Sickle cell experts say a cure without care jeopardizes the freedom promised by new gene therapies

Sickle cell experts say a cure without care jeopardizes the freedom promised by new gene therapies

Two new, cutting-edge cures for sickle cell disease, a debilitating genetic blood disorder, have been approved on Friday. The sickle cell community is cautiously hopeful as questions around access and comprehensive care loom large. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Exa-cel, also known by its commercial name Casgevy. It’s a gene-editing therapy that uses…

Racial covenants limited housing options for Black residents in Champaign; a local group aims to repair that harm
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Racial covenants limited housing options for Black residents in Champaign; a local group aims to repair that harm

Racial covenants restricted almost 800 pieces of land in Champaign County from being owned by anyone who wasn’t white. The Champaign-Urbana Reparations Coalition is starting to advocate for reparations for this for African Americans in the area.

After Dobbs, doctors say more people are turning to permanent contraception

After Dobbs, doctors say more people are turning to permanent contraception

Sitting in the living room of her Cleveland home, 30-year-old Grace O’Malley reflects on when she ruled out having kids of her own. O’Malley has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic condition that weakens the body’s connective tissue, and can get much worse postpartum. About three years earlier, when she was in her mid-twenties, her condition worsened….

For at least 6 months, state failed to act on Carlinville funeral director that mishandled remains
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For at least 6 months, state failed to act on Carlinville funeral director that mishandled remains

State regulators allowed a Carlinville funeral director to operate for months despite a complaint filed by a local coroner who found a decomposing body in his funeral home and alleged the care of the remains was “unacceptable and criminal in nature.” While trying to assist a local family with retrieving cremated remains in March, Morgan…

The White House is urging schools to address a rise in fentanyl exposure among teens

The White House is urging schools to address a rise in fentanyl exposure among teens

Narcan, also known by its generic name Naloxone, is a life-saving medication that reverses opioid overdoses. But in two-thirds of adolescent overdose deaths, the medication wasn’t used even though there was someone nearby. The main driving factor behind these overdose deaths is fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is so potent even a tiny amount can…

Trans Americans are fleeing to Illinois. Here’s why:
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Trans Americans are fleeing to Illinois. Here’s why:

While Illinois has moved to protect access to gender-affirming care and enshrined civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community overall, four of the five states that border Illinois have all seen a massive rise in bills that target the queer community, especially transgender youth. According to the ACLU’s anti-LGBTQ legislation tracker, Missouri’s state legislature has considered 48 bills in 2023 alone that would negatively impact the queer community in areas ranging from healthcare to education to free speech and expression.

New hospital safety report gives Carle Foundation a ‘C’ and OSF Heart of Mary a ‘B’

New hospital safety report gives Carle Foundation a ‘C’ and OSF Heart of Mary a ‘B’

The Leapfrog Group issued its Fall 2023 Hospital Safety Grades on Monday. The report looks at metrics for patient safety and care quality and assigns an “A” to “F” rating to nearly 3,000 U.S. hospitals. Among those hospitals: OSF HealthCare Heart of Mary Medical Center in Urbana received a B grade, and Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana received a C…

After no clean drinking water for 4 years, this Native American tribe wants more than sympathy

After no clean drinking water for 4 years, this Native American tribe wants more than sympathy

Over the hills of northern Nebraska and along the banks of the Missouri River lies the village of Santee on the Santee Sioux Nation Reservation. Home to fewer than 1,000 residents, it’s isolated from Nebraska’s major population centers and almost an hour from the nearest Walmart in Yankton, South Dakota. For the past four years,…

More children are being poisoned by e-cigarette liquids. Here’s what parents need to know

More children are being poisoned by e-cigarette liquids. Here’s what parents need to know

Dr. Hannah Hays has seen what exposure to the liquid used in vapes and electronic cigarettes can do to children. One child who had ingested a large amount of liquid from a vape pen “developed loss of consciousness, muscle jerking, repeated vomiting and had to be placed on a ventilator or breathing machine,” Hays, the…