Council OKs Merkley as director of city’s Office of Public Health and Safety
Andrew Merkley, administrator for the Division of Homelessness Policy and Eviction Prevention, has worked in the Indianapolis Office of Public Health and Safety since 2020.
Public Health
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Inspectors find unsanitary conditions at Boar’s Head plant in Indiana
The U.S. Agriculture Department released the inspection records that documented unsanitary conditions at several Boar’s Head deli meat plants, not just the factory that was shut down after a deadly outbreak of listeria poisoning.
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Steer-In restaurant eyes reopening after health department shutdown
A customer’s sighting of a mouse in Steer-In’s dining room led to a call to the health department, restaurant co-owner Casey Kehrer said.
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Author John Green’s current chapter is focused on a healthier human race
Green’s new journey to becoming a leading advocate for wiping out tuberculosis worldwide has its roots in another of his philanthropic interests: the health of mothers and infants in Sierra Leone.
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Indiana House pushes Senate to adopt increased cigarette tax
Discussion about a higher cigarette tax came as the House Ways and Means Committee, the powerful budget-drafters of the chamber, considered bills that address mental health and public health.
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Articles
Falls by seniors a significant contributor to health care costs, Butler analysis finds
The analysis—conducted and presented by Butler University students—was the winning entry into the recent Total Cost of Care Data Challenge contest.
Indiana joins growing list of states with 3 or more cases of measles
The United States has experienced more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024.
Trump administration to pull back $11B in COVID funding from local health departments
The Department of Health and Human Services said it would “no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.”
U.S. reverses plan to shut down free COVID test program
Internal documents show that officials at HHS had been considering whether to continue the program or dispose of millions of tests.
Trump casts psychiatric and weight-loss drugs as threats to children
President Donald Trump has instructed his administration to scrutinize the “threat” to children posed by antidepressants, stimulants and other common psychiatric drugs.
Norovirus: What to know about rising outbreaks of the gastrointestinal ailment
Cases of the illness known as norovirus—which induces miserable bouts of vomiting and diarrhea—are surging across the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
McDonald’s Quarter Pounder back on menu after testing rules out beef patties as E. coli source
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to believe that slivered onions from a single supplier are the likely source of contamination, McDonald’s said in a statement.
Fast food chains remove onions from menus amid E. Coli outbreak
The removal of onions comes amid a federal investigation into the E. coli outbreak, which has sickened 49 people in 10 states, including one person who died.
E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders in 10 states
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 49 people, including one person who has died. Slivered onions are a likely source of contamination, the agency said.
New Indy Health District aims to make five historic neighborhoods healthier
IU Health is joining forces with other anchor institutions on the northern edge of downtown—including The Children’s Museum, Ivy Tech Community College and Citizens Energy Group—to form what they are calling the Indy Health District.
Indiana Chief Justice Rush says state must improve in regard to mental health
Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush said Indiana’s judges have made progress but still have work to do when it comes to handling mental health crises and drug addiction.
Teen vaping hits 10-year low in United States
FDA officials noted that the drop in vaping didn’t coincide with a rise in other tobacco industry products, such as nicotine pouches, which have surged in use among adults.
Boar’s Head expands recall to include 7M more pounds of deli meats
The recalls are tied to an ongoing outbreak of listeria poisoning that has killed two people and sickened nearly three dozen in 13 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Recall of Boar’s Head deli meats announced during investigation of listeria outbreak
In central Indiana, Boar’s Head products are sold at Kroger, Needler’s Fresh Market and Fresh Thyme.
Marion County health care agencies plan east-side investments
This summer, the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County will break ground on a multiyear, $170 million facilities improvement plan—the largest investment in the agency’s structures in decades—beginning with a new public health lab.
Fewer U.S., Indiana overdose deaths reported last year, but experts cautious
Prescription painkillers once drove the nation’s overdose epidemic, but they were supplanted years ago by heroin and more recently by illegal fentanyl.
Indiana AG Todd Rokita alleges inflated COVID-19 stats
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita accused public health entities across the state of submitting “faulty” and “unsound” data when it came to COVID-19’s death toll and positivity rate.
Study says U.S. maternal death rate crisis is really case of bad data
A new study calls into question the extent of the maternal mortality crisis in the United States, which has long posted a disproportionately high rate of maternal deaths compared with peer nations.
Eskenazi Health raising $60M to close health gaps
In March, Eskenazi Health launched a fundraising campaign to help it move the needle on health disparities. As of last month, its foundation had raised $57 million.