‘An abandoned issue’: Migrants’ mental health mostly ignored by Mexican government
TAPACHULA, Mexico – Migrants passing through Mexico desperately need mental health care, but the Mexican government has offered little support. Shelters and NGOs in Tapachula are stepping in to provide essential psych services, but experts and frontline workers say it still isn’t enough.
‘Wounded healers’: Advocates spotlight hidden struggles of young caregivers
MESA – Brenda Donovan was 12 when her mother was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. By her senior year in high school, she’d become her mother’s primary caregiver. Across the U.S., more and more people are becoming caregivers to a loved one in need – among them, young people thrust into a role for which they have little training or support.
‘Helpless but not hopeless’: Arizona officials join surgeon general to address burnout in health workers
PHOENIX – Health care workers have reached crisis levels of burnout, prompting the U.S. surgeon general to issue an advisory spotlighting the problem. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy visited Phoenix recently to meet with health workers and find solutions.
Monkeypox probably has arrived in Arizona. Here’s what to know about the virus.
PHOENIX – Health officials announced Tuesday they were working to confirm a probable case of monkeypox in Maricopa County. It would be Arizona’s first case of the virus, which is transmitted primarily via skin-to-skin contact.
Sales of over-the-counter hearing aids await final FDA rule
PHOENIX – A final rule is expected soon that would make hearing aids available over the counter for those with mild to moderate hearing loss. Proponents say the change will spur competition, lower costs and increase availability, especially for those who can’t afford the devices.
Baby bump: Births in Arizona increase for the first time in seven years
WASHINGTON - The number of babies born in Arizona last year rose for the first time in seven years, to 77,735 births, stumping experts who had expected a baby bust to worsen through the pandemic. The state's numbers mirrored an increase in U.S. births.
Arizona parents on the hunt for baby formula turn to each other for help
WASHINGTON - The nationwide shortage of infant formula has led to store-imposed limits on purchases, long drives and frantic internet searches by frazzled parents, who have turned to each other to make up for what they see as a lack of government action.
Despite state law, marijuana still banned in subsidized housing in Arizona
Both medical and recreational marijuana are legal in Arizona. But because of federal law, HUD still bans marijuana use in any type of government-subsidized housing, such as Section 8 and public housing. Marijuana and housing advocates call the policy discriminatory and counterproductive.
Exoskeleton suit designed to reduce strain on manual laborers
PHOENIX – The WearTech Center, GoX Labs and Arizona State University collaborated to develop an exoskeleton suit called the PhenEx. The suit is designed to reduce the strain on workers as they lift heavy objects.
More Phoenix school districts adding electric buses to their fleets
PHOENIX – Phoenix school districts are changing their bus fleets to electric, and two that serve mostly Latino students – Cartwright Elementary and Phoenix Union High School – are leading the charge.
Arizona traffic fatalities reached 15-year high in 2021, U.S. data shows
WASHINGTON - Arizona traffic fatalities hit their highest level in 15 years in 2021, when the state saw a 6.5% increase in highway deaths that experts blame in part on bad driving habits made worse during the pandemic.
Arizona housing authorities’ strict criminal background checks often bar people who need a second chance
PHOENIX – As they look for a place to live in the state’s tight rental market, applicants with criminal backgrounds seeking government-supported housing face hurdles that go far beyond what the federal guidelines require.
