“In the general population, for commercial use, I would question the need for (IV therapies),” said Adam Kuchnia, an assistant professor of nutritional sciences at UW-Madison. “If you’re getting mega-doses, potentially on a regular basis, there could be harmful toxicity effects.”
Category: Health
UW must update patient visitor rules
Letter to the editor: Current COVID policy is bad for her mental health because she is restricted to two parents per day supporting her in the hospital. These unnecessary restrictions are putting undue stress and burden on families.
UW Health Experts offer firework safety advice for families
“Firework fuses tend to be pretty short and they burn pretty quickly but this doesn’t seem to stop some people from lighting one while still holding onto it and unfortunately just about any firework that detonates in the hand is going to pack enough energy to cause some damage” said UW Health Pediatric Emergency Medicine Specialist Dr. Greg Rebella.
UW Health culinary creation to comfort refugees earns national award
Shekeba Samadzada and Dan Hess’ vegetable korma, a traditional afghan stew, recently earned national recognition by winning the Health Care Culinary Contest. The stew consists of garbanzo beans, peppers, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and green beans, and is seasoned with cilantro, turmeric and coriander. It is served with basmati rice and naan bread
Two UW Health chefs win culinary competition with a very special recipe
Shekeba Samadzada and Dan Hess are chefs at UW Health who have a very special recipe for a traditional Afghan stew called vegetable korma, says UW Health.
Students brave epidemic for science
In a post-Roe world, some medical students rethink plans to practice in Wisconsin
Molly Wecker, a second-year medical student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, had long planned to be an obstetrics-gynecology doctor in her home state. But with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling last week, the Rock County native is rethinking her plan.
UW-Madison health services seeks to help students following abortion ban
“We’ll help them navigate those in the same manner we have throughout the whole period before this decision was released; obviously, some choices are more complicated than they were in the past,” said executive director Jake Baggott.
Local abuse, rape victim advocates worry about consequences of Roe reversal
Quoted: That is a concern shared among some health professionals, according to UW-Madison expert Jenny Higgins.
“We will see increases in maternal morbidity and mortality due to people being forced to carry to full term. We also know that compared to people who receive desired abortions, people who are denied abortions are more likely to stay in abusive relationships,” Higgins said.
Wisconsin’s youngest are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, but availability is not universal; UW Health will start vaccinating those under 5 starting Tuesday
It’s been more than a week since COVID-19 vaccinations were approved for kids ages 6 months to 5 years old, but some hospitals are still waiting to schedule appointments. Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services is urging parents to be patient as vaccinators get up to speed on new guidelines.
Century-Old State Laws Could Determine Where Abortion Is Legal
Quoted: “I hadn’t heard much about the ban until quite recently,” said Jenny Higgins, a professor of gender and women’s studies and obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. “Folks didn’t really believe that overturning Roe was possible, or palatable, until recently.”
Out-of-state abortion providers prepare to help Wisconsin patients after Supreme Court overturns Roe
Quoted: Jenny Higgins, a professor and director of the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said their research has also shown an increase in birth rates in Wisconsin in recent years due to abortion clinic closures. Higgins said Wisconsin’s abortion ban will have devastating impacts on people’s health and wellbeing in Wisconsin.
“Either people will travel out of state to get abortion care in Illinois and Minnesota, for example, which will take significant time, money and logistical resources,” said Higgins. “Some people will self-manage their abortions here in Wisconsin … and then, of course, some people will not be able to access abortion care at all.”
Understanding the new COVID vaccines for children under five
Pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. James Conway comments on the new COVID-19 vaccines for children ages six months to five years.
Where does abortion ruling leave women in Wisconsin?
Tiffany Green, a professor of health sciences, obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, joins Live at Four to talk about what the Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade case means for Wisconsin.
No Wisconsin clinics are providing abortions as of Friday after SCOTUS struck down Roe v. Wade
Noted: UW Health on Friday said the loss of safe, legal abortion access would be predominantly felt by underserved rural areas and marginalized populations.
“As we enter a time of rapid change and uncertainty, UW Health will put the needs of our patients first and foremost to ensure they receive not just the best care but the best medical advice related to their care options,” the statement read.
Wisconsin doctors scramble to understand abortion care post Roe v. Wade
Quoted: Wisconsin’s abortion ban makes the procedure illegal unless deemed medically necessary to save a patient’s life.
Abby Cutler, an OB-GYN on faculty at UW Health said that definition is impossible to pin down.
“Knowing when that line is, when does a patient, when does a mother or a future mother become sick enough or is in enough danger to require life-saving treatment immediately,” Cutler told Wisconsin Public Radio. “I think that’s a really difficult line. There is no line, really.”
Abortion access could expand in northern Illinois to meet Wisconsin demand
Some hospitals also perform abortions if the fetus has a lethal condition or the mother’s life is at risk. In a statement Friday, UW Health said, “While reverting to a 173-year-old state law on abortion will create some legal uncertainties, we recognize that this court decision has effectively banned abortions in Wisconsin except to save the life of the mother, and UW Health will continue to comply with the laws related to reproductive health care.”
Baby formula shortage highlights benefits of human milk banking
Quoted: Donated milk is a safe and nutritious formula alternative for families who aren’t able to supply their own milk, according to Dr. Anne Eglash, a clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Eglash has long been a proponent of breastfeeding through her medical practice at UW Health, where she leads the healthcare system’s lactation clinic.
“We know that in the short-term, using donor milk for premature infants is a game-changer,” Eglash said. Donor milk helps stave off a type of gut inflammation that commonly affects infants born prematurely called necrotizing enterocolitis. The condition can lead to tissue death, forcing doctors to remove a large part of the baby’s intestinal tract.
“That has a huge impact on growth and development,” Eglash said, adding that when mother’s milk is unavailable, donor milk can also play a role in preventing other negative outcomes common among premature infants, including eye and lung disease and sepsis.
Medical College of Wisconsin receives $50 million Kern Family Foundation gift to ‘transform medical education’
Noted: The Kern Institute collaborates and shares ideas on new approaches to medical education with a number of other schools through what’s called the Kern National Network.
The other founding members of the network are the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
After a month of no new bird flu cases, Wisconsin lifts order prohibiting poultry shows ahead of county fair season
Quoted: Ron Kean is a poultry specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of Extension. He said the influenza virus has historically died down in summer months, so bird enthusiasts are cautiously optimistic about the rest of the summer.
“We’re hopeful that we’re through this at least for now,” he said. “Especially a lot of the small producers, exhibition breeders, things like that, I think are quite excited to be able to go back to having shows.”
‘Here & Now’ Highlights: Bradley Burmeister, Beth Neary, Chris DeMarco, Susan Urbanski
Here’s what guests on the June 17, 2022 episode said about assessing firearm risk for patients with mental health needs, adverse effects of exposure to PFAS, the high risk of energy emergencies in the Midwest grid, and demand for human milk during the baby formula shortage.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, what will it mean for pregnancy loss care in Wisconsin?
Quoted: Miscarriage management or removal of an ectopic pregnancy shouldn’t fall within even the strictest interpretation of the 1849 law, said University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor Miriam Seifter. Still, she said that gray area could create a “chilling effect” on patients or doctors involved in care that could be construed as an abortion.
“It’s understandable that a lot of people would feel like they needed to proceed with caution and would be concerned about potential ramifications in a legal landscape that really hasn’t been clarified yet,” she said.
Wisconsin’s abortion laws are a “tangled set of provisions,” Seifter said, with a number of “outstanding legal questions about how to make sense of them.” She expects there will be ongoing debate about the state of legal abortion if Roe v. Wade is struck down.
PKU patients around Wisconsin are grappling with the formula shortage too
People with metabolic disorders who require formula to ensure adequate nutrition are among those dealing with a months long shortage — the Waisman Center at UW-Madison is seeking to help source alternatives, even as such options can be stressful.
Eyes on Schizophrenia
We see the term schizophrenia often, but what does a schizophrenia sufferer experience, and how can non-sufferers recognize the symptoms? UW-Madison Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry Diane C. Gooding will lead us through the complexities of a disorder that affects millions of people worldwide.
Not Just for the Birds: Avian Influenza Is Also Felling Wild Mammals
Something was wrong with the foxes. That was what callers to the Dane County Humane Society in Wisconsin kept saying in April, as they reported fox kits, or young foxes, behaving in strange ways: shaking, seizing or struggling to stand. The kits, which were often lethargic and wandering by themselves, also seemed unusually easy to approach, showing little fear of humans.
Drones Being Used to Bring Defibrillators to Patients in Emergencies
Quoted: “Time is really of the essence here,” said Justin Boutilier, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “Survival from cardiac arrest decreases by between 7 to 15% for every minute that you go without treatment.”
Boutilier describes obstacles to emergency response —such as traffic or difficult-to-reach rural locations — as “the perfect storm.” He has been designing a prototype drone that takes off as soon as someone calls 911.
“This is sort of like a perfect storm for a drone-based delivery system,” he said. “They’re able to, you know, remove the issues caused by traffic and things like that. So they’re able to get these devices there much quicker than an ambulance could.”
As the coronavirus evolves, scientists seek a new generation of vaccines
Noted: Last September, NIAID awarded approximately $36.3 million to three different institutions — the University of Wisconsin, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and Duke University — to conduct research and develop the all-in-one coronavirus shot.
Build Belonging: 6 Best Ways To Connect Based On Science
Noted: A study at the University of Wisconsin found digital messaging—and especially text—were effective in building relationships. The reason they made a difference is because they tended to communicate people were thinking about each other and taking time to reach out. The study found quantity was actually not as important as quality—communicating a real caring or attention to the other person.
Fathers feed babies too — so why are they so scarce in media coverage of the formula shortage?
Co-authored by Tova Walsh, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a member of the Scholars Strategy Network and Alvin Thomas, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a member of the Scholars Strategy Network.
UW Health announces plans for new clinic at University Row
A new UW Health clinic will soon be built on Madison’s west side, replacing the UW Health West Towne Clinic, officials announced Friday.
UW Health to build University Row clinic to replace West Towne clinic
UW Health plans to begin construction soon on its University Row Clinic, next to the UW Health Digestive Health Center at 750 University Row, near University Avenue and Whitney Way on Madison’s West Side. The University Row Clinic, expected to open in 2024, will offer primary care and urgent care, UW Health said. It will replace the UW Health West Towne Clinic, which will be closed and sold upon the new clinic’s opening.
F.D.A. Authorizes Moderna and Pfizer Covid Vaccines for Youngest Children
Dr. James Conway, a pediatric infectious disease expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. said it was hard to pinpoint how much protection either vaccine might provide given that newer, more contagious versions of the virus are now circulating. “You’re kind of playing Whac-a-Mole,” he said.
Drones Being Used to Bring Defibrillators to Patients in Emergencies
“Time is really of the essence here,” said Justin Boutilier, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “Survival from cardiac arrest decreases by between 7 to 15% for every minute that you go without treatment.”
Boutilier describes obstacles to emergency response —such as traffic or difficult-to-reach rural locations — as “the perfect storm.” He has been designing a prototype drone that takes off as soon as someone calls 911.
Black patients half as likely to receive treatment for pancreatic cancer, UW study finds
A study from the UW Carbone Cancer Center has found that Black patients with pancreatic cancer have lower survival rates than white patients because they are far less likely to receive life-extending treatments in Wisconsin.
Once a refugee, Afghan chef at UW Hospital makes award-winning dish for patient from Fort McCoy
When Shekeba Samadzada makes vegetable korma at UW Hospital in Madison, she thinks of her mom. Just about every time. That’s where the recipe came from, after all.
UW Health, UnityPoint Health-Meriter launch fetal treatment center
Wisconsin’s only fetal diagnosis and treatment center has been launched by UW Health and UnityPoint Health-Meriter.
UW Health and UnityPoint Health-Meriter open Wisconsin’s first fetal diagnosis and treatment center
The new center is a collaboration between UW Health and UnityPoint Health-Meriter to help support pregnant patients and their unborn babies with birth defects before, during, and after birth.
Editorial | UW Health should recognize nurses union
To our view, it is only a matter of time until the nurses gain the representation that they have been seeking. As such, it makes sense for UW Health Board members and the administration to dial down tensions, embrace a spirit of cooperation and recognize the union.
COVID lawsuits push doctors to provide substandard care
Quoted: “There’s this idea that whatever a patient wants, they should get,” says Pilar Ossorio, a bioethics law professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School and a scholar in ethics at the Morgridge Institute for Research.
Wisconsin ranks third worst in country for air pollution exposure disparities
Quoted: A study released last month by UW-Madison researchers found the elimination of air pollution emissions across the country from energy-related activities could prevent more than 50,000 premature deaths a year.
In a press release about the analysis, Claire Gervais, a clinical associate professor with University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, called the results “shocking.”
“Doctors can only do so much,” Gervais said. “We must have better public policy to reduce industrial and transportation sources of fossil fuel burning.”
Wisconsin faces a ‘tangled series’ of abortion laws dating back to 1849 as it heads into a possible post-Roe future
Noted: University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (CORE) says Wisconsin already restricts many aspects of abortion, including banning government-funded insurance coverage, limiting availability through family planning programs, requiring mandatory counseling, ultrasounds and waiting periods for medication and surgical abortions and gestational limits, among other restrictions.
“None of these restrictions are evidence-based,” says CORE director Jenny Higgins.”There’s no medical reason for any of these restrictions. So just on that alone, these restrictions should be seen as onerous.”
Quoted: According to UW associate law professor Miriam Seifter, the judges found a right to privacy based on precedents dating back to the late 19th century. The opinion concludes that the “mother’s interests are superior to that of an unquickened embryo,” regardless of whether that embryo is “mere protoplasm,” in the view of the physician, or “a human being,” in the view of the Wisconsin statute.
Study suggests longer treatments are more successful for treating opioid use disorder
The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health released a new study Thursday, indicating that the longer someone who has an opioid use disorder takes medication to treat it, the less likely they are to overdose.
What’s the lasting effect of having an abortion, or being turned away? Here’s what research tells us.
Quoted: “The Turnaway Study is brilliant,” said Jenny Higgins, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “It’s an incredibly strong source of evidence and the study design is so fantastic.”
Wisconsin AG opinion finds UW Health can voluntarily recognize nurses union
The UW Hospitals and Clinics Authority may voluntarily recognize a union formed by UW Health nurses and engage in collective bargaining, Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul concluded in a formal opinion issued Thursday.
Josh Kaul: UW Hospital can recognize and bargain with a union voluntarily
More than two years after UW Hospital nurses asked managers to recognize the revival of a union lost after a 2011 state law, Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul on Thursday said the hospital can contract with its employees and set their terms of employment via a voluntary collective bargaining process.
AG Kaul: UW Hospitals and Clinics Authority can voluntarily collectively bargain with nurses
A formal opinion released by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul Thursday concluded that the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority can choose to voluntarily engage in the collective bargaining process with its nurses.
AG opinion says UW Health can voluntarily collectively bargain with nurses’ union
UW Health can collectively bargain voluntarily with a union representing UW Hospital’s nurses, Attorney General Josh Kaul concluded Thursday, prompting nurses to call for their union to be immediately recognized.
UW Health program addresses nurse staffing shortage, provides extra pay to workers
A program implemented by UW Health has not only helped retain nurses amid a staffing shortage, but also provided frontline workers with extra pay in their pockets.
Air pollution more likely to harm people of color in Wisconsin, especially in Milwaukee, study finds
Quoted: “It is shocking that Wisconsin has the third-highest racial disparity in the country for
exposure to particulate matter, disproportionately killing black residents,” said Dr. Claire Gervais, a clinical associate professor with the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine and Community Health.
“Doctors can only do so much. We must have better public policy to reduce industrial and transportation sources of fossil fuel burning,” Gervais said.
New cell therapy study tests treatment for radiation-induced dry mouth
A program at UW Health is creating alternatives to limited and risky treatment options by using patients’ own cells as “living therapeutics.”
Campus ministries, counselors join to tackle mental health
At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, the Catholic student center tried to keep as many community programs going as possible even during the pandemic’s darkest moments, said its director, the Rev. Eric Nielsen.
Most teens have a healthy relationship with digital technology, so long as their parents do too
Quoted: Dr. Megan Moreno, a professor of pediatrics at UW-Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health and study lead, said their findings show just how important parents are when it comes to teens and technology.
“Parents serve as such role models, and I think that when kids are young, the role-modeling includes a lot of instruction and talking; and I think when teens are older, parents teach more through their own behavior than through their own words,” she said.
Gift of life: Liver transplant from Waunakee boy helps Cashton teen embark on adulthood
For her 18th birthday this month, Kaylee McGinnis got a ring and a necklace adorned with a sunflower, bejeweled with emeralds and sapphires and inscribed with her first name and another: Collin. He isn’t a boyfriend with whom she hopes to spend the rest of her life. He’s a boy who for more than 17 years has given her life. Kaylee, of Cashton, got a liver transplant at 7 months old at UW Hospital from Collin Barberino, a 3-year-old from Waunakee who died in December 2004 when a dresser fell on him in his bedroom.
In 2003, Wisconsin was the epicenter of a monkeypox outbreak. The latest cases shouldn’t cause alarm, yet.
Quoted: “The average person shouldn’t be worried about monkeypox. It’s more about knowing when and where it’s been found and monitoring your own health,” said Dan Shirley, medical director for infection prevention at UW Health in Madison. “If you have anything that seems like monkeypox, report it right away.”
UW Health offering $100 more an hour to nurses to take extra shifts
UW Health has created an “internal agency” of nurses, offering them $100 more per hour than their regular wage to take extra shifts, which has helped address a nursing shortage occurring nationally, CEO Dr. Alan Kaplan said Thursday.
UW-Madison study: Eliminating air pollution emissions could save 50K lives each year
More than 50,000 premature deaths each year could be prevented if air pollution emissions from energy-related activities in the United States were eliminated, according to a new study from University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.
COVID surges as masks decline, hurting the most vulnerable
Quoted: “We call them essential but we treat them as expendable,” says Tiffany Green, a health economist and professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. “They’re less likely to be covered by benefits like health insurance.”
UW Health to use new device that sits cancer patients upright for radiation therapy. It could be a game-changer.
A new, more effective option for radiation therapy is coming for cancer patients at UW Health, one that experts hope will not only make treatment more affordable, but also more empowering for patients.
Female UW doctor who sued alleging unfair treatment gets $180,000 settlement
AUW Health anesthesiologist who sued the former head of her department and the UW Board of Regents — alleging unequal pay, unequal opportunity and a hostile work environment for female doctors — has received a $180,000 settlement.
Cancer treatment centers to use precise, pricey proton therapy
UW Health’s $60 million proton therapy project will include new technology by Middleton-based Leo Cancer Care. Patients will sit in a special chair that shifts around a radiation beam instead of lying down while a massive contraption rotates around them on a gantry, as is the case at most proton therapy centers.