Alexa Hornbeck

The Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Online Global Summit, hosted by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, is holding a week-long event, July 20-24, that brings together professionals from sexual abuse and exploitation sectors to discuss how to connect, educate and solve the tangled web of... Read More

The National Council on Compensation Insurance will now allow the COVID-19 pandemic to be treated as a catastrophic event in workers’ compensation loss cost and rate filings. “We had specifically listed some perils that we were charging for. We had listed domestic terrorism, earthquakes, catastrophic industrial... Read More

The Subcommittee on Military Personnel held a hearing recently to discuss a new set of recommendations to better address sexual assault in the military. “The toll that sexual assault and sexual harassment has taken on our military is devastating and incalculable. We know the numbers, but... Read More

The World Health Organization and UNICEF recently released data regarding the state of vaccinations across the world showing that there has been a major backsliding in childhood vaccinations. “Vaccination coverage had stalled for a number of years, but this year we saw an actual slip in... Read More

Stanford researchers recently published a study which examines the brains of those who died from COVID-19, finding they resembled those with Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative conditions.  “We want to understand how the brain responds to this virus and people with severe disease, and it was a... Read More

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its guidance for COVID-19 prevention in K-12 schools, as back-to-school season approaches this fall and students return to in-person learning.  The guidance encourages all schools to offer vaccinations to end the COVID-19 pandemic, but this does not... Read More

The impact of COVID-19 has been traumatic for many, but for those living with HIV the pandemic may have reawakened feelings of social exclusion and fear with receiving a positive status.  “I'm an HIV positive person and I just survived COVID-19 infection. We positive folks can... Read More

The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer shows that while there has been a rapid decrease in lung cancer and melanoma deaths, previous declining trends for cancers like prostate or breast cancer have slowed or disappeared.  “It’s clear that obesity causes or... Read More

A recent NIH-funded study finds that the frequency and intensity of monthly migraines declined among those on a higher fish oil diet. Researchers from the National Institute on Aging, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, parts of the National Institutes of Health, and... Read More

During a heatwave in Manhattan there are very few places one can go to cool down, which is why the city offers access to cooling centers around the city for residents. A cooling center is usually a facility, such as a senior center or community center,... Read More

The U.S. is experiencing a decline in COVID-19 testing and vaccinations continue as the emergence of new variants like Delta or Lambda have spurred the need for PCR testing devices. “Many companies have reported a fall off of testing with an increase of vaccination, but we’re... Read More

The hashtag “#freebritney” has recently been flooding social media channels after the pop sensation claimed her 2008 court-mandated conservatorship withheld her from removing her intrauterine device, hindering her ability to reproduce, an issue which has been at the heart of many reproductive justice movements for decades. ... Read More

Eating disorders can affect the reward response within the brain which may reinforce the eating disorder itself, based on the results of a recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health. “The eating disorder behavior sensitizes or desensitizes the dopamine system. How the system responds,... Read More

The National Press Club held an event this week to explore some of the key factors relating to safety and security as more employees head back to the workplace. “The new world post pandemic is all about flexibility, but now we are getting to see this... Read More

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a recent report which showed that for 88% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants there is a barrier to achieving a healthy diet throughout the month.  “It’s vital that the program helps enable participants to achieve a healthy diet amidst... Read More

Lockdown orders during the COVID-19 pandemic created barriers to providing in-person treatment services for those battling opioid addiction, so Bicycle Health, which provides evidence-based treatment for opioid-use disorder, decided to go virtual. “When the pandemic hit and the public health emergency was announced, we didn’t need... Read More

Policymakers and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry debated the cost of prescription drugs and the myriad of proposals on Capitol Hill to bring those prices down at last week's Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. Amitabh Chandra, a health care economist at the John F. Kennedy... Read More

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce recently met to discuss 13 bills aimed at rebuilding U.S. public health systems and modernizing the data collection of those systems. “Our hollowed out public health system explains why we see COVID-19 cases tracked using fax machines, and COVID-19... Read More

The Biden administration is being pressured to decide by the end of the month as to whether to reverse Title 42, known as the Public Health Service Act, used to restrict non-essential travel across the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  In March 2020,... Read More

A recent survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute and Interfaith Youth Core finds that faith-based approaches supporting vaccine uptake can influence members of key hesitant groups to get vaccinated. Religious leaders can help overturn hesitancy by battling popular assumptions that groups like QAnon have... Read More

This week marked the official beginning of summer, and in preparation, the World Against Toys Causing Harm, known as W.A.T.C.H., produced a Summer Safety Report for parents and caregivers to navigate summer heat safety for children whose injuries typically double during the summer months. “We want... Read More

The World Health Organization released new suicide prevention guidance last week aimed at reducing the world’s suicide rate by a third by 2030. “While a comprehensive national suicide prevention strategy should be the ultimate goal for all governments,” said Dr. Alexandra Fleischmann, suicide prevention expert at... Read More

The Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act, a bill recently reintroduced by members of the Senate and House, aims to increase the presence of social workers, counselors and other personnel to support marginalized students. “Our legislation is pretty simple. It says that federal dollars from here... Read More

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared racism a public health crisis in Chicago this week, pointing to new research from the Chicago Department of Public Health showing that racism is the primary reason for a 9.2-year life expectancy gap between Black and non-Black people living in the... Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have accelerated a long-standing trend in declining birth rates across the globe and could have long-lasting consequences, particularly for women, according to a recent panel discussion at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, D.C. “The decision of whether to have... Read More

Researchers from the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center in China published a study this week in the medical journal Development, offering new insight into preventing infertility in men.  Currently, at least 30 million men worldwide are infertile, and one in seven couples are considered clinically... Read More

The House Committee on Financial Services met this past week to discuss how increasing Section 8 housing vouchers could reduce housing instability, overcrowding, and better prepare the nation for the next health or economic crisis.  “Providing a voucher to all eligible households would lift 9.3 million... Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted routine health services making it difficult to deliver high-quality care to pregnant women and children living with HIV. But it has also pushed global leaders to try and reinvigorate global commitments to eliminate pediatric HIV by 2030. “Children living with HIV... Read More

The FDA has authorized the first aid for diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder in children 18 months through 5 years of age called Canvas Dx. It was developed by Cognoa, a behavioral health company.  “Currently, pediatricians refer most children with suspected developmental delay to specialists to diagnose... Read More

Over half of adult Americans have now had at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, and the Biden administration is working with private companies to soon offer digital vaccine credentials from a mobile device, which would allow Americans to prove they have been vaccinated against... Read More

Zharia Akeem, 19-year-old student at Tufts University, said that after being accepted into its Bridge to Engineering Success program she saw a need to help and bridge the gap between engineering research and minority communities.  “I am the only person and woman of color in my... Read More

Turmeric is a bright, yellow-colored spice commonly used in dishes throughout the Middle East and Asia, but is also a Nutraceutical, or a food which has natural healing properties.   Oh Sung Kwon, assistant professor of Kinesiology in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources at... Read More

Bite Helper is a battery-powered, wand-like device capable of neutralizing itches from bug bites through thermal-pulse technology which delivers concentrated heat and vibration to a specific area where someone has been bitten by an insect.  The device increases circulation, blood, and denatures proteins in the insect... Read More

The mass shooting of nine people at a San Jose light rail yard last Wednesday morning prompted the Stanford Blood Center, headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., to spring to action to support the victims.   “On Wednesday morning, we got a request from Santa Clara Valley Medical... Read More

Vaccination rates, which reached a peak of 3.38 million shots per day in April slowed to fewer than 2 million doses per day in May. In response on Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced a “month of action” to urge more Americans to  get vaccinated before the... Read More

President Biden’s big push to get 70% of adults at least one shot by July 4th is now being supported by some of America’s largest dating sites, like Hinge, Ok Cupid, and Tinder, who will offer features to highlight vaccination status, and in-app promotions to register... Read More

A study published this week indicates that just one session of storytelling can increase oxytocin, reduce cortisol and pain, and promote positive emotional shifts in children admitted into an intensive care unit. “As a storyteller myself I decided to investigate if all changes we are seeing... Read More

Researchers at Envision Healthcare and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recommend lowering the screening age for colorectal cancer from 50 to 45 years old based on new research.  The Mount Sinai team analyzed approximately 3 million colonoscopies performed at more than 120 of Envision... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas-- In Texas this week, a bipartisan bill to develop a study on the use of psychedelic therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate.  “We are losing over 20 veterans a day to suicide in the United States.... Read More

Researchers from Stanford University published the results of a study Monday which found smartwatches can signal physiological changes, such as a change in red blood cell count, as well as early signs of dehydration, anemia and illness.  The study is among the first to show that... Read More

Marna Gatlin, a 58-year-old from Portland, Ore., is the administrator of a Facebook support group for morbidly obese individuals. Gatlin has struggled with obesity for several years but found this past year to be more challenging.  “I decided during the pandemic I would not get on... Read More

The World Health Organization and UNICEF launched a toolkit for helping adolescents thrive based on evidence-based guidelines for the promotion and prevention of mental health conditions, and programmatic guidance for people working in the health sector, social services, and education. The toolkit covers psychosocial interventions that... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law on Wednesday a bill that not only bans abortions in the state before many women know they are pregnant, but, in a unique twist, gives private citizens the right to intervene in that choice to terminate... Read More

The Federal Communications Commission recently closed applications for health care providers to apply for a second round of funding for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. “For over a year, health care providers have fought on the front lines of this pandemic and have had to rapidly innovate... Read More

An innovative cardiac rehabilitation intervention started earlier and more custom-tailored to the individual improved physical function, frailty, quality-of-life, and depression in hospitalized heart failure patients, compared to traditional rehabilitation programs. Supported by the National Institute on Aging, part of the National institutes of Health, these new... Read More

Questions are emerging as to whether women's menstrual cycles are impacted by COVID-19 vaccines, and two women researchers are conducting a survey to figure out if there are impacts and if so, why they are happening. “A lot of people still think of periods as …... Read More

The World Health Organization Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, and the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health launched an updated  framework  for testing genetically modified mosquitoes as a way to foster quality and consistency in the processes for testing and regulating... Read More

The ACLU of Illinois held a media availability this week with Christine Finnigan, who continued to receive her 'medically, necessary physician-prescribed methadone treatment' in DuPage County Jail following a lawsuit brought against the DuPage Sheriff's Office by the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations. The... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear an abortion case next term that could dramatically alter abortion jurisprudence. In 2018, Mississippi enacted a law that banned abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. It was one of a wave of similar laws passed in conservative,... Read More

A recent report from the Health and Human Services Department finds that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services needs to improve data used to monitor antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes, as insufficient data underestimates the scope of the antipsychotic overprescribing epidemic.  “This report from HHS... Read More

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely resume life without any restrictions.  "The science is clear: if you are fully vaccinated, you are protected, and you can start doing the things that you... Read More

Researchers from Emory University are working on a National Institutes of Health-supported project to develop a sensor capable of detecting COVID-19 in the air, called Rolosense.  “It’s tricky to anticipate what the real-world implementation will be of this technology, but we anticipate this will fill a... Read More

According to a recent study which followed a cohort of Israeli children there is little chance that kids up to age 9 will spread COVID-19 while returning to school.    “The main question was whether school reopening was accompanied by higher rates of COVID-19 infections in children,... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Monday the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved for emergency use for adolescents ages 12 to 15 years of age.  “Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available... Read More

A recent study from Stanford University indicates that nitrate in drinking water is associated with increased odds of spontaneous preterm birth.  “One single study does not conclusively prove that nitrate exposure causes preterm birth, but it is a clear indication that we should continue to investigate... Read More

The Biden Administration announced Monday it will interpret federal non-discrimination provisions as protecting the LGBTQ community against discrimination in health care.   The move, which was announced through the Department of Health and Human Services, means the Office for Civil Rights will interpret and enforce Section 1557... Read More

This week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics released data that the U.S. birth rate is the lowest it’s been since 1979, and one theory on why this is happening is younger individuals who are of childbearing-age are putting off... Read More

About 6 miles outside of a tiny town called Granby, Colo.,  is a little ranching community called C Lazy U Ranch nestled 8,000 feet high aside the cusp of the towering Rocky Mountains.  Entering the ranch is a dusty dirt road that leads to a vista... Read More

Nathan Moose, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, developed permanent lung damage equivalent to that of a heavy smoker, despite never having smoked a day in his life.   Moose was an employee of a casino for 11 years that allowed indoor smoking, and in 2013... Read More

Last week researchers at the University of California, Davis, published a study about a genetically encoded sensor called “PsychLight,” capable of detecting hallucinogenic compounds in the brain of mice, and how those compounds bind to receptors.  “The most shocking thing was the fact that it worked,... Read More

Last week, in partnership with Walgreens, Uber announced the launch of a new way to transport individuals to get their vaccine shots, and to donate rides to those who aren’t able to get to and from their scheduled appointments.  “Our whole goal is to make sure... Read More

Janet Solie, 62-year-old retired physician assistant from Calabasas, Calif., went to a lab at an in-network hospital in Los Robles with complaints of acute abdominal pain, only to later be slammed with a large ER bill.  “The physicians who supervised the inpatient lab were out-of-network. Now... Read More

Stefani Jahjahrova, a 30-year-old Costco employee, received her first vaccine shot in Denver only five days before transferring to a new work location in Virginia.  “I was told I need to reach out to arrange an appointment, and it’s up to me to make that second... Read More

Mimi Murphy, a 32-year-old first time mother from Pittsburg, Pa., gave birth to her son Arlo last Friday through a planned cesarean section.  “My delivery was exceptionally more difficult than predicted, and we already anticipated some trouble ahead of time,” said Murphy.  The C-section was scheduled... Read More

A new report from the American Lung Association finds that more than four in 10 people in the U.S. live with polluted air, placing their health and lives at risk. Even more concerning was that, of the 135 million people currently living in places with polluted... Read More

A recent "trends" report from Airbnb suggests that the ongoing roll out of the coronavirus vaccine is spurring a renewed interest in travel, particularly when it comes to "open air" or "off-the-grid" locations.  In fact, the online rental marketplace said it is witnessing something of a... Read More

WASHINGTON - A group of senators is urging President Joe Biden to support an international push to make the basic formula for the COVID-19 vaccine available to less affluent countries that are experiencing vaccine shortages. “Simply put, we must make vaccines, testing, and treatments accessible everywhere... Read More

Whether or not cannabis is harmful to human health is a continuing question for researchers, as some studies say smoking can have therapeutic effects, while others say long-term cannabis smokers experience anxiety at higher doses.  “There hasn’t been clear science showing demonstrated significant reason to suggest... Read More

The company Big Ass Fans designed a giant, steel overhead fan which runs on ultraviolet light and ionization claiming it, “kills 99.99% of SARS-CoV-2,” but skeptics such as the Environmental Protection Agency say that the ionizing COVID-killing technology, valued up to nearly $9,500, may not be... Read More

An Urban Institute survey covering the first year of the coronavirus pandemic found that despite a steep drop in employment, the share of young adults reporting food insecurity or problems paying utility and medical bills actually declined compared to previous studies.  “Measures of hardship look at... Read More

WASHINGTON - On Monday, Biden held an infrastructure meeting to work on a compromise between the Democrats and Republicans, but representatives like David Price, D-N.C., told reporters that, “the main obstacle for a bipartisan deal is how to pay for it all.”  The proposed $2 trillion-plus... Read More

A new study, led by University of Utah Health scientists, suggests that more than half of doctors, nurses, and emergency responders involved in COVID-19 care could be at risk for one or more mental health problems, including acute traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, problematic alcohol use, and... Read More

BETHESDA, Md. - The National Institutes of Health released a call for research on how COVID-19 may be indirectly and directly impacting those with HIV. According to the written statement the, “COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people with or at risk for HIV by interfering with HIV... Read More

The Bureau of Justice Statistics issued a report stating those with intellectual disabilities are sexually assaulted at a rate seven times higher than those without disabilities.  “Persons with developmental disabilities are at highest risk of sexual assault in this country,” said Nora Baladerian, the founder and... Read More

The CDC has issued a report finding that small, yellow-tinged songbirds from the finch family were linked to 19 infections of salmonella across the U.S.   Rachel Curtis-Robles, a public health educator and outreach officer for the California Department of Wildlife, advised residents of San Mateo... Read More

WASHINGTON - Last Thursday, President Biden announced new vaccine goals of “200 million shots in one hundred days,” and has nearly surpassed that goal with about 154 million shots administered as of this week. "I know it's ambitious – twice our original goal – but no... Read More

SAN DIEGO – The past four days, hundreds of keynote speakers in academia, biotech, and pharma virtually gathered for the Festival of Biologics.   Unlike other years, many of the top-producers in the biopharma and life sciences industries discussed how work practices have changed as a result... Read More

Renee Poligone, a 30-year-old tax examiner from Harrisburg, Pa., will soon be faced with the decision of whether or not to get a vaccine six months into her pregnancy.   “I am open to getting a vaccine if I wasn’t pregnant, but with being pregnant I am... Read More

As vaccine eligibility expands to those 16 and over in many states, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is warning those getting shots against posting photos of their vaccine cards online.  “I’ve seen people wanting to be proud and show off that they got their first vaccine,... Read More

A recent Harvard study found that when it came to the combined economic and health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, tribal communities “are having the worst of both worlds at the same time.” On Thursday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee grappled with how... Read More

WASHINGTON-  The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday on common sense gun prevention after two mass shootings occurred in Atlanta and Boulder this past week.  Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., started the hearing with a moment of silence and a call to action. “We are senate... Read More