Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/category/news/health/page/2/)
East Lansing was covered in a smoky haze during the last week of June due to wildfires raging through Canada, and the poor air quality forced organizers to reschedule the East Lansing PRIDE event from June 30 to July 22.
NATURE CAN NURTURE: Tucked away in the center of Michigan State’s campus is the nation’s oldest university botanical garden – and a site of the emerging practice of horticulture therapy. The 150-year-old Beal Botanical Garden is a “healing space” where “pretty much everything we do is horticulture therapy.” By Anna Lionas. FOR ALL POINTS.
TELEPRESCRIPTIONS: During the pandemic, doctors were allowed to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine instead of face-to-face appointments. But that option may be coming to an end under a proposed rule by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Doctors serving rural patients want to keep the telemedicine option. We talk to a medical director for the Thumb area, a University of Michigan health policy professor and the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan. By Samuel Blatchford. FOR ALL POINTS.
On the campus of Michigan State University, the Springtime represents a multitude of things. It is a time for fresh flowers, sunbathing in front of Landon, and…cows?
NURSE EXAMINERS: Michigan needs more nurses trained to treat patients traumatized by sexual assault. Advocates of victims want to expand a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program to help them treat victims facing short-term crises and long-term consequences of sexual violence. By Maggie George. FOR ALL POINTS
ORGAN DONORS: April 15 won’t just be a tax deadline if proposed legislation passes. Michigan tax filers may soon be asked to check a box on whether they would like to donate their organs. If approved, it would be a first for Michigan and a first for the U.S. The need for organ donors is great. We talk to the Gift of Life of Michigan and the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan. By Sophia Brandt. FOR NEWS AND HEALTH PAGES OF ALL POINTS.
CHILD CARE: Running for office is demanding but even harder when you have a young child. Proposed legislation by Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, and Rep. Rachel Hood, D-Grand Rapids. would make child care a legitimate campaign contribution expense. Chang is the first state senator to give birth in office. By Dan Netter. For DETROIT, GRAND RAPIDS AND ALL POINTS.
TICKS: Deer ticks that can transmit Lyme disease are already widespread in Michigan and the mild winter could spell deep trouble this season. But health officials say don’t let it discourage you from enjoying the outdoors – just take precautions. We talk to a supervising sanitarian at the Kent County Health Department who regularly checks areas for ticks and a medical entomologist with the state. By MORGAN WOMACK. FOR HOLLAND, LANSING, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, ST. IGNACE, SAULT STE. MARIE AND ALL POINTS.
AUTISM AWARENESS: State health agencies and advocates are providing more resources to address autism, the nation’s fastest-growing disability. About 50,000 people in Michigan have autism. Some experts say that rising diagnoses of the illness could mean there are improved ways of recognizing and defining it. We talk to the Disability Network of Michigan, a state Medicaid official, and the director of a Grand Valley State University autism program. By Jack Timothy Harrison. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, WKTV, SAULT STE. MARIE AND ALL POINTS.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has repealed the 1931 law that criminalized abortions and intentional miscarriages, ensuring reproductive freedom for the people of Michigan.