A Portrait of a “Last Responder”: The Funeral Director Serving Louisiana’s Virus-Stricken Communities
For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.Courtney Baloney’s funeral home sits in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana. It’s not far from New Orleans. It’s also not far from the more than 100 petrochemical facilities that line a stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge,…
Hearing Health Care Activist Ady Barkan Was One of the Night’s Most Moving Moments
Ady Barkan, a health care activist who was diagnosed with the terminal neurodegenerative disease ALS four years ago, gave one of the most moving speeches of the second night of the Democratic National Convention. After Barkan’s diagnosis in 2016, President Donald Trump signed a tax bill that threatened Barkan’s health insurance. Barkan traveled to Washington,…
After the Pandemic, Medical Schools Will Never Be the Same. That Could Be a Good Thing.
Tufts University medical students in anatomy lab.Jessica Rinaldi/Getty For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.One day in June, medical student Jasmina Ehab carefully examined a child’s rash. For Ehab, who is in her fourth year at the University of Southern Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine, this was an…
Trump Says He’s Improving Health Care. It Couldn’t Be Farther From the Truth.
Chris Kleponis/CNP/Zuma For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.In recent days, President Trump has attempted to paint himself as a champion of accessible health care. On Monday, he held a press conference announcing new investments in rural hospitals and expanded telehealth services for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. And…
South Texas Hospitals Are Overwhelmed by COVID-19. But No One Is Being “Sent Home to Die.”
David J. Phillip/AP For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.Last week, a small rural county in south Texas went from the poster child for good pandemic response to the entire country’s worst nightmare. In a widely-covered press conference, Starr County Health Authority Jose Vasquez announced that, like many hospitals…
The Selfish and Unselfish Case for Sending Scientists and Doctors Abroad
Mother Jones illustration; Courtesy of Mother Jones illustration; Boston University School of MedicineCourtesy of Boston University School of Medicine For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.As the world grapples with the devastation of the coronavirus, one thing is clear: The United States simply wasn’t prepared. Despite repeated warnings from…