2+ mon, 1+ week ago   (511+ words) For decades, public health campaigns have warned citizens about the dangers of smoking — yet in Virginia, smoke remained a hazard inside operating rooms until recently. Surgical smoke is generated when electrosurgical pencils or lasers are used to cut tissue and…...

2+ mon, 2+ week ago   (454+ words) By 2000, the United States had effectively eliminated measles, earning certification from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an independent panel of outside experts. It maintained that status for 24 years, a remarkable triumph of public health efforts to eradicate…...

3+ mon, 2+ week ago   (226+ words) Syphilis cases are trending down across Virginia and more people are getting tested after several years of the sexually transmitted disease spreading across the state — most severely in Hampton Roads. Total syphilis cases in Virginia increased from 2020 to 2024, according to…...

4+ mon, 2+ week ago   (404+ words) Ten Virginia hospitals, mostly in rural corners of the state, are at a heightened risk of closing or reducing services because of Medicaid cuts, a report concluded. Among them are two hospitals owned by VCU Health and one by Bon…...

4+ mon, 3+ week ago   (762+ words) RICHMOND — Lawmakers are clearing the way for use of the psychedelic mushroom compound psilocybin as a potential medical treatment, once a formulation is approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Senate Bill 379 directs the state Board of Pharmacy to reschedule…...

5+ mon, 12+ hour ago   (206+ words) A bill awaiting the governor’s signature would ask that mental health assessments be made available for all public school students from grades 6-12 in Virginia. The bill, HB355, directs the advisory School Health Services Committee to work with the Virginia Department of…...