Erik Calloway News Today

Arizonas blood supply is at its lowest level in a year. Vitalant is encouraging Arizonans of all blood types to donate blood, especially universal donors, those with the O-blood type. Sue Thew, communications manager for Vitalant Arizona, said the nonprofit community blood provider, which provides blood to about 90% of all Arizona hospitals, has struggled to keep up with demand as many organizations have shifted to remote work, meaning fewer blood drives are being hosted at workplaces. ...

Starting in April, an estimated 2-3 million people could be dropped from Medi-Cal, the states health insurance program for low-income people. For three years during COVID, terminations were halted, but Congress recently voted to de-link the program from the Public Health Emergency. So California will have 14 months to re-evaluate eligibility for almost 15 million people. ...

AARP Maine will sponsor an online workshop this week on long-range planning for health equity, with a focus on housing, community services and safe streets to ensure everyone has a say in the future design of their cities and towns. Compared to other states, Maine has the oldest population per capita in the U.S., and tens of thousands of Mainers are expected to retire in the coming years. Erik Calloway, managing director of ChangeLab Solutions, the group moderating the discussion, said plannin...

Marylands health officials are appealing to the public to take precautions as the states hospital bed availability is once again strained. Many hospitals are over 90% full, with some closer to 100% of capacity. While COVID continues to increase demand on hospitals, the problem is not as severe as it was at this time last year, but hospital staffing shortages are much worse than they were before the pandemic. ...