November 27, 2015 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 2Comment

The criminal trial of former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship is in its eighth week. Ken Ward, Jr. of the Charleston Gazette continues to provide updates from the courtroom, but far fewer now that most of the action is behind closed doors where the jury is deliberating.

November 25, 2015 Kim Krisberg 1Comment

Public health insurance programs often get a bad rap, despite a growing positive evidence base on their patient care, quality and outcomes. Earlier this month, another study emerged that found Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program not only outperform private insurance when it comes to children’s preventive care, they can serve as a model of comprehensive children’s coverage.

November 24, 2015 Kim Krisberg

Manufacturing workers in the border city of Ciudad Juárez organize for better working conditions; a stretched OSHA struggles to ensure safe workplaces in Houston; Fight for $15 makes it to the U.S. Capitol; and OSHA investigates the death of a FedEx worker in Memphis.

November 20, 2015 Kim Krisberg

It’s not surprising that food insecurity has a negative health and academic impact on young children — numerous studies have come to that conclusion. However, a new study has begun to dig a little deeper into the topic, zeroing in on the lingering aftermath of the Great Recession, when food insecurity and child poverty reached record levels, and examining the particular effects of transitioning from not worrying about having enough food to living in a household with limited or uncertain access to food.

November 20, 2015 Kim Krisberg 2Comment

In February 2015, a group of 7-Eleven night shift workers in Buffalo, New York, filed a complaint with OSHA. Sick of enduring regular bouts of verbal harassment, racial slurs and even death threats from customers — threats they often experienced while working alone with no security guard — they hoped OSHA could help bring about safer working conditions. Unfortunately, the agency decided not to investigate.