Oklahoma Watch (https://oklahomawatch.org/category/publichealth/)
The state this week confirmed its first measles case of the year, which occurred as the nation is experiencing its largest number of measles cases in a quarter century. Here are answers to some common questions about the measles outbreaks, the first confirmed Oklahoma case and the state’s vaccination policies.
Thousands of Oklahomans suffer from depression, sometimes to a debilitating degree. The problem is especially common and invisible among aging residents. Victor Guillermo, of Oklahoma City, an Air Force veteran, has struggled daily with depression since his wife died.
Thousands of Oklahomans with felony convictions could find it tough to obtain and keep health insurance – and rebuild their lives – if rules are approved that require many Medicaid recipients to work 20 hours a week.
Fewer people in Oklahoma City are homeless, according to the latest counts. But more are unsheltered at night, even in the dead of winter. So Oklahoma Watch asked those on the streets, “Where do you sleep?”
Hospitals are required to disclose prices for the first time, a move the industry fought for years. However, the prices may be of little help in deciphering byzantine medical bills or for comparison shopping because they don’t reflect what patients actually pay.
Oklahoma bucked expectations as enrollment on the federal health-care marketplace climbed to a record level for next year. But community groups say a slashing of help from outreach counselors could limit coverage of rural residents.
Although the Pauls Valley hospital has closed, the city continues to hold on to 28 nursing homes whose enhanced federal payments were supposed to help keep the hospital open. The city is waiting for a determination from federal regulators on the arrangement.
Addiction-recovery homes across Oklahoma are turning away people who are trying to escape opioid addiction by taking medications considered highly effective for recovery. Use of Suboxone and similar medications is common, but many residents of the state’s Oxford Houses believe that complete abstinence is the only way to truly beat addiction.
After years of financial struggles, the Pauls Valley Regional Medical Center has closed, with officials saying they could not secure enough funds to keep the hospital going. More than 100 hospital employees will lose their jobs and the city of 6,200 will be deprived of a nearby health center offering basic surgeries, wound care and stabilization.
Pauls Valley Regional Medical Center is once again the poster child for struggling rural hospitals as it battled a cash crunch and lawsuit verdict it had to pay. Then, on Oct. 12, the hospital closed.
In this short video, find out what State Question 793, on the Nov. 6 ballot, would change on the consumer market for vision care and sales of eyeglasses.
