Rosemary Westwood, WWNO November 4, 2025 When there’s an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease, state health officials typically take certain steps to alert residents and issue public updates about the growing threat. That’s standard practice, public health and infectious disease experts told KFF Health News and NPR. The goal is to keep as many other vulnerable people as possible from…
Posts published in “Health and Healthcare Access”
A drop in childhood vaccination rates has consequences for children. News: 04/03/2025 The American Academy of Pediatricians reports 2 Louisiana Infants Die of Pertussis as Infections Rise. The state’s last infant death from Whooping Cough was in 2018. Immunization against Whooping Cough (pertussis) prevents 78% of cases in newborns and is 91% effective at preventing hospital stays. Childhood vaccination…
On the Friday before Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl weekend, Louisiana’s Department of Children and Family Services released a statement regarding the decision of two Louisiana governors to refuse Summer EBT funds for our state’s hungriest children. “Every child deserves a safe home, first and foremost, and families deserve a pathway to self-sufficiency. That is our primary mission,” said…
Dear Louisiana Friends, Most hungry children in the United States will benefit from the USDA’s Summer EBT program. Louisiana’s children will not. Louisiana refused USDA food funds for our hungry children. Next-to-last in the nation for child poverty, Louisiana refused the food funds. Nearly 600,000 Louisiana children will be hungrier this summer because our leaders in Baton Rouge chose to…
Will Louisiana refuse food for hungry children? All new political leaders make their first significant decision that reveals their priorities. For the newly formed Landry administration in Baton Rouge, the decision about Louisiana’s participation in the USDA’s Summer EBT program for hungry children will show us how dedicated they are to meeting the needs of children. Will Louisiana participate in…
Good for Louisiana Children: “The Whole Health Louisiana (WHL) State Plan is Louisiana’s first statewide plan to systematically address the widespread issue of childhood adversity and trauma through the integration of trauma-informed and healing-centered approaches in our state’s systems of care and support for children and families. Addressing this issue is critical to the wellbeing and fulfillment of our…
Managed care organizations (MCOs) are also called “Medicaid management companies.” These companies are responsible for creating healthcare and mental health provider networks to serve their members. They publish directories that list all the providers in their network. However, members, providers, and auditors have discovered that many providers listed in these directories are unavailable to serve the members. “Ghost” and “phantom…