REPEAT – Health care advocates afraid of major cuts and privatization hold shadow summit and rally at Council of the Federation next week
When & Where: Shadow Summit – Monday, July 21 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Hidden Valley Resort (next door to the Deerhurst Resort where the Premiers are meeting) 1755 Valley Rd, Huntsville, ON P1H 1A8 Reporters & health care reporters welcome. Opening plenary re key issues & updates across Canada, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Rally and Car Cavalcade – Tuesday, July 22
12:00 p.m. noon media availability with Health Coalition leaders from across Canada on the road outside Deerhurst Resort
12:15 p.m. rally outside Deerhurst Resort
12:50 p.m. car cavalcades from the rally through Huntsville to corner of Highway 11 & Highway 60
1:10 p.m. rally near intersection of Highway 11 and Highway 60
Who: hosted by the Canadian Health Coalition, Ontario Health Coalition, and the Ontario Federation of Labour.
As Canada's leaders meet, our public health care system is, without exaggeration, in open crisis. Runaway privatization is taking funding and staff away from public health care services. Staffing shortages are a national catastrophe, forcing emergency departments to close and leaving health care workers with impossible workloads while patients wait longer and suffer more. Private clinics are violating the Canada Health Act, charging patients hundreds to thousands of dollars for surgeries and diagnostic tests in illegal user fees and extra-billing. Seniors can't access the care they need. Mental health and addiction services are underfunded, subject to privatization and cuts, or simply unavailable. Millions still do not have access to family medicine. The implementation of the first phase of pharmacare has stalled.
This event serves to remind our political leaders that the economy exists to serve people, not the other way around, and the economy is more than militarism and private sector projects. If a 70-year-old goes to a private clinic and is forced to use their life savings and pay thousands of dollars for their surgery, what chance do they have to get out of poverty for the rest of their life? If a person has diabetes and cannot afford their insulin and supplies, what economy is there for them? Health care can't wait, and privatization is the destruction of Public Medicare, not a solution. Health Coalitions are demanding funding, resources, and public solutions in the public interest.
For more information: Natalie Mehra, executive director, Ontario Health Coalition cell (416) 230-6402; Salah Shadir, administration & operations director, Ontario Health Coalition cell (647) 648-5706.Sign in to access your portfolio
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CBS News
10 hours ago
- CBS News
A mom says an "everything bagel" caused her to fail a drug test. The hospital reported her to child protective services anyway
A new mother from Alabama is warning pregnant patients after she says eating an "everything bagel" for breakfast before giving birth to her second child upended her family last spring. It all stemmed from the unexpected results of one urine drug test — a routine test given to thousands of maternity patients across the country. It illustrates the findings of a joint investigation between "CBS Sunday Morning" and The Marshall Project that found the percentage of false positive results from urine drug tests to be as high as 50%. "It was almost like an out-of-body experience. I mean, I truly could not believe that it was happening," Katie, of Huntsville, who asked to only be referred to by her first name, told "CBS Sunday Morning." She was shocked to learn she tested positive for opiates. The bagel Katie ate was seasoned with poppy seeds, which come from the same plant cultivated for the production of opiates like morphine and codeine and can trigger a false positive test result for opiates. The fact that poppy seeds can cause a false positive test result is well documented. In fact, the U.S. Department of Defense even issued a warning in 2023 to service members that "consumption of poppy seed products could result in a codeine positive urinalysis result." A 2001 Supreme Court ruling determined that maternity patients cannot be tested for illegal drugs without their informed consent or a valid warrant if the test's sole purpose is to obtain evidence of criminal conduct for law enforcement purposes. But many hospitals routinely test patients, arguing the tests have a medical purpose. Katie agreed to what she believed to be a routine drug screening, simply thinking she had nothing to worry about. "I signed and said, 'Yes, that's fine,'" Katie, who took the drug test before giving birth, explained. "I didn't take any over-the-counter medicine. I didn't take Tylenol." The practice of drug testing pregnant patients before giving birth dates back to the 1980s crack epidemic and has continued in more recent years amid today's opioid epidemic. There were an estimated 54,743 overdose deaths involving opioids in 2024, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. According to a review by The Marshall Project, hospitals in at least 27 states across the U.S. are required by law to alert child welfare authorities to a positive drug test or potential exposure — even before a second, more definitive test can be given to the mother to ensure it wasn't a false positive. This often leads to long and stressful investigations that can turn a family's life upside-down. Hours after giving birth at Crestwood Medical Center, Katie feared both of her children could be taken away, when a member of the Alabama Department of Human Resources showed up in her hospital room to discuss her positive drug screen. The state social worker asked Katie to sign a safety plan, a written agreement between a parent and CPS that outlines specific steps to be taken to ensure the safety and protection of a child amid an ongoing investigation. "Safety plans are developed to protect children from safety threats when the parents'/primary caregivers' protective capacities are insufficient. Safety plans are based on identifiable safety threats and coupled with diminished parental/primary caregiver protective capacities which place the child at present or impending danger," the department's administrative code states. Katie said she was told both of her children would be removed from her custody if she didn't sign the safety plan. Overwhelmed by the terrifying thoughts racing in her head, Katie signed the plan. For nearly a month, Katie said she was only allowed monitored time with her children. And although she was breastfeeding her newborn, she still had to leave her home every night when everyone was asleep and only return in the morning when she could be supervised. "I would leave the house and I would, I mean, scream in my car because I was so devastated to leave her," said Katie, apologizing for choking up. "It was torture; it was pain I've never felt before." In a statement to "CBS Sunday Morning," Crestwood Medical Center said its health care workers conduct a urine drug screen on all patients admitted for labor and delivery "to help assess any potential medical needs of the mother and newborn." If a test is positive, the hospital said it immediately orders a confirmatory test, and notifies the Department of Human Resources in compliance with Alabama State Law. "We understand that false positive results can occur and make every effort to keep mother and child together in the hospital until a confirmatory test result is received. In these situations, our physicians, our neonatal care team and DHR work collaboratively on appropriate safety plans considering all of the information available about the mother and newborn at the time," Crestwood said. Katie said the medical center did order a second confirmatory test in her case, but health care workers had already called the Alabama Department of Human Resources, triggering an investigation. Confirmatory drug tests are sent off to a laboratory since they require a more thorough analysis. It can take up to 5 business days after receiving the sample for the lab to process and send results. By the time the second round of drug test results arrived, showing both Katie and her baby were clear of any substances, the state-run agency's child welfare probe was well underway. Katie claims the negative results weren't enough to stop the investigation, but the Department of Human Resources closed the case after a month, when she and her husband hired an attorney. Dr. Kelley Butler, a family medicine doctor in San Diego, California, called situations like Katie's "entirely unfair." "Let's also be clear: one positive urine toxicology does not equal a substance use disorder by the DSM-5 criteria," Butler explained, referring to a diagnostic tool used by mental health professionals to help diagnose certain conditions or disorders. "All it says is this person was exposed to something that made this test positive. Hello! As in the case of this everything bagel, which probably had poppy seeds, which can be a false positive for opiates." A National Library of Medicine study confirmed ingesting poppy seeds in food products like pastries, bagels, muffins or cakes can show concentrations of morphine in urine drug tests. While the highest concentrations of total morphine were found between three and eight hours after consumption, they could still show up within a 48-hour window. That's why the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency advises athletes to avoid eating anything containing poppy seeds for at least a few days before competitions, warning that it "can't predict how long morphine or morphine metabolites from poppy seeds will stay in your system." But it's not just poppy seeds that can lead to faulty test results. There's an entire suite of medications, foods and exposures that are safe to take during pregnancy or have been prescribed by a physician that can result in false positives. The National Library of Medicine also reports that over-the-counter cough suppressants like dextromethorphan, and antibiotics to treat bacterial infections like rifampin and quinolone, can also cause false positive opiate test results. Perhaps even more unsettling than accidentally ingesting something that could result in a positive opiate test, a mother can be investigated if she or the baby tests positive for opiates even when the medication was given to her by the hospital during labor. That's exactly what Victoria Villanueva says happened to her. She was 18 years old in 2017 when she gave birth to her first child in an Indiana hospital. Her medical records show that she tested negative for any illicit substances upon entering the hospital and was given morphine during labor to ease pain – but that didn't stop the hospital from reporting her to the Indiana Department of Child Services when her newborn daughter tested positive for opiates. "I was bawling my eyes out, because I was thinking, well, they were going to take my baby away," Villanueva told "CBS Sunday Morning." Villanueva and her husband both passed drug tests, but — like Katie — she was still required to sign a safety plan. She believes that it may have been because she had admitted to once experimenting with drugs two years earlier. Over the next month, a social worker came regularly to check on her and inspect her home. "I was robbed of that experience to like, you know, actually be able to enjoy my child. Honestly, I was just too busy worrying about DCS, and them, possibly, taking my daughter away from me," she said. Lynn Paltrow, founder of Pregnancy Justice, who was part of the legal team that won the 2001 Supreme Court decision that ruled it unconstitutional to use drug test results solely to criminally prosecute pregnant women, says a single test result should never be relied on to report a mother. A positive drug test "can't tell you if I'm addicted [or] I'm dependent and it certainly cannot tell you how I parent. And yet for thousands of women in this country, and families, probably millions, a drug test is used as a parenting test," Paltrow said. Butler suggests hospitals use different forms of screening, like verbal questions, to identify potential substance use issues that could affect the birth or baby. Verbal screening or questionnaires are also recommended by most major medical groups, including the American Medical Association and The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The National Library of Medicine also acknowledges that toxicology testing of pregnant patients has some limitations and possible negative consequences and said it should always be done with a woman's consent. The reporting of drug use during pregnancy to child welfare agencies "is strongly biased against racial and ethnic minorities, even following concerted efforts to prevent such bias. A positive toxicology test also shows evidence of use, but does not provide any information about the nature or extent of that use; similarly, a negative test does not rule out substance use, which is often sporadic," the National Library of Medicine states. Last fall, New Jersey Attorney General Mathew Platkin filed a civil rights lawsuit against the hospital group Virtua Health, accusing it of singling out pregnant mothers and drug testing them without their informed consent. Jennifer Khelil, executive vice president and chief clinical officer at Virtua Health, told "CBS Sunday Morning" that New Jersey law requires hospitals and health care providers to report positive drug screen results to the state's child protection agency, which then completes its own assessment and works directly with the families on next steps. "The devastating toll of the opioid epidemic requires thorough and equitable processes for identifying and supporting babies with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome and related conditions," Khelil said. Virtua Health implemented a universal urine drug testing policy — as an effort to "avoid subjectivity in testing," according to Khelil — for pregnant patients delivering at its hospitals back in 2018. In October 2024, a week after Platkin's suit was filed, the hospital group modified its universal urine testing protocol. A Virtua Health spokesperson told NJ Spotlight News at the time that it now screens pregnant patients admitted at its hospitals based on "patient indications." "I think it's wrong. When you're ruining precious moments of people's lives and uprooting things, you can't just shrug it off and say, well, sorry you fell in the cracks," Katie said. Nearly a year later, Katie is pregnant again — and the same fears are weighing on her. She spoke with her new doctor about refusing a drug screen this time, but says she was told that the hospital would report her to Alabama Department of Human Resources if she declined. "So I feel trapped. This all just happened a year ago. So it's very fresh. And I'm very wounded still from it, and terrified of it happening again," Katie said.
Associated Press
18 hours ago
- Associated Press
FROM THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2025: DECADES-OLD LEAD POLLUTION LINKED TO MEMORY PROBLEMS IN OLDER ADULTS, STUDY FINDS
Key Takeaways TORONTO, July 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Historic lead levels from the era of leaded gasoline may be contributing to cognitive issues 50 years later, suggests research reported for the first time at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference ® 2025 (AAIC®), in Toronto and online. Americans are about 20% more likely to experience memory problems if they lived in areas with high levels of atmospheric lead between 1960 and 1974, according to the analysis of more than 600,000 adults 65 and older. ' Research suggests half the U.S. population — more than 170 million people — were exposed to high lead levels in early childhood. This research sheds more light on the toxicity of lead related to brain health in older adults today,' said Maria C. Carrillo, Ph.D., Alzheimer's Association chief science officer and medical affairs lead. 'Other studies reported at AAIC 2025 suggest that (a) lead exposure at any point in life may cause cognitive problems, (b) it may be more likely to affect certain populations and reflect disparities, and (c) there is a biological connection between lead exposure and Alzheimer's.' Historic levels of lead air pollution are associated with memory problems 50 years later In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers examined how exposure to airborne lead from 1960-1974 — when leaded gasoline use was at its highest — may affect brain health later in life. They determined that older adults who grew up in areas with moderate to extremely high historical atmospheric lead levels (HALL) were about 20% more likely to report memory problems as adults 50 years later. The researchers calculated the average HALL by area and linked it to self-reported memory problems from the American Community Survey from 2012-2017 (368,208 people) and 2018-2021 (276,476 people). They didn't analyze the source of the lead but believe that the higher the density of automobile traffic, such as in urban areas, the higher the atmospheric lead. Factoring in both time periods, the researchers determined that 17-22% of people living in areas with moderate, high or extremely high atmospheric lead reported memory issues. 'Our study may help us understand the pathways that contribute to some people developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease,' said Eric Brown, M.D., MSc, FRCPC, lead author of the study, associate scientist and associate chief of geriatric psychiatry at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto. Lead was originally added to gasoline to increase performance until researchers determined it posed serious risks to health and the environment. The more than 20-year-long phase-out of leaded gas began in 1975 when all new cars sold in the U.S. were required to have catalytic converters. 'When I was a child in 1976, our blood carried 15 times more lead than children's blood today,' said Esme Fuller-Thomson, Ph.D., senior author of the study and a professor at the University of Toronto's Factor-Ientash Faculty of Social Work and director of the Institute for Life Course and Aging. 'An astonishing 88% of us had levels higher than 10 micrograms per deciliter, which are now considered dangerously high.' While the risk of atmospheric lead has decreased, other sources of exposure remain, such as old lead paint and pipes. Those who have been exposed to atmospheric lead should focus on reducing other risk factors for dementia, including high blood pressure, smoking and social isolation, said Brown. Living near lead-polluting sites may affect memory Another study reported at AAIC found that older adults who live about three miles from a lead-releasing facility — such as glass, ready-mixed concrete or computer and electronics manufacturers — are more likely to have memory and thinking problems than those who live farther away. This research, which focused on a racially and ethnically diverse group of older adults, reinforces concerns about the long-term cognitive impact of environmental lead exposure, especially in communities already facing health disparities. Researchers assessed 2,379 patients (average age ~74 years) from two studies: the Kaiser Health Aging and Diverse Life Experienced study (KHANDLE, 1,638 patients) of a diverse group of Kaiser Permanente insurance plan members who live in northern California, and the Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR, 741 patients) study of Black adults age 50 and older who live in the San Francisco and Sacramento areas. They evaluated the participants' proximity to the nearest lead-releasing facility and compared the distance to participants' Neuropsychological Assessment Scales results at baseline and two years later. Compared to two years earlier, the KHANDLE participants who lived within 5 km (just over three miles) of a lead-releasing facility scored 0.15 times lower on verbal episodic memory tests (recall of personal experiences), and 0.07 times lower on overall cognitive ability compared to those living farther away. Every 5 km farther a participant lived from a lead-releasing facility was associated with 5% higher memory scores two years later. Among STAR group participants living within 5 km of a lead-releasing facility, researchers observed a 0.20 times lower score on semantic memory (general knowledge) two years later, compared to those who lived farther away. 'Our results indicate that lead exposure in adulthood could contribute to worse cognitive performance within a few years,' said Kathryn Conlon, Ph.D., MPH, senior author and associate professor of environmental epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis. 'Despite tremendous progress on lead abatement, studies have shown there is no safe level of exposure, and half of U.S. children have detectable levels of lead in their blood. Additionally, there are regions and neighborhoods that have more exposure.' According to Conlon, there were 7,507 lead-releasing facilities in the U.S. in 2023. To reduce exposure, Conlon said people living near lead-producing facilities should keep their homes clean to avoid the accumulation of lead-contaminated dust, remove their shoes when coming inside, and place dust mats inside and outside to avoid tracking lead-contaminated dust indoors. Use the Environmental Protection Agency's TRI Toxics Tracker to identify lead-releasing facilities near you. Study reveals how lead exposure may set the stage for Alzheimer's Even low levels of lead exposure can create permanent changes in brain cells, including increased buildup of abnormal tau and amyloid beta, which are proteins associated with Alzheimer's, suggests a third study reported at AAIC 2025. The researchers exposed human brain cells to lead concentrations of zero, 15 and 50 parts per billion (ppb), simulating the kind of lead exposure people might experience through contaminated water or air. The EPA's action level for lead in drinking water is 15 ppb. They ran molecular, genetic, biochemical and functional tests on the cells and determined that (a) the 15-ppb and 50-ppb lead-exposed neurons were more electrically active (suggesting early dysfunction) than those that had no exposure, (b) energy-producing cells were damaged, and (c) there was an increase in tau and amyloid beta. Even after the lead was removed, the cells remained primed for damage, responding more severely to additional stressors such as tau. 'These findings help explain how lead exposure, especially in early life or from occupational and environmental sources, might leave a lasting molecular imprint on the brain making it more vulnerable to age-related diseases like Alzheimer's,' said Junkai Xie, Ph.D., lead author of the study and post-doctoral research associate in chemical engineering at Purdue University. 'Our results show that lead exposure isn't just a short-term concern; it may set the stage for cognitive problems decades later.' About the Alzheimer's Association International Conference® (AAIC®) The Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) is the world's largest gathering of researchers from around the world focused on Alzheimer's and other dementias. As a part of the Alzheimer's Association's research program, AAIC serves as a catalyst for generating new knowledge about dementia and fostering a vital, collegial research community. AAIC 2025 home page: AAIC 2025 newsroom: AAIC 2025 hashtag: #AAIC25 About the Alzheimer's Association® The Alzheimer's Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer's care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's and all other dementia®. Visit or call 800.272.3900. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Alzheimer's Association
New York Times
a day ago
- New York Times
Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Wafts Over New York City
Officials warned that smoke-filled air would blanket the New York City area on Sunday, creating unhealthy conditions for some, as soot and ash from Canadian wildfires drifted across the border. The air quality health advisory, issued on Saturday, will expire on Sunday night, the National Weather Service said. On Saturday, parts of the city reached 136 on the Air Quality Index, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company, briefly making it one of the cities in the United States with the worst air quality. Parts of Massachusetts and New Jersey were also under air quality advisories on Saturday. The index in New York City was predicted to reach a maximum of 120 on Sunday, putting it in the classification of 'unhealthy for sensitive groups,' according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The index could reach 135 in the Upper Hudson Valley and 120 on Long Island. Maps: Tracking Air Quality and Smoke From Wildfires in Canada and the U.S. See maps of where smoke is traveling and how harmful the air has become. The Weather Service advised vulnerable groups, which includes young children and those who have respiratory ailments, to take precautions like limiting strenuous outdoor activity. An index reading of below 50 is considered good. A reading of above 150 means the air is considered 'unhealthy,' and the ill effects might be felt more widely by healthy people. For weeks, smoke from wildfires in Canada has been drifting across the border to the United States during its annual fire season, which usually runs from March to October. Wildfires are a common cause of extended periods of unhealthy air, and fine particles of soot, ash and dust can billow high in the air and be blown for hundreds of miles by prevailing winds. The drifting smoke from Canada's fires has become a growing issue in the United States in recent years. In 2023, wildfires burned more land in Canada than ever before, and created smoke so intense that it turned the skies over New York City a frightening shade of orange. Experts have warned that climate change was turning environments like Canada's forests into a tinderbox. This year, smoke from Canada's wildfires has again drifted south across the U.S. border, inflaming diplomatic relations. This month, six Republican lawmakers wrote to Canada's ambassador to the United States, demanding to know the Canadian government's plan for tackling the wildfires and accusing it of lax forest management. The premier of Manitoba Province in Western Canada, where wildfires have been particularly bad, blasted the letter, accusing the U.S. lawmakers of 'trying to trivialize and make hay out of a wildfire season where we've lost lives in our province.'
