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One of the deadly wildfires spreading rapidly in Northern California was started during a gender reveal party, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (Cal Fire) said in a press release.

The El Dorado Fire, burning near Oak Glen in San Bernardino County, was started on Saturday at 10:23 a.m. “by a smoke generating pyrotechnic device” that was used during the party, the press release said.

Since Saturday, the fire has spread north from the El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa on to Yucapia Ridge. Only five percent of the fire has been contained.

Cal Fire officials reminded residents that “those responsible for starting fires due to negligence or illegal activity can be held financially or criminally responsible.”

According to the Cal Fire incident website, the flames have burned at least 7,050 acres. Evacuation orders are in place for the communities of Oak Glen, Yucaipa Ridge, Mountain Home Village and Forest Falls.

Over 500 personnel have been deployed to the fire, including four helicopters, 10 water tenders, and 60 engines, the website said.

San Bernardino National Forest said on Twitter that overnight weather is expected to remain hot and dry with a relative humidity at 20 percent, while winds will remain downslope at three to five mph. with gusts of wind up to 10 mph.

A Pennsylvania hospital and its supervising radiologist have been ordered to pay $10.83 million after a former patient experienced a devastating allergic reaction to gadolinium during an MRI exam.

A Blair County jury deliberated for two and a half hours Tuesday before reaching the unanimous decision this week. About $6.2 million of the payout will cover 45-year-old Christopher Carey Miller’s care over the next 30 years, while the remainder will go toward lost earnings, pain and suffering, the Altoona Mirror reported Thursday.

“This trial and the verdict prove that jury trials can safely resume,” Miller’s attorney Brendan Lupetin said following the decision, claiming it was one of the largest in the county’s history. “The verdict also proves that if doctors or hospitals are negligent and hurt patients, they won’t get a pass just because of the pandemic.”

A spokeswoman for Tyrone Hospital declined to comment when reached by Radiology Business Thursday.

It was back in October of 2016 that Miller first visited the institution—located in Central Pennsylvania, about two hours east of Pittsburgh—for lower back pain. Providers administered an MRI exam using gadolinium. But the patient suffered an allergic reaction, went into cardiac arrest and suffered brain damage leaving him with the mental faculties of a child, the Mirror reported.

Tyrone Hospital did not have a drug box with epinephrine, nor an alarm in the imaging suite. MRI tech Sherry Piper told jurors she ran to the control room 60 feet away to sound the alert and yelled for help down the hallway. Supervising radiologist Kelly Biggs reportedly responded and grabbed an emergency doc to help and eventually the patient was transferred to the emergency department.

The jury assigned 75% of the payout to the hospital while Biggs is reportedly on the hook for the other 25%. An attorney representing the provider did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Read more about the verdict below.

Jury awards $10.83M in T

Even as Hurricane Laura bore down on a hospital in Lake Charles, Louisiana, someone had to watch the babies.

Winds howled, water leaked through windows and the generators kicked on at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital. Despite it all, the NICU staff kept all 19 of its babies safe through the Category 4 storm.

“It’s important to know the dedication of all the nurses and the respiratory therapists to keep taking care of the babies when they don’t even know the condition of their homes,” Dr. Juan Bossano told CNN on Thursday. “In a small town like this, people have to pull together. I’m proud of them.”

The residents of Lake Charles knew the hurricane was headed for their city, with mandatory evacuation order in place. The city got some of the worst of the storm, with an hour of 120-135 mph wind gusts as the eyewall crossed, according to the National Weather Service.

Bossano and a team of 14 nurses, 2 neonatal nurse practitioners and 3 respiratory therapists hunkered down in the NICU all night, he said. Two teams took shifts caring for the little angels, the staff trying to get some sleep when they could.

The staff had their hands full, said Bossano, who has been a neonatologist for more than 30 years.
Some of the babies were on respirators and ventilators, some as small as one or two pounds, Bossano said. Some of them were born premature at just 23 weeks.
There was no air conditioning and in the middle of the night, the water went out in the hospital.

SAN DIEGO — The pandemic has forced many families to sacrifice connections with loved ones who live in nursing homes and care facilities. As we head into month five of no visitors allowed, there’s growing concern over the rapid decline in health for some.

The family of 88-year-old Peggy Wall shared two photos that show the stark change in her appearance. One was taken just prior to the pandemic; the other was taken a couple of weeks ago. Peggy’s battle during the pandemic is not with COVID-19. Her family said she is suffering from isolation and loneliness.

“It just feels like you’re seeing them disappear before your eyes and there’s nothing you can do about it,” said Peggy’s son, Tim Wall, who shared his concerns with New 8’s sister station WFMY-TV in Greensboro, North Carolina.

He hasn’t seen his mom in four months.

“The isolation really is worse than the virus,” he said.

Peggy has Alzheimer’s disease and is living in a nursing home in Kernersville, North Carolina.

“I know their hands are tied. They have to do what the governor has mandated, but its not a holistic approach. It’s a warehouse; they’re fed and watered,” Tim said.

He held back tears as he talked about the precious time he has lost with his mom.

“Time is not your friend, you have to live in the moment,” Tim said. “And we’ve lost so many moments. During this time. And just trying to figure out what more can I do.”

Tim isn’t alone.

Loved ones have said window visits just aren’t the same as hugs, holding hands and face-to-face interaction. With no end in sight to the pandemic, concern from family members is growing nationwide with people pleading with nursing homes to allow them in if they test negative for COVID-19, wear PPE, or do whatever is asked to be able to be physically present.

One family member explained her perspective: “The staff is going home to their lives at the end of their shifts each day. How is that any different than me visiting if I am adhering to the same safety guidelines?”

“For a lot of these patients it’s a matter of life and death so the conversation has to be had and it has to be heard,” said Priscilla Jean-Louis, whose mother has dementia.

“What you’re seeing is a decline, a quick decline in the health of these family members,” she said. “They’re not dying from COVID, they’re dying from isolation.”

There’s an effort to bring awareness to the concern. The White House has established a new Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes. Some advocacy groups plan to send suggestions there, which include allowing outdoor visits and wearing protective gear.

Jean-Louis is using her platform as a blogger to bring in mental health professionals and an organization pushing for solutions from the Federal Nursing Home Commission for COVID-19.

Meantime, if you or someone you know has Alzheimer’s or dementia and are in need of resources or advice, or even a virtual friend to do a Zoom or FaceTime visit with, call Alzheimer’s San Diego at 858-492-4400. The nonprofit has social workers who are available to help and all services are free.

A black medical student has created a handbook for future doctors to help them recognise conditions on darker skin after only being taught how to diagnose white patients.

Malone Mukwende, a second year student at St George’s, University of London, wrote Mind the Gap, to help other medics recognise potentially life-threatening diseases on BAME people.

The book contains side-by-side images showing how illnesses appear on light and dark skin, as well as telling doctors language which is appropriate to use with patients.

Speaking to the British Medical Journal, Mr Mukwende said: ‘On arrival at medical school I noticed a lack of teaching about darker skin.

A university spokesperson said: ‘It was agreed that this was a very important issue and an essential part of decolonizing the curriculum.’

They point to Kawasaki disease, a rare condition that mainly affects children under the age of five.

It’s characteristic symptoms include a rash, swollen glands, dry or cracked lips, red fingers or toes and red eyes.

On white skin, this appears as a red blotchy rash, but it’s much harder to spot on darker skin.

The staff of Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, New York, got a well-deserved surprise Friday morning at its weekly staff call.

ABC News got a first look as the heads of Hyatt Hotels Corporation and American Airlines joined the call to announce that the entire 4,000-person staff — doctors, nurses, facilities and food service workers — will be receiving a complimentary vacation as thanks for their service in the fight against COVID-19.

“It’s beyond deeply meaningful to me,” said Mamie McIndoe, associate director of patient experience at Elmhurst Hospital, adding, “We worked very hard — tirelessly — the whole team for these seven weeks and it’s just amazing.”

Cheers of “Elmhurst Strong” rang out as workers at the heart of New York City’s COVID-19 response were gifted trips to select destinations in the U.S. and the Caribbean.

Elmhurst Hospital, part of the public NYC Health and Hospitals system increased the facilities’ intensive care unit capacity by 500% as it dealt with the pandemic. The hospital was called “the center of this crisis” by the city’s health department in late March. New York City has been the epicenter of the crisis in America with more than 19,600 confirmed and probable deaths.

The hard-hit hospital’s front-line workers will be getting a three-night complimentary vacation for them and a loved one.

“The amazing healthcare professionals at Elmhurst Hospital have cared for so many members of our collective community. In many ways they’ve put their lives on hold so that they could extend themselves to care for others,” Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt president and CEO, told ABC News.

Dr. Laura Iavicoli, who works in emergency medicine at the hospital, added, “Everybody cannot be more thankful. It is a beyond beyond amazing thing they have done for us.”

“Every worker at Elmhurst has seen and experienced challenges many of us cannot imagine. They’ve given so much of themselves and chose to serve their community with care, compassion and equity for every patient,” Robert Isom, the president of American Airlines, said in a statement.

This is the largest flight count ever provided to an organization by the airline, the company said.

“I haven’t seen my daughter and family in seven weeks,” a staff member said, adding that he looked forward to the vacation after helping to fight through the virus.

Hyatt has also announced that it will be extending the friends and family rate to health care workers worldwide through June 2021.

The virus that causes COVID-19 can be found in semen, Chinese researchers report in a small study that doesn’t address whether sexual transmission is possible.

Doctors detected the virus in semen from six of 38 men hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Four were still very sick with the disease while two were recovering.

The report from Shangqiu Municipal Hospital in China was published Thursday in JAMA Network Open.

There was no long-term follow-up, so it is not known how long the virus may remain in semen or if men can spread it to their partners during sex.

The results contrast with a study of 34 Chinese men with COVID-19 published last month in the journal Fertility and Sterility. U.S. and Chinese researchers found no evidence of virus in semen tested between eight days and almost three months after diagnosis.

Dr. John Hotaling of the University of Utah, co-author of that report, said the new study involved much sicker men, most with active disease.

Authorities believe the coronavirus mainly spreads from droplets produced when infected people cough, which are inhaled by people nearby.

Some studies have reported finding the virus in blood, feces and tears or other fluid from COVID-19 patients with inflammation in their eyes.

Evidence suggesting that other infectious viruses including Zika and Ebola may be sexually transmitted has prompted questions about the coronavirus.

Hotaling said it’s an important public health concern but that more research is needed to provide a definitive answer.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine said the new study shouldn’t be cause for alarm. To be safe, though, “it may be wise to avoid sexual contact with men until they are 14 days without symptoms,” Dr. Peter Schlegel, the group’s immediate past president, said in a statement.

Unlike those who can work from home, healthcare workers must report in person for duty. And while all of them have dangerous jobs right now, some are more dangerous than others.

Many individuals have been practicing social distancing by working from home in recent weeks. While this arrangement can be a great way to reduce one’s exposure to COVID-19, it’s a luxury that’s available to just 29% of Americans.

The situation for the remaining 71% is uncertain, to say the least. A significant portion of the population has lost their jobs due to business shutdowns and mandated lockdown orders. Others employed in “essential services” have continued working as usual, but may face a higher risk of potential exposure to the virus.

To that end, today’s infographic leverages data from the Occupational Information Network to determine which occupations face the highest risk of exposure to COVID-19.

Many individuals have been practicing social distancing by working from home in recent weeks. While this arrangement can be a great way to reduce one’s exposure to COVID-19, it’s a luxury that’s available to just 29% of Americans.

The situation for the remaining 71% is uncertain, to say the least. A significant portion of the population has lost their jobs due to business shutdowns and mandated lockdown orders. Others employed in “essential services” have continued working as usual, but may face a higher risk of potential exposure to the virus.

To that end, today’s infographic leverages data from the Occupational Information Network to determine which occupations face the highest risk of exposure to COVID-19.

More than 40 employees lived at a Pennsylvania manufacturing plant for nearly a month to ensure that material needed to make much-needed medical gear was produced.

Braskem America says the team of workers volunteered to live on-site at their plant near Philadelphia for a 28-day rotation. The team recently went home to their families after eating, sleeping and living at the facility.

Joe Boyce, operations shift supervisor at the plant, told WPVI that the group was split into two 12-hour shifts and their only outside contact was through TV or the occasional drive-by from family members.

The workers spent their time producing polypropylene, a raw material used to produce a non-woven fiber used to make N95 masks, hospital gowns and sanitary wipes. The protective medical gear is direly needed as healthcare workers combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re truly honored to be able to give back and support people we will never meet in some way,” Boyce told WPVI.

Braskem says it also has teams working similar rotations at other facilities in Texas and West Virginia.

The company says it’s supporting its employees with enhanced compensation, on-site kitchens and supplies to sustain the teams as they to operate the facilities in isolation.

To protect the workers, Braskem says it has deployed stringent facility cleaning protocols, social distancing practices and restrictions on plant visitation.

Mark Nikolich, the CEO of Braskem America, said in a statement that the company’s commitment to meeting the needs of medical manufacturers has never been stronger.

“We have deployed a range of measures across our manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia to secure the supply of essential grades of polypropylene polymers for the production of respiratory masks, protective medical gowns and other gear,” said Nikolich. “In parallel, we have positioned ‘live-in’ manufacturing teams operating in isolation at key facilities, among other measures, to help ensure the health and safety of our team members who are working as an essential service throughout this crisis to keep these key supply lines running.”