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IU Health 8 results
Indiana’s poorly written abortion ban has led to dangerous consequences for pregnant Hoosier women. Despite most people wanting more access to abortion, Indiana legislators have prevented doctors from taking proper care of their patients. (above) In September 2022, community members gathered at the Monroe County Courthouse for a protest vigil a few hours before Indiana’s near total abortion ban went into effect. | Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian

The Harmful Consequences of Indiana’s Badly Written Abortion Ban
Rebecca Hill
Indiana legislators have not clarified critical language in the state’s abortion ban, which has led to serious negative consequences for women’s healthcare, including endangering the lives of pregnant women. In part 2 of Rebecca Hill’s in-depth look at Indiana’s abortion ban, she writes about the problems that the majority of Hoosier lawmakers choose to ignore. Click here for the article.
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Bloomington and Monroe County have already received their first payments from the first opioid settlement, but none of it has been spent. Many health service providers wonder where the money will go. NaloxBoxes, like the one above at the IU Health Center, are among the uses approved by the state as part of the settlement documents. | Photo by Benedict Jones

How Will Opioid Settlement Monies Be Spent — and Who Decides? Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate
Rebecca Hill, Benedict Jones
Bloomington and Monroe County have already received their first payments from the first opioid settlement, and health providers wonder where the money will go. In this article for the series “Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate,” Rebecca Hill interviewed state and local officials to report on the issue and its possible solutions. Click here for the article.
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From May to August 2022, the U.S. went from zero to more than 15,000 cases of monkeypox, a viral disease that has been declared a public health emergency by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While vaccines exist, supplies are limited, as city, county, and IU health officials prepare for monkeypox cases. | Source: Indiana Department of Health

Monroe County, IU Preparing for Mpox Virus
Rebecca Hill
Since May, the U.S. has gone from zero to more than 15,000 cases of monkeypox, a viral disease that has been declared a public health emergency by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While vaccines exist, writes Rebecca Hill, supplies are limited, as local health officials prepare for the virus. Click here to read about what’s being done.
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Surviving cancer depends on many factors, but dealing with it requires help. Because of improved treatments and surgeries, death is no longer the endgame for some cancers. But the road to survivorship requires a continuum of care — and “an army” to defeat it. | Illustration by Christian Bowden

Cancer Requires a Continuum of Care — and an ‘Army’ to Defeat It
Rebecca Hill, Christian Bowden
Surviving cancer depends on many factors, but dealing with it requires help. It’s not a single-issue disease, writes Rebecca Hill. Because of improved treatments and surgeries, death is no longer the endgame for some cancers. But the road to survivorship requires a continuum of care — and ‘an army’ to defeat it. Click here to read about the continuum of cancer care.
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A lone bike rider on the nearly empty streets of Bloomington, Indiana, March 25, 2020. Local officials, organizations, and individuals have developed programs and resources to help people trying to cope during the COVID-19 crisis. | Limestone Post

List of COVID-19 Resources for Bloomington and Monroe County
Limestone Post
Bloomington and Monroe County officials, organizations, and individuals have responded to the COVID-19 crisis by developing programs and resources to help people trying to cope in the pandemic. Limestone Post has compiled this list for people who need help, who want to help, or who just want more information. Click here for the list.
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In 2016, a survivor of sexual assault had a physical evidentiary exam, known as getting a rape kit, at IU Health Bloomington Hospital. While she says this process itself was consistently clear and well explained, the process of tracking the whereabouts of her kit afterward was less-so. A new law seeks to improve this process, with a system that allows survivors to track the status of their rape kits themselves, rather than having to go though detectives. | Photo by Nicole McPheeters

New Law Will Help Survivors of Sexual Assault Track Rape Kits
Hayley Miller, Nicole McPheeters
Rape kits contain evidence collected during hospital exams of the survivors of sexual assault. Nearly half of the more than 5,000 untested rape kits collected in Indiana are considered “backlog,” but a new Indiana law could make tracking easier — especially for survivors. Writer Haley Miller and photographer Nicole McPheeters take a look at the process. Click here to read the full story.
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The premise of our healthcare system without the Affordable Care Act: If you can’t afford healthcare, you don’t deserve it, writes Rob Stone, a local physician, healthcare activist, and one of the founders of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan. Stone and others are fighting to protect Hoosiers from this “medical caste system.” | Courtesy photo

Guest Column: ‘The Antidote to Healthcare Despair Is Activism’
Rob Stone
The premise of our healthcare system without the Affordable Care Act? If you can’t afford healthcare, you don’t deserve it, writes Rob Stone, a local physician, healthcare activist, and one of the founders of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan. Stone and others are fighting to protect Hoosiers from this “medical caste system.” Click here to read the full story.
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Dismayed by the conspicuous absence of nurse-midwives in local hospitals, the newly formed Bloomington Consumers for Birth Choices (BCBC) recently petitioned IU Health Bloomington Hospital to provide local families with “a network of fully supported certified nurse-midwives.” The hospital has been “actively addressing this need,” but first, it must recruit enough obstetricians to support a midwifery program. | Photo courtesy of bies, Creative Commons

IU Health Addressing Push to Provide Nurse-Midwives
Susan M. Brackney, Andrew Grodner
Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs) help with pre- and postnatal care, but none are available at nearby hospitals. Since a local group petitioned IU Health Bloomington to provide a network of CNMs, the hospital has been “actively addressing this need.” First, it must recruit enough obstetricians to support a midwifery program. Click here to read the full story.
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