Girl Scout Troop 1295 Donates a Portion of Cookie Sales to Riverside NICU
(Riverside Health – October 22, 2025)

The young women of Troop 1295 sold cookies and wanted to donate a portion of their earnings to a worthy, local cause. After a troop-wide vote, they chose the Riverside Regional Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The girls were inspired to help both babies and their families who begin life with extra challenges and the compassionate care team members who support them and their families every day. Their gift reflects their generosity, empathy and desire to have their donation make a difference close to home.

High cholesterol medication may provide some protection to the brain during cancer treatment, new VCU study finds
(VCU Health – October 21, 2025)

New research coming out of the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center shows that a medication commonly used to treat high cholesterol may provide some protection to breast and lymphoma cancer patients’ cognition during chemotherapy. Many patients treated with chemotherapy report mental fog and cognitive challenges, including impacts on memory, problem-solving, cognitive flexibility, self-control and planning – both during and after cancer treatment. These side effects are sometimes referred to as “chemo-brain.” In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open, lead author Pamela Jill Grizzard, MS, assistant director of research compliance and regulatory affairs at Pauley Heart Center, found that patients who received statins, a high cholesterol medication, before, during and up to 24 months after cancer treatment saw an improvement in their executive function, which are mental skills for planning, focus and self-control.

How this UVA alumnus found his new calling in the ‘beauty of a hospital school’
(UVA Today – October 21, 2025)

Eric Johnson didn’t just love being the principal of Buford Middle School in Charlottesville; he embraced all that came with the role for 11 years. A lunch duty shift was never a chore to him. He viewed the cafeteria as his stage. “He’d carry a microphone around,” said Patty Luke, a Buford teacher for 24 years, “and would sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to students and get everyone involved. He loved it.” Johnson’s energy was consistent. Bus duty? “I enjoyed greeting the kids as they came off the bus,” he said. PTO meetings? “I enjoyed my parents,” he said. So, why in 2018, did Johnson, a University of Virginia alumnus, leave Buford – recently renamed Charlottesville Middle School – for an opportunity at a hospital? “When I met the kids,” Johnson said, “I couldn’t say no.”

Inova Alexandria Hospital donates portable lifesaving device to fire department
(Alx.now – October 21, 2025)

Inova Alexandria Hospital recently donated a portable lifesaving device to the Alexandria Fire Department. The ZOLL AutoPulse resuscitation system can cost upward of $7,500, and “delivers consistent, high-quality chest compressions during cardiac arrest, supporting critical care,” according to the AutoPulse website. “We recently donated a portable lifesaving device to the Fire Department, City of Alexandria, VA, helping first responders save more lives in the field,” Inova Alexandria Hospital posted on Facebook.

Markell Wood discusses the Omni Homestead and Bath Community Hospital’s wellness partnership
(Allegheny Mountain Radio – October 21, 2025)

Markell Wood of The Omni Homestead Resort spoke with Allegheny Mountain Radio about this week’s Health and Wellness Fair, happening THURSDAY, October 23 from 7:00 to 11:30 a.m. in the Regency Ballroom at The Omni Homestead in Hot Springs. Hosted in partnership with Bath Community Hospital, the annual event highlights the shared commitment between the resort and hospital to support community wellness. Guests can take part in lab draws, blood pressure screenings, and fire extinguisher training, visit with local health and wellness vendors, and learn more about preventive care, hospital programs, and year-round services available in Bath County. Free parking will be provided in the resort’s transportation lot, with shuttle service running throughout the morning.

Pregnant with breast cancer: One woman’s journey at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
(VCU Health – October 21, 2025)

For Tasha Cade, finding out she was pregnant with her first child in 2022 should have brought on feelings of elation, excitement and anticipation. Instead, in her first trimester, she was delivered news no one wants to hear: You have cancer. Those words marked the end of a two-year chapter for Tasha, who initially felt a lump in her breast in 2020. With a family history of breast cancer (she lost her grandmother to it), Tasha continuously advocated for herself with health care providers near her Virginia Beach home to no avail. Numerous trips to different providers and exams resulted in doctors telling Tasha it was simply a case of dense breast tissue.

‘Sent there for me’: Nurses build lifelong bond through breast cancer diagnosis
(12 On Your Side – October 21, 2025)

Outside Johnston-Willis Hospital, Alyssa Taylor and Jenifer Hughes soak in the sunshine and each other’s company, a lifelong friendship blooming in an unexpected way. Last February, Hughes, a cardiac ICU nurse at Chippenham Hospital, was diagnosed with stage 2 triple-negative breast cancer. “Alyssa was my first and predominantly only infusion nurse at the infusion center here at Johnston-Willis,” Hughes said. “As a patient, I normally don’t say that I’m a nurse, but I put it all out there on the table because it can be a little intimidating to take care of a nurse as a nurse,” Hughes said. The two nurses quickly connected during Hughes’ chemotherapy appointments.

Sovah Health – Martinsville Honors DAISY Award Winner
(Sovah Health – October 22, 2025)

Rachel Pilson, RN of Sovah Health – Martinsville was honored recently with The DAISY Award® For Extraordinary Nurses. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s programs to recognize the super-human efforts nurses perform every day. Rachel, who works in the employee health department at Sovah Health – Martinsville’s campus, was nominated by a colleague who credits the nurse for going above and beyond her duties. “Rachel is a hidden gem in our hospital. Rachel took over my care and advocated for me after I was involved in a work-related injury. She showed true genuine concern, took care of my paperwork, and truly worked in my best interest. I was not just another employee, but a patient whom she cared for like family. She made a horrible experience one that I will always be thankful for.” Moments like this truly showcase what an exceptional nurse Rachel is.

Study sheds light on overdose suicide attempts among youth and what families can do
(Virginia Tech – October 20, 2025)

As suicide and overdose attempts among young people rise nationwide, a team from the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine is uncovering insights that could help families protect children before a crisis occurs. Led by Abhishek Reddy, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at the medical school and a Carilion Clinic physician in child and adolescent psychiatry, the research team surveyed adolescents ages 12 to 17 who were admitted after intentional overdose suicide attempts. The goal: identify the when, how, and why behind these life-threatening events and help parents, clinicians, and schools intervene earlier. “Ultimately, we are trying to prevent childhood suicide,” Reddy said. “By helping parents and health care providers understand the factors that impact kids’ decisions to harm themselves, we can take steps to reduce the number of these young lives being tragically cut short.”

UVA Health expert discusses Long COVID
(WHSV – October 22, 2025)

Experts with UVA Health are continuing the discussion of long COVID. Kyle Enfield, an Internal Medicine doctor and professor of medicine, said the term ‘long COVID’ was defined by patients early in the course of pandemic. He said patients have struggled with post-viral symptoms with other viral illnesses, and likely not just COVID. “There were patients who had COVID, had felt like they should have recovered but continued to have issues with fatigue specifically,” Enfield said. “That term long COVID is really one that came from the patient community and was adopted by the medical community.“ Enfield said there are patients who are still recovering from symptoms of Long COVID, who got COVID in 2020, and other patients were treated for Long COVID symptoms then fully recovered.

Virginia hospitals, clinics brace for federal health care changes
(CBS 19 News – October 21, 2025)

Lee County Community Hospital in Pennington Gap was once shuttered before Ballad Health took over and reopened the facility in 2021. Now it is among Virginia’s vulnerable hospitals amid federal funding changes to public health.

Budget cuts to Medicaid, ACA leave Mississippi hospitals at risk
(The Dispatch – October 22, 2025)

When H.R. 1 or “The One Big Beautiful Bill” was proposed in Congress during the last legislative session, it outlined budgetary cuts to a number of programs including Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Concerned about how the projected cuts may impact Mississippi hospitals, the Mississippi Hospital Association lobbied for changes to steer the budget cuts toward something more manageable, CEO and President Richard Roberson told the Rotary Club of Columbus on Tuesday.

California Hospital Association Files Petition to Challenge State Cost Targets and Seek Relief from Alleged Regulatory Overreach
(Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor – October 22, 2025)

On October 15, the California Hospital Association (CHA) filed a petition against the California Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA) and related entities. The petition challenges the imposition of stringent cost targets on hospitals across California, arguing that these targets are arbitrary, capricious, and not based on comprehensive data analysis. CHA contends that the cost targets violate both state and federal laws, including the Takings and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution, by being confiscatory and lacking a clear methodology for compliance. Furthermore, the petition asserts that OHCA’s actions were prematurely implemented without adequate stakeholder engagement, potentially leading to significant operational disruptions and threatening the quality and accessibility of health care services.

Feds slash the budget for program that helped 65,000 Texans enroll for health insurance
(News from the States – October 22, 2025)

About this time of year, Foundation Communities would be getting its latest group of specially trained staff members ready to help more than 6,800 Central Texans sign up for Affordable Care Act insurance coverage. For years, the Austin-based housing nonprofit has, through its Prosper Health Coverage program, used about $2.4 million in federal grant funding each year to hire a team of “navigators,” who help enroll Texans who either don’t have health insurance through their workplace or do not qualify for Medicaid and would like coverage in the federal health insurance marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act . Unlike insurance brokers, who earn a commission for each ACA enrollee, the work of navigators rarely stops once an ACA plan is selected, often connecting the uninsured to other programs.

Lawmaker wants North Carolina to tap reserves to delay Medicaid cuts, but future of plan is murky
(News from the States – October 21, 2025)

A key lawmaker in the North Carolina House wants to give health officials the go-ahead to dip into reserve money to prevent major cuts to the state’s Medicaid program — but the timeline and process for that proposal remain unclear. Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth), who chairs the House’s budget and health committees, introduced a plan Tuesday evening that would allow the NC Department of Health and Human Services to use up to $190 million in the state’s Medicaid Contingency Reserve to cover shortfalls in the state’s low-income health insurance program.

Sticker shock: WA health insurance buyers confront steep price hikes
(News from the States – October 22, 2025)

The roughly 300,000 Washingtonians who buy health insurance through the state’s online marketplace are set for a rude awakening as they begin shopping for plans. That’s because premiums for individual insurance bought on the Washington Health Benefit Exchange through the Affordable Care Act are set to rise an average of 21% next year. The steep hikes stem from the expiration of federal tax credits that congressional Republicans refuse to extend. Similar price jumps are happening nationwide. Last year’s average rate increase in Washington was 10.7%. Nationally, over 24 million people are covered with insurance from the marketplaces, which are used by people who do not have access to health insurance through their jobs or from government programs, like Medicaid.

UCare, other carriers dropping Medicare Advantage Plans, leaving nearly 200K Minnesota seniors with fewer choices in 2026
(CBS News – October 22, 2025)

Nearly 200,000 Minnesota seniors are scrambling to find affordable options to ensure uninterrupted health care after several carriers are either dropping or cutting back on Medicare Advantage Plans. Minneapolis-based UCare made the most significant change, gutting their program entirely. “I find it very difficult at this age to be worrying about health insurance,” said Elizabeth Borchert, a UCare policyholder in Ham Lake, Minnesota. “We have, as a family, have worried about health care and insurance most of our lives. We live on Social Security. We don’t have an income coming in other than Social Security.” On its website, UCare cited rising costs as the reason for cutting its Medicare Advantage Plans, which offer seniors more comprehensive coverage than Medicare alone. “When we went on Medicare we looked at each other and said, ‘This is really nice to have,’ and it was all laid out for us,” Borchert said. “Now we don’t and we have to face something new.”

6 in 10 concerned about higher health costs: Survey
(The Hill – October 21, 2025)

A majority of U.S. adults express a high level of concern about their health care costs increasing over the next year, according to a survey released Tuesday. The Associated Press-NORC poll, conducted in mid-October, shows nearly 6 in 10 respondents are “extremely” or “very” concerned about rising health care costs this coming year — at 32 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Another 26 percent said they’re “somewhat” concerned, 8 percent said they’re “not too concerned” and 8 percent said they’re “not concerned at all.” The concern extended across age groups and includes people with and without health insurance, the AP noted, but the poll found women were more likely than men to be “extremely” or “very” concerned about rising health care costs: at 63 percent and 51 percent, respectively.

A New Car vs. Health Insurance? Average Family Job-Based Coverage Hits $27K
(KFF Health News – October 22, 2025)

With the federal shutdown entering its fourth week, spurred by a stalemate over the cost of health insurance for 22 million Americans on Affordable Care Act plans, a new report shows that over 154 million people with coverage through an employer also face steep price hikes — and that the situation is likely to get worse. Premiums for job-based health insurance rose 6% in 2025 to an average of $26,993 a year for family coverage, according to an annual survey of employers released Oct. 22 by KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News. It’s the first time in two decades that the cost of covering a family of four has risen by 6% or more for three consecutive years, data from KFF shows.

Average cost of a family health insurance plan now nearly $27,000
(The Hill – October 22, 2025)

The cost of employer-sponsored health insurance rose for the third year in a row in 2025, approaching an average of almost $27,000 for a family plan, according to an annual survey from KFF released Wednesday. Family premiums are up 6 percent, or $1,408, from last year, more than double the rate of inflation and similar to the 7 percent increase recorded in each of the previous two years. On average, workers contributed $6,850 annually to the cost of family coverage, with employers paying the rest. The annual survey of more than 1,800 small and large employers offers a snapshot of workplace-sponsored health insurance across the country. Nearly half the U.S. population — about 154 million people younger than 65 years — receive health care coverage through their job.

Elevance Health execs expect Medicaid costs to rise in 2026
(Fierce Healthcare – October 21, 2025)

Elevance Health executives warned investors about challenges in the Medicaid market during the company’s earnings call on Tuesday. CEO Gail Boudreaux said that ongoing eligibility determinations as well as changes to state programs are increasing the acuity of its membership. The company is bracing for a decline of 125 basis points year over year in its Medicaid margins for 2026 amid this acuity trend as well as ongoing elevated utilization. “This is an initial input at this early stage, not formal guidance,” Boudreaux said. She said the team is working closely with states to align rates and offer recommended program improvements. Elevance Health is also working to expand behavioral healthcare access, tackle specialty pharmacy and manage sites of care to address the cost issues.

Health insurance sticker shock begins as shutdown battle over subsidies rages
(The Washington Post – October 22, 2025)

Millions of Americans are already seeing their health insurance costs soar for 2026 as Congress remains deadlocked over extending covid-era subsidies for premiums. The bitter fight sparked a government shutdown at the start of October. Democrats refuse to vote on government-funding legislation unless it extends the subsidies, while Republicans insist on separate negotiations after reopening the government. Now lawmakers face greater pressure to act as Americans who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act are seeing, or about to see, the consequences of enhanced subsidies expiring at the end of the year. Healthcare.gov — the federal website used by 28 states — is expected to post plan offerings early next week ahead of the start of open enrollment in November. But window shopping has already begun in most of the 22 states that run their own marketplaces, offering a preview of the sticker shock to come.

Obamacare Is Expensive. But So Is All Health Insurance.
(The New York Times – October 22, 2025)

The main difference is that most Americans don’t confront the full cost of their coverage.

A Parkinson’s patient plays clarinet during Deep Brain Stimulation surgery
(The Washington Post – October 22, 2025)

The doctors prepared to carry out the brain surgery, their medical tools laid out. Their patient, wide awake on the operating table, was given an instrument of her own: her clarinet, which she began to play. Denise Bacon, 65, blew into the mouthpiece as doctors stood behind her, piercing holes into her skull to implant electrodes that would deliver electrical pulses to the brain in a bid to improve her motor skills. The electrodes were connected to a pulse generator — a device likened to a pacemaker — which sent continuous pulses to modify the brain, helping her manage her symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, for which there is no cure. Bacon underwent the procedure, known as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), in London’s King’s College Hospital in July. The semiprofessional musician was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2014 and its symptoms greatly impacted her ability to feed herself, walk and play her “beloved” clarinet, eventually forcing her to leave the concert band she played for, the hospital said in a statement.

Scientists create LED light that kills cancer cells without harming healthy ones
(Science Daily – October 20, 2025)

Scientists have developed a promising cancer therapy that uses LED light and ultra-thin flakes of tin to eliminate cancer cells while protecting healthy tissue. Unlike traditional chemotherapy and other invasive treatments, this new method avoids the painful side effects patients often endure.

This simple innovation could change blood pressure testing forever
(Science Daily – October 21, 2025)

A newly developed method that improves the accuracy of ankle blood pressure measurements could transform care for people who are unable to have their blood pressure taken from the arm. Researchers from the University of Exeter Medical School, in a study published in BMJ Open and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), analyzed data from more than 33,000 individuals to create a personalized predictive model. This model enables healthcare professionals to estimate arm blood pressure more precisely using ankle readings (when compared with earlier approaches). To make the process easier to use, the team has also launched an online calculator that helps both clinicians and patients interpret ankle-based results.

WHO warns of lack of resources to treat neurological disorders
(The Hill – October 21, 2025)

More than one in three people are living with a neurological condition, the World Health Organization (WHO) found, and countries are not prepared to deal with it. The WHO’s Global status report on neurology found 40 percent of the global population is affected by neurological issues. That amounts to more than three billion people and results in 11 million deaths globally each year. The top neurological conditions that lead to death and disability in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications from preterm birth, autism spectrum disorders and cancers affecting the nervous system.

Why AI and analytics should be tied together
(Healthcare IT News – October 22, 2025)

Karthik Raja, chief analytics and AI officer at Ascension, explains the bonds between the two technologies that make each better, and talks whether provider organizations should aim for moonshots or quick wins with AI.

CMS awards 4 contracts to develop national provider directory
(Becker’s Hospital Review – October 22, 2025)

CMS has awarded four contracts for companies to help establish a national healthcare provider directory. The agency granted the $1 awards Sept. 30 to Availity, the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare, Palantir and Gainwell Technologies for “proof of concepts for the development of the national provider directory.” The contracts expire Nov. 13. “The National Provider Directory project, part of the administration’s Make Health Tech Great Again initiative, is the long-term solution to these broader data accuracy issues,” an HHS spokesperson told Becker’s.

Government Shutdown Opens Opportunity For Telehealth Lobbyists
(Modern Healthcare – October 21, 2025) SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED

The government may be shut down but it’s no vacation for healthcare lobbyists. The standoff between the Republican congressional majority and the Democratic minority that triggered the shutdown at the start of fiscal 2026 on Oct. 1 is centered around a battle over health insurance exchange subsidies, but there’s much more on the line for the healthcare sector.

How the shutdown impacts healthcare: CMS lifts claims hold on physician payments, some telehealth services
(Fierce Healthcare – October 22, 2025)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has instructed all Medicare Administrative Contractors to begin processing claims for many of the services that had been on hold due to the shutdown, according to a notice issued Tuesday afternoon. Claims dated Oct. 1 and later that are paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, claims for ground ambulance transport and Federally Qualified Health Center claims will now be processed. The go-ahead includes telehealth claims “that CMS can confirm are definitively for behavioral and mental health services,” according to the notice.

NEJM and public health group are launching rival to CDC’s MMWR publication
(STAT News – October 21, 2025)

In the latest bid to plug gaps in the federal government’s public health infrastructure, two institutions are coming together to create an alternative to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaunted Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report — often called “the voice of the CDC.” The New England Journal of Medicine and the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy will begin publishing “public health alerts” in the coming month, CIDRAP Director Michael Osterholm announced at the IDWeek conference on Sunday.

Republican moderates press leadership on health credit extension
(Roll Call – October 22, 2025)

Thirteen moderate House Republicans are urging party leadership to find a path toward extending enhanced expiring health care tax credits once the government reopens. “Let us be clear: significant reforms are needed to make these credits more fiscally responsible and ensure they are going to the Americans who need them most,” the Republican group wrote to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Tuesday. “Our Conference and President Trump have been clear that we will not take healthcare away from families who depend on it. This is our opportunity to demonstrate that commitment through action.” The enhanced credits, which expire Dec. 31, are at the center of the government shutdown — Democrats are demanding they be extended before they vote to reopen the government, while Republicans are refusing to negotiate until the government reopens.

Time crunch poses obstacle to ACA talks
(Axios – October 22, 2025)

It may already be too late to implement certain changes Republicans are insisting on as a condition for renewing to Affordable Care Act subsidies, further casting doubt on any congressional deal to extend the financial aid. Why it matters: GOP lawmakers have made clear that they need to see changes to the enhanced ACA tax credits at the center of the government shutdown fight in order to extend them. But insurers, states and other experts say some changes could already be impossible for next year, with ACA enrollment due to begin in less than two weeks, on Nov. 1. The subsidies are due to expire at year’s end, absent further action.