Education (PCE) Department offers a wide range of professional development courses in a hybrid format that provides the flexibility for the public, and healthcare professionals with the opportunity to sharpen their skills, develop new areas of expertise, and earn additional credentials.

MUIHs PCE program is proud to welcome IM4US as a new partner to spotlight the field of integrative health through mission-driven collaborations. Through our evidence-based, continuing education opportunities, PCE aims to support multidisciplinary team members in their professional development goals, empowering them to add to their knowledge and credentials to further support their clients and patients health and wellbeing with a whole-person approach, said Beth Romanski, director of professional and continuing education at MUIH.

In an effort to provide access to more integrative health educational resources to our multidisciplinary members, IM4US is pleased to announce a new partnership with MUIH. We will now be sharing MUIH PCE courses at discounts to our members so that they may continue to advance and update their knowledge in the areas of nutrition, botanical medicine, stress resilience, and self-care, said Udaya Thomas, MSN, MPH, APRN, Board President, IM4US.

MUIH offers masters and doctoral degrees and graduate certificates in a wide range of disciplines that prepare practitioners and professionals to support underserved individuals and communities. These include programs in acupuncture, Ayurveda, cannabis science, health promotion, health and wellness coaching, herbal medicine, integrative health studies, narrative health, nutrition, workplace wellness, and yoga therapy.

About Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH)

Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH) is a leading academic institution focused on the study and practice of integrative health and wellness and one of the few universities in the U.S. dedicated solely to such practices. Deeply rooted in a holistic philosophy, its model for integrative health and wellness is grounded in whole-person, relationship-centered, evidence-informed care.

Since 1974, MUIH has been a values-driven community educating practitioners and professionals to become future health and wellness leaders through transformative programs grounded in traditional wisdom and contemporary science. MUIH has more than 20 progressive, graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines, offered on-campus and online. In the on-campus Natural Care Center and community outreach settings, MUIH provides compassionate and affordable healthcare from student interns and professional practitioners, which delivers more than 20,000 clinical treatments and consultations each year. For more information visit http://www.muih.edu.

Integrative Medicine for the Underserved (IM4US)

Integrative Medicine for the Underserved (IM4US) is a collaborative, multidisciplinary group of people committed to affordable, accessible integrative health care for all. Through outreach, education, research, and advocacy, we support those dedicated to promoting health in underserved populations. Together we work to shift the current paradigm towards equity, wellness, prevention, patient empowerment, and self-care. IM4US is a leader in 21st-century healthcare and believes that the ability to heal resides in all of us and that conventional medicine and alternative models of care does not exist in opposition.

IM4US is committed to creating an equitable whole person healthcare system, working with local, regional, and national partners with similar or the same aspiration for the uninsured and underinsured in this country. IM4US also advocates for alternative practitioners to be included in reimbursement so that people have access to more non-pharmacological approaches to care. With our first national conference in 2010 and yearly thereafter and active members and committees, IM4US has offered hundreds of CME hours and hundreds of presentations and tools to integrate into practice all available on our website for members to download and utilize. For more information visit http://www.im4us.org.

This Integrative Medicine Doctor Put Personalized Supplement Packs To The Test – mindbodygreen.com

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

I am really careful about taking supplements as I know that more is not always better. As a physician, I often see people experiencing side effects or adverse reactions from taking supplements and medications because they're either taking too many or self-prescribing the wrong kind. Studies really don't support taking a significant amount of supplements, especially if they are not tailored to your health!

Therefore, I'm very picky and a minimalist with my personal supplement routinemy goal is to be super consistent with taking the right supplements for my body rather than putting a bunch of supplements into a routine that I know I won't stick with.

Like so many people, I've been feeling more stressed this year, and my sleep is often interruptedquarantine dreams are real! I started to think about the advice I have given my patients and friends during this time and how I could apply it to my own life (yep, even M.D.'s forget to prioritize their health from time to time!). I'm a big believer that, with the right tools, we don't have to internalize outside stress, and supplements and lifestyle tweaks are two of my go-to tools.

I decided to try Rigr Centrum's RigrPrint because I was intrigued by the idea of a holistic approach to supplementation and their claim"A revolutionary wellness tool that provides a holistic analysis, wellness plan and supplement recommendation tailored to your unique needs"really spoke to me.

This is something I always recommend my patients doget a holistic analysis before just picking supplements randomly. So, I signed up and filled out the questionnaire. It took less than five minutes, I was pleasantly surprised that it covered a lot in a short time, and at the end, they picked out the supplements that were right for me, along with suggestions on lifestyle tweaks to make.

RigrPrint chose magnesium and L-theanine for meboth of which I have tried before separately but never in combination.

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This Integrative Medicine Doctor Put Personalized Supplement Packs To The Test - mindbodygreen.com

Mobile gym owner says open-air fitness is way of the future – NorthJersey.com

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

Richard Decker, founder of AWATfit, is looking to bring his mobile gym to Bergen County for those looking to get a workout in an outdoor space. NorthJersey.com

While the gym industry has struggled during the pandemic, oneentrepreneur is bringing the gym straight to the great outdoors.

Richard Deckerdidn't createAWATfit in response to coronavirus pandemic; it was only a bit of luck that saw him putting the finishing touches on his new mobile gym model last year.

The New York-based business, which is now looking to expand to Bergen County,has thrived as people have looked for a safe way to get their daily exercise routine.

Richard Decker, CEO and founder of AWATfit, stands on his truck, the centerpiece of his mobile gym business.(Photo: Photo courtesy of Aaron Kresberg)

"What COVID did was quadruple my business,"said Decker."We were the only gym that wasnt closed down. We would work out right next to the code enforcers."

Decker beganlooking into creating AWATfit, which stands for"Any Where, Any Time,"in 2018 after walking away from the brick and mortar gym and restaurant industry after 30 years. Creating a fitness model where he wasnt attached to a physical location and at the mercy of landlords appealed to him, leading him to start doing personal training for customers in outdoor environments such as nature trails.

Richard Decker, CEO and founder of AWATfit, helps customers work out with bungee cords as part of his mobile gym.(Photo: Photo courtesy of Aaron Kresberg)

Studies have shown that being outdoors can help lower blood pressure andstress hormone levels, improve immune systems and help reduce anxiety, said Tracy Scheller, medical director of Englewood Healths Graf Center for Integrative Medicine. One scientific study conducted last year has shown that those who spend at leasttwo hours per week in green spaces were more likely to have good mental and physical health, Scheller said.

"Now youre getting the benefit of this exercise and a gym while also having the benefit of being in nature,"said Scheller. "A lot of gyms have windows and you can see the trees, but actually being outside has really shown some real benefit."

After hearing from customers that they may not want to exercise in the woods during the summer months, when ticks are active, Decker looked into getting a truck that would provide him with a means to bring his business wherever a customer wants him.

The truck, which started serving customers in New York in February 2019, can allow25 customers at a time, who use equipment such as pull-up bars, chin-up bars, heavy bags, suspension training, slam balls and bungee cords that connect directly to the truck.

Before the pandemic, Decker had begun franchising, sending trucks to Westchester County,Long Islandand Texas. Now, in addition to Bergen County, hes looking to expand the business to Florida and California.

"Pre-COVID, I would be like, 'I dont know how were going to get to these areas,'but post-COVID, the areas are coming to us,"said Decker.

He said AWATFIT cost about $100,000 to start up, truck included, while his last 4,000-square-foot physical gym cost about $750,000.

Decker islooking to partner with organizations trying to fundraiser during the pandemicby donating a part of the proceeds for the fitness classes.

One of his goals is helping to raise $25,000 for playground equipment in Mashashimuet Park in his hometown of Sag Harbor, New York.

Even though gyms are beginning to reopen,Decker said customers might not be rushing back to their local gyms right away, which will put additional strain on the industry.

FITNESS: NJ gym owners are eager to welcome members back as Murphy says gyms can reopen next week

DINING: NJ restaurant owners and local officials make their case for indoor dining

COVID-19: Coronavirus vaccine trial: Two New Jersey hospitals are looking for volunteers

"People dont want to go indoors,"said Decker. "They are afraid to go indoors. Even though the gyms are opening, there are all these restrictions."

Indoor gyms will reopen in New Jersey at25% capacity on Sept. 1 with rules including temperature screenings, masks and social distancing (gym users must stay six feet apart at all times). Members must also wear their workout clothes instead of changing in a locker room.

Decker said he was happy that he left behind the world of brick and mortar gym and restaurants behind and had set up his mobile, outdoor business before the pandemic. He said he worries for his friends that are in the industry.

"Both of those businesses are never going to come back the same and those that are in, unless they have a huge corporate sponsor, they are not going to make it through it," he said.

Stephanie Nodais a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community,please subscribe or activate your digital account today. Email:noda@northjersey.comTwitter:@snoda11

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Mobile gym owner says open-air fitness is way of the future - NorthJersey.com

Healing Tree Integrative Health Clinic to hold drive-by healing event to mark opening – Grand Forks Herald

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

The event will feature free acupuncture demonstrations, immune-boosting wellness shots and mini-treatments for stress reduction, as well as more than $500 in giveaways, according to a news release.

The 4 p.m. ribbon cutting, with Mayor Brandon Bocheski and members of the local Chamber of Commerce, will be followed by the drive-by healing event during which guests may receive services without getting out of their car. Guests also may choose to mingle, wearing masks, onsite.

The clinics general practitioners are Korina St. John Rongitsch and Megan Bolek, licensed acupuncturists.

Rongitsch, who holds a masters degree in acupuncture and Oriental medicine, earned the doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine degree from the Pacific College of Health and Science in San Diego, California.

Bolek earned a doctor of physical therapy degree at the University of Mary in Bismarck and a masters degree in traditional Chinese medicine from the American Academy of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in Roseville, Minn.

Together, they have more than 12 years of graduate level training and 26 years of clinical experience, Rongitsch said.

Before opening the Healing Tree Integrative Health Clinic, Rongitsch operated a clinic in East Grand Forks, called Healthy Happy Whole, for several years. She partnered with Bolek to launch a clinic that provides an integrated medical approach to treating patients, many of whom have tried other treatments but nothing has worked, according to Rongitsch.

We want to provide sustained health and sustained relief," Rongitsch said.

Clinic services range from acupuncture and physical therapy, to nutrition and telehealth consultations. The most common conditions the acupuncturists address are pain, anxiety, fertility, weight loss and cancer-related symptoms.

Bolek, who treats orthopedic disorders, has completed extensive training in chronic pain and vestibular rehabilitation; the vestibular system, which is part of the inner ear, helps the body maintain balance and spatial orientation. She also helps patients with pelvic floor dysfunction regain bladder control, improve sexual function and recover after giving birth.

Bolek, an orthopedic certified specialist, has advanced clinical knowledge and skills in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, according to the website, http://www.healthyhappywhole.com.

The Healing Tree Integrative Health Clinic also employs a client coordinator, who will answer questions and schedule visits, and an intern who is pursuing a masters degree in acupuncture in the Twin Cities, said Rongitsch, whose plans include hiring other practitioners, such as a massage therapist, to provide more preventive therapeutic services.

We are excited to have a new business thats thriving, Rongitsch said. I am so grateful to be able to help people.

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Healing Tree Integrative Health Clinic to hold drive-by healing event to mark opening - Grand Forks Herald

CB2 Insights Partners with the Freas Medical Advisors to Expand Healthcare Services in Maryland – GlobeNewswire

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

TORONTO, Aug. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CB2 Insights (CSE:CBII; OTCQB: CBIIF) (CB2 or the Company), announced today that it has entered into a Business Services Agreement with the Freas Medical Advisors (FMA) to expand medical services in Maryland. FMA is also investigating geographic expansion of its relationship with CB2 across other US States.

As part of CB2s Direct Primary Care services (DPC), patients pay an annual fee of $199 per year for unlimited access to a network of healthcare providers for a range of primary care and urgent care needs. Additionally, the Company offers additional insurable services on a fee for service basis. In partnership with FMA, CB2 will benefit from direct access to a network of pain management, general healthcare, and nursing home facilities servicing thousands of patients per year, seeking complementary healthcare offerings.

FMA represents a team of healthcare entrepreneurs who bring over 40 years of experience in business and US healthcare operations. With strong ties to regulatory bodies within Maryland, the FMA network of practices include Novus Pain Management Center and Flagship Rehabilitation, among others. In addition to building a strong patient referral network, FMA will leverage its connections, network, and resources to help build and maintain a strong business model for CB2 in Maryland.

In coordination with this partnership, Dr. Haroon Hameed will take the role of Medical Director for Maryland for CB2s medical services business. Dr. Hameed is a board-certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation doctor with over 7 years as an Interventional Pain Specialist in Florida, Maryland, and Virginia. In addition to supporting clinical efforts, Dr. Hameed will also play a critical role in supporting CB2s research initiatives in Maryland and has co-authored a number of peer-reviewed publications to date.

We are beyond excited to be working with FMA in Maryland. It is one of the leading healthcare groups in the state and greatly accelerates CB2s growth therein. Its strong ties to community healthcare networks, regulatory bodies and proven business acumen are going to significantly help in CB2s strategy to become a leader in US integrative healthcare. We are hopeful that this partnership model in Maryland can be replicated across the other 11 states in which CB2 operates. said Prad Sekar, CEO, CB2 Insights.

The FMA has been active in the US healthcare space for over 40 years. Our goal is to continue to build new innovative healthcare models that will help the overall improvement of patient health outcomes. What CB2 is offering with its unique DPC and insurable services model, coupled with their approach to integrative healthcare and alternative therapies aligns well with what we believe will be a key driver in the post-COVID US healthcare environment, and we are looking forward to actively building on this vision with them, said Dustin Freas, Executive Director, Freas Medical Advisors.

About CB2 Insights

CB2 Insights (CSE:CBII OTCQB:CBIIF) CB2 Insights is a healthcare services and technology company, working to positively impact patient health outcomes. Our mission to mainstream alternative health treatments into traditional healthcare by recognizing the need for patient treatment diversity, and the impacts of integrating alternative and conventional medicine. The Company works primarily to roster and treat patients who are seeking alternative treatments due to the ineffectiveness of conventional medicine, and the inability to find support through their existing care network, or in some cases, inability to access a primary care network. Medical services offered by the Company are defined as Integrative medicine, where we work to understand the real world evidence for the safety, impact and effectiveness of medical treatments including plant based medicines that often lack sufficient research and therefore adoption by conventional healthcare providers.

To support patient care and positive health outcomes, the Company is also focused on advancing safety and efficacy research surrounding alternative health treatments by monitoring and assessing Real-World Data (RWD) and providing Real-World Evidence (RWE) through our proprietary technology, data analytics, and a full service contract research organization.

The Companys primary operations are in the United States, with application to its insights, technology and research services deployed in other International markets including Canada, United Kingdom and Colombia.

The Companys disciplined operating model allows patients to receive access to care in a time efficient and cost-effective manner. Utilizing virtual telehealth and over 30 physical brick and mortar clinics, the Company currently treats over 100,000 patients across 12 States. Utilizing proprietary technology and data analytic platforms, the Company is able to monitor, study and assess a variety of healthcare treatments and products for the safety, efficacy, and effectiveness. The Company believes it is well positioned to be the research and technology partner of choice for multiple stakeholders including Big Pharma, Life Sciences, Regulatory Bodies and Payors within the traditional and integrative medical industry.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in CB2s filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the Companys unaudited financial results and projected growth.

Although CB2 has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: dependence on obtaining regulatory approvals; investing in target companies or projects which have limited or no operating history and are subject to inconsistent legislation and regulation; change in laws; reliance on management; requirements for additional financing; competition; hindering market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and recreational-use marijuana industry and; regulatory or political change.

There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. CB2 disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and CB2 does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.

No securities regulator or exchange has reviewed, approved, disapproved, or accepts responsibility for the content of this news release.

How to Reduce Cortisol and Turn Down the Dial on Stress – Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

Feeling stressed out and exhausted? You might be tempted to blame the infamous stress hormone known as cortisol.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services.Policy

Theres a lot of information and theories about cortisol floating around. For instance: You can lower cortisol levels with a nice cup of tea or even better chocolate.

Alas, its not quite that simple. (Is it ever?) Nutrition is absolutely important for coping with stress and supporting your mood, but theres no single food thats going to do it all, says integrative medicine doctor Yufang Lin, MD. You have to look at the whole lifestyle picture.

Taking everything like that into account is more important than ever right now as we deal not just with the stress from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but the emotional ups and downs that come with it.

Heres her big-picture advice for keeping cortisol and the rest of your body and mind in balance.

Cortisol is one of several hormones the body produces naturally. Cortisol levels do go up when youre stressed. But it doesnt deserve its bad rap.

Cortisol supports overall health, Dr. Lin says. It helps us wake up, gives us energy during the day and lowers at night to help us sleep and rest.

The problem arises when chronic stress keeps cortisol levels high for the long haul. High cortisol levels over weeks or months can lead to inflammation and a host of mental and physical health problems, from anxiety to weight gain to heart disease.

Yes, no and maybe. Some research suggests that foods like tea, chocolate and fish oils might lower cortisol. But such studies tend to be small and not very conclusive, Dr. Lin says.

Youre unlikely to balance cortisol levels by adding anchovies to your pizza or scarfing a block of chocolate, she says. But good nutrition can make a difference.

Cortisol interacts with neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that send signals in the brain. Neurotransmitters play an important role in mood. And cortisol isnt the only compound that influences them. To make those neurotransmitters, you need all the raw ingredients: vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, Dr. Lin says.

The best way to get them is with a balanced, plant-heavy diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, she adds. A healthy diet is the underpinning of stress management.

A balanced meal plan can ensure youre getting the nutrients your body needs. And talk to your doctor about taking a basic multivitamin. Its a good insurance policy to make sure youre not deficient in any vitamins, Dr. Lin says.

The supplement aisle at the natural foods store is hardly a one-way ticket to a stress-free life. But some items may help keep cortisol levels in a healthy range, Dr. Lin says. Research suggests these herbs and natural supplements might lower stress, anxiety and/or cortisol levels:

While some herbs might help lower cortisol levels naturally, you dont want to swallow everything in sight, Dr. Lin says. Teas like lemon balm and chamomile are quite safe. But if youre thinking about trying herbs in supplement form, talk to a trained provider first.

Dr. Lin stresses that a big-picture approach is key to maintaining healthy cortisol levels and feeling less stressed. These go-to strategies are good for the body and the mind.

Exercise benefits health from head to toe. So its no surprise that it helps with stress relief, too, possibly by reducing cortisol levels. Studies show, for instance, that exercise can bring down cortisol levels in the elderly and in people with major depressive disorder.

Almost nothing beats a good nights sleep. When youre not sleeping well, you tend to be more anxious, irritable and stressed, Dr. Lin says. Like exercise, sleep is important for health in all sorts of ways including managing stress and keeping cortisol in check.

Sleep deprivation may increase cortisol levels. The increased cortisol can impair memory, contribute to weight gain and even accelerate the aging process. In other words: Dont skimp on shut-eye.

Spending time in the great outdoors is a great way to lower cortisol and calm your brain. The practice of forest bathing essentially, hanging out in the woods and breathing the forest air can reduce cortisol levels and lower stress. (Just pack your bug spray, so the mosquitoes dont stress you out.)

While they might not be something youve ever considered, practices like yoga, tai chi, qi gong, mindfulness meditation and breathing exercises can be great stress busters and a lot of skeptics have turned to converts. Research has found, for example, that mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy can lower cortisol and feelings of stress. And yoga can bring down high cortisol levels, heart rate and blood pressure.

When it comes to de-stressing, cortisol is just one piece of the puzzle, Dr. Lin adds. No one food or pill can deliver you to blissful calm. But healthy choices can set your body up for low-stress success.

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How to Reduce Cortisol and Turn Down the Dial on Stress - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

Women with diabetes and high levels of coronary artery calcium at greater risk of death than men – UCI News

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 25, 2020 A new study finds women with diabetes and significant levels of calcium in their coronary arteries have higher rates of death from cardiovascular disease and all causes than their male counterparts.

Published in the American Diabetes Association journal,Diabetes Care,researchers from the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center compared the sex-specific impact of coronary artery calcium (CAC) levels in adults with diabetes.CAC was used to predict cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in patients with diabetes. The results of this comparison showed greater CAC predicts cardiovascular and total mortality more strongly in women.

We showed that coronary calcium scores of greater than 100 in a woman with diabetes was associated with higher death rates from cardiovascular diseases and all causes than similar calcium scores in women than in man with diabetes, saidNathan D.Wong, PhD, professor and director for UCIs Heart Disease Prevention Program, and the lead author for the study.

Wongand colleagues studied 4,503 adults with diabetes from a national registry of patients who received coronary calcium heart scans from computed tomography and were followed for causes of death over more than 11 years. Death rates from cardiovascular disease in those who had coronary calcium scores of 101-400 or more, were approximately twice as high in women compared to men. Total death rates in these patients were also higher in women than in men. In analyses adjusted for age and other potential confounders, compared to those with calcium scores of 0, women who had calcium scores of 101-400 and 401 or greater had cardiovascular deaths that were 3.7 and 6.3-fold greater, respectively, compared to men whose risks were 1.6 and 3.5-fold greater, respectively.

Our findings, showing significant levels of coronary calcium to predict mortality from cardiovascular causes more strongly in women than men with diabetes, might also help to explain the poorer prognosis for cardiovascular disease that has been observed for decades in women compared to men with diabetes, saidWong.

Conversely, very low death rates from coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease seen in those with diabetes who had negative scans (calcium scores of 0), comprising 39 percent of women and 20 percent of men in our study, underscore the point that not all persons with diabetes are risk equivalents for cardiovascular disease, as has been the common belief for decades, noted Cedars-Sinai Medical CentersDaniel Berman, MD, senior author of the study.

Our findings suggest a call-to-action for even more aggressive risk factor management in a woman with diabetes found to have significant levels of coronary calcium to prevent future death from cardiovascular causes saidWong. Previous research conducted byWongand colleagues, has shown rates of cardiovascular disease to be 60 percent lower in those who are well-controlled for blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure.

The study population was part of the CAC Consortium, directed byMichael Joseph Blaha, MD, MPH, from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. UCIs Amber Cordola-Hsu, PhD, co-led the study withWong.

This study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association.

About the UCI School of Medicine: Each year, the UCI School of Medicine educates more than 400 medical students, and nearly 150 doctoral and masters students. More than 700 residents and fellows are trained at UCI Medical Center and affiliated institutions. The School of Medicine offers an MD; a dual MD/PhD medical scientist training program; and PhDs and masters degrees in anatomy and neurobiology, biomedical sciences, genetic counseling, epidemiology, environmental health sciences, pathology, pharmacology, physiology and biophysics, and translational sciences. Medical students also may pursue an MD/MBA, an MD/masters in public health, or an MD/masters degree through one of three mission-based programs: the Health Education to Advance Leaders in Integrative Medicine (HEAL-IM), the Leadership Education to Advance Diversity-African, Black and Caribbean (LEAD-ABC), and the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC). The UCI School of Medicine is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Accreditation and ranks among the top 50 nationwide for research. For more information, visitsom.uci.edu.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 222 degree programs. It is located in one of the worlds safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange Countys second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit http://www.uci.edu.

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.

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Women with diabetes and high levels of coronary artery calcium at greater risk of death than men - UCI News

What one provider learned from other athenahealth users about EHRs and telehealth – Healthcare IT News

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Danzig

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the daily lives and workflows of healthcare providers across the globe.

THE PROBLEM

Whole Life Health Care in Newington, New Hampshire, is a family practice providing conventional medicine and complementary therapies. It needed advice on best practices to adjust to life during COVID-19 and continue treating patients safely and effectively. The team needed to create rapid-fire solutions to address the changes that happened seemingly overnight.

One of the challenges Whole Life faced during the onset of the pandemic was access to a reputable and efficient telehealth system to continue care for patients. Another challenge was how to leverage its digital billing platform to respond to the rapidly changing landscape of regulations and requirements around reimbursement.

PROPOSAL

Cloud-based IT vendor athenahealth leveraged its existing online platform, the Success Community, to enable its healthcare provider clients to connect with each other and exchange ideas during COVID-19.

In addition to exchanging advice, the platform also acted as a central COVID-19 information hub with up-to-date regulatory information, workflow recommendations, and the promotion of new tools and enhancements designed to help address customer pain points related to COVID-19, said Amy Coombs, an advanced registered nurse practitioner at Whole Life Health Care and founder and creator of the integrative medical concept Whole Life Health Care.

Athenahealths clients frequently collaborated on topics such as telehealth solutions, revenue cycle management practices and ways to support their new remote patient experience, she said.

Amy Coombs, Whole Life Health Care

The athenahealth Success Community platform not only worked to alleviate COVID-19 problems, but also showed providers the strength of the healthcare community during difficult times, Coombs added.

Healthcare providers used the platform to come together and collaborate to combat similar issues, which led to empowering each other on how to address situations in a safe way, she explained. Ultimately, the platforms goal was about making technology work for providers by leveraging a network of peers and allowing them to share on-the-ground experience and brainstorm solutions.

MARKETPLACE

There are many vendors with electronic health records systems on the health IT market today, including Allscripts, athenahealth, Cerner, eClinicalWorks, Epic, Greenway Health, HCS, Meditech and NextGen Healthcare.

MEETING THE CHALLENGE

Having access to the Success Community platform enhanced Whole Lifes workflows, as COVID-19 guidance changed daily, if not hourly. The platform was helpful in coming up with solutions to help fine-tune different processes at the clinic.

Originally, starting out with different telehealth platforms such as FaceTime for virtual patient appointments, we switched to the athenaTelehealth solution for all telehealth visits in late spring, Coombs said. The team of clinicians at Whole Life thoroughly enjoys the athenaTelehealth solution as it allows us to meet with patients virtually and talk to them while having the ability to document at the same time, and offers an embedded image for video conferencing.

So instead of having two split screens one to chart and one to see the patient with athenaTelehealth, the video image is inside the image of the chart, so the provider only has to look at one screen.

The image also is movable, so the provider can reposition it, depending on what the chart view is, Coombs explained. During March, April and May, there were days our team would see 90% telehealth visits, so having a solution that was very easy helped our visits increase efficiency.

Another asset the vendor provided to Whole Life during this time was a weekly conference call for athenahealth providers to discuss tips and learn about new digital tools such as billing solutions. The vendor put together a document on the different billing rules that were changing regularly Whole Life could pull up that document when it needed to, and the vendors team was tracking this insurance information regularly.

RESULTS

At Whole Life Health Care, the advice has made a real difference, Coombs stated.

The vendors team always has had our backs as business partners and the current situation is even more proof of that, she said. The demand on time, our ability to glean the most important information and make business decisions, then communicate that with staff has never been so tested. Additionally, athenaText, the mobile communication tool that allows the staff to exchange text messages and notifications, has never been so utilized.

The combination of Whole Life staff and the support of athenahealth and its provider community helps the clinic gain ground on beating the challenges created from the coronavirus, she added.

Not only has our staff been pleased with the vendors COVID-19 resources, but our patients also have been happy with the offerings, including the athenaTelehealth solution, she said. The solution has been a lifeline to us as we navigate uncharted territory while still seeing patients in a safe way.

ADVICE FOR OTHERS

During difficult and unprecedented times, its important for healthcare providers to turn to their peers to learn from their similar challenges and best practices, Coombs advised. The healthcare community is filled with information and recommendations, and has created a strong sense of community, she said.

Additionally, leveraging your EHR partner and solution can provide unexpected, helpful resources for any practice, she concluded. The team at Whole Life has learned so much from other healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and were coming out stronger than before with new ideas on how to best serve our patients and improve safety measures.

Twitter:@SiwickiHealthITEmail the writer:bill.siwicki@himss.orgHealthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

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What one provider learned from other athenahealth users about EHRs and telehealth - Healthcare IT News

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Healing Tree Integrative Health Clinic to hold drive-by healing event to mark opening – Grand Forks Herald

CB2 Insights Partners with the Freas Medical Advisors to Expand Healthcare Services in Maryland – GlobeNewswire

How to Reduce Cortisol and Turn Down the Dial on Stress – Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

Women with diabetes and high levels of coronary artery calcium at greater risk of death than men – UCI News

What one provider learned from other athenahealth users about EHRs and telehealth – Healthcare IT News