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In January 2016, the LAFD launched its first Nurse Practitioner Response Unit (NPRU), which was christened in South L.A.—taking for its home Fire Station 64 in Watts, one of the busiest and toughest EMS jurisdictions in the country. This station houses the LAFD’s Battalion 13 which has a scarcity of healthcare providers compared to other sectors of the city and contributes to many residents without access to a doctor using 9-1-1.

From 2012–2015, EMS volume in this jurisdiction increased 39%—accounting for 35% of the LAFD’s citywide growth—and the majority of this growth was for low-acuity calls. Battalion 13 also contained the largest number of housed adult frequent 9-1-1 users, and was the second-fastest-growing sector of the city for police placement of involuntary mental health holds. The NPRU was initially funded by an Innovation Grant from the City of Los Angeles, and in July 2016 was folded into the regular LAFD budget.

The NPRU is a converted ambulance with CLIA-waived point-of-care testing capabilities through use of the i-STAT System, a next-generation Sonosite iViz ultrasound and ED materials facilitating immediate treatment of patients with low-acuity medical complaints. It’s staffed on a four-day, 10-hour-per-day schedule by Terrance Ito, DNP, FNP-BC, an NP with both prehospital and L.A. County ED experience, and Aaron Guggenheim, MPH, NRP, a firefighter/paramedic with broad prehospital experience and a public health degree. Together they offer a unique skill set bringing enhanced clinical expertise, diagnostic tools and network capability directly to the patient.

The mission of the NPRU is threefold:

• Mobile urgent care offering immediate on-scene evaluation, treatment and release of low-acuity 9-1-1 callers with primary or urgent care complaints;
• Comprehensive assessment of 9-1-1 super-users, and linkage to follow-up care, including being visited by a social worker within 24 hours; and,
• On-scene medical clearance of select mental health patients, with the option of direct transport to a psychiatric urgent care facility.

All patients receive the appropriate complement of response resources based on the dispatch code; however, in addition, the NPRU may either electively buy into the incident while monitoring radio traffic or be summoned on-scene by other responding units. Frequent users can be referred at any time by LAFD field units, and after an on-scene consent and screening process by the NPRU, the individual is referred to Partners in Care—an award-winning social service organization providing close follow-up and linkage to both medical and nonmedical resources.

AARP estimates that about 23 million Americans take care of their elderly parents. But when it comes to finding a place for mom and dad to live during their golden years, nursing homes might not make the most sense from a financial standpoint in the long run — plus, letting an aging parent live alone may cause anxiety and guilt for some families. And while some adult children are willing to welcome grandma or grandpa into their own homes with open arms, others might not have the space. What to do?

Allow us to introduce you to the “Granny Pod.” Also known as the MEDCottage, the tiny home is essentially a portable hospital room designed by a Blacksburg, VA company, with help from Virginia Tech. Think of it as sort of a guest house with lots of high-tech medical extras. MEDCottages are pre-fabricated and designed to be installed in the backyard behind the main home (zoning laws permitting, of course).

The small dwelling is hooked up to the main home’s existing sewer, water and power lines. Standard safety features include hand railings, defibrillators, first aid supplies, lighted floorboards and a soft floor to minimize damage from falls. The cost? All of this will run you between $85,000 to $125,000.

A so-called Granny Pod can be compared to a bungalow from the outside, and a nice hotel suite on the inside with room for a bed, living room space, kitchenette and bathroom. The cottage is about 12 by 24 feet — essentially the size of a spacious master bedroom. Double French doors add an attractive touch, and also accommodate a wheelchair and hospital equipment, if needed. There are three styles: MedCottage, Classic and Grand.

MEDCottages have gotten mixed reviews, with some noting that the dwellings could cause problems with neighbors or be seen as putting an aging parent “in storage,” but others find that it’s a practical luxury to have mom close by in a cozy cottage.

Flight attendants make their living flying… but few could be considered angels like Shelia Frederick. On a flight in 2011, she was one for a teenage girl.

“Something in the back of my mind said, ‘Something is not right,'” Frederick said.

Frederick said the girl wouldn’t look at her or respond to questions; the man she was flying with answered everything.

“He was well dressed, that’s what kind of got me, because why is he well dressed and she is looking disheveled and out of sorts,” Frederick said.

Frederick was able to tell the girl under her breath to go to the bathroom. The veteran flight attendant put a note on the mirror for her.

“She wrote on the note she needed help,” Frederick said.

Frederick notified the pilot, who alerted police. She had just saved a teenage girl from being a victim of human trafficking.

“I’ve been a flight attendant for 10 years and it’s like — I am going all the way back to when I was in training — and I was like, ‘I could have seen these young girls and young boys and didn’t even know,'” Frederick said.

Already astute observers, flight attendants are now being trained to spot the signs for human trafficking. Signs like someone who appears to be being controlled, who is bruised or battered or someone who won’t answer questions or make eye contact.

“If you see something, say something,” Frederick said.

More eyes on the lookout appear to be working. The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) says Florida received 1,892 reports of human trafficking, a 54 percent increase from the previous year. The increase in reported allegations of human trafficking is being credited in large part to increased training.

The DCF tracks human trafficking by three primary categories: sexual exploitation by a non-caregiver, such as an adult club or escort service; sexual exploitation by a parent, guardian or caregiver; and labor trafficking.

As for the teen Frederick saved, she has talked with her a few times over the years.

“I put my phone number on the note that I left for her and I guess she memorized it, so a few weeks later, she called me,” Frederick said.

A mile high mercy for the teen, who Frederick says is now attending college.

Two babies given an experimental kind of edited T-cells to treat their leukemia remain in remission after more than a year, doctors working on the case report in a paper published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The research team is affiliated with several institutions in the U.K.

The cells used to treat the two babies were part of a modified form of CAR-T cell therapy, in which a virus is used to edit a gene in an immune cell taken from the patient to cause it to attack cancer cells—once ready, it is injected back into the patient. This approach has been found to be quite successful in a number of children, but is not nearly as applicable to sick infants with low numbers of healthy immune cells. In this new effort, the researchers started with immune cells from a donor and then modified them in several important ways.

The first change was to disable the gene responsible for causing the immune system to attack the donated cell after recognizing it as a foreign body. Another change caused the edited cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. A third change was part of an effort to offset the likelihood of the recipient developing graft-versus-host disease.
The first recipient of the experimental cells was an 11-month-old girl who received her edited cells in June of 2015—she was followed by a 16-month-old child who was injected in December of 2015. Both of the girls also underwent chemotherapy.

They also received bone marrow transplants after a period of time to restore their immune systems and to flush the edited cells from their bodies. One of the babies developed graft-host disease despite the gene change, which was promptly resolved with treatment. Both girls are now home with their families and are reportedly in good health.

The treatment was experimental, which means it has not been approved for use by governmental agencies—it was only allowed in this case because all other options had been exhausted. Trials of various forms of CAR-T cell therapy are ongoing, some of which have shown great promise, suggesting that some may be approved soon.

In his first television interview since taking office, President Donald Trump said the construction of a wall at the United States-Mexico border will begin “within months.”

ABC News published an excerpt from the interview on Wednesday morning. Trump’s full sit-down with anchor David Muir will air as a primetime special on Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET.

When asked when construction would begin, Trump replied, “as soon as we can, as soon as we can physically do it.”

“I would say in months,” the president added. “Certainly planning is starting immediately.”

Trump also admitted U.S. taxpayers would foot the cost of the wall and Mexico would pay the U.S. back “100%.” Exactly what form that reimbursement would be was unclear.

A 25-year-old Mancelona woman who was brought to Munson Medical Center by ambulance to be treated for injuries suffered in a domestic fight in Antrim County is accused of punching a nurse and resisting arrest after she ran from the hospital.

Traverse City police were called after the woman assaulted a male emergency room nurse and bolted from Munson with security guards in tow, says Capt. Kevin Dunklow.

Police found the woman at the intersection of Sixth and Division street at 3:36pm Jan. 21. The woman ran and then struggled with officers as they placed her under arrest.

An Intermountain Life Flight paramedic was killed and a nurse seriously injured in a head-on automobile crash Sunday morning near Strawberry Reservoir.

The victim was identified as Tyson L. Mason, 29, of Plain City, a firefighter/paramedic for the Salt Lake City Fire Department who also worked part time for Life Flight. The identity of the nurse has not been released.

Fire Chief Karl Lieb described Mason, who is survived by his wife, Haileigh, and their 1-week-old son, as a talented paramedic and devoted husband.

Mason and the nurse were returning to Salt Lake City from Roosevelt after completing a shift at the Life Flight base at the Uintah Basin Medical Center, according to Jess Gomez, spokesman for Intermountain Life Flight.

Members of a Life Flight team sent to the crash site on U.S. 40 first learned their colleagues were involved when they arrived, Gomez said.

“As you can imagine, it was a shock,” he said.

As a show of respect for their colleagues and as part of safety protocols, Intermountain Life Flight’s teams in northern Utah that respond to emergencies involving adults will not fly or transport patients for 24 hours, Gomez said.

Other agencies and air transport services will fill in, he said. Teams that deal with newborn and pediatric calls will continue in service.

Counselors are being made available to Intermountain Healthcare employees, Gomez said.

The crash occurred at about 9:47 a.m. when the driver of a pickup truck going east on U.S. 40 was passing an Impala in a passing lane, according to a news release from the Utah Highway Patrol.

The Impala left the travel lane and sideswiped the pickup, forcing it into the westbound lane, the release says. The pickup hit a Subaru passenger car being driven west by Mason.

“This is a tragedy to lose a member of the Intermountain Healthcare and Life Flight family,” Gomez said. “Our hearts and prayers go out to their families, friends and colleagues for this devastating loss.”

Elephants in India are sporting colourful woollen jumpers after villagers knitted the super-size garments to protect the animals from near-freezing temperatures, the Independent reported.

Women in a village near the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in the northern city of Mathura reportedly began producing the colourful, pyjama-like garments after staff at the centre warned temperatures were approaching sub-zero at night.

The conservation centre takes in rescued elephants who have previously suffered chronic neglect and beatings from cruel handlers.

Kartick Satyanarayan, founder of the centre, said it was important to protect the formerly abused elephants from the cold.

The centre currently houses 20 elephants that have been rescued from illegal captivity, trafficking mafia, exploited for street begging and circuses where they were abused and subjected to extreme cruelty.

Staff have plans to rescue a further 50 elephants in 2017, with hopes to secure more land to expand the sanctuary.

Elephants, many of whom have suffered serious abuse in the past, photographed wearing the knitted multi-coloured, pyjama-like garments knitted by local villagers.

PORT ARTHUR, Texas – A 68-year-old Port Arthur woman is under arrest after she allegedly assaulted a nurse.
In court documents, investigators say Virginia Salsgiver was drunk when she was brought into the Southeast Texas Medical Center.
A nurse was trying to clean Salsgiver, because she had defecated on herself.

The nurse told police that Salsgiver became aggressive and took her hand – covered in feces – and jabbed her finger in the nurse’s eye.
The incident broke a blood vessel and scratched the nurse’s eye.
The nurse immediately started taking antibiotics.
Salsgiver is charged with third-degree felony assault.