Courtenay Harris Bond
Courtenay Harris Bond is the staff writer covering health for PhillyVoice. She enjoys writing about behavioral health, maternal health and inequities in the healthcare system, as well as human rights and criminal justice. A veteran daily newspaper reporter, Courtenay has also written for national outlets, including KFF Health News, Undark Magazine and Filter. She was a 2018 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism and has master's degrees from Columbia Journalism School and the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education.
June 7, 2024
Health News
Temple Hospital revamps Episcopal Campus to better serve people with substance use, mental health disorders
Temple University Hospital is expanding its Episcopal Campus in Kensington in hopes of better serving the community's complex behavioral health and emergency medical needs. It has opened a new substance use clinic and is upgrading its emergency department and crisis response center.June 6, 2024
Prevention
To combat the spike in syphilis, the CDC now recommends using a common antibiotic as a 'morning after' drug
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends certain people at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases take a common antibiotic – doxy PEP – within 72 hours of having unprotected sex. The guideline aims to help curtail the spread of syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhea. It's specific to gay and bisexual men and transgender women who have had a sexually transmitted infection within the last year.June 6, 2024
Health Stories
A Bucks County mom gave birth to a premature baby on a Caribbean vacation, and a CHOP team flew in to save the day
When Lindsey Offner, of Bucks County, gave birth to her second child on May 12, 2023, she was 27 weeks pregnant and on a vacation with her husband, Joe, in Turks and Caicos. To ensure baby Logan got the care she needed, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia sent its emergency transport team to fly the newborn baby to Philly.June 5, 2024
Mental Health
FDA advisory panel votes against MDMA for treatment of PTSD
An FDA advisory board rejected a proposal to approve MDMA – a psychedelic drug known popularly as ecstasy or "molly" – for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, citing concerns about the safety of the psychedelic drug and the way studies were conducted.June 4, 2024
Women's Health
Maternal deaths are far more common in the U.S. than in other high-income countries, report shows
There were 22 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in the U.S. in 2022, more than double and sometimes triple the rate of other high-income countries, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Foundation. There also are wide racial disparities – the maternal mortality rate among Black women in 2022 was nearly 50 deaths per 100,000 live births.June 4, 2024
Adult Health
Heart disease is the top cause of death in the U.S., and more than 60% of Americans will have it by 2050
More than 6 in 10 American adults will have some kind of cardiovascular disease by 2050, according to a new report from the American Heart Association. The projected increase is based on rising rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension, among other factors.May 31, 2024
Children's Health
Girls are starting their periods earlier in life, and that may lead to adverse health issues later
Girls are getting their first periods at younger ages and it is taking longer for their menstrual cycles to regulate, new research confirms. These findings are significant because early menarche – getting your first period before age 11 – is linked to obesity, insulin resistance and high cholesterol in adulthood, and depression and anxiety in adolescence.May 30, 2024
Prevention
People who live near Limerick power plant can get free potassium iodide tablets on June 12
People who live near nuclear power plants are advised to keep potassium iodide tablets on hand in case of a radiological emergency. The Pennsylvania Department of Health is distributing free KI tablets to residents that live within 10 miles of the Limerick Generating Station in Montgomery County on Wednesday, June 12.May 29, 2024
Children's Health
Exposing infants to peanuts makes them less likely to have allergy in adolescence, study shows
Giving peanuts to infants as young as 4 months old reduced the risk of them developing an allergy in adolescence by 71%, according to findings published Tuesday in the journal NEJM Evidence.May 29, 2024
Illness
Tattoos tied to increased risk of lymphatic cancer, study finds
People with tattoos are 21% more likely to develop lymphatic cancer, a new study suggests. But the number of tattoos or the amount of the body covered by tattoos did not seem to affect lymphoma risk. Previous research shows that when tattoo ink is injected into the skin, it activates the immune system, and ink particles travel away from the skin into the lymph nodes.Just In
- Phillies RP Brad Keller will miss the rest of the season with torn UCL
- Phillies announce 2027 schedule
- Strathmere, one of South Jersey's only free beaches, could soon require tags
- Wildfire smoke could stick around through Saturday, National Weather Service says
- NFL assistant coach, a former GOP mayor in South Jersey, linked to Freedom Fuel Network gas stations
- Philly DA Larry Krasner subpoenaed by House Judiciary Committee over request for immigration records
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