“Every day, too many young people in Philadelphia and across the nation are dying early from preventable causes,” said Raynard Washington, chief epidemiologist for the city Department of Public Health. “Substance use, gun violence, and smoking- and obesity-related chronic illnesses are the primary causes of premature death among Philadelphians.”
By Rita Giordano
City health centers do allow minors as young as 14 to consent for vaccines, said James Garrow, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. The school nurses, however, said that students have already been turned away from health centers on the “field trips.”
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-school-nurses-medical-vaccination-20191122.html
By Kristen Graham
Philadelphia Department of Public Health spokesman James Garrow said the department was working closely with Drexel officials as they monitor the situation.
“We’re in constant communication with them. We think that Drexel has a pretty good handle on this right now,” Garrow said.
By Ayana Jones
Release
PHILADELPHIA–Mayor Jim Kenney, with representatives from the Economy League and Health Department, announced the release of a report detailing opportunities to grow the “good food” economy. The report assessed the size and scope of the Philadelphia food economy to discover opportunities to reap the benefits of “good food” businesses and policies. The report showed that Philadelphia is home to 6,500 businesses that grow, manufacture, distribute, sell, or serve food, or eliminate food waste. The food economy employs 79,000 people, comprising 12% of all jobs in the City.
https://www.phila.gov/2019-11-21-city-issues-first-ever-report-on-philadelphias-food-economy/
Billy Penn
The info comes from a year-long project by the Health Department and the Economy League to quantify the restaurant industry’s growing contribution to the Philly landscape.
By Michaela Winberg
KYW1060
Meanwhile, Cheryl Bettigole with the Philadelphia Health Department says the bright spots here are that there are lots of small businesses focusing on healthy and quality food.
“We are starting to see reports come out about the burgeoning vegan food movement, healthy food movement in Philadelphia,” she said.
https://kywnewsradio.radio.com/articles/news/some-key-findings-in-report-of-phillys-food-economy
By Hadas Kuznits
Release
Fox29
Health officials are warning of possible Hepatitis A exposure at a Center City restaurant.
According to officials, they recently confirmed that a person who works at Ristorante La Buca, located at 711 Locust Street has acute Hepatitis A.
By Staff
CBS3
Anyone who dined at the restaurant between Monday, Oct. 28 and Friday, Nov. 15 should receive a Hepatitis A vaccine as soon as possible, officials warn.
By Staff
Patch.com
Those who have previously received two doses of Hepatitis A vaccine or have had Hepatitis A in the past do not need to be vaccinated, the department said.
By Max Bennett
PhillyVoice
Anyone who dined at the restaurant between Oct. 28 and Nov. 15 would have been potentially exposed, according to health officials. The Health Department advises that people who haven’t already received two doses of the Hepatitis A vaccine and dined at the restaurant should receive the vaccine as soon as possible. Those who’ve already received two doses of the vaccine or have had Hepatitis A in the past don’t need to be vaccinated, health officials said.
By Adam Hermann
6ABC
Officials recommend anyone who visited Ristorante La Buca between October 28 and November 15 receive a Hepatitis A vaccine as soon as possible after a person who works at the restaurant contracted the virus.
By Staff
Inquirer
The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the boy’s death was a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma.
By Ellie Silverman
6ABC
Police said the autopsy reports details blunt force trauma injuries. The cause of death has been ruled a homicide.
https://6abc.com/police-2-year-olds-death-was-a-homicide-no-arrests/5697152/
By Maggie Kent
NBC10
The medical examiner determined the boy suffered blunt force trauma injuries. His death was ruled a homicide.
By David Chang and Dan Stamm
CBS3
On Wednesday, the Medical Examiner’s Office determined the young child’s death was criminal.
By Greg Argos
The CDC did not provide state-level data. But roughly 300 drug-resistant infections were reported by Philadelphia hospitals in 2018, said Kristin Privette, surveillance coordinator for the city Department of Public Health.
Philadelphia’s is one of six large city health departments tasked by the CDC to track drug-resistant infections in local hospitals, and help arrange for sophisticated laboratory testing where needed, said Steve Alles, the department’s director of disease control.
https://www.inquirer.com/health/superbugs-cdc-infections-antibiotic-resistance-20191113.html
by Tom Avril and Dylan Purcell
Aasta Mehta MD, MPP, FACOG, Women’s Health Policy Advisor with Philadelphia Department of Public Health, explained what this grant means for Philadelphia mothers specifically. “The CDC grant provides funding to strengthen the surveillance process for maternal mortality in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia accounts for approximately 20 to 25 percent of maternal deaths in Pennsylvania,” said Dr. Mehta. “Therefore, a portion of the funding will go directly to Philadelphia to strengthen our surveillance process.”
By Erin Jay
Inquirer
CDC Director Robert R. Redfield said Monday during a visit to Philadelphia that the number of new HIV cases has been dropping steadily since the height of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1990s, when more than 100,000 people a year were newly diagnosed with the virus that can lead to AIDS. But beginning in about 2008, when about 40,000 people a year were diagnosed with HIV, improvement largely stalled, he said.
By Aubrey Whelan
Release:
The Philadelp
hia Department of Public Health (PDPH) reports promising reductions in new diagnoses of HIV. The number of newly diagnosed persons decreased 14.3% from 495 diagnoses in 2017 to 424 new diagnoses in 2018 with a notable decline of 35.8% in Black men who have sex with men (MSM); the City has experienced steady declines in new HIV diagnoses since the mid-2000s consistent with national trends.
https://www.phila.gov/2019-11-01-city-reports-promising-reductions-in-new-hiv-infections/
Patch
The number of HIV diagnoses in Philadelphia has gone down, according to new date from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.
The PDPH released the 2018 HIV Surveillance Report, which contains data reported through June 30, 2019.
https://patch.com/pennsylvania/chestnuthill/hiv-diagnosis-rates-philly-drop-dept-public-health
By Max Bennett
PhillyVoice
The city has records of 19,011 people living with HIV, while another 2,019 people are estimated to have the virus without yet knowing. In 2018, Philadelphia’s 424 new HIV diagnoses were down from 495 new diagnoses in 2017. That continues a trend of steady declines since the mid-2000’s.
https://www.phillyvoice.com/philly-hiv-aids-diagnosis-needles-health-departments-report-2019/
By Michael Tanenbaum
The Collected Works of Jim Garrow 