Local hospitals are helping patients register to vote | Philly Health Insider
Plus, Penn residents ink first tentative union contract deal in the state
Good morning. Today’s big read dives into why local hospitals are taking some heat for trying to help patients and staff register to vote before the presidential election (which, in case you haven’t heard, is kind of a big deal here in Pa.). Plus, Main Line Health will soon be hiring a new CEO, and resident doctors at the University of Pennsylvania Health System have become the first in the state to reach a tentative union contract deal with their university.
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— Alison McCook, Inquirer health reporter, @alisonmccook.
Do you drink? Do you smoke? Do you feel safe at home? And are you registered to vote?
These are some of the screening questions patients are hearing at hospitals across our area, where outreach workers are encouraging people to register to vote ahead of the upcoming, high-stakes presidential election.
Such efforts — which include popping up voter registration information tables alongside cafeteria checkout counters, and giving staff lanyard badges with a QR code linked to a voter registration website — are being organized nationally through groups like Vot-ER.
But not everyone supports the push for patient voter registration. Although Vot-ER says it is nonpartisan, it has been criticized for having ties to the Democratic party. “This is a clear abuse of the doctor-patient relationship,” said Kush Desai, the Pennsylvania communications director for former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
Read the story for more information on how — and why (they say it’s good for health!) — hospitals are getting involved in voter registration.
The latest news to pay attention to
Resident doctors training at the University of Pennsylvania Health System formed the first union of its kind in Pennsylvania and now have become the first in the state to reach a tentative contract deal with their university. The deal announced by the union Tuesday includes raises between 25% and 28% for residents and eight weeks of parental leave.
The Philly research community has lost a pioneer: Mery Kostianovsky, director of electron microscopy at what is now the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Jefferson and a researcher in diseases such as diabetes, AIDS, and cancer (at a time when women scientists were few), died recently at age 92.
Prevention Point provides health services to people with addiction, including primary care for people with HIV and treatment of the wounds caused by the animal tranquilizer xylazine. Now, a zoning issue could cause a delay in medical care at the nonprofit.
This week’s number: 1 in 3.
That’s how many former NFL players believe they have the neurodegenerative brain disease CTE, according to a Harvard study published this week in JAMA Neurology. Of those who thought they had the incurable disease, one quarter said they had also had suicidal thoughts in the previous two weeks.
These startling findings follow an Inquirer investigation earlier this month that showed that most of the starters for the 1980 Eagles — the first team in franchise history to appear in a Super Bowl — developed cognitive issues after retirement, ranging from memory loss and depression, to personality changes and movement disorders.
Fans at this week’s Eagles game against the New Orleans Saints witnessed the risks of the sport in real time, when two players — Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson and wide receiver DeVonta Smith — experienced concussions.
(Note: Some Eagle-eyed readers may notice the title change on this section of the newsletter. Don’t worry! We’re still diving into data for an exclusive, quantitative look at the week in local health news, and the stories behind the numbers.)
Between January and June, St. Luke’s Upper Bucks was cited for sanitation and patient privacy violations, after state inspectors made six visits to the hospital. Click here to read more of the details we could gather about the incidents.
Does it matter what a doctor wears?
That’s the question posed by dermatologist Jules Lipoff, who notes there’s an “unwritten code” that male doctors should wear a white coat and/or dress shirt and tie, and female doctors should wear the equivalent.
Lipoff decided to buck that trend when he became an attending physician: He ditched the tie, but kept his white coat. When COVID hit, he switched to scrubs. To keep things interesting for his patients at The Dermatology Specialists in Old City, he sneaks in quirky socks, such as those decorated with x-ray bones or pills, or the colors of his football team (not the Eagles, which takes courage in this city).
Check out Lipoff’s expert opinion column to learn more about what he thinks does — and doesn’t — matter about a physician’s wardrobe.
This is a big one: Main Line Health CEO Jack Lynch is planning to retire next June from the nonprofit health system he steered for 20 years.
It’s been an interesting tenure, to say the least. While Lynch was CEO, Main Line split from the former Jefferson Health System (its longtime financial partner), acquired Riddle Hospital and built new patient pavilions there and at its three other acute-care hospitals, and acquired Mirmont Treatment Center, an inpatient facility for substance-use treatment.
But although Main Line has historically been one of the financially strongest health systems in the region, since COVID-19, it has contended with steep annual losses.
Lynch told health care business reporter Harold Brubaker he made the decision several years ago to retire from Main Line after 20 years. “I’m excited about the opportunity for someone to come in with the same level of energy and excitement and passion that I came in with.”
Read Harold’s story to learn more about Lynch’s legacy, and what he’s looking for in the health system’s next CEO.
You’re not imagining it: Portion sizes at restaurants have grown significantly in recent years. But don’t feel badly if you’re not leaving more food behind as a result — research shows that people will eat as much food as is given them, regardless of their appetite.
So is it any wonder that nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese?
Sophia Hua, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, recently completed a real-world experiment at two cafeterias (not in Philadelphia), where students, staff, and guests got the option of choosing different sized portions of an entrée. Hua and her team are analyzing the data now, to determine if this leads to fewer calories purchased — and more revenue for the cafeteria.
How can smaller — and therefore less expensive — portion sizes help restaurants’ bottom line? By cutting down on food waste, and drawing in the many customers who say they want the option of smaller portions, said Hua.
Check out my story to read more about Hua’s efforts, and get her tips on how to avoid eating more food than you want when at a restaurant.
📮Do you wish chain restaurants offered the option of smaller portions for entrées? For a chance to be featured in this newsletter, email us back.
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