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Category Archives: Health
The Noble Art of Being Non-Profit
Selfless Institutions That Pay Their Executives Like Royalty Denis Benjamin Thanks to Ed M. Ed note: This article must make one think about what a tax exemptnon-profit really is. I checked with ChatGPT to ask about the incomes in our … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Health
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She Didn’t Want to Live With Advanced Dementia. So Why Was She Being Kept Alive?
Ed Note: I encourage you to read this article. Dementia will affect many of us as we age. What are your wishes for care if you are in dementia’s advanced stages? Dr. Hope Wechkin, the Medical Director at Evergreen Hospice … Continue reading
Posted in Dementia, end of life, Health
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CDC restores official U.S. immunization schedules to July 2, 2025, versions to comply with March 16 court order
Thanks to Ed M. In compliance with the March 16 federal court ruling in American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy, CDC restored its official child and adolescent immunization schedule and its official adult immunization schedule to the July 2, 2025, versions. These versions reflect the decisions of … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Vaccines
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Peptides, explained: Answers to your top questions
by Katelyn Jetelina in Your Local Epidemiologist Ed note: Sir William Osler (1849–1919), a foundational figure in modern medicine, once stated: “The desire to take medicine is perhaps the greatest feature which distinguishes man from animals”. “Peptides” is a very broad category, … Continue reading
Posted in Health
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New Vaccine Recommendations Page from DOH
Thanks to Ed M. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has launched a new Vaccine Recommendations webpage in response to House Bill 2242 (PDF). The page provides current state immunization recommendations and related guidance for health care providers and local health jurisdictions. … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Vaccines
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Good reason to get the COVID booster
Thanks to Ed M. The Washington Post reported that Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health and former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, delayed the publication of a study in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly … Continue reading
Posted in Health
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A Room-by-Room Guide for Going Plastic Free
The Sierra Club has a useful guide about how to handle plastics in our lives. Click here to view the article. (thanks to Diana C.)
Posted in environment, Health
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Happy Public Health Week
From “Your Friendly Epidemiologist” This week also happens to be National Public Health Week. It’s our time to shine! Public health is, quite literally, an invisible shield, and it’s essential to make it visible.
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Less can be much much more–caveat emptor
When switching to a lower dose of this medication, a patient found that the cost for a three month supply increased from $24.88 for the 90 mg dose to $644.01 for the 60 mg dose. That’s about a 25 fold … Continue reading
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🗓️Recognizing World TB Day 2026
Each year on March 24, World TB Day is recognized globally to build public awareness around TB and recommit to ending the world’s deadliest infectious disease, which claims about 1.25 million lives annually. The date commemorates the 1882 discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the … Continue reading
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Left Atrial Appendage Closure — Another Overused Method in Cardiology?
Ed note: There are a number of interventional procedures available to us that sound good, but are they really beneficial. The current New England Journal of Medicine gives fair warning that current research does not support a common procedure used … Continue reading
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Covid-19 six years later
by Katelyn Jetelina in Your Friendly Epidemiologist Ed note: This is likely more that you want to know, but it’s an excellent summary of what we know and still don’t know. Six years ago today, I put my baby in … Continue reading
Posted in Government, Health, Vaccines
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World’s First SELF Driving Wheelchair
Thanks to Bill R.
Posted in Advocacy, Disabilities, Health
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World Sleep Day
Thanks to Mary M. Well, if we live to be 90, we’ve slept close to 30 years. So I guess it’s worth having a day to remember. Click here for lots of information about sleep.
How can Advance Directives Really Work?
Posted in Advocacy, end of life, Health, Uncategorized
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The Toilet Seat Challenge Test
By Paul Offit, MD (thanks to Ed M.) On February 12, 2026, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared on a podcast called The Past Weekend with comedian Theo Von. “I’m not scared of a germ,” said RFK Jr. “I used to snort cocaine off of … Continue reading
The CDC is withholding critical information about vaccine-preventable diseases from the American public. Why?
by Paul Offit (thanks to Ed M.) On January 27, 2026, researchers from Vanderbilt University, the University of North Carolina, and Harvard Medical School published a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine that revealed a surprising and previously unrealized aspect of Robert F. … Continue reading
Posted in Government, Health
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What Alcohol Does to the Body
From the moment you take a sip, drinking starts to influence your biology. Here’s an inside look. By Dana G. Smith, Illustrations by Montse Galbany – in the NYTDry January has come and gone, but Americans’ relationship with drinking is … Continue reading
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New Medicare Changes in 2026: Prior Approval Required for These 17 Services — affecting those who have Original Medicare
Today I received an email from a friend in another CCRC who has need of a steroid injection for a very painful bulging low back disc and a facet joint cyst. Coverage was turned down by Virtix Health, a Medicare … Continue reading
Posted in Health, Insurance
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Friday, February 6 at 11:00am – Health Care Lecture: How to Sleep Better in Retirement by Dr. Branon Peters-Mathews
Ed note: Hope to see you in the MBR Friday (tomorrow). Brandon is back by popular demand for his excellent presentations on sleep disorders and how we can deal with them. In addition to the common sleep disorders like sleep … Continue reading
Posted in Aging Sites, Health
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Finding Dignity, Hope and Healing at the End
Town Hall Seattle and Northwest Center for Creative Aging presentDr. Jim deMaine with Rebecca CrichtonFinding Dignity, Hope, and Healing at the End Mon 3/9 at 7:30PM | $10-$35 Sliding Scale | In-Person Join Dr. Jim deMaine, a pulmonary/critical care physician, … Continue reading
Posted in Advocacy, Aging Sites, end of life, Health, Hospice, Law
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Two regulatory rollbacks, along with a new A.I. experiment in Medicare, raise some worrisome questions.
By Paula Span in the NYT Ed note: We should be proud of our LTC Washington State Ombudsman, Patricia Hunter, for advocating for us and pushing back on the negative moves of CMS. Month after month, Patricia Hunter and other members … Continue reading
Posted in Aging Sites, Government, Health
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More reasons to get the Shingrix and RSV vaccines
Summary from ChatGPT Here’s a clear, evidence-based summary of what we **currently know — and don’t know — about “anti-aging” and dementia protection with the Shingrix (shingles) and RSV vaccines: 🧠 1. Shingrix (Shingles Vaccine) Dementia Risk & Brain Protection … Continue reading
Posted in Aging Sites, Dementia, Health, Vaccines
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How to strengthen your immune system
Katelyn Jetelina, Edward Nirenberg, and Hannah Totte, MPH in Your Local Epidemiologist Ed note: You might find it surprising that sleep is so important to strengthening the immune system. FYI, a sleep specialist, Dr. Brandon Peters-Mathews will be giving a presentation here at … Continue reading
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RFK Jr.’s Tuskegee Experiment
RFK Jr. recently directed the CDC to fund a study in West Africa that lays bare his cruelty and dishonesty. (thanks to Ed M.) by Paul Offit Between 1932 and 1972, the United States Public Health Service, in what was … Continue reading