MATERNAL HEALTH: From WellShare and UCare via Facebook, VERBATIM: “Watch Now: Our powerful episode on Maternal Health is now available! Featuring Dennise Lopez, RN and our amazing host, Yesenia Mata, this conversation offers valuable insights for expectant and new mothers in our communities.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4k4eUkE (SPONSORED: UCare)
All Fluence tipsheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
POLL: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Eight in 10 Americans want legally required and publicly released cognitive tests and disease screenings for U.S. presidents — and age limits on the presidency, according to the latest Axios-Ipsos American Health Index. About 3 in 4 say politicians aren't honest about their health, and that presidents should be legally required to share their medical records with the public.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3T7o98U
MORE: Also from Axios, from the same poll, VERBATIM: “Americans broadly support some of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s food regulation agenda — from removing artificial dyes to increasing safety and labeling — though they distrust Kennedy 2-to-1, according to the latest Axios-Ipsos American Health Index. The big picture: 87% of respondents said the government should do more to make food safe through guidelines, labeling or reduced pesticide exposure.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eotUJi
DEVICES: Via Healthcare IT News, VERBATIM: “A new report casts light on the security challenges and spending patterns of cybersecurity leaders in healthcare. The survey – based on a poll of more than 600 healthcare IT decision-makers who play a role in medical device purchasing – found that 22% had experienced cyberattacks targeting their organizations' medical devices. Of those, 75% tied those incidents directly to patient care compromise.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3HUg7Ok
AGING: Via University of Michigan, VERBATIM: “Overall, 46% of adults age 65 and older have taken steps to ‘age in place,’ according to a new poll. This includes 31% who have made modifications to make their home more age-friendly and 26% who have already moved to a place that can meet their needs as they age. Some older adults have done both. That’s even though most older adults polled – 84% – said it’s very or somewhat likely that they’ll live in their current home for the rest of their life. This includes 80% of those who have not yet taken any steps to age in place.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4k9qXgB
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
NURSES: Via KSTP-TV, VERBATIM: “Thousands of nurses across Minnesota have voted to authorize a strike, meaning they can now walk off the job as soon as next month. Results for Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) members for 11 Twin Cities area hospitals were announced shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday. Although the results show nurses have authorized a strike, it doesn’t mean they’re walking off the job Wednesday. Instead, it means a strike can be called at any time and the sides could continue negotiations. The union will first have to give a 10-day notice to the 13 hospitals the strike would impact.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4nweN4C
DATA: Via Minnesota Department of Health, VERBATIM: “The latest adverse health events data issued by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) showed the smallest increase in preventable errors since before the COVID-19 pandemic. After recording unprecedented increases that saw the number of annually reported adverse health events jump more than 66% from pre-pandemic levels between 2020 and 2023, Minnesota hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers reported a total of 624 events in 2024, up 14 from 2023. It is the smallest increase in preventable errors since adverse events fell between 2018 and 2019.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/468ZJDw
DEATHS: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “Deaths in Minnesota declined for the second year in a row in 2023, but mortality’s still higher than it was in 2019, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2023, the most recent year with data available, Minnesota’s age-adjusted death rate was 681.7 per 100,000, compared to 649.2 in 2019 and 756.5 at the pandemic’s peak in 2021.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3TE7mKJ
PRIOR AUTHORIZATIONS: Via KFF Health News, VERBATIM: “Nearly seven months after the fatal shooting of an insurance CEO in New York drew widespread attention to health insurers’ practice of denying or delaying doctor-ordered care, the largest U.S. insurers agreed Monday to streamline their often cumbersome preapproval system. Dozens of insurance companies, including Cigna, Aetna, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare, agreed to several measures, which include making fewer medical procedures subject to prior authorization and speeding up the review process. Insurers also pledged to use clear language when communicating with patients and promised that medical professionals would review coverage denials.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3FTbDad
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)
NEXT WEEK: Via Minnesota Medical Association, VERBATIM: “This Fourth of July, Minnesota physicians are urging their fellow Minnesotans to leave the fireworks up to the professionals. ‘Every summer we hear too many sad stories about people getting hurt by fireworks,’ said MMA President Edwin Bogonko, MD, MBA. ’This year, please stay away from firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles, sparklers and all of those dangerous items. It’s better to be safe, than sorry.’ According to the latest statistics (2023) from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), hands and fingers were the most often injured body parts (35%), followed by heads, face and ears (22%), eyes (19%), trunk (11%), and legs (8%). In 2023, there were 9,700 people treated in ERs and eight deaths.”
ST PAUL: Via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “Children and teens will have improved access to mental health and substance abuse treatment thanks to a new clinic on St. Paul’s East Side. Wilder East Clinic opened last month at 445 Etna St., just north of Interstate 94. The Wilder Foundation decided to expand its services due to a growing need for services for children and long wait times at its site on University Avenue in St. Paul.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZMzhvB
HERSELF HEALTH: Via news release from St. Paul-based Herself Health, VERBATIM: “Herself Health, the leading healthcare company providing comprehensive primary care to women, has launched the Women Growing Bolder Health Alliance, a curated preferred provider network built to improve access to high-quality care for women.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3FR8RSQ
AIRPORT: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “A growing roster of airports around the world are implementing new policies and procedures to ease travel for people living with dementia and their caregivers, said Sara Barsel, who founded the Dementia-Friendly Airports Working Group. While there’s no agreed-upon definition of a “dementia-friendly” airport, at MSP it’s meant improving signage, installing adult changing rooms and adopting use of the sunflower lanyard, which identifies the wearer as someone with a hidden disability who needs extra time and patience from workers and volunteers. It’s part of a growing number of efforts by MSP to better accommodate people with special needs or challenges.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ekX2Rp
SOCIAL MEDIA: Via NPR, VERBATIM: “The social media platform TikTok recently banned a hashtag called #SkinnyTok after European regulators warned it was promoting unrealistic body images and extreme weight loss. The company had seen an onslaught of content featuring emaciated-looking young women peddling tips on how to drop weight quickly. Now the hashtag may be gone, but eliminating this kind of harmful content is not that simple. There's still no shortage of people — on TikTok and other social media platforms — spreading unhealthy information on how to eat fewer calories and get very, very thin.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3T7oLvb
FDA: From BMJ Group via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “Fresh concerns have emerged about the platelet studies underpinning the FDA approval of ticagrelor, AstraZeneca's multibillion-dollar heart drug. A new BMJ investigation reveals data discrepancies, missing lab readings, and questions about the integrity of the trial process. Notably, key results reported in a major cardiology journal were inaccurately presented, and some study contributors were omitted or denied involvement. With generics on the horizon, critics say these revelations highlight potential dangers, including severe rebound effects and bleeding risks, that were never properly disclosed.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3T7txZO
CUTS: Via CNBC, VERBATIM: “Proposed federal spending cuts to health care in Republicans’ ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ may increase some families’ medical debts by as much as $22,800, according to a new report from Third Way, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The Republican budget bill proposes $1.1 trillion in cuts to health care that target both Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nim0oG
HIV: Via KFF Health News, VERBATIM: “Cedric Sturdevant woke up with ‘a bit of depression’ but made it to church, as he does every Sunday. In a few days, he would drive from Mississippi to Washington, D.C., to join HIV advocates at an April rally against the Trump administration’s actions. It had clawed back more than $11 billion in federal public health grants to states and abruptly terminated millions of dollars in funds for HIV work in the United States. Testing and outreach for HIV faltered in the South, a region that accounts for more than half of all HIV diagnoses. Dangerous changes loomed: To compensate for tax cuts for the wealthy, Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ bill and budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 threaten to curtail Medicaid, which provides health coverage for people with low incomes and disabilities. About 40% of adults with HIV rely on it for their lifesaving treatments.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44eXr3n
HEAT: Via Roll Call, VERBATIM: “Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., introduced legislation this month aimed at addressing extreme heat, which she said caused more than 600 deaths last year in Maricopa County around Phoenix. Her figures for one Arizona county are far higher than the national average only a few years earlier, an indication of the discrepancies between local and national data. One of Ansari’s bills would require a federal study of the financial costs of extreme heat, one would establish an urban heat mitigation grant program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and one would set up a National Integrated Heat Health Information System at NOAA ‘to improve extreme heat preparedness, planning, and response.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44f7FR1
ESSENTIA HEALTH INVESTS IN TWIN PORTS NURSES: Total payroll for Essentia Health Duluth-Superior nurses is $164 million, with $53 million paid in salary increases over the past 3 years. Essentia Health has also increased clinical support staff by 10% over the past 3 years, providing additional support for those nurses. Over half of Duluth area nurses have been with us for over 5 years and enjoy exceptional work-life balance. To join our team at Essentia Health, search for openings HERE: https://fluence-media.co/3FzLe0i (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
COVID: From Hebrew University via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “A new study reveals that the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein can spread from infected to uninfected cells, triggering an immune response that mistakenly targets healthy cells. The research identifies how this viral protein binds to cell surfaces and shows that enoxaparin, a common anticoagulant, can block this harmful interaction, pointing to a potential avenue for treatment. These findings shed light on the mechanisms behind severe COVID-19 complications and immune-driven tissue damage.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4efruwd
ABORTIONS: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “The number of abortions in the U.S. rose again in 2024, with women continuing to find ways to get them despite bans and restrictions in many states, according to a report out Monday. The latest report from the WeCount project of the Society of Family Planning, which supports abortion access, was released a day before the third anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and ended nearly 50 years of legal abortion nationally for most of pregnancy.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45yDlTX
PRESCRIPTIONS: Via The 19th, VERBATIM: “Out-of-state doctors are pushing for laws that will make it harder to detect who prescribes and sends abortion medication, as anti-abortion lawmakers look for ways to stop the flow of pills to their states. Patients have continued to receive abortion pills in states with near-total bans, so much so that the number of abortions has actually increased since the fall of Roe v. Wade, despite near-total abortion bans. This is mostly thanks to ‘shield laws.’ Working from states like New York, California and Massachusetts, providers meet virtually with pregnant patients in states with bans and write them abortion pill prescriptions.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40mbPWf
ULTRASOUNDS: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “One of the largest crisis pregnancy center support groups in the United States is telling its member clinics to avoid performing prenatal ultrasounds on women who they suspect have ectopic pregnancies, according to recordings obtained by NBC News of a recent presentation by a legal group that advises the faith-based nonprofits. The guidance comes in the wake of a lawsuit against a Massachusetts center that misdiagnosed an ectopic pregnancy.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZMMbK3
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)
VACCINE PANEL: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) called for the delay of this week’s meeting of a federal vaccine advisory panel handpicked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, citing concerns about members’ lack of experience and potential bias towards vaccines. ‘Wednesday’s meeting should not proceed with a relatively small panel, and no CDC Director in place to approve the panel’s recommendations,’ Cassidy wrote in a post on X late Monday evening. He noted that members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices ‘do not have significant experience studying microbiology, epidemiology or immunology,’ and some may even have a “preconceived bias against” mRNA vaccines.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3GemueI
VA: Via Military.com, VERBATIM: “The Department of Veterans Affairs will end its spinal cord research involving monkeys this month, with the conclusion of studies on stem cell therapy to treat injuries and understand the impact of bruising on spinal cords. The completion wraps up decades of VA research using primates to study a host of medical conditions and treatments, coming at the end of a long effort by activists and lawmakers to halt studies that harm dogs, cats and primates.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eiIFwT
MAYO: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic in Arizona announced it has added lung transplantation to its nationally recognized solid organ transplant program. The program delivers world-class care to critically ill patients battling end-stage lung disease who need a lung transplant to survive and restore their quality of life. The new Arizona Lung Transplant Program in Arizona offers a multidisciplinary team of medical and surgical experts in the Southwest, supported by clinical innovation from across Mayo Clinic, bringing unparalleled experience and the latest in research-driven care to every patient.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nzrw6H
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
PLASTIC: From University of Gothenburg via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “A single pellet of recycled plastic can contain over 80 different chemicals. A new study with researchers from University of Gothenburg and Leipzig shows that recycled polyethylene plastic can leach chemicals into water causing impacts in the hormone systems and lipid metabolism of zebrafish larvae.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4k2WsZJ
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