ERG: From UCare via Instagram, VERBATIM: “Happy #birthday to UCare's Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). All 7 UCare #ERGs just passed the one-year mark. They are: Generations, Interfaith, Mosaic Connections, UCan (disability), UPride, WeCare, and WILD (women).” POST: https://fluence-media.co/4lIgEBl (SPONSORED: UCare)
All Fluence tipsheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
POLL: Via Ipsos, VERBATIM: “The latest wave of the Axios/Ipsos American Health Index finds that most Americans want the government to take more steps to make food safer. For example, nine in ten say that it should be easier for the average American to understand food safety guidelines. The poll also finds that most Americans trust current childhood vaccine recommendations from the federal government, but far fewer trust current COVID-19 vaccine guidelines. Lastly, Americans report wanting more information and transparency about the health of elected officials and say there should be a higher standard for the age elected officials can serve.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3klg1Uo
STUDY: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “The health of U.S. children has deteriorated over the past 17 years, with kids today more likely to have obesity, chronic diseases and mental health problems like depression, a new study says. Much of what researchers found was already known, but the study paints a comprehensive picture by examining various aspects of children’s physical and mental health at the same time.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4laJDOu
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
MEDICAID: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “The health insurance program is now facing its largest cuts since its inception in the 1960s, which could lead to an estimated 150,000 to 250,000 Minnesotans losing their health insurance, according to KFF, a nonprofit health policy research organization. These policy changes are expected to introduce additional red tape and funding pressures that may cause individuals to lose their eligibility or opt out of the program as cuts roll out over the next few years. Medicaid, which is more commonly known in Minnesota as Medical Assistance, provides health coverage for about 1.2 million people in the state.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lHimTJ
HOSPITALS: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minnesota won’t gain the full $1 billion windfall in federal Medicaid dollars that officials hoped would stabilize hospitals across the state. The federal budget bill President Donald Trump signed Friday clamps down on so-called directed payment programs where hospitals pay special taxes to states to unlock much larger federal Medicaid reimbursements. Minnesota on Thursday filed an application to join more than 40 states that have already used the financing mechanism, but state leaders are no longer optimistic it will shore up their hospitals. The changes under the budget ‘will severely limit us in Minnesota,’ said Joe Schindler, vice president of finance policy for the Minnesota Hospital Association, in an interview Monday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45TDgKI
(DISCLOSURE: Minnesota Hospital Association is a Fluence sponsor)
MORE: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “States and rural health advocacy groups warn that cutting Medicaid — a program serving millions of low-income and disabled Americans — would hit already fragile rural hospitals hard and could force hundreds to close, stranding some people in remote areas without nearby emergency care. More than 300 hospitals could be at risk for closure under the Republican bill, according to an analysis by the Cecil G. Sheps Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which tracks rural hospital closures.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45TfNJE
HIV: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Aliveness Project staff say building community is an essential part of their organization. It helps people stay connected to care and medication, all available in the same building; staying on medication keeps them from spreading the virus . . . That one-stop-shop model relies largely on federal and state dollars, like most HIV services organizations across the state. But they’ve seen those funds shrink, and experts are worried that more federal cuts are on the way. Decreases in federal and state funding hit HIV services organizations earlier this year; Minnesota’s Department of Human Services announced last year that it expected a shortfall of about $9 million in its HIV support budget.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4eJMk7s
PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “A federal judge on Monday granted Planned Parenthood’s request to temporarily halt Medicaid funding cuts to the group’s health centers under a provision of Republicans’ new tax and spending package. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani’s ruling marks the first known instance of a federal judge limiting enforcement of any part of the ‘big, beautiful’ bill, which President Trump signed into law Friday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44jUujb
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)
SCHOOLS: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Facing a massive increase in employee health insurance rates, leaders at Anoka-Hennepin Area Schools last May asked a question out loud: Should the district stop paying for Ozempic and other popular new weight loss drugs? Premiums were set to rise 22 percent on average, costing employees some $500 to $700 more per month for the district’s family insurance plans. Dropping coverage for the popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs could have shaved a significant chunk off the premium hikes.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4eDbjZN
MEASLES: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “Measles cases in the United States are the highest they’ve been since the country eliminated the disease in 2000. The U.S. has reported 1,277 cases since the start of the year, according to NBC News’ tally of state health department data. Earlier this year, the U.S. also recorded its first measles deaths in a decade: two children in Texas and an adult in New Mexico. All were unvaccinated. For the past 25 years, measles has been considered eliminated in the U.S. because it has not continuously spread over a yearlong period.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eAoYko
MORE: Via KAAL-TV, VERBATIM: “While no cases have been reported in our area, data from the Minnesota and Iowa Departments of Health shows 90% of kindergartners in our viewing area are immunized for measles, down from 95% in recent years. 5% might not sound like much, but the CDC says 95% is what’s needed to reach herd immunity.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4lJRH8R
LAWSUIT: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Six leading medical organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, and the federal Department of Health and Human Services, charging that recent decisions limiting access to vaccines were unscientific and harmful to the public. The suit, filed in federal court in western Massachusetts, seeks to restore Covid vaccines to the list of recommended immunizations for healthy children and pregnant women.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lfqbQB
DEAFNESS: From Karolinska Institutet via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “A cutting-edge gene therapy has significantly restored hearing in children and adults with congenital deafness, showing dramatic results just one month after a single injection. Researchers used a virus to deliver a healthy copy of the OTOF gene into the inner ear, improving auditory function across all ten participants in the study.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eY8IKt
CBD: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “A new clinical trial suggests there are still ongoing questions about the safety of even low doses of cannabidiol, even as CBD capsules, gummies, edibles, oils and lotions have become increasingly omnipresent in the United States in recent years. Scientists from the Food and Drug Administration’s Division of Applied Regulatory Science carried out a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial last year to assess how low-dose CBD affects liver function in a group of healthy middle-aged men and women.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3TvyeN5
MENTAL HEALTH: Via KFF Health News, VERBATIM: “The workplace is the new ground zero for addressing mental health. That means companies — employees and supervisors alike — must confront crises, from addiction to suicide. The two seemingly unrelated advances in Connecticut and Pennsylvania have one common factor: They grew out of the work of a little known federal agency called the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. It’s one of the key federal agencies leading workplace mental health efforts, from decreasing alarmingly high rates of suicide among construction workers to addressing burnout and depression among health care workers. But after gaining considerable traction during the covid-19 pandemic, that work is now imperiled. The Trump administration has fired a majority of NIOSH staffers and is proposing severe reductions to its budget.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3TZdBsH
DEI: Via Politico, VERBATIM: “The Department of Health and Human Services emailed staff a ‘whistle-blower questionnaire’ asking them to report cases of discrimination due to past diversity, equity and inclusion directives, according to an email obtained by POLITICO. The email asks staff five questions about whether they’ve witnessed people nix grants or contracts ‘with discriminatory language’ and if they knew current and former staff who were passed over for promotions or hiring due to ‘race, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3U2qFxw
WEBSITES: Via Fierce Healthcare, VERBATIM: “A federal judge ruled that the swift takedown of health information across several government webpages earlier this year was illegal and vacated agencies’ directives to do so. The takedowns were carried out in late January to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump redirecting the federal government’s stance on gender and sex policy. They were restored in part when a plaintiff medical organization, Doctors for America, was granted a temporary restraining order after successfully arguing that the sudden removals impeded their ability to provide time-sensitive care and were likely unlawful.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lK7dBD
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)
OCTOBER: Via news release from Narcolepsy Network, VERBATIM: “Narcolepsy Network is delighted to announce its 38th Annual Conference, taking place Friday, October 24 through Sunday, October 26, 2025, at the Royal Sonesta Minneapolis Downtown.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44RTV0b
EPILEPSY: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “I found myself quickly turning each page as I read through Stacia Kalinoski’s memoir about her life with epilepsy, ‘Racing Upward,’ released July 1 by the University of Minnesota Press. The former athlete and marathon runner and TV news reporter documents her story with vivid detail and an engaging narrative voice. In 2014, Kalinoski was terminated from her job at a news station in Michigan after experiencing a seizure. She had been having seizures since college but had maintained a successful career in television journalism, holding roles at three different stations in different states.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44RH9Pe
SPERM COUNT: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “It’s not uncommon for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to mention sperm counts when he makes a public appearance . . . The secretary’s warning feeds on a burgeoning narrative that men today face a fundamental threat to their fertility. Similar claims have been spread by various wellness influencers, tech startups and young men on social media. Young men concerned about a decline in virility have opted to freeze their sperm, abstain from sex or undergo testosterone replacement therapy. A 2022 study found that ‘semen retention’ was the most popular men’s health subject on TikTok and Instagram.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44zTdDt
ALGAE: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “As Minnesota's lake season heats up, so does the risk of blue-green algae blooms, a common bacterium capable of harming people and pets. These blooms are often intensified by warm weather, and with the recent high temperatures across the state, the MPCA's Lee Engle says it's important to take proactive measures.” QUOTE: "If the lake doesn't look good or kind of pea soup green, you may want to just choose a different place to recreate either go to a different lake, maybe do a pool day," Engle says. "But you probably don't want to recreate in that specific water body if you have that really green appearance of the water." LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3TpQwzn
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)
SEPTEMBER: Via Medical Alley, VERBATIM: “We are thrilled to announce Sheri Dodd, CEO of Tactile Medical, as our featured speaker for Women in Health Leadership on Tuesday, September 30.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4krDGLO
EMPNIA: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Minneapolis-based medical device innovator EmpNia has been granted clearance by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its wearable sensor, eMotus, to hospitals and cancer centers across the U.S. The company’s eMotus system is designed to help manage image-guided radiation therapy—specifically, for cancer patients.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44nQvSU
AI: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “A team of Mayo Clinic researchers has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can detect surgical site infections (SSIs) with high accuracy from patient-submitted postoperative wound photos, potentially transforming how postoperative care is delivered. Published in the Annals of Surgery, the study introduces an AI-based pipeline the researchers created that can automatically identify surgical incisions, assess image quality and flag signs of infection in photos submitted by patients through online portals.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4krOo4Y
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
EXERCISE: From University College London via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “A new UCL study reveals that aligning workouts with personality boosts fitness and slashes stress—extroverts thrive on HIIT, neurotics favor short, private bursts, and everyone benefits when enjoyment leads the way.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kuyMOj
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