DENTAL CARE: From UCare via Facebook, VERBATIM: “Ever wonder how UCare's unique Mobile #Dental Clinic builds bridges across the state - in partnership with the University of Minnesota Twin Cities School of Dentistry? This video tells the story” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3PBjDxN (SPONSORED: UCare)
POLL: Via USA Today, VERBATIM: “Nearly two-thirds of Americans think the Dec. 4 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was wrong, and the suspected killer should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, according to a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll. Most of the rest agreed it was wrong, but said they understood the anger the alleged shooter felt toward America's health care system. The findings underscore lingering furor with a system that spends more than any other in the world but delivers the lowest life expectancy among large, wealthy nations.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hfSeNw
HEALTHCARE: Via Gallup, VERBATIM: “Nearly half of the U.S. public (46%) says the country is headed in the wrong direction when it comes to President-elect Donald Trump’s policies to lower the cost of healthcare, and about four in 10 say this for the cost of prescription drugs, according to a new West Health-Gallup survey. About three in 10 Americans say the country is headed in the right direction on either question, and about one in four say they are unsure about the future of healthcare policy under the new administration.”
“Levels of optimism about the direction of healthcare coming out of the 2024 national election fall largely along partisan lines, with Democrats overwhelmingly thinking future policy on health costs is headed in the wrong direction (84%), along with nearly half of independents (48%). Conversely, nearly three-quarters (73%) of Republicans think the country is headed in the right direction, followed by 24% of independents and 3% of Democrats. Attitudes about future policies aimed at the cost of prescription drugs are similarly colored by political affiliation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4g0kiDB
AI: From Gwynedd Mercy University via Business Wire, VERBATIM: “More than half of American adults (59%) believe using artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in diagnosis and treatment will result in better health outcomes for patients and reduce the cost of healthcare (57%) within the next decade, according to a survey conducted on behalf of Gwynedd Mercy University (GMercyU) by The Harris Poll.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Wmdfy4
DRINKING: Via USA Today, VERBATIM: “The Surgeon General's recent warning that alcohol can cause cancer didn't exactly fall on deaf ears, but won't change America's drinking habits either, a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll suggests. The survey found 86% had no plans to drink less alcohol after U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory warning that consumption can increase cancer risk. Only about 13% said they planned to drink less following Murthy's pronouncement.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4h2l4S0
PUBLIC SAFETY: From Cari Spencer via MPR, VERBATIM: “LeQue Curtis was reaching for her mailbox last November, when she heard the crack of gunfire. It was an apparent homicide, just steps away from her apartment building in St. Paul . . . Curtis was among the 3,399 Minnesotans who responded to a Lumaris survey gauging perceptions of public safety across the state — where crime rates vary but have broadly decreased to the lowest level in more than three decades. An analysis from MPR News' sister organization APM Research Lab found that while the majority of Minnesotans reported feeling safe most of the time, a quarter of respondents said a fear of crime impacts their activities often or somewhat often. For Black women who responded, that number doubled to nearly 50 percent.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42eVX9L
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
UNITEDHEALTH: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “UnitedHealth posted a better-than-expected profit in the final quarter of 2024, but a nagging rise in medical costs and care utilization surprised Wall Street. Shares of the health care giant slid early Thursday after it released its first financial report since the brazen shooting of one of its executives outside a New York City hotel touched a national nerve and brought to the surface American frustration over health care access.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hifOZZ
ACA: Via news release from the Attorney General, VERBATIM: “Attorney General Ellison today announced that he and 13 other states are joining together to defend health insurance access for Dreamers from court challenges. The motion to intervene comes as the incoming Trump Administration is expected to halt federal efforts to legally defend the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services’ (CMS) Final Rule granting access to Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients from a legal challenge brought by a coalition of States led by the State of Kansas.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hb7sUB
NOROVIRUS: From Mohamed Ibrahim via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “Amid a particularly bad flu season, where respiratory infection cases like coronavirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are surging in Minnesota, another virus is also making the rounds. Norovirus, also known colloquially as stomach flu or food poisoning, is seeing some of the highest outbreaks in recent years, spiking to more than three times the normal rate in December. Doctors, state health officials and public health experts are working to get the word out on prevention methods to help stop the spread and limit the strain on emergency rooms across the state. The highly contagious illness spreads rapidly in crowded settings like schools and nursing homes.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gYZL3y
VACCINATIONS: Via KFF Health News, VERBATIM: “During the 2023-24 school year, the percentage of kindergartners exempted from one or more vaccinations rose to 3.3%, the highest ever reported, with increases in 40 states and Washington, D.C., according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Tennessee and Mississippi were among those with increases. Nearly all exemptions nationally were for nonmedical reasons. Vaccine proponents worry anti-vaccine messaging could accelerate a growing ‘health freedom’ movement that has been pushed by leaders in states such as Florida. Momentum against vaccines is likely to continue to grow with the election of Donald Trump as president and his proposed nomination of anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40dYiiG
NIH: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Monica Bertagnolli will resign on Jan. 17, she told staff this week, ending her tenure as the head of the $48 billion biomedical research agency after only a year . . . The NIH has typically been an agency with bipartisan support, and Bertagnolli’s predecessor, Francis Collins, served three administrations over more than 12 years. But lingering Republican anger over the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed NIH squarely into partisan crosshairs.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3PCzV9l
RED: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “Food safety advocates cheered the news that U.S. regulators are banning Red No. 3 — and said they don’t anticipate any hiccups in quickly removing the artificial dye from America’s grocery shelves. Red No. 3 gives thousands of foods, beverages and sweets their cherry-red hue. On Wednesday, following decades of concerns over the additive’s safety, the Food and Drug Administration announced it would ban its use starting in 2027.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Cknz2E
CANCER: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “More Americans are surviving cancer, but the disease is striking young and middle-aged adults and women more frequently, the American Cancer Society reported on Thursday. And despite overall improvements in survival, Black and Native Americans are dying of some cancers at rates two to three times higher than those among white Americans. These trends represent a marked change for an illness that has long been considered a disease of aging, and which used to affect far more men than women.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40zi3CM
MORE: Via American Cancer Society:
REPORT: https://fluence-media.co/4aonpnO
CAPSULES: From University of Pennsylvania via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “A new twist on a decades-old anticancer strategy has shown powerful effects against multiple cancer types in a preclinical study from researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The experimental approach, which uses tiny capsules called small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), could offer an innovative new type of immunotherapy treatment and is poised to move toward more advanced development and testing.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40CNL1K
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.-Elect Kari Rehauer
Rep.-Elect Wayne Johnson
Rep. Elect Julie Greene
Rep. Elect Keith Allen
Rep. Elect Peter Johnson
Follow on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.TheDailyAgenda.com/Podcasts. (SPONSORED: Minnesota Telecom Alliance)
DRUG TREATMENT: Via Roll Call, VERBATIM: “The Biden administration Wednesday finalized a long-awaited rule laying out how some health care providers can prescribe gold-standard opioid use disorder treatments through telehealth. The final rule from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services allows providers who have not had an in-person visit with a patient to prescribe six months’ worth of buprenorphine through telehealth, including through audio-only visits.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42iYTCm
DEER RIVER: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “Essentia Health and the union representing workers on strike at Essentia-Deer River are headed back to the bargaining table. Around 70 workers from the hospital and nursing home who are part of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) have been on strike since December 9th.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3PFBDXQ
From lunch take…
E-CIGS: Via news release from the Attorney General, VERBATIM: “Attorney General Ellison today announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against High Light Vapes for violating state laws against deceptive tobacco marketing, marketing vapes to children, and consumer fraud, and has launched an investigation into e-cigarette manufacturer Loon to determine whether Loon has violated these or similar laws.”
“High Light Vapes is the maker of e-cigarette products that mimic highlighters and are designed to be easily concealable and usable by school-age children.” READ/PHOTO: https://fluence-media.co/4jbZlIN
From morning take…
DOCTORS: via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “There is real concern among health officials there won't be nearly enough doctors in the future, let alone for rural Minnesota in the near term. Dr. Edwin Bogonko, president of the Minnesota Medical Association, estimates 30% of the state's physician workforce will either retire or change careers [soon]. … The projected shortage [will be] exacerbated by the population's health care needs, which Bokongo said is an additional 1,200 primary care doctors by 2040, a 28% increase of the working ranks now. … The vacancy rate for pediatricians in December 2024 was 32.4%. For family medicine, it was 8.5%, while OBGYN came in at 7.6%.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4jeoWR7
ELY: via Duluth News Tribune, VERBATIM: “The financial outlook for a small town's hospital brightened considerably this week, as it received notice that federal officials now intend to reverse an earlier decision to no longer consider the facility a ‘critical access hospital.’ That proposed change of status could have deprived the 21-bed Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital of critical funding. … The hospital appealed the decision…[and] the facility will retain its designation as a critical access hospital.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Wnw5EZ
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STUDY: From Colette Gallagher via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a targeted therapy that could bring relief to people living with lichen planus, a chronic inflammatory skin condition of the skin, hair, nails, mouth and genitals. They described their findings in a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation that described their first-in-human, phase 2 clinical trial. The researchers identified unique molecular and cellular changes in the skin with lichen planus, particularly an overactive immune response involving specific types of T cells, a crucial immune system component.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4alemDQ
LIFE LINK III: From Shoreview-based Life Link III via Business Wire, VERBATIM: “Life Link III, a leader in mobile health and emergency medical transportation services, is pleased to announce two strategic leadership appointments that underscore its commitment to clinical excellence, innovation, and transformation. Dr. Bjorn Peterson, MD, who has served as Life Link III’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) & Medical Director since 2022, will be transitioning into a full-time CMO role with the organization . . . Additionally, Life Link III is proud to announce the creation of an executive role; Chief Innovation Officer (CINO), and has appointed Kolby Kolbet to lead in this new and pivotal role.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4h2mLyQ
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
LONELINESS: From The University of Hong Kong via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “Loneliness is more likely to cause depression if one keeps ruminating on how lonely they are. This is the essence of a study by The University of Hong Kong (HKU) that has therapeutic implications for treating isolated individuals or populations. Past studies have identified a loneliness-rumination-depression nexus. Rumination is defined as repetitive and intrusive negative thoughts and feelings, and loneliness as a gap between desired and actual social connections.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40mQXgC
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