THURSDAY: From University YMCA – UofM via Facebook, VERBATIM: “U of MN College Students are invited to join us for Health is Wealth and JJ’s Jab-oree Flu Vacc’s! Thank you to Vaccinate Your Family for their sponsorship, and to UCare for their support of our event. These two partnerships along with Cub Pharm make this colloborative event each year an incredible success!” DETAILS: https://fluence-media.co/47Ge3CE (SPONSORED: UCare)
All Fluence tipsheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
POLLING
SHUTDOWN: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “Voters say President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are more to blame for the ongoing government shutdown, according to a new NBC News poll. But their verdict on the spending stalemate includes more blame for Democrats than some past shutdowns, part of a growing collection of data outlining negative views of both parties. The survey, conducted Oct. 24-28, finds a combined 52% of voters blame Trump and congressional Republicans for the stalemate, while 42% blame Democrats in Congress and 4% blame all of the players.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4qHE11f
MORE: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “Core party constituencies were most likely to blame the other party for the shutdown, suggesting each party’s base is supportive of their respective party’s approach to the shutdown.” QUOTE: “Each party could look at this data and say, ‘Let’s not blink,’” GOP pollster Bill McInturff of Public Opinion Strategies told NBC News. McInturff conducted the survey with Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates. “Health care, a central focus of the government shutdown debate, is an area where Democrats continue to hold the upper hand.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4oQOzcG
VACCINES: Via UofM CIDRAP, VERBATIM: “Support among US adults for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine has dropped from 90% to 82% in just a few months, while confusion reigns over whether Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—the top US official spearheading prevention efforts—recommends that children be vaccinated against measles, according to the latest poll from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania. The poll also found that most Americans correctly believe that the MMR vaccine does not cause autism, though that number has slipped.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47r6fpy
PROSTATE: Via news release from Orlando Health, VERBATIM: “A new survey from Orlando Health reveals that over one-third of men (38%) would rather endure stressful situations, such as watching their team lose a big game or being stuck in traffic, than discuss their prostate health. This widespread reluctance to address a common health issue often leads to delayed diagnosis and treatment for conditions like an enlarged prostate.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4r07lR5
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
HEALTHCARE
ENROLLMENT: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “Minnesota’s open enrollment period is underway, but this year brings additional challenges and expenses for some residents as federal uncertainty looms over health insurance subsidies. Access Manager at Lake Superior Community Health Center, Alyssa Peoples, meets one-on-one with Minnesotans to help them find the right insurance option. She says in a normal year, using the state’s MNsure platform can be confusing. ‘The number one reason that people come to us for help is that the state system is complicated,’ said Peoples. This year brings potential federal changes that add uncertainty as Minnesotans navigate their options.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/48WvSzL
PUBLIC HEALTH: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “Cloquet community members joined Carlton County public health professionals to hear from the University of Minnesota’s Director of Infectious Disease Research and Policy, Dr. Michael Osterholm. He spoke on the current state of public health in Minnesota and around the nation. Local health professionals asked questions on current public health concerns, including cuts to organizations like the United States Agency for International Development and national conversations around vaccinations.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4oKT7l0
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)
RESEARCH & INNOVATION
TRANSPLANTS: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Life-saving stem cell transplants have been limited by the need to perfectly match the blood types of donors and recipients, but a discovery by the Minneapolis agency that orchestrates these procedures nationwide could eliminate that barrier. A study group of transplant recipients showed encouraging survival rates from leukemia and other disorders, even though they only matched their donors on five or six of eight key blood markers, the cell therapy agency NMDP reported Monday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nGYy3o
DEMENTIA: From Atrium Health via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “People living in socially and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods may face higher dementia risks, according to new research from Wake Forest University. Scientists found biological signs of Alzheimer’s and vascular brain disease in those from high-burden areas, particularly among Black participants. The results suggest that social and environmental injustices can alter brain structure and function. Improving community conditions could be key to protecting brain health.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47nThcb
AI: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that can identify obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) using the results from an electrocardiogram (ECG) – a common heart test. The innovation could make it faster, cheaper, and easier to spot sleep apnea, particularly in women, who are often underdiagnosed.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47V6aul
OVERDOSES: Via Stateline, VERBATIM: “Illicit drug overdoses and the deaths they cause are trending down this year, despite spikes in a handful of states, according to a Stateline analysis of data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A handful of places with rising overdoses are responding to the problem with cooperation, they say, by sharing information about overdose surges and distributing emergency medication.” QUOTE: “The national conversation is just about warships in the Caribbean and drones and borders,” said Nabarun Dasgupta, who studies overdose trends at the University of North Carolina. “It discounts this huge groundswell of Americans taking care of Americans. There’s a huge amount of caregiving and tending to the needs of local communities that is being done in a non-flashy way because this is hard, slow work.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LkRT1r
MAYO: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “On October 29, the Transplant Center at Mayo Clinic in Florida performed its 10,000th transplant since the program launched in 1998. The milestone is a reflection of the lives transformed through the gift of organ donation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/493JYzu
DESPITE THE CHALLENGES OF RURAL HEALTH CARE, ESSENTIA IS RECOGNIZED FOR PROVIDING TOP CLINICAL CARE: According to the latest report from Minnesota Community Measurement, a statewide resource on health care quality, costs and equity, Essentia ranked as a high performer with 19 of 20 clinical quality metrics scoring above statewide averages. According to Dr. Maria Beaver, chief quality and patient safety officer at Essentia: “This is a testament to the amazing care provided by all our clinical care teams and all our colleagues who support them.” LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4dCxy1D (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
WORKFORCE
DOC PAY: Via Modern Healthcare, VERBATIM: “Nearly three dozen physician specialty groups have called on Congress to halt a new policy that will reduce Medicare payments for thousands of billing codes.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4oiEOnT
MORE: Via Health Leaders, VERBATIM: “The Trump administration on Friday finalized a controversial plan to reevaluate how Medicare calculates doctor payments that will result in lower rates for specialty services. Medicare will implement a 2.5% cut next year to payments for services like radiology and gastroenterology that are based on more than time spent delivering the service. The rule is based on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ argument that these procedures and tasks are being done more efficiently than the old payment rate reflects.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4oHd4cZ
NURSES: Via MedPage Today, VERBATIM: “A leading nurse organization applauded the Joint Commission’s latest hospital performance goals, which elevated the issue of nurse staffing and linked it to patient safety. In a press release, the American Nurses Association (ANA) said that it ‘proudly celebrates a historic victory for nurses and patients alike: for the first time ever, nurse staffing has been elevated within the Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals, now renamed the National Performance Goals.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47uUsFm
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)
HEALTH INDUSTRY
TYLENOL: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “In deciding to buy the company behind Tylenol, the consumer products giant Kimberly-Clark is betting that the product can withstand an extraordinary attack from President Trump and his administration. Top officials have singled out Tylenol, making unproven claims that the use of acetaminophen products during pregnancy can cause autism.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Xg4OUQ
DRUG ADVERTISING: Via NPR, VERBATIM: “If you’ve googled ‘weight loss,’ there’s a good chance that one of the first search results that came up was a website for Ozempic. But Ozempic hasn’t been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for weight loss — it’s only approved to treat Type 2 diabetes. So why is it showing up there? The answer is something called a sponsored search result. Companies pay search engines so that their websites are among the first results you see, if you enter certain keywords or phrases . . . Normally, drug companies have to follow strict rules when it comes to advertising their products in magazines or television commercials.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3X8ih14
NEXTGEN: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “According to a 2023 report by the National Rural Health Association, approximately one third of the United States’ population lives in a health professional shortage area. Essentia Health is trying to change that by implementing an apprenticeship program at many of their hospitals, and last Thursday St Joseph’s in Brainerd welcomed their first graduate of the program.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/43c1nlE
(DISCLOSURE: Essentia is a Fluence sponsor)
ACQUISITION: Via news release from SK, VERBATIM: “
SK Capital Partners, LP, a New York-based private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, ingredients, and life sciences sectors, has completed the previously announced acquisition of LISI Group’s (Euronext: FII) Medical division. The business has relocated its headquarters to Big Lake, Minnesota and has been renamed Precera Medical, marking its emergence as a leading contract development and manufacturing organization partner for blue chip medical device original equipment manufacturers and innovators.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/497OrBf
SURMODICS: Via news release from Eden Prairie-based Surmodics, VERBATIM: “Surmodics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRDX), a leading provider of medical device and in vitro diagnostic technologies to the health care industry, today announced that results from an analysis of 160 real-world patients with symptomatic infrainguinal limb ischemia from its PROWL registry study were presented on November 3rd at an industry-sponsored session at the 23rd Annual VIVA Conference in Las Vegas, NV.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3WE4bEs
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
ANXIETY: From Universidad Miguel Hernandez de Elche via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “Researchers have discovered a specific set of neurons in the amygdala that can trigger anxiety and social deficits when overactive. By restoring the excitability balance in this brain region, they successfully reversed these symptoms in mice. The results point toward targeted neural therapies for emotional disorders. This finding could reshape how anxiety and depression are treated at the circuit level.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47GdbhC
Copyright © 2025 Fluence Media, All rights reserved.
You signed up or are media / a public official interested in health care news from Fluence Media.
Our mailing address is:
Fluence Media
PO Box 270031
Minneapolis, MN 55427