A new music therapy-based tool called MuSICCA may transform how healthcare teams assess consciousness in children with severe brain injuries. Developed to address the lack of reliable diagnostic methods for children aged 2 to 18, MuSICCA uses tailored live music performed by a therapist to evoke and record patient responses.
After 196 days on strike, Kaiser mental health care workers ratified a new four-year contract Thursday, approving a deal that delivers gains in pay and retirement benefits and delivers a little breathing room for administrative duties.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 2 more measles cases this week, lifting the state's total to 48, with the number of affected counties remaining at eight, all in the southwestern corner of the state. Kansas is among a handful of states that have reported cases linked to a large outbreak centered in West Texas. Of the 48 cases, 43 were unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. The number of hospitalizations remains at one, and no deaths have been reported in the state.
In a bipartisan vote Tuesday, the Pennsylvania House passed the Healthcare Workplace Violence Prevention Act, which would establish violence prevention committees in all hospitals.
Columbia University and New York-Presbyterian Hospital have agreed to a $750 million settlement of hundreds of sexual abuse claims by patients of disgraced and imprisoned former gynecologist Robert Hadden, bringing total legal payouts in civil cases involving the ex-doctor to over $1 billion.
The nation's infant mortality rate dropped last year after two years of hovering at a late-pandemic plateau. Some experts think one reason for the drop could be a vaccination campaign against RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, which is a common cause of cold-like symptoms that can be dangerous for infants. The infant mortality national rate dropped to about 5.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024, according to the CDC. That's down from about 5.6 per 1,000 live births, where it had been the previous two years.