Demand for service dogs: A ‘Wild West’ market
By Markian Hawryluk Jenni Mahnaz admits she’s not much of a dog person. She’s mildly allergic and the only pet she had as a child was a hermit crab. But once she learned that specially trained dogs could help her daughters with their medical needs, she was willing to do anything to make it happen. Her […]
More penalized Georgia hospitals . . . and more controversy
By Jordan Rau and Andy Miller Medicare has penalized 21 Georgia hospitals for having the highest rates of patient infections and potentially avoidable complications. That’s up slightly from the 18 hospitals in the state that drew penalties in the last round of federal assessments. For the penalized hospitals, Medicare payments are reduced by 1% for […]
Emory med students learn health risks of climate change
By Emily Jones This coverage is made possible through a partnership with WABE and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Emory Medical School’s administration is making climate change a formal part of its curriculum. It’s the culmination of several years of student-led efforts to ensure […]
How a powerful company persuaded Georgia to let it bury toxic waste in groundwater
By Max Blau ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Max Blau is an Atlanta-based ProPublica reporter who previously worked in partnership with Georgia Health News on a series of articles on coal ash. For the past several years, Georgia Power has gone to great lengths to skirt the federal rule requiring […]
Left behind: Medicaid rides to doctors don’t always come
By Rebecca Grapevine and Andy Miller Tranisha Rockmore and her daughter Karisma waited at an Atlanta children’s hospital in July for their ride home. Karisma had been at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to have her gastrostomy tube fixed, Rockmore said. The 4-year-old, who has several severe medical conditions, has insurance coverage from Medicaid, which provides transportation to […]
The Top 10 Georgia health care stories of 2021
Close to 20,000 new Covid cases (including positives from antigen tests) were reported in Georgia on the last Wednesday of 2021, as new daily state records are being set. On the state virus map, metro Atlanta was covered by a deep, dangerous red color, signifying high rates of infection. People were scrambling to get Covid […]
What’s next for Georgia as Medicaid waiver requirements rejected? | 90.1 FM WABE
The timing of the waiver decision, right before Christmas, drew a quick, angry response from state Republican leaders. Gov. Brian Kemp’s spokeswoman noted that the federal health officials’ announced rejection of the state’s proposed work requirements for its Medicaid waiver came two days before Christmas. “They attempted to hide behind the holiday,’’ said Katie Byrd. […]
Gaps in health care hinder some rural areas
Part 4 of a Special Report Georgia’s Echols County, which borders Florida, could be called a health care desert. It has no hospital, no local ambulances. A medical provider comes to treat patients at a migrant farmworker clinic but, other than a small public health department with two full-time employees, that’s about the extent of […]
A rural Georgia community reels after hospital closes
Lacandie Gipson struggled to breathe. The 33-year-old woman with multiple health conditions was in respiratory distress and awaiting an ambulance. About 20 minutes after the emergency call, it arrived. The Cuthbert home where Gipson lived was less than a mile from Southwest Georgia Regional Medical Center, but the ambulance couldn’t take her to the one-story […]
Patients stranded out of network as contract talks collapse
In September, when Shelly Azzopardi went to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital with abdominal pain, she didn’t worry about her insurance. Doctors said she had a case of appendicitis. But she also tested positive at the hospital in Marietta, Georgia, for Covid-19. Physicians decided not to do surgery and treated her with antibiotics and painkillers. Azzopardi, 47, […]