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☆ Some 70,000 child-care providers may close as federal aid ends, report finds. What that means for parents
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Child care 'is a public good'Experts say that systemic change, such as broader parental leave and more public funding for child care, must be involved in order for child care to improve at a larger scale. The national annual cost of child care was about $10,853 for one child in 2022, the organization Child Care Aware of America found. In 2023, 67% of parents reported to spend 20% or more of their household income on child care, Care.com found. Use the benefits you have availableYour workplace may have some options to help you find care, such as backup care providers or on-site child care. Meanwhile, California, Colorado, Hawaii and New Mexico passed laws to provide universal preschool in the past year.

Persons: Lauren Rosenberg, Taryn Morrissey, Morrissey, Care.com, Katherine Gallagher Robbins Organizations: Portland Press Herald, Getty, U.S . Bureau of Labor Statistics, American University, U.S . Department of Labor, D.C, Strong, Society for Human Resource Management, District of Columbia, The National Partnership for Women, Washington, Washington , D.C, National Institute for Early Education Research Locations: Portland , Maine, Hamilton, America, Washington, U.S, California , Colorado , Connecticut, Delaware , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts, Minnesota , New Jersey , New York , Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington ,, Florida , Iowa , Oklahoma , Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Georgia , Illinois, Maine, New York, , California , Colorado, Hawaii, New Mexico

☆ Walgreens just made another big bet on healthcare, weeks after its CEO exited. A top exec shares how the company plans to partner with doctors.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In an interview with Insider, the head of Walgreens Health shared his vision for the business. It spent $5.2 billion to buy a majority stake in the primary-care company VillageMD and invested $3.5 billion to help the clinic chain acquire an urgent-care company. The company reported in June an operating loss of $1.4 billion in its Walgreens Health business in the first nine months of its fiscal year. Walgreens pharmacists could work with VillageMD doctors to better care for patients with chronic health conditions, he said. Integrating Walgreens' healthcare businessesWalgreens' strategy for how it would tie its growing number of individual healthcare businesses together hasn't been clear, but Driscoll gave some clues.

Persons: Rosalind Brewer, Brewer, James Kehoe, John Driscoll, Walgreens, Driscoll, Pearl Organizations: Walgreens, Walgreens Health, Shields Health Solutions, Pearl Health, CVS, Health, Amazon, Walmart Locations: Shields, Pearl

☆ As Pandemic Funds Expire, Child-Care Centers Struggle to Survive
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Megan Tagami | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/as-pandemic-funds-expire-child-care-centers-struggle-to-survive-6cefdf5b

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ How Bad Is a Second (or Third or Fourth) Case of Covid?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Dani Blum | More About Dani Blum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Reinfection and long CovidThe chances you will get long Covid from a reinfection are fairly unpredictable — several experts interviewed for this story used the metaphor of Russian roulette. The milder your symptoms, the less likely you are to get long Covid, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. But every time you get infected, no matter the severity, there is always a chance that you can develop longer-term symptoms. Dr. Sala said he frequently sees patients who were more or less fine after their first couple of infections wind up with long Covid in the wake of a third or fourth infection. Still, it’s not a foregone conclusion that reinfection definitively raises the risk of long Covid, said Fikadu Tafesse, a virologist at Oregon Health & Science University.

Persons: Peter Chin, Ziyad Al, Aly, Sala, that’s, ”, it’s, reinfection, Fikadu Tafesse, “ Organizations: University of California, Nature Medicine, U.S . Department of Veterans Affairs, Louis Healthcare, Oregon Health & Science University Locations: San Francisco, St

☆ Too Many Cats, Too Few Vets: New York City Animal Shelters Are Bursting
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Erin Nolan | More About Erin Nolan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“She is the cutest, roly-poly, delicious dog,” said Katy Hansen, the director of marketing and communications for Animal Care Centers, which runs New York City’s public animal shelters. She said it was hard to believe Brooklyn had been living at the shelter for six months. The city’s shelter animal population has exploded, with many animals waiting weeks or months without being adopted. Because of overcrowding, dogs at the Manhattan shelter are being kept in makeshift kennels in offices, and stacks of cat cages line the halls. The cat population has grown to the point that last month, Animal Care Centers said it was “closed for cat intake.” But the organization’s contract with the city requires it to take in animals in need, and Ms. Hansen said hundreds of cats had been accepted since the announcement.

Persons: ”, Katy Hansen, Hansen Organizations: Animal Care, Animal Care Centers, Care Centers Locations: Brooklyn, Manhattan, roly, New York

☆ Majority of parents spend 20% or more of household income on child care, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Jenny Goff, right, reaches out to a child at Central Park Child Care Center in Vancouver, Washington. Ariane Kunze | The Columbian via APWhy child care costs are so highRising fees at child care centers are contributing to the growing costs of child care, as well as inflation and changes in parents' work status, according to Care.com. Many day care centers shuttered during the pandemic, leaving the few that stayed open with limited slots available. The new child fee is usually used to fund teachers' education, books and materials for the classes, she added. Financial advisors say there are several other ways parents can plan ahead to help cover child care costs.

Persons: Jenny Goff, Ariane Kunze, Sophia Bera Daigle, Daigle, Carolyn McClanahan, McClanahan, Care.com Organizations: Central, Child Care Center, AP, CNBC FA Council, Planning Partners, CNBC FA Locations: Vancouver , Washington, Jacksonville , Florida

☆ Former childcare charged with over 1,600 counts of abuse in Australia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Alex Stambaugh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A former childcare worker has been charged with 1,623 child abuse offenses allegedly carried out against 91 children in Australia and elsewhere over 15 years, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said in a statement on Tuesday. The 45-year-old man from the Gold Coast has been in police custody since August 2022, when he was initially charged with making child exploitation material and using a carriage service to distribute it. “This is one of the most horrific cases of alleged child abuse our detectives have seen,” Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald with the New South Wales police said in a news conference. Other charges include hundreds of counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 years, counts of making child exploitation material and other charges related to possessing, producing, distributing or obtaining child exploitation material. The AFP said it is working with international authorities to help identify four children recorded in the alleged child abuse material overseas.

Persons: CNN —, Michael Fitzgerald, Col Briggs Organizations: CNN, Australian Federal Police, AFP, Police, New South, New South Wales police, Queensland Police, Court Locations: Australia, Brisbane, Sydney, New South Wales, AFP

☆ Pittsburgh's major airport is opening a child care center in a terminal to retain airport employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Airports are providing child care for airport employees to keep them in the business. As airports try to retain employees, they've turned to providing child care for workers to entice them to stay in the business. The child care center, which is due to open in August, has 61 spaces available, NBC reported. It's available to the 6,000 employees at the airport, though the 475 airport authority employees will get first dibs, the outlet reported. Denver International Airport and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport are considering following suit, the outlet reported.

Persons: they've, we'll, Thomas Romig Organizations: NBC News, Pittsburgh International, NBC, International, Reuters, Denver International Airport, Northern, Northern Kentucky International Locations: Pittsburgh's, California, Arizona, Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky

☆ Lead from abandoned phone cables are polluting dozens of neighborhoods, investigation finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

As old cables degrade, lead can leach into the soil at high levels, the report found. A 2021 pediatric study found that half the kids in the US have high levels of lead in their blood. According to the EPA, the safety standard for lead levels in the soil where children play is 400 parts per million. The Journal's investigation found that more than 100 schools have lead cables running overhead, and more than 1,000 schools and childcare centers are within half a mile of underwater lead cables. "We have not seen, nor have regulators identified, evidence that legacy lead-sheathed telecom cables are a leading cause of lead exposure or the cause of a public health issue."

Persons: Linda Birnbaum, USTelecom Organizations: Service, Street Journal, Verizon, EPA, JAMA Pediatrics, American Medical Association, Centers for Disease Control, Wall Locations: Wall, Silicon, Passaic, New Jersey, Detroit, Michigan, Willamette, Oregon, Mississippi, Louisiana

Public prosecutors in Japan have not released information regarding the case and did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. Rina Gonoi, a former member of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force, checks old photos on her phone. “That makes it hard for people to speak out.”Rina Gonoi says she endured physical and verbal sexual abuse while she served in Japan's Self-Defense Forces. In 1992, Japan’s National Defense Academy finally began accepting women, which made it possible for them to become senior officers. “We are aware that the perpetrators of sexual harassment cases are scheduled to be punished severely.

Persons: Tokyo CNN — Rina Gonoi, Gonoi, “, ”, Rina Gonoi Gonoi’s, Staff Yoshihide Yoshida, dishonorably, Rina Gonoi, Philip Fong, Japan’s, Fumika Sato, ” Sato, Sato, ” Rina Gonoi, Rina, Shinzo Abe, Richard A, Brooks, –, ” Gonoi, Gonoi’s, I’d, Yasukazu Hamada, Fumio Kishida, hasn’t, you’ve, “ I’m Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Defense Force, Japan’s Ministry of Defense, Staff, Defense Forces, NHK, Public, Getty, Hitotsubashi University, Defense Ministry, CNN, National Press Club, Japan’s National Defense Academy, Defense, Japan’s, Self - Defense Force, Ministry of Defense, ”, “, SDF Locations: Japan’s, Japan, AFP, Japan's, North Korea, China, Tokyo, Higashi, Miyagi, Fukushima

Seoul, South Korea CNN —South Korea is getting older – and its care facilities are changing to match. Elderly facilities include senior care homes, specialized hospitals, and welfare agencies that help the elderly navigate social services or protections. The shift illustrates a years-long problem South Korea has thus far failed to reverse. Young students pictured in Seoul, South Korea, on November 23, 2021. The rapid rise in elderly facilities in recent years may help alleviate some of these problems.

Persons: ’, Young, Anthony Wallace, Yoon Suk Yeol, Yonhap, Ed Jones, hobbling, – Organizations: South Korea CNN, Getty, South, OECD, Economic Co Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korea, AFP, Daejeon, Japan, “

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File PhotoWILMINGTON, Delaware, June 29 (Reuters) - A prominent U.S. lawsuit to ban the abortion pill mifepristone has focused on the drug's safety and approval process. Skop and 10 other doctors submitted their testimony when the case began in November. She said she was harmed by the FDA expanding access to the pill because she has treated dozens of women at her hospital's emergency room with mifepristone complications. Erin Hawley, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom legal organization representing the plaintiffs, said abortion sets the case apart. In the abortion pill case, the two initial court rulings found harm to Skop and other doctors was "impending" because the mifepristone label says the treatment may be unsuccessful in up 7% of women.

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, mifepristone, Ingrid Skop, Roe, Wade, Skop, doesn’t, Leah Litman, Erin Hawley, Hawley, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Samuel Alito's, Danco, Tom Hals, Amy Stevens, Deepa Babington Organizations: Alamo Women's, REUTERS, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Supreme, FDA, University of Michigan Law School, Alliance Defending, Alliance for Hippocratic, District, Appeals, U.S, Fifth, Amnesty International, Danco Laboratories, Thomson Locations: Carbondale , Illinois, U.S, WILMINGTON , Delaware, Texas, America, Amarillo , Texas, Amarillo, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, Wilmington , Delaware

☆ Richard Ravitch and the Matzo Summit That Saved New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Ginia Bellafante | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Oct. 17, 1975, New Yorkers learned from the morning papers that the city was more or less finished. The big bill — $453 million that City Hall owed its creditors after years of borrowing — was due at 4 o’clock that afternoon. It depended on the teachers’ union tapping its pension funds to buy bonds from the Municipal Assistance Corporation. Mr. Ravitch had a well-earned reputation as a top-drawer fixer, and the governor was essentially asking him to save New York City. Mr. Ravitch and Mr. Shanker talked all night, but they parted without a resolution.

Persons: New Yorkers, —, Richard Ravitch, Ravitch, Hugh L, Carey, Al Shanker, Shanker Organizations: City, Municipal Assistance Corporation, Federation of Jewish, New Locations: New, New York City

☆ Childcare is about to get even more expensive at the end of September unless Congress acts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Federal funding helped keep more than 200,000 childcare providers afloat in recent years. Unless Congress acts, many parents could face even higher childcare costs. During the pandemic, Congress provided over $52 billion to states to support the childcare system, which helped 220,000 childcare providers stay afloat, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. "The American Rescue Plan provided critical funding that made child care available to millions of children and allowed child care programs throughout our country to stay open. Providing states additional childcare funding could be an uphill battle.

Persons: —, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Cindy Lehnhoff, Sanders, they've, Louisiana Sen, Bill Cassidy Organizations: Service, Department of Health, Human Services, Department, Labor, National Association for, Education of Young, National, Association, Office Locations: America, Louisiana

☆ We're a millennial couple in Singapore, where real-estate prices are skyrocketing. House hunting was surprisingly easy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Amanda Goh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For about a year, he lived with me and my family in our five-room Housing Development Board flat in Holland Village. Housing Development Board flats are public housing, and they're home to about 80% of the country's resident population. The seller's agent told us the Housing Development Board valuation was SG$430,000, and we ended up making an offer of SG$445,000, which was accepted. After the down payment, most people either take a Housing Development Board loan or a bank loan to finance their homes. The Housing Development Board interest rate is fairly stable and has stayed at 2.6% a year for a few years now, though the Housing Development Board acknowledges that it may be adjusted over the year.

Persons: Vanessa Tai, —, They're, hadn't, It's, we're, it's, We're Organizations: Service, Board, Housing, Google, Central Provident Fund Locations: Europe, Singapore, Croatia, Holland Village, Holland, Sengkang, we're

☆ The Most Expensive and Most Affordable Cities for Childcare in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jeremy Ney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

The most expensive counties generally have fewer childcare workers or the state doesn't provide enough financial support for low-income families. The US Department of Health and Human Services considers childcare "affordable" if it costs less than 7% of a family's income. The pandemic provided a perfect example of this dynamic: 2 million women left the workforce and haven't returned, citing childcare costs as the No. Counties with higher levels of poverty often lack affordable care as childcare workers themselves can't afford to live on the industry's low wages. In Canada, where childcare workers make more, that ratio is six to one.

Persons: haven't, It's, Joe Biden, doesn't, Annie Lowrey, Grant, Jeremy Ney Organizations: Department of Labor, US Department of Health, Human Services, New, Bay State, University of Massachusetts Amherst, US, Preschool, America, Federal Reserve Bank of New Locations: Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York City, America, Kings County, Brooklyn, Queens County, Bronx County, Bronx, Bay, While Massachusetts, California, . Mississippi, New York, Canada, Portland , Oregon, Portland, Michigan, The, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

☆ Day care, margarine, car repairs: Here’s what’s costing Americans the most
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Annual inflation unexpectedly declined to 4.9% last month, according to the April Consumer Price Index report, released Wednesday. Here are some of the notable price hikes Americans are confronting:MargarineCosting almost 24% more than last year, margarine earned the top prize for the biggest annual increase last month. The CarMD report found that the increase in repair costs isn’t coming from labor costs, which were down slightly last year. Day care and preschoolThe cost of sending your child to day care or preschool is up 7% compared to last year, the largest annual increase recorded, according to April’s CPI. Child care centers are seeing increased demand after more workers are being called back to work in person.

☆ Corporate Giants Buy Up Primary Care Practices at Rapid Pace
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Reed Abelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It’s no surprise that the shortage of primary care doctors — who are critically important to the health of Americans — is getting worse. So why are multibillion-dollar corporations, particularly giant health insurers, gobbling up primary care practices? CVS Health, with its sprawling pharmacy business and ownership of the major insurer Aetna, paid roughly $11 billion to buy Oak Street Health, a fast-growing chain of primary care centers that employs doctors in 21 states. And Amazon’s bold purchase of One Medical, another large doctors’ group, for nearly $4 billion, is another such move. The appeal is simple: Despite their lowly status, primary care doctors oversee vast numbers of patients, who bring business and profits to a hospital system, a health insurer or a pharmacy outfit eyeing expansion.

☆ CVS Health’s Sales Rise 11%; Oak Street Health, Signify Health Acquisitions Close
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Sabela Ojea | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Corporate giants from Amazon to CVS are investing billions into primary-care practices. Photo illustration: Amber BragdonCVS Health posted an 11% rise in sales during the first quarter as it closed its biggest acquisitions since its nearly $70 billion merger with Aetna in 2018. The healthcare company on March 29 completed the nearly $8 billion acquisition of Signify Health, adding in-home services to its offerings. On May 2, the company closed its $10.6 billion deal for Oak Street Health’s 600 primary-care centers. The newly added units will work together to expand the business, with Signify doctors checking up on home-care patients, who are then referred to either an Oak Street practice or a CVS in-store clinic.

☆ Researchers just created the largest-ever database of how we interact on Zoom. Here are their tips for making everyone like you on video chats.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

The result is the largest-ever database of one-on-one Zoom conversations. And while the average loudness of speakers didn't change across bad or good conversations, the "good" talkers varied their decibel levels more than the "bad" talkers did. The machine found that women rated as better Zoom conversationalists tended to be more intense. Good conversationalists are those who appear more engaged in what their partners are saying. Studying Zoom calls may help us have better conversations on Zoom.

☆ Science has finally figured out how fast and loud you should talk on Zoom
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

The result is the largest-ever database of one-on-one Zoom conversations. It may shed new light on what we talk about when we talk about talking today — the conversation of the future. And while the average loudness of speakers didn't change across bad or good conversations, the "good" talkers varied their decibel levels more than the "bad" talkers did. The machine found that women rated as better Zoom conversationalists tended to be more intense. Good conversationalists are those who appear more engaged in what their partners are saying.

☆ Senator Patty Murray says it's impossible to keep the economy growing without affordable, well-paid childcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Senator Patty Murray is once again pushing legislation to make childcare affordable and accessible. She told Insider the growth of the US economy relies on workers having access to childcare. Under the Child Care for Working Families Act, families' childcare costs would be capped at 7% of their income, and families that earn under 85% of their state's median would pay nothing at all. "Childcare was a crisis long ago, but it was a silent crisis," Murray told Insider. "Women are in the workforce to provide for their families," Murray said.

☆ Kaiser Permanente to Acquire Geisinger
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Reed Abelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The company expects to add five or six health systems to Risant in that time. The formation of the company is also a response to the rapid changes taking place in the health care industry. Large for-profit companies like health insurers, pharmacy chains and other corporations are scooping up physician practices and urgent care centers and devouring more of the country’s health care dollars. As national systems and new players grow larger, “they are pulling away in some respects from our communities and from our community health systems,” he said. “Covid has really shown not having integrated, value-based relationships puts our health systems and our communities at risk,” Mr. Adams said.

☆ Why America's childcare system is crumbling and its workers are begging for help
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Childcare workers earn less than half what the average US worker earns — and many are quitting. One Montessori school has seen people quit and had to raise tuition in order to cover staff pay. Almost all of the childcare workers in this story asked to be referred to by first name only, out of fear of professional repercussions. And childcare workers specifically in child daycare services make an average of $12.40 an hour. Sinead, a 24-year-old childcare worker in West Virginia, makes even less than the national average for childcare workers, with pay of $9.50 an hour.

☆ Kids under 6 ingesting illicit substances rose after Covid-19 outbreak, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The outbreak of Covid-19 presented many dangers for children, and a new study suggests increased illicit substance ingestions were among them. Those numbers grew by 1.8% more per month than they did before the pandemic, the study said. The results could be skewed if health care providers were on the lookout for ingestions, Dodington added. There was no association between medicinal or recreational cannabis legalization and the rate of cannabis ingestion encounters, according to the study. Safer storageIngesting drugs and alcohol are particularly dangerous for young children, Dodington said.

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