Meet our newest health reporter

Also: A new dispute roils Saint Vincent Hospital [View in browser](    [❤️]( May 23, 2022 Hello CommonHealth readers, I’m Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, the newest health reporter at WBUR. I’m joining Gabrielle Emanuel to bring you a sneak peak in this newsletter of the most important and interesting health stories we're covering. I’ve been a journalist for 15 years, and spent the last eight reporting on health care for The Boston Globe. I was born in New Delhi, India and have lived in Massachusetts most of my life. I got hooked on journalism in the early aughts when I started writing for the student newspaper as a freshman at Boston University. I have been riding out the pandemic with my husband and 2-year-old daughter. So, like many of you, I understand the challenges of pregnancy and parenting during these uncertain times. While I've covered many beats in my career (business, politics, transportation, crime), I love writing about health care because it has a bit of everything. What other subject is so intensely personal, but also a huge business and at the heart of our biggest political debates? What else is so complex but so essential to our daily lives? During the past two years, I have tried to tell stories that go beyond the daily COVID case counts and show the impact of the pandemic on patients, [health care workers]( and the [health care system](. One image that stays with me is from a visit to the [COVID ICU]( at UMass Memorial Medical Center in 2020. I watched from a few feet away as a nurse held an iPad for a COVID patient so the woman could see her daughter. The patient was too sick to move. The nurse tried to offer comfort; she couldn’t show the smile under her N95, but she stroked the patient’s hair. COVID is still with us, and I hope to bring you information you need to navigate this pandemic as it continues to twist and turn. But there’s so much more happening in health care. In this newsletter, I'll highlight subjects that inspire curiosity and hope, as well as provide context and answers that inform important daily decisions. These stories may be about new models of health care or new treatments for disease. Or they may document rising health care costs, growing disparities and the barriers people face when seeking care. I’m also excited to tell stories with sounds and scenes that can’t be conveyed in the written word alone. When I’m not working, I like exploring local parks and museums with my family, drinking (admittedly overpriced) lattes and checking out Boston’s restaurant scene. Have story ideas (or kid-friendly patio recommendations) for me? Please don't hesitate to get in touch at pdmcc@bu.edu. I’m looking forward to hearing from you! Thanks for reading, Priyanka Dayal McCluskey Senior Health Reporter [Follow]( Support the news  This Week's Must Reads [After historic nurses' strike, a new dispute roils Saint Vincent Hospital]( The union says the hospital is forcing nurses to work longer shifts, just months after signing a new labor contract. They worry longer work days could drive away experienced nurses. [Read more.]( [After historic nurses' strike, a new dispute roils Saint Vincent Hospital]( The union says the hospital is forcing nurses to work longer shifts, just months after signing a new labor contract. They worry longer work days could drive away experienced nurses. [Read more.]( [Virtual workouts spiked during the pandemic — and the trend is sticking around]( During lockdown, gyms were out of the question. Now, companies hope to keep attracting users by making apps more addictive and fun. [Read more.]( [Virtual workouts spiked during the pandemic — and the trend is sticking around]( During lockdown, gyms were out of the question. Now, companies hope to keep attracting users by making apps more addictive and fun. [Read more.]( [A look at where we are in the pandemic — and where we're headed]( COVID-19 cases throughout the state have been on an upswing in the past few weeks. Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy speaks with Harvard epidemiologist Bill Hanage about what's next. [Read more.]( [A look at where we are in the pandemic — and where we're headed]( COVID-19 cases throughout the state have been on an upswing in the past few weeks. Morning Edition host Rupa Shenoy speaks with Harvard epidemiologist Bill Hanage about what's next. [Read more.]( [Who Else Can See Your Period Tracker Data?]( Health researchers Giulia De Togni and Andrea Ford have found that many health apps also have a dark side — selling your most personal data to third parties like advertisers, insurers and tech companies. [Read more.]( [Who Else Can See Your Period Tracker Data?]( Health researchers Giulia De Togni and Andrea Ford have found that many health apps also have a dark side — selling your most personal data to third parties like advertisers, insurers and tech companies. [Read more.]( [Mass General Brigham promises to slash health care spending by $70 million a year]( The state’s biggest and most expensive hospital system submitted the cost-cutting plan after a watchdog agency said it has a “spending problem.” [Read more.]( [Mass General Brigham promises to slash health care spending by $70 million a year]( The state’s biggest and most expensive hospital system submitted the cost-cutting plan after a watchdog agency said it has a “spending problem.” [Read more.]( What We're Reading 📚 Daniel Bergner’s [latest piece in The New York Times Magazine]( delves into a growing effort to revolutionize how society thinks about mental illness and treats those who experience hallucinations and other hallmarks of psychiatric conditions. The article features a temporary residence in Western Massachusetts called Afiya, which is run only by those with firsthand experience with such conditions. “I feel like I want to die every day. It’s one of the first things I think about when I wake up. That is normal for me," Ephraim, the director of the peer-run respite house, told Bergner. "Many people act like it isn’t normal," he said. "Here, we have people express that they want to harm someone. These are all normal thoughts. But people train themselves to believe that they’re not." This movement rejects the medical establishment’s emphasis on medications for mental-health conditions, as well as the whole paradigm that these people might have a brain defect. It points to a lack of evidence that medications improve outcomes and the fact that that suicide rates and hospitalizations have not budged. People like Ephraim find medicine’s current approach disempowering and isolating. They say it makes people feel lost and alone rather than healed. The new, radical movement captured in this article relies less on clinicians and sometimes has no formal method. The premise is to affirm the person’s experience and trust their sense of what they might need. It believes that people can coexist with their hallucinations and that, while their reality may be different, it is no less legitimate. Bergner, who has just written [a book]( on the topic, acknowledges the lack of research on this approach. He writes, “the core idea of the alliance’s program is that as long as you are talking about killing yourself, and feel you are being listened to and understood, you are much less prone to end your life.” "We've already seen a number of nurses leave the bedside... And sadly, I can say we expect to see more." — Marie Ritacco, a nurse at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester and vice president of the union, on [the hospital's latest dispute]( ICYMI [A substance found in young spinal fluid helps old mice remember]( A team at Stanford University has reversed memory loss in old mice by flooding their brains with spinal fluid taken from young animals. The finding may hold promise for Alzheimer's research. [Read more.]( [A substance found in young spinal fluid helps old mice remember]( A team at Stanford University has reversed memory loss in old mice by flooding their brains with spinal fluid taken from young animals. The finding may hold promise for Alzheimer's research. [Read more.]( Did you know...that cave explorers found [a prehistoric forest]( at the bottom of a giant sinkhole in China? Earlier this month, an expedition team descended into the pit to examine the ancient trees and foliage. This newsletter was co-produced by health reporter Gabrielle Emanuel. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news     Want to change how you receive these emails? Stop getting this newsletter by [updating your preferences.](  I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. 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