The city has adopted a ‘multifactorial approach to a multifactorial problem’ and has seen a 37% reduction in deaths since the national peak of the crisis {KFF Health News & The Guardian]

 Overdose in America: analysis reveals deaths rising in some regions even as US sees national decline. 

Among US counties containing the nation’s 10 largest cities, Cook county, Illinois – where Chicago  is located – has seen the largest reduction in overdose deaths since the national peak of the crisis in 2023, by 37%, according to an exclusive Guardian analysis.

Chicago has one of the most robust drug supply surveillance and overdose prevention response systems in the nation. Jenny Hua, medical director for the Chicago department of public health, hesitated to take full credit for the progress, explaining that many factors influencing overdose deaths are beyond any one health department’s control. It’s also easier to have a coordinated response in a big city, where people and resources are concentrated. Changes to the drug supply are also affecting regions differently.

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Much has changed since Consumer Reports first tested protein powders and shakes. Over the past 15 years, Americans’ obsession with protein has transformed what had been a niche product into the centerpiece of a multibillion-dollar wellness craze, driving booming supplement sales and spawning a new crop of protein-fortified foods that now saturate supermarket shelves and social media feeds. [MEDPAGE TODAY] 

Yet for all the industry’s growth and rebranding, one thing hasn’t changed: Protein powders still carry troubling levels of toxic heavy metals, according to a new Consumer Reports investigation. Our latest tests of 23 protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes from popular brands found that heavy metal contamination has become even more common among protein products, raising concerns that the risks are growing right alongside the industry itself.

For more than two-thirds of the products we analyzed, a single serving contained more lead than CR’s food safety experts say is safe to consume in a day—some by more than 10 times.

“It’s concerning that these results are even worse than the last time we tested,” said Tunde Akinleye, the CR food safety researcher who led the testing project. This time, in addition to the average level of lead being higher than what we found 15 years ago, there were also fewer products with undetectable amounts of it. The outliers also packed a heavier punch. Naked Nutrition’s Vegan Mass Gainer powder, the product with the highest lead levels, had nearly twice as much lead per serving as the worst product we analyzed in 2010.

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You may be interested in this webinar on 10.30.2025 Don't Be Mis-Lead! Pathways to Lead Exposure- Protecting Your Children, Family and Community > 

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Behavioral health leaders are observing a shift: industry needs are becoming more complex, intersecting with social, digital and physical health factors in new ways. While awareness and demand for services continue to grow, infrastructure, training and access have not kept pace. From early intervention to workforce well-being, the field is moving toward more integrated, proactive models of care — with an emphasis on meeting patients where they are and preparing for needs that traditional systems weren’t built to address. [Becker's Behavioral Health]

Editor’s note: These responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

Question: The definition of behavioral health need is expanding — from workplace burnout to adolescent distress and aging populations. What emerging patient population or behavioral health challenge do you believe the industry isn’t yet prepared for — and how should leaders begin responding?

Scott Baker. Executive Vice President of Growth and Partnerships, Array Behavioral Care (Mount Laurel, N.J.): As tech‑ and AI‑enabled mental health solutions expand, one emerging population the industry is not yet fully prepared to support is behavioral health professionals themselves. While digital tools such as machine learning for clinical decision support and AI‑enabled scribes hold enormous potential to improve the efficiency, quality and accessibility of behavioral care, many clinicians remain wary of these innovations. This is especially true in behavioral health, where care is often viewed as a relational art form that resists quantification. Fears of being replaced by technology, combined with limited understanding of how these tools actually work, can contribute to skepticism and resistance.

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Food Is Medicine (FIM) programs promote patients’ access to healthy foods to help prevent, manage, and treat diet-related health conditions. Although these programs have burgeoned in recent years, they have remained siloed in health care and represent a missed opportunity to fight climate change and promote community health resilience. [New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst]

Addressing these aspects of community health and well-being requires new strategies and interventions for FIM programs. In this article, the authors describe the University of California, Davis Health’s Foodways to Health approach as a regional food system, which increases access to fresh produce and medically tailored meals while promoting climate-friendly food production practices and community engagement. They highlight five key pillars of the approach, share a framework to evaluate climate-friendly FIM programs, and underscore lessons learned for health systems embarking on FIM programs to improve healthy eating, climate protection, and community resilience.  

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Need to know more about lead exposure and its various sources? You're not alone. From lead pipes and drinking water to paint, there's a wealth of information available. You are invited to attend the webinar on October 30, 2025, at 7:00 PM CT - "Don't Be Mis-Lead: Pathways to Lead Exposure – Protecting Children, Families & Communities." Free Webinar. More details and to register>

The LARC Foundation will help you get informed, be empowered, and stay safe as we work together to combat childhood lead poisoning.  In children especially, a positive blood lead level results in cognitive impairment and a lifetime of mental and physical health challenges. There is no acceptable level of lead exposure.

By attending this free webinar, you will gain valuable information about:

- Pathways to lead exposure
- Areas and sources of lead
- Testing and guidelines for detection
- Resources for further assistance

The Lead Abatement Resource Center Foundation (LARC Foundation) is an independent nonprofit organization (501c3) dedicated to eliminating positive blood levels in children. LARC does this through education, advocacy, and research on the child, the family, and the community.

IOMC is a collaborative research partner in preventative health, disease prevention, environmental health, and community health management.

IOMC Programmatic Focus - Maternal & Child Health and Pathways to Lead Exposure. More>

The LARC Foundation is engaged in a broad lead awareness campaign focused on communities where there is a known propensity of measured blood lead levels in children.

The LARC “framework,” addresses public health, healthcare, and environmental issues.

You will learn whether you or your children should be tested, and if your water, garden, or home needs an assessment. Share this webinar with others- parents, educators, community leaders, providers, and others.

Speakers:
Anita Stewart, MD, MPH, JD, MBA
Pediatrician (over 40 years), Public Health Specialist; Billings Fellow, IOMC Maternal & Child Health Workgroup member and Past Chair, and Board Member, IOMC Board of Governors

Susan Buchanan, MD, MPH
Clinical Associate Professor and Associate Director of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency Program
Certified in Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine/Occupational Medicine

Open to all.  More details here>

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On September 25, 2025, IDPH and key partners released the first of its kind Illinois’ Blueprint for Birth Equity. Download copy of the Illinois Blueprint for Birth Equity> 

This blueprint builds on the work of past and current partners across sectors and leverages existing research and insights about the barriers to achieving optimal maternal and birth outcomes, including analysis and recommendations from the 2023 Illinois Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Report. In addition, this blueprint represents a year-long engagement process that drew expertise from leaders across multiple sectors, including state agencies, maternal health experts, community leaders, health care providers, and parents.

This blueprint offers an assessment of what the state of Illinois is doing to improve maternal health and birth equity and is intended to complement and align with the efforts of health care providers, advocates, researchers, and local leaders across the state. Among the contributors were four Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies with significant responsibility for maternal health and birth equity: the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), and Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). These core agencies were joined by additional public agencies whose work intersects with key drivers of maternal health, including the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI), Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), and Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). 

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The field of public health was defined in a 1920 article by Charles-Edward Amory Winslow as the “science and the art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health through organized community efforts.”1 Its foundations had developed over hundreds of years, but it began to flourish in the 19th and 20th centuries. During that time, the implementation of hygienic and sanitary measures, health codes, vaccination programs, and harm-reduction policies led to advances, including notable reductions in morbidity and mortality — though they were sometimes accompanied by tension between an individual person’s rights and protection of the health of populations.2 [New England Journal of Medicine]

Unfortunately, past progress in public health is now at risk in the United States. The current crisis has resulted from a confluence of interrelated factors, which can be understood by reference to what I might call the six “coms” (“com” aptly meaning “with” or “together”): complacency, commitment, commercialism, complexity, communication, and comportment.

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Marking the third anniversary of Dr. Paul Farmer’s sudden passing, my heart is filled with a mix of sorrow and gratitude. Paul was my husband and the father of our three children. The loss remains profound, but so too does my appreciation for his life and the impact he had. He was a visionary, tireless militant and a fierce defender who left an indelible mark on global health. His lifelong commitment to social justice transformed health systems, saved countless lives, and continues to inspire the world. This year, I want to honor him by reflecting on the connections between his dedication to global health equity and his love of gardening. Paul’s “beautiful garden” was more than a metaphor; it was his vision of social justice in health care, nurturing seeds of caring, teaching, learning, and mentoring, with partnership and accompaniment as deep roots in the fertile soil of equity. From this foundation, a garden of justice continues to bloom, shaping our collective future. [New England Journal of Medicine]

I. The Beautiful Garden of Global Health Equity — A Vision of Social Justice in Health Care

Paul was a physician and an anthropologist, but he was also an avid gardener. His passion and commitment to social justice along with his love for nature and his ability to tend to it have provided profound insights into how he conceptualized and applied his vision to global health equity. Through his contributions to global health, mainly through the work of Partners in Health (PIH), he showed us that tending to our world is like tending to a garden, a place that — when nurtured with care — could yield health, justice, and opportunity for all. PIH’s work in Haiti, Rwanda, Peru, Mexico, Liberia, and beyond exemplifies this ethos. The global health equity garden is not just an ideal place, but a living, growing endeavor that requires constant attention, hard work, resources, and the collective effort of communities, institutions, governments, and individuals.

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While the CDC's Immunization Safety Office (ISO) played an essential role in monitoring vaccine safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, it needs to maintain independence from its parent agency if it wants to build public trust, according to a new report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). [MEDPAGE Today]

— Immunization Safety Office performed well during COVID, but needs to improve public trust

The comprehensive review, which was requested by the CDC, revealed that ISO faces ongoing challenges from its perceived overlap with the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), which promotes vaccine use, despite the two being separate entities. Some critics argue that this undermines ISO's perceived impartiality.

"This perception can lead to skepticism among segments of the public, complicating efforts to communicate scientifically grounded vaccine risk assessments effectively," the report stated.

"Moving forward, enhancing transparency and distinguishing ISO's role from broader CDC efforts to encourage vaccination will be essential to address emerging vaccine risk challenges and to maintain public trust," Jane Henney, MD, chair of the review committee and a former FDA commissioner, said in a statement.

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The Chicago area continues to see a rise in mpox cases. [Health News Illinois]

The city’s Department of Public Health said there were 104 cases of mpox reported between June and September. The past two years saw a combined 93 cases reported over the same time period. 

“The data underscores the fact that this is a critical time for the mpox vaccination effort, to keep new cases numbers down and limit the new mpox cases in Chicago,” the agency said.

Three hospitalizations have been reported among this summer’s cases. The median age of those who have gotten mpox is 34.

CDPH said it will host five vaccination clinics in October for residents, with vaccines encouraged for sexually active gay, bisexual and other populations that have been most affected by the outbreak.

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