Recent content from Jeremy Olson
Minnesota is nation's hot spot in deadly cantaloupe salmonella outbreak
Two Minnesotans have died from an outbreak linked to tainted cantaloupe and fresh-cut fruit medleys.
Insured Minnesotans' health care cost $581 more per person last year
Prescription drugs drove increase, but variations in clinic care and charges played a role as well.
$5 billion redo of Mayo Clinic's campus will reshape skyline of Rochester
The project will demolish existing buildings to make way for five others that will offer seamless care for patients.
ER doctor's dismissal fuels anger in Grand Marais
North Shore Hospital blames a staffing company, but local residents want to hold its leaders and board members accountable.
Pepper spray 2.0 could snuff violence in Minnesota hospitals
Security guards are reluctant to use traditional pepper spray, so Crystal, Minn., company invented an alternative.
Twin Cities Muslim leaders OK donor breast milk for critically ill infants
The religious decree, or fatwa, is designed to guide local families but is drawing interest from Muslims across the globe.
Prominent doctor says Mayo tried to muzzle him. Clinic says he demanded money.
The dispute centers on Dr. Michael Joyner's criticism of federal health authorities over plasma treatment for COVID.
Workplace injuries from hospital violence increase in Minnesota
The problem is compounded as assaulted workers quit, leaving hospitals short-handed to treat complex patients.
Minnesota hospitals barred from debt collection until screening patients for charity care
Law fills notification gap that left some Minnesota families without help to which they were entitled.
U doctor's departure is a setback for kids with rare illness
Families are desperate to maintain treatment for PANS/PANDAS, an infection-derived disease that causes violence and compulsion in children.
One Minnesota clinic transcends a race barrier to good patient care
Small Richfield provider outperforms Minnesota's big groups on cancer screening, diabetes management for Black patients.
Ceremony completes St. Anthony firefighter's COVID comeback
Once near death at HCMC in Minneapolis, firefighter is now bringing patients to the hospital.
Cluster of Minnesota bed-rail deaths reveals elder-care threat
State investigations of three deaths in assisted living facilities find lack of timely assessments for entrapment risks.
COVID decline in Minnesota wastewater an encouraging sign
Levels were low anyway, but recent dip suggests a fall COVID surge is unlikely for now.
Hennepin Healthcare pulls coverage of 'miracle' drug that helped workers lose weight
Without financial help, workers say they can't afford drug and expect weight and related health problems to return.
Minnesota losing obesity battle: One in three adults fits the bill
Optimists point to new drugs, improvements in diet and exercise, and a body positivity movement that is changing perceptions of obesity.
The dilemma of medical debt lawsuits in Minnesota: Too big to pay, too small to fight
Ordinary medical bills are more likely to end up in court than "astronomical" costs of major surgeries and treatments, study shows.
Minnesota doctors seek religious nod for donor breastmilk to feed Muslim newborns
A fatwa by an imam or scholar could offer local clarification of Islamic teachings and ease concerns of Muslim parents.
Diverse group recruited to study how smartwatches can make you healthier
Fairview Frontiers becomes leading national recruiting center for studies of wearable medical and fitness devices.
COVID-19 death toll in Minnesota reaches 15,000
The pace of mortality has slowed as the virus evolves, but it's still claiming two lives every day right now.
Errors in Minn. hospitals caused 21 deaths, 178 serious injuries
The total number of deaths linked to adverse events in the 12 months ending in October was the highest since 2006.
'It's probably not going to be another COVID': U seeks to improve models ahead of next outbreak
Projects funded by a $17 million grant include studying human behavior to pinpoint how it affects an outbreak.
University of Minnesota gets $54 million federal grant to hasten medical treatments to Minnesotans
Grant required a U institute to reorganize research priorities around needs expressed by underserved communities.
Memorial Blood Centers expands LGTBQ donor opportunities
The change is based on federal guidance to consider blood donors by individual behaviors, not broad sexual orientation.
Federal labor ruling backs Mercy doctors' union vote
Doctors say the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic motivated the union drive to gain more control inside the hospital.
Child psychiatric bed shortage eased by PrairieCare expansion in Brooklyn Park
While more beds and services are needed, state leaders commended the investment in a healing space for children and teens.
Walz gets flu shot, promotes use of new COVID-19 booster
The governor said he believes the latest coronavirus vaccine will arrive this week in clinics and pharmacies across the state.
Minnesota seeks world's best cardiac arrest survival rate, and a big new grant could help
M Health Fairview will use the $10 million grant from Helmsley Charitable Trust to expand its heart-lung bypass capacity and broaden mobile outreach.
Pandemic still suppressing blood donations in Minnesota
Corporate and school blood drives have declined 63% when comparing 2019 to 2023, according to St. Paul-based Memorial Blood Centers.
Minnesota promotes tests, boosters to keep COVID levels from rising
Sampling shows less of the strain on which latest vaccines are based, but health officials believe the shots will still offer strong protection.
Record $25 million gift will help upgrade Abbott Northwestern surgery, critical care capabilities
Best Buy founder Richard Schulze is pivoting his foundation away from medical research and funding projects like Abbott that improve health care access.
What Minnesotans should know about the new COVID-19 vaccine
The updated shots could be available within days.
Lawsuit: Minnesota inmate died from COVID-19 because prison doctors didn't act
Complaint alleges that chronically ill grandfather never should have been sent to Faribault amid widespread prison outbreak.
Report shows whether your Minnesota clinic has improved or worsened since COVID-19
MN Community Measurement says clinics' scores for care goals for chronic conditions improved in 2022 but still lagged pre-pandemic performance.
18 charged by Minnesota AG in case of Medicaid caregiver fraud
A criminal complaint says a now-closed Twin Cities firm overbilled or provided substandard care.
Minnesota study links tear gas exposure with menstrual disruptions
Results from a nationwide survey are billed as a starting point for research on impact of chemical irritants on reproductive health.
Mayo: Vaccines offer benefit against severe long COVID symptoms
Protective benefit reported as COVID-19 levels remain low in Minnesota but tick back up to spring levels.
Allina cancels controversial policy that denied care to those with debts
Hospital and clinic provider makes change amid an Attorney General investigation into the collection practice.
University of Minnesota tests drug against deadly fungal infection
Successful trial offers hope of a new treatment against a growing problem worldwide.
Ellison confirms Allina Health debt collection probe, asks patients to share stories
The office is investigating Allina Health's debt collection practices and its now-suspended policy of denying non-emergency care to delinquent patients.
Minnesota halts court action against CSL Plasma for discriminating based on gender identity
Florida-based company satisfied conditions of state 2021 consent degree over bias in screening plasma donors.
Messaging with your Mayo doctor could soon cost you
Convenient option has become popular for patients, time-consuming for doctors in post-COVID era.
COVID-19 bump followed July 4th holiday in Minnesota
Intensive care COVID-19 cases rebound after reaching a low of one this summer, but remain low overall.
Allina primary care doctors set for historic union vote
Approval in an upcoming election would create the largest union of private sector clinicians in the nation, union says.
Minnesota considers new way to ease overcrowded hospitals: for-profit rehab beds
Increased state investment in nursing homes could address the problem, along with proposed Regency Hospital move into the east metro.
Minnesota child-care deaths have declined, but opportunities to save children are still missed
Brainerd death in 2019 underscores risks of overcrowded day cares that don't follow safe sleep guidance for infants.
Summer surge in opioid overdoses uncovered by Hennepin County tracking
Opioid-related medical problems have spiked in the winter elsewhere but are becoming more problematic each summer in the Twin Cities.
Check your mail: Foundation is paying off medical debts for 3,700 Minnesotans
Donor hopes to alleviate financial pressures for some Minnesotans, and alert others to their rights when they can't pay doctor bills.
Overcrowded hospitals gain financial relief from state
Funding requests obtained by the Star Tribune offer a rare look at the scope of hospital boarding in Minnesota.
County retains custody of child with cancer whose parents oppose chemo
Judge sides with oncologists who offered a "very bleak" prognosis without chemotherapy to keep leukemia from returning.
Minnesota COVID-19 deaths reach lowest count since start of pandemic
Epidemiologists keep watch for any uptick in pandemic activity following the July 4th holiday.
Source of northern Minnesota Legionnaires' outbreak a mystery
The bacterial infection is not caused by human-to-human transmission or drinking, but by aerosolized water.
Minnesota transplant centers seek to reduce delays, deaths through donor units
Federal report urges organ donor agencies to switch to procuring organs at special care units rather than in hospitals where patients die.
Study: Trendy weight-loss drugs could be a waste for Minnesotans, health plans
Most patients taking drugs such as Wegovy for weight loss discontinue usage within a year, according to Prime Therapeutics.
Could brain signals predict suicide? University of Minnesota researchers aim to find out
Project funded by Department of Defense seeks screening for mental health that works as well as the MRI for physical injuries.
Wait for Alzheimer's drug ends, but race for access begins
Minnesota medical providers expect it will take months before they can meet the drug's diagnostic and monitoring requirements to provide it to patients.
Fairview psych unit uses calming approach to help ease Minnesota's psychiatric bed crisis
Rare look inside M Health Fairview's EmPATH psychiatric unit shows calm environment that hastens treatment, reduces inpatient confinement.
Women traveling from other states fuel Minnesota abortion increase
The procedures jumped 20% last year, with the highest proportion of out-of-state patients since at least 1980.
Thousands of Minnesotans at risk of losing health insurance get a one-month reprieve
The state pushed back a deadline for Medicaid re-enrollment to Aug. 1.
Instead of a terror, kraken variant enabled COVID-19 decline in Minnesota
Hospitalization and death numbers continue to drop in Minnesota.
University of Minnesota achieves milestone in freezing organs before transplant
The success in freezing and thawing kidneys transplanted in rats could one day improve human organ transplants.
Minnesota clinics seeing more wheezing, struggling patients amid very unhealthy air
Delayed visits to clinics and emergency rooms anticipated even as air quality levels improve across Minnesota.
Attorney general shuts down Excelsior doctor's charity claims
Dr. Sean O'Mara agreed to a legal order but said he never took any money for a planned charity.
Donors moved by Glencoe woman's story help her pay medical bills, keep doctors
Stephanie Beesing's dilemma centered on a health system policy's of denying access to non-emergency care over unpaid debts.
Worker shortage starting to ease in Minnesota hospitals
Vacancy rate still remains above 17%, but hospital officials are hopeful that new recruitment and retention strategies are starting to work.
Minnesota woman with unpaid bills will lose doctors after she gives birth
Officials at Glencoe Regional Health maintain that policy is a last resort after numerous efforts to help patients pay, reduce debts. The fight shows that the denial of care to patients with unpaid debts is a practice that goes beyond one health care system in Minnesota.
Allina suspends policy that denied care to patients with large debts
Health system to increase awareness of financial options that could prevent patients with unpaid bills from losing access to clinics.
Common drug reduces long COVID, University of Minnesota study shows
Protection from metformin is even stronger among unvaccinated, women and younger adults, analysis shows.
Minneapolis VA seeks answers over vexing 'phantom' amputee pain
Mobile app under development to help veterans do home activities that reduce amputation-related pain.
Mayo unveils billion-dollar expansion in Rochester
The expansion involves several blocks downtown surrounding Mayo facilities, with a goal to streamline and modernize the campus.
An MRI capable of house calls? University of Minnesota testing concept
"Radical" shift in thinking about magnetic fields for diagnostic imaging produces portable, but still experimental, scanner.
Paralyzed patients can move again with nerve stimulation, HCMC clinical trial confirms
Car accident victim can move her legs after 23 years.
Attorney general urges Minnesotans hurt by hospital debt collection to contact his office
Keith Ellison responded to a New York Times story regarding Allina Health and its policy of cancelling appointments for patients with significant unpaid debts.
Paralyzed Minnesota veterans walk with help from robotic exoskeleton
The SoldierStrong donation increases physical therapy capacity and exercise options at Minneapolis VA Medical Center.
Missing teen's body found in St. Croix River
"Part of me did hope that this wasn't real, but I also knew that it was," his mother said.
