Latest news with #HumanServices
CBS News
2 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Allegheny County issues code red heat advisory due to impending heat wave
Allegheny County will activate a code red heat advisory beginning Sunday, June 22, through Wednesday, June 25, due to extreme forecasted heat that could pose risks to vulnerable residents. The activation is based on the National Weather Service and Centers for Disease Control's HeatRisk tool, which considers how unusual and prolonged the heat is for this time of year, as well as the potential for serious health impacts, according to a provided news release from county officials. "We've always responded to heat emergencies, but this year we're being more systematic," said Erin Dalton, Director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services. "Senior centers will now more consistently extend their hours on Code Red days, and we'll be assessing conditions to potentially expand overnight shelter when extreme heat persists into the night. This pilot approach will help us learn what works best to keep people safe." Residents are encouraged to check on neighbors, friends, and family, especially those who are older or medically vulnerable. Allegheny County Emergency Services is reminding residents that heat is the leading weather-related cause of death nationwide, surpassing the fatalities caused by floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and lightning. Tips to keep yourself safe during extreme heat include drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated, even if you are not thirsty; keeping cool by using wet towels, putting feet in cool water, and taking cool showers; spend as much time as possible in cool or air-conditioned buildings; staying out of the sun during the hottest part of the day; wear sunscreen and hats with other loose-fitting clothing; and never leave pets or children in vehicles. Cooling centers opening In response to the forecasted temperatures, CitiParks will open six cooling centers on Sunday, June 22, through Wednesday, June 25. When operating as a cooling center, senior centers will welcome residents of any age. The Department of Human Services is also taking additional actions, including outreach to older adults, children, and people experiencing homelessness, in coordination with the City of Pittsburgh and other municipalities, according to a news release. On Sunday, cooling centers will be open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. From Monday through Wednesday, the centers will operate from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. A full list of operational cooling centers is below. Beechview Healthy Active Living Community Center 1555 Broadway Avenue Pittsburgh, Pa. 15216 Brighton Heights Healthy Active Living Community Center 3515 McClure Avenue Pittsburgh, Pa. 15212 Greenfield Healthy Active Living Community Center 745 Greenfield Avenue Pittsburgh, Pa. 15217 Homewood Healthy Active Living Community Center 7321 Frankstown Road Pittsburgh, Pa. 15208 Sheraden Healthy Active Living Community Center 720 Sherwood Avenue Pittsburgh, Pa. 15204 South Side Healthy Active Living Community Center 12th and Bingham Streets Pittsburgh, Pa. 15203
The Hill
15-06-2025
- Health
- The Hill
How Kennedy's overhaul could make vaccines more expensive
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s moves to upend decades of vaccine policy could hit patients hardest in their wallets, as shifting guidance over shots could make insurance coverage confusing and scattershot. For decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) independent advisory panel recommended which shots Americans should get and when. The Affordable Care Act requires all insurance companies to cover, for free, all vaccines the panel recommends. Those recommendations also help states decide which shots should be mandated for schoolchildren. Kennedy's most recent move to purge the entire advisory panel and replace them with his own handpicked members, including several vocal vaccine critics, is throwing that process into doubt. 'If we have a system that has been dismantled — one that allowed for open, evidence-based decisionmaking and that supported transparent and clear dialogue about vaccines — and then we replace it with a process that's driven largely by one person's beliefs, that creates a system that cannot be trusted,' Helen Chu, a newly ousted member of the panel and professor of infectious disease at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said during a press conference. Vaccine prices vary, but without insurance, coronavirus vaccines can cost nearly $150, the MMR shot ranges from $95 to nearly $280, and the HPV vaccine can exceed $300, according to CDC data. Individual pharmacies could charge even more. Candace DeMatteis, policy director at the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease, said she worries about creating a two-tiered system. 'Out of pocket costs for vaccines become an issue where we could end up with a system where some people can afford vaccinating themselves and their families and others cannot,' DeMatteis said. Prior to enactment of the Affordable Care Act, vaccine coverage varied significantly depending on the type of insurance a person had. If the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) changes recommendations for existing vaccines or doesn't recommend new ones, maintaining access will be difficult. 'It's a seismic shift, if you will, away from facilitating access by removing coverage and cost barriers, to one where there's great uncertainty and coverage and cost issues become barriers,' DeMatteis said. It's not clear what the vetting process was for the eight people Kennedy appointed to the ACIP, or how prepared they will be for their first meeting, which is scheduled to occur in less than two weeks. According to a Federal Register notice, the panel is scheduled to vote on recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines as well as meningococcal, HPV, influenza, and RSV vaccines for adults and maternal and pediatric populations. Health experts said they have serious questions about what direction the new panel will take and whether Americans will still have access to free vaccines, including the coronavirus shot, in time for fall respiratory season. If the ACIP is no longer a reliable, independent authority on vaccines, it 'will be replaced by a patchwork of different policies by different states, and each state will have to make its own decisions,' Chu said. 'Washington state is a place where we have experts and scientists who work together. There are other states where this may not exist, or where they may not choose to recommend vaccines. So that is going to create a lot of chaos,' she added. Some state health officials have already begun taking steps in that direction. The Illinois Department of Health said on social media it will be convening its own vaccine advisory committee and national experts 'to ensure we continue to provide clear, science-backed vaccine guidance for our residents.' When Kennedy unilaterally changed the COVID-19 vaccine guidance earlier this month to remove recommendations for pregnant women and change the open recommendation for children, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said it would continue to recommend the shots for every person at least 6 months old. 'The recent changes in CDC guidance were not made based on new data, evidence, or scientific or medical studies, nor was the guidance issued following normal processes,' the agency said in a statement. Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said her organization as well as other major medical groups including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics Academy have been speaking with insurance companies to urge them to continue paying for shots, even if the panel changes recommendations. Tan mentioned an initiative launched in April by a group of public health experts called the Vaccine Integrity Project, which is working to create an alternative process to maintain vaccine access. The initiative is funded by a foundation backed by Walmart heiress Christy Walton and led by Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. Federal law is specific that insurance provisions are tied to the ACIP. Specialty organizations may have expertise to make their own recommendations, but they will still require the cooperation of insurance companies. States are also more limited, and they don't have the same power as the federal government to force coverage. 'I think it remains to be seen what the insurers are going to do,' Tan said. 'However, hopefully, with the discussions going on, they can get the insurers to understand that vaccines are extraordinarily safe and effective and are the best tool that we have to protect persons of all ages against serious vaccine preventable diseases.'
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Commissioners OK CDBG plan, St. James Haven funds
Crawford County Commissioners Eric Henry and Scott Schell approved business as usual Wednesday with Chris Seeley absent, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) plans and an allocation to St. James Haven in Meadville. The CDBG process has begun and, according to Samantha Travis, deputy director of planning, the office solicited project ideas at a public hearing on May 28. The county's planning office administers CDBG funds for the county, the cities of Titusville and Meadville, and Vernon Township. The office has not yet received its 2025 allocation from the Department of Community and Economic Development. Travis expects it to be similar to last year's, which was $270,000 for the county. Funding is determined by a formula legislated by Act 179 in 1984. At least 70 percent of it must be used to benefit low- to moderate-income households. The office will accept project ideas through July 31 and will host another public hearing in September. Commissioners will vote on the CDBG application in October, Travis said. On Wednesday, they approved the plans, policies and resolutions that will be needed for the CDBG application process. Also on Wednesday, commissioners OK'd an allocation of $8,996 to St. James Haven. 'If you don't know, St. James Haven is not funded by anything from the government. It's all by their own money, their own support from their Sisters in Erie. It's a good project,' Henry said, thanking Sue Watkins from Human Services for her help on the county's side, facilitating the project. Watkins said the county has provided St. James Haven with retained revenue to purchase shelter supplies and waterproof its basement. St. James Haven, an outreach ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Northwestern Pennsylvania, is a temporary shelter in Meadville that accommodates up to 14 men each night. It also provides meals and connects individuals with local agencies. The county fairgrounds will receive some work as commissioners OK'd payment using a safety grant to Shields Asphalt Paving to lay asphalt inside Gate 3 for $11,560. The driveway is used for handicap-accessible parking and is in bad shape, according to Henry and maintenance director Mark Phelan. Commissioners approved the purchase of a replacement pair of E-GLOVES with a one-year warranty for $1,605 for the Crawford County Correctional Facility. The current pair is around three to four years old, according to Warden Jack Greenfield, and needs repairs that would cost $1,970. Greenfield said the gloves, which send a small electric shock into the individual they touch, are a great deterrent, decreasing or stopping the use of force when used. The amount will be paid using commissary funds. Other approvals included adopting the planning office's safety action plan, ratifying a service contract with Civic Vanguard for Geographical Information Systems work, and paying local companies for their work with the Construction Industry Workforce Program. The next meeting will be a work session at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in the commissioners conference room.
Newsweek
07-06-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
The Bulletin June 4, 2025
The rundown: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vow to "Make America Healthy Again" could fall short when it comes to chronic disease, experts have warned. Here's how. Why it matters: Nearly 130 million Americans are estimated to have at least one form of chronic disease, which could be heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity or hypertension, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The proposed cuts to Medicaid funding and work requirements for eligibility to the benefits, which are set to come as part of the broader GOP budget bill, could leave many with chronic disease without access to vital care. As many as three in four adults enrolled in Medicaid report having one or more chronic conditions, and many are unable to work the hours needed to meet the new eligibility requirements, according to nonprofit health policy research and news organization, KFF. So, while some may be medically exempt, others will lose their health coverage, meaning their conditions could worsen without access to care. Read more in-depth coverage: Health Experts Call Out RFK Jr. Policy Changes: 'New Inconsistency Every Day' TL/DR: Experts told Newsweek that, while the Trump administration's ambition to "defeat" the "epidemic" is clear, whether its policies will help or hinder chronic-disease patients remains to be seen. What happens now? Ross Brownson, director of the Prevention Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, told Newsweek that Medicaid cuts would "likely have a detrimental effect on chronic disease risk among the most vulnerable populations," adding Medicaid-enrolled adults have significantly higher rates of chronic disease than individuals privately insured. Deeper reading Can Trump Tackle US 'Chronic Disease Crisis'? Experts Weigh In
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pierce County's new head of homeless and health programs has federal experience
Pierce County's Human Services Department has a new director to oversee the county's homeless services, affordable housing efforts and behavioral health programs. Gary Gant, has been selected to serve as the new leader of Human Services, following what the county described as a 'competitive and meritorious recruitment process.' His first day in the new position was June 2. According to Human Services spokesperson Kari Moore, Gant will be paid $213,640 per year. In his most recent position as field office director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Gant helped increase access to behavioral health services and improve housing stability, according to the county. He previously served as deputy regional administrator for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). According to the county, he co-managed a six-state region overseeing program delivery and organizing mass vaccination events during the COVID-19 pandemic. In his new role at the county, Gant will oversee Human Services many divisions, including Behavioral Health, Community Services and Aging and Disability Resources. He also will be responsible for overseeing more than 400 contracts with community-based agencies and local providers delivering services to some of the most vulnerable residents in the community, including individuals with disabilities, children, veterans and people experiencing homelessness. From 2020 to 2023, the department had an average annual budget of over $134 million. As of October 2024, the department had just under 300 employees. According to Human Services, Gant earned a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of the Incarnate Word, a master's degree in business administration from Western Governors University, and a master's degree in public health from the University of Washington. He has served on several boards and committees including the Puget Sound Regional Council, National Library of Medicine State Advisory Group, and the Somali Family Safety Task Force. Gant also has significant experience collaborating with the Veterans Health Administration and the HUD-VA Supportive Housing Program to connect veterans experiencing homelessness with stable housing and support services. Helen McGovern had been serving as Acting Director for the department since the beginning of the year. Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello ousted the previous Human Services director, Heather Moss, as one of the first actions of his office.
