MMR VACCINE: Via Facebook, UCare Medical Director Dr. Bruce Cantor shares information about the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4bRxeel (SPONSORED: UCare)
All Fluence tipsheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
SURVEY: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Stigma, bullying and politics are contributing to high anxiety and depression rates among LGBTQ+ youth in Minnesota, even after the passage of new state laws meant to strengthen protections and support. The big picture: More than a third of 421 young LGBTQ+ Minnesotans ages 13 to 23 surveyed by crisis intervention organization The Trevor Project seriously considered suicide in 2023, according to state-level research released this month.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43RcbGO
MORE: Via The Trevor Project, from the report:
REPORT: https://fluence-media.co/3FuHrl5
BIRD FLU: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “Amid national concerns about inflation and rising prices, nearly nine in ten adults are ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ concerned that bird flu will increase the cost of food in the U.S. This includes at least eight in ten adults across partisans, race and ethnicity, and household income levels. Smaller shares, but still about half, of the public are concerned about the health impacts of the bird flu, including the impact on their own families.”
READ: https://fluence-media.co/3FokoIs
POT: Via NORML, VERBATIM: “By a nearly 3 to 1 margin, US adults say that alcohol consumption poses greater health risks than does the use of marijuana, according to nationwide survey data compiled by YouGov.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Fsb9al
HEALTH RECORDS: From Black Book Market Research via Newswire, VERBATIM: “A newly conducted ad hoc international survey of 543 global healthcare IT buyers and decision-makers outside the United States (achieving a statistical accuracy of approximately ±4,2% at a 95% confidence level) reveals a growing preference for non-U.S. electronic patient health record (EHR/EPR) providers . . . 73% of European respondents indicated they will begin to avoid contracting with U.S.-based EHR & HIT vendors, primarily citing regulatory concerns, geopolitical tensions, and issues related to data sovereignty.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3XTOc6b
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
CANADA: Via CTV News, VERBATIM: “British Columbia’s health minister says ‘now is the time’ for American doctors and nurses to move to the province as it fast tracks recognition of their credentials during an escalating trade war between Canada and the United States. Josie Osborne says the ‘chaos’ happening south of the border is an opportunity for B.C. to attract skilled health-care workers interested in moving to Canada. She says the province is working with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC on a direct process to enable U.S.-trained doctors to become fully licensed in B.C. without the need for further assessment, examination or training.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/422oS0e
CDC: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “The White House on Thursday withdrew the nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon, a Republican and former congressman, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just hours before he was to have appeared at a Senate confirmation hearing. Reached by phone, Dr. Weldon said he had learned of the decision on Wednesday night and had been told by a White House official that ‘they didn’t have the votes to confirm’ his nomination. In a statement released later on Thursday, Dr. Weldon, 71, blamed Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and a member of the Senate health committee, and Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana and the committee’s chairman, for torpedoing his nomination.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3R7Y34w
VACCINES: Via NPR, VERBATIM: “The Trump administration is slashing long-standing areas of research funded by the National Institutes of Health, claiming they no longer align with the agency's priorities. The latest target? Millions of dollars in NIH grants for studying vaccine hesitancy and how to improve immunization levels. It's work that's particularly relevant as a measles outbreak grips the Southwest amidst diminishing vaccination rates.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3RcpES0
SUPPLEMENTS: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “President Donald Trump’s health officials want you to take your vitamins. Mehmet Oz, the nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, has fed calves on camera to tout the health wonders of bovine colostrum on behalf of one purveyor in which he has a financial stake. Janette Nesheiwat, the potential surgeon general, sells her own line of supplements. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, said he takes more vitamins than he can count — and has suggested he’ll ease restrictions on vitamins, muscle-building peptides, and more. Their affection for supplements might lead to tangible consequences for Americans’ health regimens.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hswkpT
MEDICAID SUPPORTS HEALTH CARE FOR ALL OF US: Medicaid keeps Minnesota’s hospitals strong and ensures communities across the state have access to care. Policymakers must protect Medicaid so every Minnesotan — regardless of income or health status — can get the care they need, when they need it. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/3FtrCuH (SPONSORED: Minnesota Hospital Association)
FIVE YEARS: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Thursday marks five years since Gov. Tim Walz declared a ‘peacetime emergency’ and the state went into lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools moved to remote learning, bars and restaurants were shuttered and people were told to stay home. Nearly 17,000 Minnesotans have lost their lives to the virus. Former Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm led the state through the first two years of the pandemic. She frequently hosted the state’s daily COVID press conferences. She joins MPR News host Nina Moini to reflect on the early days of the pandemic and her role in the Minnesota’s COVID-19 response.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3FuCvwr
ORIGINS: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “Germany's foreign intelligence service in 2020 put at 80%-90% the likelihood that the coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic was accidentally released from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology, two German newspapers reported on Wednesday. According to a joint report by publications Die Zeit and Sueddeutscher Zeitung, Germany's spying agency BND had indications that the institute had conducted gain-of-function experiments, whereby viruses are modified to become more transmissible to humans for research purposes.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kPy7YZ
HOSPITALS: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “On a calm day in one of Minnesota’s busiest emergency rooms, Dr. John Hick stands next to a ventilator. ‘During COVID, these things were getting an absolute workout because we had a lot of people in the emergency department on them,’ Hick said. ‘We never ran out of such critical devices. I cringe thinking of potential future epidemics where that becomes an issue.’ In March 2020, while working at HCMC in Minneapolis, Hick, an emergency physician and medical director for emergency preparedness, began hearing reports of increasing COVID-19 cases in the Pacific Northwest, particularly in skilled nursing facilities. He realized it was only a matter of time before the virus reached his own hospital.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4iqzGLn
VIOLENCE PREVENTION: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “AIM is one of dozens of hospital-linked violence intervention programs around the country. The programs aim to uncover the social and economic factors that contributed to someone ending up in the ER with a bullet wound: inadequate housing, job loss, or feeling unsafe in one’s neighborhood, for example. Such programs that take a public health approach to stopping gun violence have had success — one in San Francisco reported a fourfold reduction in violent injury recidivism rates over six years. But President Donald Trump’s executive orders calling for the review of the Biden administration’s gun policies and trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans have created uncertainty around the programs’ long-term federal funding.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3R9JUDS
GREENHOUSE GASES: Via CBS News, VERBATIM: “The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday said it would ‘formally reconsider’ a landmark 2009 finding by the agency that greenhouse gases are a danger to public health. The announcement was one of a flurry of actions by the EPA to roll back a wide swath of environmental regulations, including rules on pollution from coal-fired power plants and electric vehicles. The EPA's announcements also included narrowing the definition of waterways such as wetlands and streams that are protected under the Clean Water Act.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3R6ia2X
DEMONSTRATIONS: Via The Wall Street Journal, VERBATIM: “The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to terminate four demonstration projects by the end of 2025, closing out models affecting primary care, kidney care and healthcare payments in the state of Maryland . . . The projects were offered through the CMS Innovation Center, a special office that launches and tests new ideas in the agency’s programs, which include Medicare and Medicaid. The center’s demonstrations are intended to test changes to the agency’s typical payments, rules and processes.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43O8j9F
ESSENTIA HEALTH NURSES ARE A VALUED PART OF OUR PATIENT CARE: Acute care nurses in the Duluth area earn $100,000 on average, working just four days a week. In fact, 94% of these nurses choose to work part-time because Essentia Health offers full benefits starting at 24 hours a week. Our nurses overwhelmingly choose to remain at Essentia Health, bucking national turnover trends. To join our team at Essentia Health, search for openings HERE: https://fluence-media.co/3D5rO2s (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
WASTEWATER: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Every day, roughly 170 million gallons of wastewater from dozens of communities pass through the St. Paul Metro Plant, the Twin Cities largest wastewater treatment plant. Before the plant cleans the wastewater and discharges it into the Mississippi River, staff collect daily samples that provide a window into Minnesotans health. Small plastic containers containing murky brown liquid are sent to a Minnesota Department of Health lab. There, researchers analyze them for COVID-19 and other viruses.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4bN7KyM
WELLS: Via MDH, VERBATIM: “More than 4 million Minnesotans rely on groundwater for their drinking water, and 1.1 million of them get that groundwater from a private well. Wells can be a source of high-quality drinking water, but they require regular maintenance. If groundwater becomes contaminated, it can affect the health of those who drink it. During National Groundwater Awareness Week — March 9-15 — officials at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) are reminding private well owners about the importance of yearly well testing.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Fsghv7
FRESH15: The latest season of Fresh15 includes interviews with new Minnesota House members. So far, five new members have shared their goals, background and fun facts before they take office in a historic session this January.
Rep. Kari Rehrauer
Rep. Wayne Johnson
Rep. Julie Greene
Rep. Keith Allen
Rep. Peter Johnson
Follow on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.TheDailyAgenda.com/Podcasts. (SPONSORED: Minnesota Telecom Alliance)
RESEARCH: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “A discovery by Mayo Clinic researchers may help explain why immunotherapy hasn't been helpful for many patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. In findings published in Clinical Cancer Research, the team identified specific proteins — fibronectin and smooth muscle actin — within colorectal cancer tissues that are associated with resistance to immunotherapy treatment.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kRhpbJ
UNION: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “A majority of the more than 200 resident physicians at Hennepin Healthcare announced their intent to unionize on Wednesday, joining a wave of organizing campaigns by doctors and advanced health care providers across the country. Hennepin Healthcare resident physicians say they earn low wages while being pushed to the breaking point during long days treating some of the state’s sickest and poorest residents at the major Level I trauma center in downtown Minneapolis.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41MC2NC
SCHOOLS: Via MDH, VERBATIM: “A first-of-its-kind report from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) found that only 39% of Minnesota public schools tested for radon, the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Although there is no legal requirement to do so, and budget can be a barrier, MDH encourages schools to test for radon and offers assistance.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bRBjPP
LICENSING: Via Minnesota Department of Human Services, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Human Services is seeking another round of input on changes to draft licensing standards for family child care and child care centers. On Thursday, the state released a second draft of revised licensing standards that incorporates extensive community input gathered over summer 2024. The effort – in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families – is part of the ongoing Child Care Regulation Modernization Project.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4k0VEpM
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
BMI: From University of Eastern Finland via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “Body mass index (BMI) was almost three times more likely to classify children as overweight than waist circumference-to-height ratio, according to a new study. Published in Obesity and Endocrinology, the study was based on collaboration between the University of Eastern Finland and the Universities of Bristol and Exeter in the UK. BMI and weight-to-height indices are universally employed as markers of childhood obesity. However, BMI does not distinguish muscle mass from fat mass, and may misclassify children as overweight.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3XMm84E
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