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Latest Health News

Dominic, 39, and his fiancé, Samantha, are using a smartphone app to help them stay off drugs as part of a pilot program through CODAC Behavioral Healthcare. (Lynn Arditi / The Public's Radio)

Local Coverage

May 9, 2024

R.I. is using a new app to help people stay off drugs. But is it reaching those most in need?

Rhode Island is piloting an app developed by a Boston-based tech company that offers people struggling with addiction small rewards, like gift cards or vouchers, for staying clean. But there are barriers to accessing the treatment and some question whether the app can reach the people most in need of...

St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, a Steward hospital in Brighton. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

The 3rd-largest Mass. hospital system is in bankruptcy. Here’s what you need to know

Health

May 7, 2024

A sign at Holy Family Hospital, a Steward hospital in Haverhill, Mass. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Steward Health Care seeks bankruptcy protections

Health

03:38May 6, 2024

Carney Hospital in Dorchester. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Mass. sets up emergency Steward response system

Health

May 3, 2024

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A gas-lit flame burns on a natural gas stove. (Thomas Kienzle/AP)

Study links gas stoves to 50,000 current cases of childhood asthma

Environment

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The blue, or common, mussel (Mytilus edulis) Photo by Daniel Kim, American Museum of Natural History

Mussel shells are changing as the ocean warms, study finds

New research shows that mussels from several East Coast locations, though not yet Massachusetts, have shells speckled with tiny holes — far more than the mussels of yesteryear.

Environment

May 3, 2024

Cows at a dairy in California. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday, April 23, 2024, that samples of pasteurized milk had tested positive for remnants of the bird flu virus that has infected dairy cows. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

Should I be worried about bird flu in Mass. — or in my milk? A local expert weighs in

WBUR spoke with Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, the founding director of BU’s Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases, to learn whether or not Massachusetts residents should worry about bird flu here and...

Local Coverage

May 2, 2024

Young Adult Peer Mentor Jake Look deals cards to himself and 16-year-old Nathaniel for a game of Trash during a session at Riverside Community Care in Milford, Mass. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Peer support transforms mental health care for some in Massachusetts

People who’ve struggled with bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety and other conditions are joining the mental health workforce to provide support for patients experiencing some of the same difficulties they have...

Health

04:38May 2, 2024

Holy Family Hospital's facility in Methuen, Mass. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Workers describe unpaid bills, delayed care and anxiety at Mass. Steward hospitals

Interviews with several current employees — and complaints filed with the state Department of Public Health — paint a picture of flagging investment in facilities, administrative dysfunction and an alleged...

Health

04:28Apr 30, 2024

The Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

State ends housing programs for those in 'Mass. and Cass' encampment

The programs had seemed to help reduce the numbers of people living on the streets while facing mental health and substance use disorders, and address problems such as increasing violence...

Local Coverage

Apr 29, 2024

The entrace to the Norfolk County Sheriff's HOPE Center. (Photo courtesy Norfolk County Sheriff's Office

Norfolk County Sheriff opens center to help people build stable lives after incarceration

The HOPE Center, the name of which stands for "healing, opportunity, purpose and engagement," will provide support services including substance use treatment, mental health support groups, and food, housing and...

Local Coverage

Apr 25, 2024

View of the Massachusetts State House from the corner of Tremont and Park Streets. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

House, Senate approve plan to cap family shelter stays at 9 months and up budget by $251 million

The agreement would pull another $251 million from the so-called Transitional Escrow Account to help pay for fiscal 2024 shelter system costs, with another $175 million available in the budget...

Health

Apr 25, 2024

Steward's leases make hospitals 'less attractive' to buyers, Mass. health secretary says

The Healey administration's top health care official said the property and leasing of Steward Health Care hospitals is complicating efforts to find a buyer.

Local Coverage

Apr 24, 2024

In this file photo, psilocybin mushrooms are seen in a grow room in the Netherlands. (AP/Peter Dejong)

From politics to the lab: The push for psychedelics in Mass.

New research, a potential state ballot measure and pending decisions from the FDA are putting psychedelics are on a path that could lead them to become an integral part of...

Health

Apr 23, 2024

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sign outside the Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center in Cincinnati. (Joshua A. Bickel/AP)

EPA will force polluters to pay for PFAS cleanup

The EPA has singled out two chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, as particularly harmful, stating in a press release Friday that "there is no level of exposure to these contaminants without...

Environment

Apr 19, 2024