Inside the First Chaotic Days of the Effort to Vaccinate America
One tray of Covid-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer contains 975 doses — way too many for a rural hospital in Arkansas. But with the logistical gymnastics required to safely get the Pfizer vaccine to rural healthcare workers, splitting the trays into smaller shipments has its own dangers. Once out of the freezer that keeps […]
Op-Ed: Overwhelmed Hospitals Face a Covid Surge
These days, the majority of patients I see on my shifts in the emergency department are Covid-19 patients. In the ER, these patients range from people with mild fevers and slight Covid cough to people who are struggling to breathe, some of whom we put into a medically induced coma, intubate, and place on a […]
Coping with the Coronavirus Pandemic for People with Anxiety Disorders
These days, we all have to accept the anxiety inherent in living in the time of the coronavirus pandemic and Covid-19. If there were a way to dispel all anxious feelings, I’d tell you, but there isn’t. The one exception might be someone who could summon such a degree of denial that they carry on […]
Musicians Improvise Masks for Wind Instruments to Keep the Band Together
Above photo: Solomon Keim wears a custom-designed mask during rehearsal at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana. (Chris Bergin for KHN) Trombonist Jerrell Charleston loves the give-and-take of jazz, the creativity of riffing off other musicians. But as he looked toward his sophomore year at Indiana University, he feared that steps to […]
Easier-to-Use Coronavirus Saliva Tests Start to Catch on
As the coronavirus pandemic broke out across the country, healthcare providers and scientists relied on the standard method for detecting respiratory viruses: sticking a long swab deep into the nose to get a sample. The obstacles to implementing such testing on a mass scale quickly became clear. Among them: Many people were wary of the […]
Campus Dorm Resident Assistants Adjust to a New Role: Covid Cop
Breaking up parties, confiscating booze, and answering noise complaints — being a resident adviser has always required a willingness to be the “bad guy” and uphold university policy despite the protests of friends and peers. Now there’s a new element to the job description: Covid cop. The worst part of his job as a resident […]
Revoking My Corona Pass
Accepting the challenge of the new ‘normal’ What’s the state of your mental health these days? Are you anxious? Depressed? Scared? Angry? Frustrated? Lonely? Or an ever-changing mix of all of the above? Yeah. Me, too. Since mid-March when the coronavirus morphed from a nearly forgettable news headline to an omnipresent malignancy that potentially lurked […]
Making Gyms Safer in the Age of Covid-19
After shutting down in the spring, America’s empty gyms are beckoning a cautious public back for a workout. To reassure wary customers, owners have put in place — and now advertise — a variety of coronavirus control measures. At the same time, the fitness industry is trying to rehabilitate itself by pushing back against what […]
The Heart of Covid-19
The coronavirus can take a harmful toll on the cardiovascular system Diane Weibeler didn’t give much thought to the headache she developed one spring weekend. Two days later, though, when she suddenly lost her sense of taste and smell, Weibeler realized she might have Covid-19. A positive Covid-19 test confirmed her suspicion. As a nurse […]
Another Covid Mystery: Patients Survive Ventilator, but Linger in Coma
(Above photo: Frank and Leslie Cutitta stand outside their home, where a banner still hangs for his return from the hospital after a prolonged coma. Jesse Costa/WBUR) Leslie Cutitta said yes, twice, when clinicians from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston called asking whether she wanted them to take — and then continue — extreme measures […]
In Covid-19 Long-Haul Syndrome, Symptoms Continue for Months
Patrick Malia, then-37, felt sick enough on March 12 to visit an urgent care center, wondering if he had Covid-19. The Elgin sterile processing tech’s young son had nausea and a high fever — 103 degrees — the week before; his wife, Keri, also was ill. Now, Malia — who had mild, well-controlled asthma — […]
Chicago Experts Answer Your Covid-19 Questions
As information about staying safe from Covid-19 seems to change weekly, it’s no wonder that people have a lot of questions about how the illness spreads. We talked with local infectious disease experts who answered some common questions about the coronavirus. From wiping down packages to using public bathrooms to letting children play with others, […]
Misinformation Campaigns Hamper Coronavirus Response
Regina Fargis didn’t know what to do. Fargis runs Summit Hills — a health and retirement community in Spartanburg, South Carolina, that offers skilled nursing, activities and communal meals for its residents, most of whom are over 60, the highest-risk category for coronavirus complications. In South Carolina, more than a hundred new cases were emerging […]
How Those with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Cope With Angst of COVID
Before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the United States, Chris Trondsen felt his life was finally under control. As someone who has battled obsessive-compulsive disorder and other mental health issues since early childhood, it’s been a long journey. “I’ve been doing really, really well,” Trondsen says. “I felt like most of it was pretty […]
COVID-19 Meat Shortage? Try Plant Proteins
By now, you’ve probably noticed less beef, pork and chicken at your local grocers due to COVID-19 outbreaks and closures of meat-processing plants. Major meatpacking plants have experienced temporary shutdowns due to more than 27,000 COVID-19 cases and 99 deaths, as of June 19, among meat-processing workers. As the pandemic progresses, intermittent meat shortages might […]
Pandemic Upends Lives of People With Disabilities
Above photo: A diving accident in 1987 left all of Matt Ford’s limbs paralyzed. One of his caregivers, Grace Brunette, spent the first two weeks of the pandemic living in Ford’s basement to assist his father with daily caregiving tasks. (Courtesy of Matt Ford) When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Stacy Ellingen, 34, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, lost […]
5 Tips for Self-Care During the Pandemic and Protests
First came the coronavirus and its strict stay-at-home orders, impacting the mental health of almost half of Americans, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll. Then came the protests, filled with anger and outrage over racism and violence. “People are having a hard time adjusting to this new normal,” says Pavan Prasad, MD, a psychiatrist […]
A Teen’s Death from COVID-19
Above photo: The Guest family poses for a family photo. Front row from left: Ajene Guest and Abby Guest; second row from left: Dawn Guest, Andre Guest, Jessica Plunkitt, Zachary Guest, Elizabeth Guest, Laura Guest, Johnny Guest. (Courtesy of Amber Springer/Wildflower Photography) INDIANAPOLIS — It started as a normal day. Dawn Guest, 54, got up and […]
Eliminating the Pandemic of Racism
I love storms, even when they are frightening. When I look at the timing of COVID-19 and what has erupted from the brutal killing of George Floyd, I see not only a storm but a perfect storm — an opportunity for deep examination, for the realization of relationship, for the letting go of what’s been and what’s […]
Society Is Reopening, Prepare to Hunker Down at Home Again
Even before the May 25 killing of George Floyd in police custody drew large crowds of protesters into the streets of U.S. cities, people were beginning to throng beaches, bars and restaurants. Whether for economic, social or political reasons, our home confinement seems to be ending. Or is it? Public health officials warn that a […]
A Caregiver’s Role: Running to a Crisis
In the middle of April, a few weeks into Illinois’ stay-at-home order, we finally got the call we were anxiously anticipating. A local assisted living facility asked if Right at Home could provide one-on-one care for a woman with dementia who tested positive for COVID-19. Previously, when others asked if we would take care of […]
Rapid Changes to Healthcare Spurred By COVID Might Be Here to Stay
The U.S. healthcare system is famously resistant to government-imposed change. It took decades to create Medicare and Medicaid, mostly due to opposition from the medical-industrial complex. Then it was nearly another half-century before the passage of the Affordable Care Act. But the COVID-19 pandemic has done what no president, social movement or venture capitalist could […]
Hiring a Diverse Army to Track COVID-19
Above photo: Sgt. Jairo Paulino of Newark, Delaware, volunteered for a “bilingual mission” through the Delaware National Guard. Paulino, who grew up in a bilingual household in New York, says he often translated for his father a child. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Capt. Brendan Mackie) As a contact tracer, Teresa Ayala-Castillo is sometimes […]
Behind the Scenes
How NorthShore Protects Non-COVID-19 Patients Before COVID-19, surgeons at NorthShore University HealthSystem’s four legacy hospitals conducted between 150 and 180 surgical procedures on a typical weekday. Now, they’re doing far fewer. “We know there are people avoiding the healthcare system right now. People are ignoring aches, pains, and other abnormalities because they may be afraid,” […]
Busting Common Coronavirus Myths
Whether you turn on the TV, log on to social media or open a newspaper, it’s impossible to escape news about COVID-19. Yet with so much information available from so many sources, it can be hard to determine what’s accurate and what’s not. Keep in mind: The new coronavirus was only detected for the first […]
Staying Safe and Engaged in Senior Communities During Pandemic
Above photo: The Cinco de Mayo happy hour cart makes its way around Artis Senior Living. Photo courtesy of Artis Senior Living The coronavirus pandemic has hit senior residential communities particularly hard. Older adults are at a higher risk for serious complications and death from COVID-19, and the virus spreads easily in close quarters. While […]
‘No Intubation’: Seniors Fearful of COVID-19 Are Changing Their Advance Directives
Last month, Minna Buck revised a document specifying her wishes should she become critically ill. “No intubation,” she wrote in large letters on the form, making sure to include the date and her initials. Buck, 91, had been following the news about COVID-19. She knew her chances of surviving a serious bout of the illness […]
Emptiness of ERs Worries Doctors as Heart Attack and Stroke Patients Delay Care
The patient described it as the worst headache of her life. She didn’t go to the hospital, though. Instead, the Washington state resident waited almost a week. When Abhineet Chowdhary, MD, finally saw her, he discovered she had a brain bleed that had gone untreated. The neurosurgeon did his best, but it was too late. […]
Living with Eco-Anxiety in Age of the Coronavirus
While most news right now focuses on the worldwide emergency response to COVID-19, climate change remains an escalating threat. The current coronavirus pandemic requires immediate action to save millions of lives, but climate change could have even greater devastating effects in the decades to come, intensifying weather patterns, raising sea levels and decimating wildlife. Stay-at-home […]
Born into a Pandemic
Virus complicates births for moms and babies Above photo: Mallory Pease with baby Alivia and her older daughter, Emma Jean. Pease was worried about passing on the coronavirus to Alivia after getting home from the hospital. (Courtesy of the Pease family) Mallory Pease’s contractions grew stronger as her husband, Mitchell, drove her to Oaklawn Hospital in […]
Challenges of Keeping Young Adults Safe During Pandemic
Last month, after California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered most of the state’s residents to stay home, I found myself under virtual house arrest with an uncomfortably large number of Gen Zers. Somehow I had accumulated four of my children’s friends over the preceding months. I suppose some parents more hard-nosed than I would have sent […]
Ineffective Masks Are Putting Healthcare Workers at Serious Risk
With medical supplies in high demand, federal authorities say health workers can wear surgical masks for protection while treating COVID-19 patients — but growing evidence suggests the practice is putting workers in jeopardy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently said lower-grade surgical masks are “an acceptable alternative” to N95 masks unless workers are […]
How COVID-19 Impacts Teens’ Mental Health
Since the end of January, Isa Sanchez, a senior at Whitney Young High School, had been working on her senior project: choreographing a dance to the song “Dreams” by The Cranberries. The dance involves more than a dozen performers, but Illinois canceled in-person school before her group had a chance to perform it. “I wanted […]
Ask the Harvard Experts: Ibuprofen vs. Acetaminophen and COVID-19
Q: I usually take ibuprofen for aches or pains. Given the controversy about ibuprofen use during this coronavirus outbreak, is it still safe to use? Should I switch to acetaminophen now instead? A: Indeed, the message has been mixed. Early on in the coronavirus outbreak, French doctors treating patients with COVID-19 observed that some patients […]
Coronavirus Fuels Explosive Growth in Telehealth ― and Concern About Fraud
On March 17, Medicare chief Seema Verma stepped to the podium at a White House coronavirus briefing and unveiled a “historic action” to promote virtual medical care, or telehealth. Verma temporarily lifted a variety of federal restrictions on the use of the service, which had been limited to rural areas. She praised telehealth, saying it […]
Keeping Your Distance
The difference between self-quarantine and isolation during COVID-19 As states mull easing COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, Illinois officials say that staying home has worked and that residents need to continue to quarantine in order to slow the spread of the virus and not overwhelm the medical system. COVID-19 is particularly communicable because the virus spreads in […]
Ask the Harvard Experts: For COVID-19, Defining ‘Older’ and ‘Chronic Disease’
Q: I keep hearing about how older adults and those with chronic diseases have a higher risk from COVID-19. What is “older” and a “chronic disease”? A: Indeed, older adults and those with chronic health problems who get COVID-19 are more likely to require hospitalization and admission to an intensive care unit. “Older” is more […]
Caring for COVID-19 at Home
The chills started on a Friday in March, along with a fever — four days after Jerry and Colleen Rzepka flew back to Chicago from Orlando, Florida. With Jerry too exhausted to move any more than absolutely necessary, the retired couple stayed inside their Naperville home all weekend. Jerry took the back bedroom in their […]
‘It’s Not Over Until It’s Over’
5 things to know about hitting the COVID-19 peak As New York, California and other states begin to see their numbers of new COVID-19 cases level off or even slip, it might appear as if we’re nearing the end of the pandemic. President Donald Trump and some governors have pointed to the slowdown as an […]
Facing the Anguish of My Father’s COVID-19 Diagnosis
Above photo: Writer Katie Colt, as a baby with her father Norman Sack. Photo courtesy of Katie Colt My mother recently received a call from my father’s memory care facility in northern Cook County, letting her know that he had tested positive for COVID-19 — the facility’s first known positive case. I don’t know with certainty […]
Shutting Out the Coronavirus Threat for Seniors in Continuing Care Communities
With tight restrictions in place at their continuing care retirement community, Tom and Janice Showler are getting on each other’s nerves. Most days, Tom, 76, likes to drive out of their community ― Asbury Springhill in Erie, Pennsylvania — to the store to pick up a few items. “If you follow the right protocols, the […]
Temperature Check
Tips for tracking fever, a key symptom of coronavirus contagion After I was told I’d been exposed to the novel coronavirus, I tried to follow the best medical advice. I started working from home. I socially isolated. And I “self-monitored” for signs I’d been infected. Or, at least, I tried to. COVID-19 symptoms seem pretty […]
Chicago Health’s COVID-19 Resource Guide
With millions of people in Illinois unemployed, under lockdown and caring for loved ones, we’ve developed a list of local resources to help you through the COVID-19 crisis. We’ll check back regularly and update as we find out about more resources. If you know of any we’ve missed, (including in the suburbs), please let us […]
Coronavirus Comic Relief: Leaders Really Meme It When They Say Stay Home
Above illustration: Hannah Norman/KHN Illustration; Getty Images As the city confronts a wave of COVID-19 patients, Chicagoans are managing to get some belly laughs. The source? Memes of their leader staring down would-be social-distancing violators. In one doctored image, a somber Mayor Lori Lightfoot peers down from the roof of the famous Superdawg hotdog stand […]
Cancer Patients Face Uncertainty as Coronavirus Cripples Hospitals
Above photo: National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov. Photo by Rhoda Baer The federal government has encouraged health centers to delay nonessential surgeries while weighing the severity of patients’ conditions and the availability of personal protective equipment, beds and staffing at hospitals. People with cancer are among those at high risk of complications if infected with the […]
Doctors Ponder Best Advice as Patients Recover from Coronavirus
When David Vega fell ill with the novel coronavirus in mid-March, fever, chills and nausea left the 27-year-old Indiana medical student curled up in bed for days. After a test confirmed he had COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, his doctor advised Vega to isolate himself at home for an additional week. The week […]
Smart Lifestyle Choices to Support Your Immune System During Coronavirus Crisis
So much of the COVID-19 pandemic is beyond your control — all of our control — and yet it’s undoubtedly affecting you, your family and your community. However, you can feel more empowered by making changes to support your immune system and your overall health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends hygiene […]
Ask the Harvard Experts: Lower Coronavirus-Related Stress with the Relaxation Response
Q: The coronavirus outbreak has raised my stress level. I am worried that it is making me more susceptible to infection. What can I do now to feel calmer? A: The stress response is also known as “the fight or flight” reaction. It’s what the body does as it prepares to confront or avoid danger. […]
Sheltered at Home, Families Broach End-of-Life Planning
Long before she contracted COVID-19 at a Kirkland, Washington, nursing home, Barbara Dreyfuss made sure to document the wishes that would govern how she died. The medical directive she signed last year at the Life Care Center outside Seattle called for no resuscitation if her heart stopped, no machine to help her breathe. The 75-year-old, […]
What to Do if You Lose Your Health Insurance During the Coronavirus Crisis
You can’t control whether you lose your job and your benefits because of COVID-19. You can, however, take steps to protect yourself in case you wind up without health insurance during the global pandemic. Don’t panic. Take a breath. Collect yourself. And then make a plan. 1. If you have a spouse with insurance, try […]
