Friday |
Surge of several hundred cases of polio likely circulating in New York
 | | The CDC has detected a polio case in New York in the last month, which could indicate up to several hundred cases within the community. A 20-year-old man in Rockland County developed symptoms of polio in late July. He was unvaccinated, and no other cases have been reported yet. Rockland County is historically a vaccine-resistant area, where the polio … |
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Intermountain Healthcare announces CEO leadership transition
 | | Intermountain Healthcare has announced that Marc Harrison, MD, will be transitioning this fall from his leadership role as president and CEO for the organization, a position he has held since 2016. Dr. Harrison has accepted a leadership position to run a healthcare platform business for General Catalyst. “Marc has helped spur innovation across … |
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GOJO keeps up with healthcare demands through supply resiliency
 | | As a category leader in hand hygiene, sustainability, and manufacturing, GOJO is committed to being a resilient, trusted supplier. The family enterprise has recently activated a new manufacturing and supply chain strategy that will meet customers’ needs even during periods of high demand. By adding more than 3 million square feet of supply chain capacity, GOJO … |
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Johns Hopkins offers new free virtual course on infectious disease transmission
 | | The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health today launched a free online course, Infectious Disease Transmission Models for Decision Makers.The three-hour course focuses on infectious disease transmission models—how they work, their types and functions, and how they can be used responsibly to inform public health policy decisions. The … |
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CVS plans bid on Signify Health
 | | CVS Health is looking to buy Signify Health to help expand their in-home health services. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Signify Health is working with bankers to explore strategic alternatives, including a potential sale. The initial bids are due in the next week, and CVS is reportedly planning to enter one. Signify Health uses … |
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New survey finds ambulatory surgery centers become must-have for hospitals
 | | The latest national survey commissioned by Avanza Healthcare Strategies, a leading expert on ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and outpatient services, found most hospitals and health systems are planning to increase investments in ASCs. This fourth annual survey of senior healthcare executives and clinical leaders, available here, provides … |
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Motient appoints new VP of Business Development
 | | Motient, a pioneer in patient movement solutions, announced that healthcare veteran Brian Miller has joined its executive team as vice president of Business Development. In this role, Miller will be responsible for furthering the company's sales performance momentum for its web-based Mission Control platform, which helps hospitals and health systems … |
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Researchers implement a standardized shunt infection prevention bundle within the adult population
 | | Researchers at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, investigated the implementation of a standardized shunt infection prevention bundle, a set of evidence-based practices termed the Calgary Adult Shunt Infection Prevention Protocol (CASIPP) to prevent ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt infections within an adult hydrocephalus patient population. The initial … |
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Weird News: A hawk named Pac-Man becomes key to California train stations pigeon problem

 | | A transit station in the California Bay Area had become overrun with pigeons – they were perching on every conceivable surface, leaving droppings everywhere, and multiplying by the dozens. The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) hired Ricky Ortiz and Pac-Man, a Harris’s hawk, to help scatter pigeons away from the El Cerrito del Norte station in San Fransisco.
BART told NPR that it “has tried plenty of pigeon-removal tactics over the years, from installing bird-repellent spikes and netting to bringing in owl statues and experimenting with noise.” BART spokesperson Chris Filippi explained that the station set out to explore yet another option in response to concerns raised by riders, many of whom were returning to trains for the first time since the pandemic.
"What we have here is a really new approach that's only been around for a couple of months now, and it's been highly effective," Filippi says. "We're really impressed with the impact it's having." Pac-Man's very presence is what’s driving pigeons away, as they are “innately fearful” when they sense predators nearby. Ortiz explained that even in some cases, Pac-Man has to chase the pigeons, in which case “they learn really quick that it’s not a safe to hang out.”
According to Ortiz and Alaverdian, a master falconer who’s been in the industry for years, the Harris’s hawk is perfectly adept to an environment that would normally rattle other species of hawk – loud noises of the trains, large groups of people filing in and out – “because of their social nature.”
Alaverdian said, “They are the perfect and most adaptable species to take on this kind of relationship that we have with these birds — in tight places, in public, with noises [and] trains coming and going and so on and so forth.”
Source: NPR |
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