Infant mortality rates in the United States increased by 3% in 2022, according to a new federal report published early Thursday morning. [KFF and ABC News]

Researchers from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics looked at linked birth and death data sets -- information from the death certificate linked to the information from the birth certificate -- from the National Vital Statistics System.

Data showed the rate increased from 5.44 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2021 to 5.61 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022. This equates to a total of 20,577 infant deaths reported in 2022, up 3% from 2021.

More>

###

President Joe Biden tested positive for covid-19 last week, but his symptoms were reportedly mild. With covid still circulating and putting Americans at risk, KFF Health News reviews the latest safety guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [KFF Health News}

More info here>

###

The Chicago Department of Public Health will partner with the West Side Heroin/Opioid Task Force over the next 10 weeks to share resources with the communities most impacted by opioid-related overdoses in recent years. [Health News Illinois]

The health agency said it will send trained outreach workers to neighborhoods on the city’s west side, with the goal to cover nearly 1,300 blocks that experienced at least one overdose-related emergency medical service response last year.

Along with offering harm reduction kits that include Narcan and test strips to check for the presence of fentanyl, workers will also educate individuals on a state program that offers free, same-day access to medications to treat opioid use disorder.

“We have tools to help prevent fatal overdoses,” Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige said in a statement.

There were 1,397 opioid-related deaths in Chicago in 2022.

###

Gov. JB Pritzker took action Friday on various healthcare-related bills, including one that aims to improve recruitment and retention of the behavioral health workforce. [Health News Illinois]

The law creates a workgroup inside the office of the chief behavioral health officer. The officer or their designee could appoint up to 15 members who will review policies and regulations to identify barriers that prevent workers from providing services. A report highlighting short- and long-term recommendations will be due to the General Assembly within a year after the group’s first meeting.

The governor also took action on several proposals intended to ease some licensing requirements. That includes a plan that will allow licensed advanced practice registered nurses certified as nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialists or nurse practitioners the full authority to practice for up to six months while waiting for the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to approve their licenses.

Another law creates a pre-license practice allowance for individuals enrolled in a specialty or residency training program for dentistry while waiting for license approval. And Pritzker signed a bill that will in part expedite healthcare licensure for spouses of service members who come to Illinois.

Other new laws relate to insurance, including one that requires a clinical peer to review any adverse determinations made by an insurer. Another prohibits prior authorizations for federally approved drug therapies that treat hereditary bleeding disorders.

Insurers will also be required, starting in 2026, to cover medically necessary treatment of a mental, emotional, nervous or substance use disorder or condition for all individuals who have experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth at the same extent and cost-sharing as for any other covered condition. They will also be required to cover hormone therapy due to menopause.

Other new laws will:

• Lower the age of consent of blood typing services to 17.
• Amend existing law so advanced practice registered nurses in specialized mental health rehabilitation facilities can fulfill the requirement of a weekly visit to the facility and that the medical director can visit the facility at least monthly.
• Require the Department of Public Health to develop and implement a crisis-standards-of-care plan to support healthcare facilities in situations where local medical resources are overwhelmed. 
• Update emergency medical services education requirements to allow for online and out-of-region training options and allow paramedics with three years of experience to teach high school emergency medical technicians classes with oversight. 

###

The Portes Foundation Is Currently Accepting Letters of Intent: June 1 – September 1, 2024

The Portes Foundation, in association with the Institute of Medicine of Chicago (IOMC), solicits letters of intent annually for research projects in health promotion and disease prevention. To be considered for an award to be granted in February of 2025, a letter of intent should be submitted no later than September 1, 2024.  After an initial review, select projects will be asked to submit a full proposal that will be due December 1, 2024.  Funding for awards will be available in 2025.  

Research Proposals

The Portes Foundation invites proposals that explore research or implementation ideas important in health promotion and disease prevention. These projects may be investigative in etiologic factors, preventive measures, primary and secondary prevention screening, and education. Projects in patient education or health professionals’ education will also be considered. All projects must include a complete and thorough evaluation component.

More>

Questions? Contact the IOMC office at 312.709.2685 or send an email to researchgrants@iomc.org. 

###

Patients and health care professionals concerned about the high prices of US pharmaceuticals have urged the federal government to exercise its march-in rights on some pharmaceutical patents. [JAMA]

Built into the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, march-in stands on the principle that if the government funds an invention, then the public should enjoy the benefits of using the invention. March-in rights allow the government to demand an invention developed with government dollars be licensed to a third party, including when the invention has not been put to practical use or when necessary to meet societal health needs. These rights are written into federal law and companies therefore know they exist when engaging with federally funded research. The federal government has never exercised its march-in rights.

On December 8, 2023, the Biden administration proposed a framework for US agencies to utilize march-in, laying the groundwork for the federal government to assist in the generation of pharmaceutical and other goods that the public cannot sufficiently access. This Viewpoint explores the proposal and clarifies for physicians and the biomedical industry the likely impact on US drug prices.

More>

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul backs a lawsuit against a plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expand a toxic materials disposal facility on Chicago’s southeast side.[Health News Illinois] 

In a filing last week, he said the proposal would negatively impact the health and well-being of surrounding communities.

Raoul said in the amicus brief that residents in the region have long experienced environmental hazards, from the current facility to the prevalence of steel production in the 20th century. That exposure, he said, has led to increased rates of asthma, cancer and other medical issues for local residents.

“Prohibiting the expansion of this facility is an important step to prioritize residents’ quality of life and bring long overdue environmental justice to a Chicago community that has been overlooked for too many decades in our city’s history,” he said.

The corps has sought regulatory approval to expand its operation to handle and dispose of dredged materials from local waterways, including toxic materials like mercury and arsenic.

Community organizations oppose the project and have filed a lawsuit seeking to block the expansion.

###

Today's news...The U.S. Census Bureau today released the 2022 Community Resilience Estimates (CRE) for Heat, an experimental data product that measures social vulnerability to extreme heat. [ US Census Bureau]

While the standard CRE measures the social vulnerability that inhibits community resilience, the experimental CRE for Heat has new components of social vulnerability and information to account for exposure. Community resilience is the capacity of individuals and households within a community to absorb the external stresses of a disaster.

Read more here>https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products/cre-heat.html?utm_campaign=20240716pios1&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

This latest version contains updates to better measure vulnerability and exposure to extreme heat, such as using data from the 2021 American Housing Survey to predict if a household has an air-conditioning unit.

The 2022 CRE for Heat is produced in collaboration with Arizona State University's Knowledge Exchange for Resilience using information on individuals and households from the Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) and the Population Estimates Program (PEP). 

More>

###

Long Covid — the name adopted for cases of prolonged symptoms after an acute bout of Covid-19 — is an umbrella diagnosis covering a broad range of clinical presentations and abnormal biological processes. Researchers haven’t yet identified a single or defining cause for some of the most debilitating symptoms associated with long Covid, which parallel those routinely seen in other post-acute infection syndromes. These include overwhelming fatigue, post-exertional malaise, cognitive deficits (often referred to as brain fog), and extreme dizziness. [STAT]

Given the current gaps in knowledge, some neurologists, psychiatrists, and other clinicians in the United States, United Kingdom, and elsewhere have suggested that an existing diagnosis known as functional neurological disorder (FND) could offer the best explanation for many cases of this devastating illness.

More>

###

In a show of political and private force after a horrifically violent extended holiday weekend in Chicago, civic leaders joined Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson and state legislative leaders to announce progress in their commitment to funding community-level violence prevention programs. [Chicago Tribune]

The Chicago business community has raised $100 million to support on-the-ground programs, which typically take the form of nonpolice interventions in communities at risk of violence, in a first-of-its-kind effort from the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. In addition, $175 million in state funding for those programs has begun to be distributed, Pritzker said.

The gathering of CEOs, philanthropic leaders, police and violence interrupters came after more than 100 people were shot in Chicago over the extended Fourth of July weekend. Nineteen people died, including an 8-year-old and two family members in a mass shooting in the South Side Greater Grand Crossing community.

Thirteen speakers lined up inside a downtown office building to praise the funding effort, but many acknowledged it’s not enough and that more needs to be done.

More> 

###