Health
‘It should be stopped’: Idaho medical group files complaint against Dr. Ryan Cole
The Idaho Medical Association on Thursday filed a complaint with the Idaho Board of Medicine against Dr. Ryan Cole, a local pathologist who owns Cole Diagnostics and this year was appointed to the lone physician seat on the board of Central District Health, the state’s largest regional public health agency. “Our primary concern is that […]
The emotional and financial cost of dementia demands our community’s attention
Over 6 million Americans are living with dementia. The cost of caring for these individuals is estimated by the Alzheimer’s Association to be $355 billion in 2021. As a local geriatrician, I care for families who experience tremendous frustration over delayed diagnoses, poor efficacy of current drug therapies, lack of insurance coverage for in-home caregiving, […]
As Idaho hospitals fill, patients end up in other states, at great expense
In late August, 2-year-old Charlotte McCabe started vomiting in the middle of the night. Her parents, Megan and Cliff McCabe, initially thought she had a stomach bug. When she began acting listless, they brought her to an urgent care center, where a provider recommended driving her to the emergency room right away. Charlotte was soon […]
Program for Idaho medical students receives $12 million for scholarships
Idaho ranks near the bottom of states in the country for number of active primary care physicians, and 49th for active physicians overall. According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, nearly every corner of Idaho, or 98%, has a shortage of primary care physicians, and every county has a shortage of mental health […]
Only 2 states refuse to track this health care data. Idaho is one of them.
Health officials knew that at least 749 adults and 15 children were in Idaho hospitals with COVID-19 on Saturday. What they didn’t know — and have never known — is how many Idahoans were hospitalized in other states for COVID-19 or any other reason. It’s not because they don’t want that information. It’s because they […]
Idaho House, Senate leaders working toward reconvening the Legislature
Top legislative leaders are working on a plan to bring the Idaho Legislature back into session at the Statehouse in Boise, Speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives Scott Bedke announced Tuesday. The announcement, which came during a tumultuous day of politics in the Gem State, was not a surprise at this point. On Monday, […]
With Little out of state, McGeachin issues order banning COVID-19 testing, vaccination at schools
While serving as acting governor on Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin issued a new executive order banning public schools and the State Department of Education from requiring COVID-19 testing or vaccinations. McGeachin issued the executive order while Gov. Brad Little was out of state traveling to Texas to visit the U.S. border with Mexico along […]
Idaho legislative interim committee endorses new draft bill fighting Biden’s COVID-19 rules
Republicans on the Idaho Legislature’s interim Committee on Federalism voted Monday to recommend the full Legislature consider a draft bill that would criminalize state and local government employees who implement President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine and testing rules for employers. Sen. Steve Vick, the Dalton Gardens Republican who is pushing the draft bill, said the […]
Idaho Youth Ranch’s youth shelter stops taking residents amid staffing shortage
The Idaho Youth Ranch Hays House, the Treasure Valley’s only shelter for homeless and runaway youth, is temporarily not accepting youth residents because of staffing shortages, according to a press release. “Obviously, we are very saddened by this turn of events,” Scott Curtis, chief executive officer of the Idaho Youth Ranch, said in the release. […]
Idaho business association leader on vaccine mandates: Legislature should ‘stay out of it’
A telephone survey of 400 individuals across Idaho found that 66% of respondents did not think the Idaho Legislature should try to stop businesses from mandating COVID-19 vaccinations, and 78% agree that Idaho politicians should not tell private businesses what to do. The survey, conducted by the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry in July, […]
I was relieved COVID affected adults more than kids. With delta variant, that relief is gone.
In March of 2020, when the world was living in fear of the unknown virus, I remember being relieved that the disease affected adults more than children. With the delta variant, that relief is gone. We’re seeing an increase in pediatric COVID-19 cases with no end in sight unless more Idahoans get vaccinated. More than […]
Are monoclonal antibodies here? Yes, but not everyone in Idaho can get them
Before he was vaccinated against COVID-19, former President Donald Trump caught the coronavirus and became one of the earliest patients to receive an infusion of the antibody cocktail made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. He raved about the medication and promised it would be available to the public. Today, it is. But as more unvaccinated people came […]