Month: September 2021

Healthcare delivery options have changed a lot this past year — drive through COVID testing, mass vaccination centers and the growth of telehealth are now common.

Many providers and insurers are offering remote appointments for routine medical care. This innovative healthcare option is a game-changer for many in that they open up access to a larger population of providers and specialists.

Vaccine passports are an example of a digital health initiative that is being met with mixed reviews. New York state, for example, launched a passport app that tracks vaccine status and can be used to gain entry into restricted indoor spaces.

Michael Seavers, Ph.D., is the program lead and an assistant professor of Healthcare Infomatics with Harrisburg University of Science and Technology and he appears on Smart Talk Thursday to talk about the growth of digital health and its continuing challenges.

For more on digital health topics plus a deeper look at the changing tide of healthcare–check out WITF’s Transforming Health. Online at TransformingHealth.org, a partnership of WITF, WellSpan Health and Capital Blue Cross.

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The U.S. government has not confirmed the exact number of Afghan refugees evacuated from the country in waning days of the military presence in Afghanistan. Estimates put the number of people evacuated over eighty thousand.

U.S. military flights from Kabul carried U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, Afghan Special Immigrant Visa applicants and other vulnerable Afghans, according to the Pentagon.

Governor Tom Wolf reiterated Pennsylvania’s intention to support refugees and the federal government’s mission, in any way possible. Local resettlement agencies are preparing to help any refugees arriving in central Pennsylvania, as well.

Smart Talk Wednesday spotlights how Pennsylvania will support refugees to the area with Janet Tisinger, Legal Programs Coordinator, Rachel Helwig, Development and Communications Coordinator, both with Church World Services of Lancaster, along with Hoa Pham, Office of Income Maintenance, from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.

 

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For many years, criminologists Jillian Peterson, Ph.D., and James Densley, Ph.D., have studied mass shootings and the people who carry them out.

One of the most jarring points made in their new book THE VIOLENCE PROJECT: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic is that most of those who commit mass shootings aren’t monsters, but have been exposed to or were victims of violence or trauma, reached a crisis in their lives and had access to firearms. Often, they blend into the crowd and look and live like everyone else.

Dr. Peterson and Dr. Densley appear on Smart Talk Wednesday to offer insight to their research and a hopeful look at stopping the violence before it happens.