The plan from Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, requires manufacturers to test samples of their baby food products for toxic elements like arsenic, cadmium, lead or mercury. [Health News Illinois] 

Manufacturers would also have to provide information about their product on their website, including the name and level of each toxic heavy metal found in the food and a link to the Food and Drug Administration’s website with information about the health risks of toxic heavy metal exposure for children.

Fine said the measure will provide toxin-free food that has been thoroughly tested and give parents the “peace of mind that they are giving their child the best possible nutrients.”

“Our children deserve access to safe foods to aid them in those crucial early years, and we must be proactive in our efforts to ensure food safety,” she said.

The plan unanimously passed the Senate’s Public Health Committee.

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As isolated reports of measles spread beyond the Texas-centric hotspot, health officials gear up for new cases while others report an uptick in vaccinations. In West Texas, where cases top 327, some patients have found a vitamin A "remedy" supported by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can leave them more sick.

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Another article that may be of interest, click here>

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This article is from a partnership that includes WABE, NPR, and KFF Health News. It can be republished for free.

On a sunny weekday in Atlanta, a small crowd of people gathered for a rally outside of a labor union headquarters building.

The event, put together by Atlanta-area Democratic U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, was attended mostly by union members and recently fired federal workers, including Ryan Sloane.

“I was fired by an anonymous email at 9 p.m. in the middle of a holiday weekend,” he said.

Sloane is still seeking reinstatement, but he feels he no longer has much to lose by speaking out.

“I’m only here today because they cannot fire me twice,” Sloane said.
When he received his termination notice, he was a few months into a job as a public affairs specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At the CDC, his days were spent updating far-flung local TV, radio, and newspaper journalists about threats such as seasonal flu, measles, and food safety in their communities.

A judge has ordered the reinstatement of some fired federal employees, at least temporarily. But their jobs are still on the line.
Sloane said his former colleagues at the CDC whose jobs aren’t yet in limbo are scared.

“They are terrified that their life’s work is going to be deleted from servers and not backed up because it does not comport with the ideologies of the new administration,” he said. “No one is benefiting from this.”

More>

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This article is from a partnership that includes WABE, NPR, and KFF Health News. It can be republished for free. 

On a sunny weekday in Atlanta, a small crowd of people gathered for a rally outside of a labor union headquarters building.

The event, put together by Atlanta-area Democratic U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, was attended mostly by union members and recently fired federal workers, including Ryan Sloane.

“I was fired by an anonymous email at 9 p.m. in the middle of a holiday weekend,” he said.

Sloane is still seeking reinstatement, but he feels he no longer has much to lose by speaking out.

“I’m only here today because they cannot fire me twice,” Sloane said.

When he received his termination notice, he was a few months into a job as a public affairs specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At the CDC, his days were spent updating far-flung local TV, radio, and newspaper journalists about threats such as seasonal flu, measles, and food safety in their communities.

A judge has ordered the reinstatement of some fired federal employees, at least temporarily. But their jobs are still on the line.

Sloane said his former colleagues at the CDC whose jobs aren’t yet in limbo are scared.

“They are terrified that their life’s work is going to be deleted from servers and not backed up because it does not comport with the ideologies of the new administration,” he said. “No one is benefiting from this.”

More>

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A quarter-century ago, the United States celebrated a victory over measles, a highly contagious illness that once infected millions of American children each year. In 2000, after decades of hard work and widespread vaccination campaigns, public health officials declared measles eliminated in the U.S. [STAT]

Today, that success is at risk. Fueled by growing mistrust in vaccine science and years of small but meaningful declines in routine childhood vaccinations, measles has made a troubling comeback. Less than three months through the year, the number of measles cases reported in 2025 has already exceeded all those recorded in 2024, as well as the annual case counts of all but three of the past 25 years. This year has also already documented two fatal cases of measles, the first U.S. deaths from the disease in over a decade. With vaccination rates declining, cases rising, and health care providers encountering their first cases of a disease once eliminated, we believe it is time to reevaluate national measles immunization guidelines, particularly to safeguard a vulnerable group still not fully accounted for in vaccination recommendations: our youngest infants.

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Education and health experts say this could harm patient care. 

The Trump administration's crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programsopens in a new tab or window could exacerbate an unexpectedly steep drop in diversity among medical school students, even in states like California, where public universities have been navigating bans on affirmative action for decades. Education and health experts warn that, ultimately, this could harm patient care. [MedPage Today]

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has issued a handful of executive orders aimed at terminating all DEI initiatives in federally funded programs. And in his March 4 address to Congressopens in a new tab or window, he described the Supreme Court's 2023 decision banning the consideration of race in college and university admissions as "brave and very powerful."

Last month, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights -- which lost about 50% of its staffopens in a new tab or window in mid-March -- directed schools, including postsecondary institutions, to end race-based programs or risk losing federal funding. The "Dear Colleague" letteropens in a new tab or window cited the Supreme Court's decision.

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CHICAGO—The Institute of Medicine of Chicago is hosting its Maternal & Child Health Symposium on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, from 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM CT at the Cook County Health—Professional Building. The half-day symposium is open to all. This program supports IOMC's "advancing health equity by reducing healthcare disparities" initiatives and was created by the IOMC Maternal & Child Health Workgroup. For more details and to register, visit here. 

“Addressing maternal and child health issues are a critical imperative,” said Dr. Beena Peters, DNP, RN, IOMC-Maternal & Child Health Workgroup, Billings Fellow, and Senior Nurse Executive - Cook County Health, and director on the IOMC Board of Governors. 

Over 146K babies were born in maternity care deserts, thirty-six percent of US counites are designated as maternity care deserts, and 4.7 million women live in counties with limited maternity access (March of Dimes 2025). IOMC addresses these accessibility and transportation issues and mental health, care coordination to decrease pre-term birth, primary care, family planning, and maternal morbidity and mortality, and more.

‘We hope all health leaders and community teams will consider attending this meeting to engage and exchange valuable information and resources.,’ said Dr. Anita Stewart, MD, MPH, JD, MBA, Chair of the IOMC Maternal & Child Health Workgroup; and Billings Fellow, and director on the IOMC Board of Governors. 

Sixteen healthcare leaders will discuss key issues facing maternal and child health. The event includes an interactive panel discussion led by Dr. Ian Jasenof, MD, FACOG, MHA, CPE, Chief Medical Officer, UI-Health—Mile Square, and Fellow and director on the IOMC Board of Governors. 

Speakers from numerous organizations are represented, including the American Academy of Pediatrics—Illinois Chapter, Cook County Health, Cook County Dept. of Health, Family Christian Health Center, Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois Department of Family and Health Services, March of Dimes, Melanated Group Midwifery Care, Partum Health, Loyola University, UI Health, West Side Healthy Parents and Babies, and Lurie Children's Magoon Institute.

This Maternal and Child Health Symposium is sponsored by Cook County Health, Golden Square, and Dr. Anita Stewart, MD, MPH, Chair of the Maternal and Child Health Workgroup—IOMC. Sponsorships are available; contact sponsorship@ iomc.org.

The Institute of Medicine of Chicago (IOMC), since 1915, is an independent non-profit organization of distinguished leaders in the health field who collaborate to improve the health of the public. Drawing upon the expertise of a diverse membership and other regional leaders, the IOMC addresses critical health issues through various interdisciplinary approaches, including education, research, communication of trusted information, and community engagement. With the public's health at its core, IOMC is building programs to better meet the needs of its members, Chicago, its counties, and the State of Illinois. Visit www.iomc.org.  

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Measles cases are on the rise in the United States. [NPR]

The Pan American Health Organization declared the disease eliminated in 2000, thanks to widespread vaccination efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But it's still an issue globally, which means an unvaccinated person could catch the highly infectious disease abroad and bring it back to the United States. And declining vaccination rates, particularly in young children, are causing public health officials to worry about the impact of emerging outbreaks. [NPR]

That's the case in West Texas and New Mexico, where a growing measles outbreak now numbers around 300 confirmed cases — more than the total number of measles cases reported in the U.S. in all of 2024.

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A bill to reauthorize the Action for Dental Health Act has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. [ Becker's Dental & DSO Review]

The Action for Dental Health Act supports organizations that provide dental care to underserved populations and rural communities, according to a March 10 news release. 

The funding provided through the act helps prevent dental disease, improve oral health education, expand the dental workforce and increase access to oral healthcare. 

Reps. Mike Simpson, DMD, and Robin Kelly introduced the bill for reauthorization, the release said.

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Population growth in U.S. metro areas as a whole was faster between 2023 and 2024 than in the previous year and outpaced that of the nation. Additionally, some metro areas that experienced population declines during the COVID-19 pandemic are now observing population gains, according to Vintage 2024 estimates of population totals and components of change released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Increasingly, population growth in metro areas is being shaped by international migration,” said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Division. “While births continue to contribute to overall growth, rising net international migration is offsetting the ongoing net domestic outmigration we see in many of these areas.”

All of the nation’s 387 metro areas had positive net international migration between 2023 and 2024, and it accounted for nearly 2.7 million of the total population gain in metro areas — up from 2.2 million between 2022 and 2023. These trends were measured using an improved method that combines survey data and administrative data from other federal agencies.

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