Public Policy & NGOs
Here's a look at documents from public policy and non-governmental organizations
Featured Stories
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce: Report Highlights Manufacturing Credit's Role in Wisconsin Job Growth
MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 29 (TNSrpt) -- Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce issued the following news release:
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September 28, 2026
New Report Highlights Manufacturing Credit's Role in Wisconsin Job Growth
MADISON -- Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) today highlighted findings from a new University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy (CROWE) report showing the Manufacturing & Agriculture Tax Credit (MAC) helped strengthen Wisconsin's manufacturing competitiveness and support job growth over the past decade.
The report found Wisconsin outperformed ... Show Full Article MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 29 (TNSrpt) -- Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce issued the following news release: * * * September 28, 2026 New Report Highlights Manufacturing Credit's Role in Wisconsin Job Growth MADISON -- Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) today highlighted findings from a new University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy (CROWE) report showing the Manufacturing & Agriculture Tax Credit (MAC) helped strengthen Wisconsin's manufacturing competitiveness and support job growth over the past decade. The report found Wisconsin outperformedneighboring states in manufacturing job growth following implementation of the MAC, estimating the state has nearly 12,000 more manufacturing jobs than it otherwise would have had without the credit.
"The MAC, the state's most effective tool for supporting manufacturing growth and job creation, is critical to Wisconsin's future because the manufacturing industry delivers outsized benefits to workers, families, communities, and the broader economy," said WMC President/ CEO Kurt R. Bauer. "Manufacturers of all sizes across the state use the MAC to purchase new equipment, expand operations, and, most importantly, reinvest in employees and hire new workers, all of which stimulate Wisconsin's economy."
As the state's largest economic sector, manufacturing generated nearly $74 billion in economic output last year, including $46.4 billion in wages and benefits for workers. Wisconsin ranks first in the nation for manufacturing employment per capita, with one in six residents employed in the industry.
Despite the credit's success, progressive Wisconsin politicians, including gubernatorial candidate David Crowley and Gov. Tony Evers, have repeatedly attempted to eliminate or weaken the MAC.
"At a time when Wisconsin families are struggling to make ends meet and affordability is top of mind, it's frankly baffling that the leaders of the state's progressive political movement are advocating for the elimination of a policy proven to create and retain family-supporting careers," Bauer continued. "The MAC creates opportunities, strengthens communities, and grows the economy. Eliminating it would punish workers, families, and Wisconsin's economic future."
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REPORT: https://crowe.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/633/2026/09/MAC_After_a_Decade.pdf
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Original text here: https://www.wmc.org/press-releases/new-report-highlights-manufacturing-credits-role-in-wisconsin-job-growth/
[Category: Business]
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September 28, 2026
New Report Highlights Manufacturing Credit's Role in Wisconsin Job Growth
MADISON -- Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) today highlighted findings from a new University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy (CROWE) report showing the Manufacturing & Agriculture Tax Credit (MAC) helped strengthen Wisconsin's manufacturing competitiveness and support job growth over the past decade.
The report found Wisconsin outperformed ... Show Full Article MADISON, Wisconsin, Sept. 29 (TNSrpt) -- Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce issued the following news release: * * * September 28, 2026 New Report Highlights Manufacturing Credit's Role in Wisconsin Job Growth MADISON -- Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) today highlighted findings from a new University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy (CROWE) report showing the Manufacturing & Agriculture Tax Credit (MAC) helped strengthen Wisconsin's manufacturing competitiveness and support job growth over the past decade. The report found Wisconsin outperformedneighboring states in manufacturing job growth following implementation of the MAC, estimating the state has nearly 12,000 more manufacturing jobs than it otherwise would have had without the credit.
"The MAC, the state's most effective tool for supporting manufacturing growth and job creation, is critical to Wisconsin's future because the manufacturing industry delivers outsized benefits to workers, families, communities, and the broader economy," said WMC President/ CEO Kurt R. Bauer. "Manufacturers of all sizes across the state use the MAC to purchase new equipment, expand operations, and, most importantly, reinvest in employees and hire new workers, all of which stimulate Wisconsin's economy."
As the state's largest economic sector, manufacturing generated nearly $74 billion in economic output last year, including $46.4 billion in wages and benefits for workers. Wisconsin ranks first in the nation for manufacturing employment per capita, with one in six residents employed in the industry.
Despite the credit's success, progressive Wisconsin politicians, including gubernatorial candidate David Crowley and Gov. Tony Evers, have repeatedly attempted to eliminate or weaken the MAC.
"At a time when Wisconsin families are struggling to make ends meet and affordability is top of mind, it's frankly baffling that the leaders of the state's progressive political movement are advocating for the elimination of a policy proven to create and retain family-supporting careers," Bauer continued. "The MAC creates opportunities, strengthens communities, and grows the economy. Eliminating it would punish workers, families, and Wisconsin's economic future."
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REPORT: https://crowe.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/633/2026/09/MAC_After_a_Decade.pdf
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Original text here: https://www.wmc.org/press-releases/new-report-highlights-manufacturing-credits-role-in-wisconsin-job-growth/
[Category: Business]
Wildlife Society: African Swine Fever Could Drive Asian Wild Pigs to Extinction
BETHESDA, Maryland, Sept. 29 (TNSjou) -- The Wildlife Society, a wildlife conservation organization, posted the following news:
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African swine fever could drive Asian wild pigs to extinction
The disease may take a massive toll on rainforest ecosystems
September 29, 2026
African swine fever could drive a dozen wild pig species in Asia to extinction, creating untold damage to rainforests across the continent.
African swine fever began to appear in China in 2018, spreading throughout other countries in subsequent years. The disease has cost the pork industry billions of dollars, but it ... Show Full Article BETHESDA, Maryland, Sept. 29 (TNSjou) -- The Wildlife Society, a wildlife conservation organization, posted the following news: * * * African swine fever could drive Asian wild pigs to extinction The disease may take a massive toll on rainforest ecosystems September 29, 2026 African swine fever could drive a dozen wild pig species in Asia to extinction, creating untold damage to rainforests across the continent. African swine fever began to appear in China in 2018, spreading throughout other countries in subsequent years. The disease has cost the pork industry billions of dollars, but italso threatens 12 species of wild pigs in Asia.
In research (https://www.nature.com/articles/s44358-026-00198-2) published recently in Nature Reviews Biodiversity, researchers created a roadmap for preventing extinction of these species. Affected species include babirusas (Babyrousa Spp.) and the Celebes warty pig (Sus celebensis)--many of these are important culturally and as food sources for Indigenous people in countries like Indonesia.
"Asian wild pigs are disappearing at a pace few people realize, yet they are among the ecological foundations of much of the region's tropical rainforest," said Matthew Linkie, the technical director of the Wildlife Conservation Society and study leader, in a press release. "Protecting these species isn't simply about preventing extinctions; it's about safeguarding the ecological processes that sustain forests, wildlife and the communities that depend on them."
The study outlines conservation strategies, including safeguards and boosts for captive breeding programs, early warning surveillance and emergency financing.
Read more at Wildlife Conservation Society Newsroom (https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/26634/African-Swine-Fever-Threatens-Asias-Endemic-Wild-Pigs-with-Extinction.aspx).
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Original text here: https://wildlife.org/african-swine-fever-could-drive-asian-wild-pigs-to-extinction/
[Category: Environment]
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African swine fever could drive Asian wild pigs to extinction
The disease may take a massive toll on rainforest ecosystems
September 29, 2026
African swine fever could drive a dozen wild pig species in Asia to extinction, creating untold damage to rainforests across the continent.
African swine fever began to appear in China in 2018, spreading throughout other countries in subsequent years. The disease has cost the pork industry billions of dollars, but it ... Show Full Article BETHESDA, Maryland, Sept. 29 (TNSjou) -- The Wildlife Society, a wildlife conservation organization, posted the following news: * * * African swine fever could drive Asian wild pigs to extinction The disease may take a massive toll on rainforest ecosystems September 29, 2026 African swine fever could drive a dozen wild pig species in Asia to extinction, creating untold damage to rainforests across the continent. African swine fever began to appear in China in 2018, spreading throughout other countries in subsequent years. The disease has cost the pork industry billions of dollars, but italso threatens 12 species of wild pigs in Asia.
In research (https://www.nature.com/articles/s44358-026-00198-2) published recently in Nature Reviews Biodiversity, researchers created a roadmap for preventing extinction of these species. Affected species include babirusas (Babyrousa Spp.) and the Celebes warty pig (Sus celebensis)--many of these are important culturally and as food sources for Indigenous people in countries like Indonesia.
"Asian wild pigs are disappearing at a pace few people realize, yet they are among the ecological foundations of much of the region's tropical rainforest," said Matthew Linkie, the technical director of the Wildlife Conservation Society and study leader, in a press release. "Protecting these species isn't simply about preventing extinctions; it's about safeguarding the ecological processes that sustain forests, wildlife and the communities that depend on them."
The study outlines conservation strategies, including safeguards and boosts for captive breeding programs, early warning surveillance and emergency financing.
Read more at Wildlife Conservation Society Newsroom (https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/26634/African-Swine-Fever-Threatens-Asias-Endemic-Wild-Pigs-with-Extinction.aspx).
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Original text here: https://wildlife.org/african-swine-fever-could-drive-asian-wild-pigs-to-extinction/
[Category: Environment]
Protect Our Care: Bombshell NYT Report Finds Trump CDC In Critical Condition
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- Protect Our Care issued the following news:
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Bombshell NYT Report Finds Trump CDC In Critical Condition
September 28, 2026
See must read NYT story below; Reaction from Protect Our Care president Brad Woodhouse: "The grim state of affairs at the Trump CDC should terrify everyone. There's a bright line between the rash of preventable disease and foodborne illness Americans have suffered the last two years and the dysfunction, chaos and political meddling at the CDC. Agency staff is down 30 percent since RFK Jr. rolled into town while the remaining skeleton crew are ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- Protect Our Care issued the following news: * * * Bombshell NYT Report Finds Trump CDC In Critical Condition September 28, 2026 See must read NYT story below; Reaction from Protect Our Care president Brad Woodhouse: "The grim state of affairs at the Trump CDC should terrify everyone. There's a bright line between the rash of preventable disease and foodborne illness Americans have suffered the last two years and the dysfunction, chaos and political meddling at the CDC. Agency staff is down 30 percent since RFK Jr. rolled into town while the remaining skeleton crew areoverwhelmed and sent on wild goose chases catering to his harmful anti-vax agenda. The new CDC Director is completely M.I.A. while a growing gang of unqualified Trump political appointees still call the shots and cut no-bid contracts with Kennedy's friends. Even Secretary Kennedy's supposed focus on chronic disease is all smoke and mirrors with nearly half the staff gone at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The most experienced leaders and scientists are long gone when needed most, leaving the agency to play whack-a-mole with public health crises rather than preventing them. State and local governments that have long relied on CDC expertise and guidance have been left in the lurch. Congressionally appropriated money is collecting dust while badly needed vaccine resources are being raided to pursue debunked conspiracy theories. After a catastrophic global pandemic followed by a record-breaking measles crisis, the CDC should be better prepared than ever. Instead, the agency keeps getting caught with its pants down thanks to Donald Trump and RFK Jr.'s self-sabotage and war on science. Investigations are coming, but resignations should come much sooner."
NYT: 'Zombified' C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission
The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.
By Apoorva Mandavilli // Sept. 26, 2026
For decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was the undisputed global leader in public health. Its scientists helped train health officials worldwide. In the United States, it was the primary source of guidance for prevention and treatment of diseases, including diabetes, H.I.V. and the seasonal flu.
But after a year and a half in the cross hairs of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s drive to remake public health policy, the agency is a skeleton of the powerhouse it was.
The Trump administration's widespread layoffs in early 2025 cut 18 percent of the C.D.C.'s staff. But new personnel data, compiled by a group of former federal scientists and reported here for the first time, indicate that the agency's staff has dwindled far more, as large numbers of employees retired or resigned. As of May 2026, the C.D.C. had 30 percent fewer employees than it did before the layoffs, the data show.
Interviews with more than 30 current and former employees reveal the agency is now tightly controlled by Mr. Kennedy and his associates, and its scientists are finding it increasingly difficult to do their jobs effectively.
The changes have hindered the C.D.C.'s ability to respond to outbreaks as measles spreads at home and Ebola abroad, and to issue timely guidance on vaccinations as cooling temperatures kick off the respiratory season, according to current and former employees. State and local health departments, which rely on the C.D.C. for resources and technical advice, have been stymied by delays. Entire divisions have been shuttered, including teams that worked on smoking, sexual violence, child abuse and falls among older adults.
Even some areas central to the Trump administration's priorities have been gutted. Despite Mr. Kennedy's focus on chronic diseases and autism, the C.D.C. centers that aim to prevent chronic diseases and birth defects are at half their previous size, according to the new data, compiled by the Public Data Observatory from the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the employee union.
The layoffs spared the agency's infectious disease centers. But even so, the center for emerging and zoonotic diseases, which manages Ebola and hantavirus, among others, now has nearly 300 fewer employees than in March 2025, and the respiratory disease center has lost nearly 200 -- about 17 percent in each case.
Beyond staff reductions, there is a leadership vacuum. Only one of the 11 center directors from March 2025 remains at the agency. Most of the other centers are being run by acting directors, some of whom were elevated from jobs one or two levels below.
"It's a zombified C.D.C. where you have all the bits and pieces -- like the body's there, the substance is there, but it's not acting like how an agency like that should act," said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who led the respiratory disease center before he resigned in August 2025.
Despite a series of high-profile disease outbreaks, C.D.C. workers have had little contact with the World Health Organization, with members of Congress and even, for a time, with their partners in state and local health departments, some employees said. Statements to the media about health crises are also tightly controlled by H.H.S.
Even basic functions have broken down. Travel approvals take months; upkeep of bathrooms and vacuuming of offices have been disrupted, some current employees said.
One senior official said it felt as though the agency was being held together with bubble gum and duct tape, with employees running from crisis to crisis, and nothing working the way it is supposed to.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a series of questions about the C.D.C.'s work, staffing and independence.
[...]
But several former officials disagreed with that assessment, noting that the C.D.C. has offered little leadership or clear communication even as, in just a few months, the nation has grappled with record cases of measles, cyclosporiasis and rabies.
"Imagine losing a third of a city's firefighters and then wondering why downtown is burning," said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, who led the agency's center for H.I.V. and sexually transmitted infections till April 2025, and is now the dean of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Political Interference
From the very first day of Mr. Trump's second term, when he withdrew the country from the W.H.O., his administration has sought to upend the nation's health policies and align them with his political priorities.
In past administrations, just two or three political appointees had purview over the C.D.C. Now, there are nearly 20 political appointees from H.H.S. who communicate with C.D.C. staff members, sometimes directing them to spend time and funding on dubious theories outside the agency's scope, according to several officials.
Last year, an H.H.S. official directed the C.D.C. to award a no-bid contract -- a rarity for the agency -- to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to explore whether immunizing pregnant women would lead to autism in their children, a theory that Mr. Kennedy has espoused but that has been debunked by numerous studies. To pay for the research, the C.D.C. took $362,000 from a program that provides free vaccines to about half of American children.
In an email viewed by The New York Times, Stuart Burns, a political appointee, asked C.D.C. employees to pull together details of every measles case since 2010, including patients' underlying medical conditions with diagnostic codes; that information is not collected routinely, they told him. Mr. Kennedy has falsely argued that measles only causes death in children who are already ill with other conditions.
Dr. William "Reyn" Archer III, another appointee who previously oversaw the C.D.C., repeatedly asked agency employees to work on screwworm, a disease that mostly affects cattle, even though the C.D.C.'s mission is to protect human health, said Dr. Daniel Jernigan, who headed the agency's emerging disease center before resigning in August 2025. Dr. Archer did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Kennedy's associates outside the administration have also been allowed direct access to senior C.D.C. staff members. Dr. Ben Edwards, a physician in Lubbock, Texas, who treated children while he was infected with measles and whom Mr. Kennedy had praised as an "extraordinary" healer, asked senior C.D.C. officials to look into cod liver oil as a treatment for measles, citing "historical references dating back to the 1700s," in an email viewed by The Times.
"We just would have to run around constantly to be responsive to all of these strange asks," recalled Dr. Daskalakis, the former head of the respiratory disease center.
Numerous other instances of political interference in the C.D.C.'s activities have already been reported. Most notably, Mr. Kennedy openly overruled the C.D.C.'s scientists in imposing strict quarantine measures for people exposed to hantavirus. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who led the agency for six months in the absence of a Senate-confirmed director, squashed publication of a study on the effectiveness of Covid vaccines.
Some observers had hoped the C.D.C.'s new director, Dr. Erica Schwartz, a physician who has pledged to "follow the science," would provide a bulwark against political interference. But one month into the job, she has made no public statements about the importance of childhood vaccines or corrected misinformation from her boss, Mr. Kennedy. In one of her first big decisions, she ordered agency employees to challenge Pennsylvania's announcement of two measles deaths, shunning standard procedure.
[...]
Delays and Dysfunction
Across the C.D.C., the employees who remain are backfilling roles left vacant.
"I've never seen such a plethora of acting roles in my life," the agency's new chief operating officer, Sean Slovenski, acknowledged to staff members at a meeting in June, a recording of which was obtained by The Times.
Many divisions are struggling to disburse money appropriated by Congress. In an email in May viewed by The Times, an official asked for volunteers from other offices to help the Division of Population Health, which had lost 88 percent of its staff, write notices of funding opportunities for diseases like lupus and epilepsy.
"We are overseeing millions of dollars in funded work, but how can we do this in a responsible way when we just don't have enough people to really oversee the work well?" said one official at the agency's chronic disease center.
The agency's dysfunction is alarming public health experts even outside the country, who had long relied on the C.D.C.'s expertise during global crises. At a recent meeting of global flu experts, Dr. Jernigan said, "people truly believe that we are less prepared now and less capable of having a coordinated response than we were before the pandemic."
By this time of year in 2024, the C.D.C. had published detailed recommendations for vaccines against respiratory diseases, with endorsements from the director at the time, Dr. Mandy Cohen, and notes from a meeting of its vaccine advisers.
But because of a federal court ruling, the C.D.C.'s vaccine advisers have not met since December, and the agency has not issued updated recommendations for the vaccines. Some employees at the agency wanted to post clear recommendations for flu vaccines, but did not want to get into a conflict with political appointees, Dr. Jernigan said.
After controversy erupted over the Covid vaccine study, Dr. Bhattacharya demoted the previous acting director of the respiratory disease center, Dr. Brandi Limbago, and replaced her with Rebecca Greco Kone, an operational leader who is not a scientist.
The lack of experienced staff members is also affecting one of the C.D.C.'s primary functions: helping state and local governments.
The C.D.C.'s public health infrastructure grant, which helps health departments train employees and build systems, was managed by 20 project officers but it now has just three. As a result, the team's response time for requests from local departments has increased from less than a day to more than 10, and some requests have been missed entirely. One county health department requested help on Aug. 7 with submitting data for its annual report but as of Sept. 21, the request was unanswered.
"We're seeing a movement away from clinical guidance, from data, and from working with states," said Dr. Debra Houry, who was the agency's chief medical officer before resigning in August 2025.
In all, more than 1,200 people retired between March 2025 and May 2026, nearly four times the number in the comparable period in 2023-24. About 270 people are still on administrative leave, being paid but not working, while a lawsuit challenging the layoffs makes its way through the courts.
[...]
About 100 C.D.C. staff members have been deployed to Congo to help with the outbreak, compared with about 2,000 who went to West African countries during the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
The agency's global health center was approved to fill 18 critical positions. Officials posted ads, interviewed candidates and made job offers to some. But the offers expired before H.H.S. completed the next steps like background checks, so they had to start the interview process all over again, according to an official with knowledge of the situation.
By law, C.D.C. employees who were laid off have priority to be rehired, but some applicants were told they were ineligible for the very jobs they had previously held for years. In all, the agency hired 108 employees between March 2025 and May 2026, compared with more than 1,500 between March 2023 and May 2024.
The staffing totals do not always tell the full story. One C.D.C. branch that works on vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, has lost only seven of its 50 people. But they include the four most experienced scientists from the measles lab team, which is trying to analyze genetic material that will determine whether the United States can still claim to have eliminated measles. And funding cuts to other federal agencies have also affected the C.D.C.'s budget for fighting infectious diseases: The budget for a branch that tackles Ebola and other deadly diseases has dropped by 36 percent.
Some C.D.C. scientists are hesitant to sign up for the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo because they disagree with the administration's focus on keeping infected people out of the country rather than on helping to contain the outbreak.
Others are too overburdened to help. About 100 C.D.C. staff members have been deployed to Congo to help with the outbreak, compared with about 2,000 who went to West African countries during the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
"If you're doing your job and your boss's job who left, and you also have three staff people who left under you," said Dr. Fiona Havers, who resigned from the C.D.C. in June 2025, "no one has the spare capacity to help out in something that's not in their field."
READ THE WHOLE THING HERE (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/health/cdc-staff-cuts-rfk-jr.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share)
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Original text here: https://www.protectourcare.org/bombshell-nyt-report-finds-trump-cdc-in-critical-condition/
[Category: Health Care]
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Bombshell NYT Report Finds Trump CDC In Critical Condition
September 28, 2026
See must read NYT story below; Reaction from Protect Our Care president Brad Woodhouse: "The grim state of affairs at the Trump CDC should terrify everyone. There's a bright line between the rash of preventable disease and foodborne illness Americans have suffered the last two years and the dysfunction, chaos and political meddling at the CDC. Agency staff is down 30 percent since RFK Jr. rolled into town while the remaining skeleton crew are ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- Protect Our Care issued the following news: * * * Bombshell NYT Report Finds Trump CDC In Critical Condition September 28, 2026 See must read NYT story below; Reaction from Protect Our Care president Brad Woodhouse: "The grim state of affairs at the Trump CDC should terrify everyone. There's a bright line between the rash of preventable disease and foodborne illness Americans have suffered the last two years and the dysfunction, chaos and political meddling at the CDC. Agency staff is down 30 percent since RFK Jr. rolled into town while the remaining skeleton crew areoverwhelmed and sent on wild goose chases catering to his harmful anti-vax agenda. The new CDC Director is completely M.I.A. while a growing gang of unqualified Trump political appointees still call the shots and cut no-bid contracts with Kennedy's friends. Even Secretary Kennedy's supposed focus on chronic disease is all smoke and mirrors with nearly half the staff gone at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The most experienced leaders and scientists are long gone when needed most, leaving the agency to play whack-a-mole with public health crises rather than preventing them. State and local governments that have long relied on CDC expertise and guidance have been left in the lurch. Congressionally appropriated money is collecting dust while badly needed vaccine resources are being raided to pursue debunked conspiracy theories. After a catastrophic global pandemic followed by a record-breaking measles crisis, the CDC should be better prepared than ever. Instead, the agency keeps getting caught with its pants down thanks to Donald Trump and RFK Jr.'s self-sabotage and war on science. Investigations are coming, but resignations should come much sooner."
NYT: 'Zombified' C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission
The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.
By Apoorva Mandavilli // Sept. 26, 2026
For decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was the undisputed global leader in public health. Its scientists helped train health officials worldwide. In the United States, it was the primary source of guidance for prevention and treatment of diseases, including diabetes, H.I.V. and the seasonal flu.
But after a year and a half in the cross hairs of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s drive to remake public health policy, the agency is a skeleton of the powerhouse it was.
The Trump administration's widespread layoffs in early 2025 cut 18 percent of the C.D.C.'s staff. But new personnel data, compiled by a group of former federal scientists and reported here for the first time, indicate that the agency's staff has dwindled far more, as large numbers of employees retired or resigned. As of May 2026, the C.D.C. had 30 percent fewer employees than it did before the layoffs, the data show.
Interviews with more than 30 current and former employees reveal the agency is now tightly controlled by Mr. Kennedy and his associates, and its scientists are finding it increasingly difficult to do their jobs effectively.
The changes have hindered the C.D.C.'s ability to respond to outbreaks as measles spreads at home and Ebola abroad, and to issue timely guidance on vaccinations as cooling temperatures kick off the respiratory season, according to current and former employees. State and local health departments, which rely on the C.D.C. for resources and technical advice, have been stymied by delays. Entire divisions have been shuttered, including teams that worked on smoking, sexual violence, child abuse and falls among older adults.
Even some areas central to the Trump administration's priorities have been gutted. Despite Mr. Kennedy's focus on chronic diseases and autism, the C.D.C. centers that aim to prevent chronic diseases and birth defects are at half their previous size, according to the new data, compiled by the Public Data Observatory from the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the employee union.
The layoffs spared the agency's infectious disease centers. But even so, the center for emerging and zoonotic diseases, which manages Ebola and hantavirus, among others, now has nearly 300 fewer employees than in March 2025, and the respiratory disease center has lost nearly 200 -- about 17 percent in each case.
Beyond staff reductions, there is a leadership vacuum. Only one of the 11 center directors from March 2025 remains at the agency. Most of the other centers are being run by acting directors, some of whom were elevated from jobs one or two levels below.
"It's a zombified C.D.C. where you have all the bits and pieces -- like the body's there, the substance is there, but it's not acting like how an agency like that should act," said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who led the respiratory disease center before he resigned in August 2025.
Despite a series of high-profile disease outbreaks, C.D.C. workers have had little contact with the World Health Organization, with members of Congress and even, for a time, with their partners in state and local health departments, some employees said. Statements to the media about health crises are also tightly controlled by H.H.S.
Even basic functions have broken down. Travel approvals take months; upkeep of bathrooms and vacuuming of offices have been disrupted, some current employees said.
One senior official said it felt as though the agency was being held together with bubble gum and duct tape, with employees running from crisis to crisis, and nothing working the way it is supposed to.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a series of questions about the C.D.C.'s work, staffing and independence.
[...]
But several former officials disagreed with that assessment, noting that the C.D.C. has offered little leadership or clear communication even as, in just a few months, the nation has grappled with record cases of measles, cyclosporiasis and rabies.
"Imagine losing a third of a city's firefighters and then wondering why downtown is burning," said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, who led the agency's center for H.I.V. and sexually transmitted infections till April 2025, and is now the dean of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Political Interference
From the very first day of Mr. Trump's second term, when he withdrew the country from the W.H.O., his administration has sought to upend the nation's health policies and align them with his political priorities.
In past administrations, just two or three political appointees had purview over the C.D.C. Now, there are nearly 20 political appointees from H.H.S. who communicate with C.D.C. staff members, sometimes directing them to spend time and funding on dubious theories outside the agency's scope, according to several officials.
Last year, an H.H.S. official directed the C.D.C. to award a no-bid contract -- a rarity for the agency -- to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to explore whether immunizing pregnant women would lead to autism in their children, a theory that Mr. Kennedy has espoused but that has been debunked by numerous studies. To pay for the research, the C.D.C. took $362,000 from a program that provides free vaccines to about half of American children.
In an email viewed by The New York Times, Stuart Burns, a political appointee, asked C.D.C. employees to pull together details of every measles case since 2010, including patients' underlying medical conditions with diagnostic codes; that information is not collected routinely, they told him. Mr. Kennedy has falsely argued that measles only causes death in children who are already ill with other conditions.
Dr. William "Reyn" Archer III, another appointee who previously oversaw the C.D.C., repeatedly asked agency employees to work on screwworm, a disease that mostly affects cattle, even though the C.D.C.'s mission is to protect human health, said Dr. Daniel Jernigan, who headed the agency's emerging disease center before resigning in August 2025. Dr. Archer did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Kennedy's associates outside the administration have also been allowed direct access to senior C.D.C. staff members. Dr. Ben Edwards, a physician in Lubbock, Texas, who treated children while he was infected with measles and whom Mr. Kennedy had praised as an "extraordinary" healer, asked senior C.D.C. officials to look into cod liver oil as a treatment for measles, citing "historical references dating back to the 1700s," in an email viewed by The Times.
"We just would have to run around constantly to be responsive to all of these strange asks," recalled Dr. Daskalakis, the former head of the respiratory disease center.
Numerous other instances of political interference in the C.D.C.'s activities have already been reported. Most notably, Mr. Kennedy openly overruled the C.D.C.'s scientists in imposing strict quarantine measures for people exposed to hantavirus. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who led the agency for six months in the absence of a Senate-confirmed director, squashed publication of a study on the effectiveness of Covid vaccines.
Some observers had hoped the C.D.C.'s new director, Dr. Erica Schwartz, a physician who has pledged to "follow the science," would provide a bulwark against political interference. But one month into the job, she has made no public statements about the importance of childhood vaccines or corrected misinformation from her boss, Mr. Kennedy. In one of her first big decisions, she ordered agency employees to challenge Pennsylvania's announcement of two measles deaths, shunning standard procedure.
[...]
Delays and Dysfunction
Across the C.D.C., the employees who remain are backfilling roles left vacant.
"I've never seen such a plethora of acting roles in my life," the agency's new chief operating officer, Sean Slovenski, acknowledged to staff members at a meeting in June, a recording of which was obtained by The Times.
Many divisions are struggling to disburse money appropriated by Congress. In an email in May viewed by The Times, an official asked for volunteers from other offices to help the Division of Population Health, which had lost 88 percent of its staff, write notices of funding opportunities for diseases like lupus and epilepsy.
"We are overseeing millions of dollars in funded work, but how can we do this in a responsible way when we just don't have enough people to really oversee the work well?" said one official at the agency's chronic disease center.
The agency's dysfunction is alarming public health experts even outside the country, who had long relied on the C.D.C.'s expertise during global crises. At a recent meeting of global flu experts, Dr. Jernigan said, "people truly believe that we are less prepared now and less capable of having a coordinated response than we were before the pandemic."
By this time of year in 2024, the C.D.C. had published detailed recommendations for vaccines against respiratory diseases, with endorsements from the director at the time, Dr. Mandy Cohen, and notes from a meeting of its vaccine advisers.
But because of a federal court ruling, the C.D.C.'s vaccine advisers have not met since December, and the agency has not issued updated recommendations for the vaccines. Some employees at the agency wanted to post clear recommendations for flu vaccines, but did not want to get into a conflict with political appointees, Dr. Jernigan said.
After controversy erupted over the Covid vaccine study, Dr. Bhattacharya demoted the previous acting director of the respiratory disease center, Dr. Brandi Limbago, and replaced her with Rebecca Greco Kone, an operational leader who is not a scientist.
The lack of experienced staff members is also affecting one of the C.D.C.'s primary functions: helping state and local governments.
The C.D.C.'s public health infrastructure grant, which helps health departments train employees and build systems, was managed by 20 project officers but it now has just three. As a result, the team's response time for requests from local departments has increased from less than a day to more than 10, and some requests have been missed entirely. One county health department requested help on Aug. 7 with submitting data for its annual report but as of Sept. 21, the request was unanswered.
"We're seeing a movement away from clinical guidance, from data, and from working with states," said Dr. Debra Houry, who was the agency's chief medical officer before resigning in August 2025.
In all, more than 1,200 people retired between March 2025 and May 2026, nearly four times the number in the comparable period in 2023-24. About 270 people are still on administrative leave, being paid but not working, while a lawsuit challenging the layoffs makes its way through the courts.
[...]
About 100 C.D.C. staff members have been deployed to Congo to help with the outbreak, compared with about 2,000 who went to West African countries during the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
The agency's global health center was approved to fill 18 critical positions. Officials posted ads, interviewed candidates and made job offers to some. But the offers expired before H.H.S. completed the next steps like background checks, so they had to start the interview process all over again, according to an official with knowledge of the situation.
By law, C.D.C. employees who were laid off have priority to be rehired, but some applicants were told they were ineligible for the very jobs they had previously held for years. In all, the agency hired 108 employees between March 2025 and May 2026, compared with more than 1,500 between March 2023 and May 2024.
The staffing totals do not always tell the full story. One C.D.C. branch that works on vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, has lost only seven of its 50 people. But they include the four most experienced scientists from the measles lab team, which is trying to analyze genetic material that will determine whether the United States can still claim to have eliminated measles. And funding cuts to other federal agencies have also affected the C.D.C.'s budget for fighting infectious diseases: The budget for a branch that tackles Ebola and other deadly diseases has dropped by 36 percent.
Some C.D.C. scientists are hesitant to sign up for the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo because they disagree with the administration's focus on keeping infected people out of the country rather than on helping to contain the outbreak.
Others are too overburdened to help. About 100 C.D.C. staff members have been deployed to Congo to help with the outbreak, compared with about 2,000 who went to West African countries during the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
"If you're doing your job and your boss's job who left, and you also have three staff people who left under you," said Dr. Fiona Havers, who resigned from the C.D.C. in June 2025, "no one has the spare capacity to help out in something that's not in their field."
READ THE WHOLE THING HERE (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/health/cdc-staff-cuts-rfk-jr.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share)
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Original text here: https://www.protectourcare.org/bombshell-nyt-report-finds-trump-cdc-in-critical-condition/
[Category: Health Care]
National Parks Conservation Association: No Baseball Stadium in Grand Teton, Now or Ever
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- The National Parks Conservation Association issued the following news release:
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Sep 27, 2026
No Baseball Stadium in Grand Teton, Now or Ever
It's long past time for this administration to start treating our national parks with the respect they deserve
-
A recent report in the Washington Post reveals that Major League Baseball (MLB) approached the Trump Administration about building a baseball stadium in Grand Teton National Park, and an administration official traveled to the park last week to scout potential locations.
This report (https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2026/09/26/trump-officials-weigh-mlb-game-grand-teton-national-park/) ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- The National Parks Conservation Association issued the following news release: * * * Sep 27, 2026 No Baseball Stadium in Grand Teton, Now or Ever It's long past time for this administration to start treating our national parks with the respect they deserve - A recent report in the Washington Post reveals that Major League Baseball (MLB) approached the Trump Administration about building a baseball stadium in Grand Teton National Park, and an administration official traveled to the park last week to scout potential locations. This report (https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2026/09/26/trump-officials-weigh-mlb-game-grand-teton-national-park/)comes just one month after a story in the Washington Sun exposed discussions between the administration and a private developer over access to land in Yosemite National Park. In both cases, the outside parties sought special treatment and unprecedented access to national park land. In both cases, the proposals should have been immediately rejected.
Statement by Tiernan Sittenfeld, President and CEO for National Parks Conservation Association
"The Department of Interior should reject this idea and publicly say that there will be no baseball stadium in Grand Teton, now or ever.
"A backpacking trip in Grand Teton as a teenager instilled a lifelong love of our national parks in me. I was thrilled to be back there just a couple of weeks ago and to see first-hand just how much visitors and the local community continue to love, respect and fiercely defend this iconic park. It's long past time for this administration to start treating our national parks with the respect they deserve, starting with full funding and park staffing, instead of more harmful proposals for private profit."
Statement by Betsy Buffington, Northern Rockies Regional Director for National Parks Conservation Association
"Grand Teton National Park is more than a pretty backdrop to drum up attention for special interests. This park has left an indelible mark in the heart of every person lucky enough to set foot here. There is no other place like it on earth. If this administration is willing to carve out a piece of Grand Teton for special interests, they would be turning their back on a century of enthusiastic bipartisan support and a legacy of national parks that are, in the words of President George H. W. Bush, our 'common heritage borrowed from future generations which should be passed on as a precious inheritance.'"
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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation's most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.
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Original text here: https://www.npca.org/articles/11514-no-baseball-stadium-in-grand-teton-now-or-ever
[Category: Environment]
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Sep 27, 2026
No Baseball Stadium in Grand Teton, Now or Ever
It's long past time for this administration to start treating our national parks with the respect they deserve
-
A recent report in the Washington Post reveals that Major League Baseball (MLB) approached the Trump Administration about building a baseball stadium in Grand Teton National Park, and an administration official traveled to the park last week to scout potential locations.
This report (https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2026/09/26/trump-officials-weigh-mlb-game-grand-teton-national-park/) ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- The National Parks Conservation Association issued the following news release: * * * Sep 27, 2026 No Baseball Stadium in Grand Teton, Now or Ever It's long past time for this administration to start treating our national parks with the respect they deserve - A recent report in the Washington Post reveals that Major League Baseball (MLB) approached the Trump Administration about building a baseball stadium in Grand Teton National Park, and an administration official traveled to the park last week to scout potential locations. This report (https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2026/09/26/trump-officials-weigh-mlb-game-grand-teton-national-park/)comes just one month after a story in the Washington Sun exposed discussions between the administration and a private developer over access to land in Yosemite National Park. In both cases, the outside parties sought special treatment and unprecedented access to national park land. In both cases, the proposals should have been immediately rejected.
Statement by Tiernan Sittenfeld, President and CEO for National Parks Conservation Association
"The Department of Interior should reject this idea and publicly say that there will be no baseball stadium in Grand Teton, now or ever.
"A backpacking trip in Grand Teton as a teenager instilled a lifelong love of our national parks in me. I was thrilled to be back there just a couple of weeks ago and to see first-hand just how much visitors and the local community continue to love, respect and fiercely defend this iconic park. It's long past time for this administration to start treating our national parks with the respect they deserve, starting with full funding and park staffing, instead of more harmful proposals for private profit."
Statement by Betsy Buffington, Northern Rockies Regional Director for National Parks Conservation Association
"Grand Teton National Park is more than a pretty backdrop to drum up attention for special interests. This park has left an indelible mark in the heart of every person lucky enough to set foot here. There is no other place like it on earth. If this administration is willing to carve out a piece of Grand Teton for special interests, they would be turning their back on a century of enthusiastic bipartisan support and a legacy of national parks that are, in the words of President George H. W. Bush, our 'common heritage borrowed from future generations which should be passed on as a precious inheritance.'"
* * *
About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation's most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.
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Original text here: https://www.npca.org/articles/11514-no-baseball-stadium-in-grand-teton-now-or-ever
[Category: Environment]
Consumer Reports Statement: California Children's Diaper Ingredient Transparency Bill Signed Into Law
YONKERS, New York, Sept. 29 -- Consumer Reports posted the following news release:
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Consumer Reports Statement: California Children's Diaper Ingredient Transparency Bill Signed Into Law
September 28, 2026
SACRAMENTO, CA -- California Governor Gavin Newsom today signed into law a vital ingredient transparency bill for children's diapers (AB 1901). The measure will require manufacturers of children's diapers to disclose the intentionally added ingredients in their products, both on product packaging and online. The bill, introduced by Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) and co-sponsored by Consumer ... Show Full Article YONKERS, New York, Sept. 29 -- Consumer Reports posted the following news release: * * * Consumer Reports Statement: California Children's Diaper Ingredient Transparency Bill Signed Into Law September 28, 2026 SACRAMENTO, CA -- California Governor Gavin Newsom today signed into law a vital ingredient transparency bill for children's diapers (AB 1901). The measure will require manufacturers of children's diapers to disclose the intentionally added ingredients in their products, both on product packaging and online. The bill, introduced by Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) and co-sponsored by ConsumerReports, the Environmental Working Group, the Center for Environmental Health, and Children Now, will take effect in 2029.
"When companies are transparent about what they're putting in their products, consumers win. This law will ensure that parents and caregivers in California have the information they need to make informed choices about which diapers are best for their baby," said Oriene Shin, manager of safety advocacy for Consumer Reports. "Consumer Reports encourages all states to approve similar bills so that Americans across the country can shop confidently for their little ones. We thank Assemblymember Berman for his leadership on this important issue, and commend Governor Newsom and the California Legislature for standing with families."
In 2026, CR partnered with Made Safe and Made Wise on a packaging information analysis of 31 disposable diaper brands. The analysis found that two brands disclosed all or nearly all materials, showing that such transparency is feasible. By contrast, seven of the brands provided little or no information about product materials. Most of the remaining companies disclosed only some of the materials, and many didn't disclose how materials were used.
Young children wear diapers virtually around the clock--an estimated 8,000 diapers over the course of a baby's diaper-wearing career. Babies' skin is thinner and more permeable than adult skin, making it more susceptible to irritation and the potentially harmful effects of chemicals. Yet there is no federal law that requires children's diaper manufacturers to publicly disclose the ingredients and materials used in their products. Greater transparency can help parents and caregivers identify potential ingredients of concern, including those associated with skin irritation or rashes, or with longer-term health effects like hormone disruption.
In December 2025, New York became the first state to require all disposable diapers sold in the state to include ingredient labels on product packaging. In June 2026, Illinois passed a similar law, which takes effect in 2027. The California law goes further by requiring that children's diaper companies post ingredient information both on packaging and online.
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Original text here: https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/press_release/consumer-reports-statement-california-childrens-diaper-ingredient-transparency-bill-signed-into-law/
[Category: Business]
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Consumer Reports Statement: California Children's Diaper Ingredient Transparency Bill Signed Into Law
September 28, 2026
SACRAMENTO, CA -- California Governor Gavin Newsom today signed into law a vital ingredient transparency bill for children's diapers (AB 1901). The measure will require manufacturers of children's diapers to disclose the intentionally added ingredients in their products, both on product packaging and online. The bill, introduced by Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) and co-sponsored by Consumer ... Show Full Article YONKERS, New York, Sept. 29 -- Consumer Reports posted the following news release: * * * Consumer Reports Statement: California Children's Diaper Ingredient Transparency Bill Signed Into Law September 28, 2026 SACRAMENTO, CA -- California Governor Gavin Newsom today signed into law a vital ingredient transparency bill for children's diapers (AB 1901). The measure will require manufacturers of children's diapers to disclose the intentionally added ingredients in their products, both on product packaging and online. The bill, introduced by Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) and co-sponsored by ConsumerReports, the Environmental Working Group, the Center for Environmental Health, and Children Now, will take effect in 2029.
"When companies are transparent about what they're putting in their products, consumers win. This law will ensure that parents and caregivers in California have the information they need to make informed choices about which diapers are best for their baby," said Oriene Shin, manager of safety advocacy for Consumer Reports. "Consumer Reports encourages all states to approve similar bills so that Americans across the country can shop confidently for their little ones. We thank Assemblymember Berman for his leadership on this important issue, and commend Governor Newsom and the California Legislature for standing with families."
In 2026, CR partnered with Made Safe and Made Wise on a packaging information analysis of 31 disposable diaper brands. The analysis found that two brands disclosed all or nearly all materials, showing that such transparency is feasible. By contrast, seven of the brands provided little or no information about product materials. Most of the remaining companies disclosed only some of the materials, and many didn't disclose how materials were used.
Young children wear diapers virtually around the clock--an estimated 8,000 diapers over the course of a baby's diaper-wearing career. Babies' skin is thinner and more permeable than adult skin, making it more susceptible to irritation and the potentially harmful effects of chemicals. Yet there is no federal law that requires children's diaper manufacturers to publicly disclose the ingredients and materials used in their products. Greater transparency can help parents and caregivers identify potential ingredients of concern, including those associated with skin irritation or rashes, or with longer-term health effects like hormone disruption.
In December 2025, New York became the first state to require all disposable diapers sold in the state to include ingredient labels on product packaging. In June 2026, Illinois passed a similar law, which takes effect in 2027. The California law goes further by requiring that children's diaper companies post ingredient information both on packaging and online.
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Original text here: https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/press_release/consumer-reports-statement-california-childrens-diaper-ingredient-transparency-bill-signed-into-law/
[Category: Business]
Children's Health Defense Issues Commentary: He Sought Help for a Broken Leg That Wouldn't Heal. The Hospital Treated Him for COVID -- Then Declared Him Brain Dead
FRANKLIN LAKES, New Jersey, Sept. 29 -- Children's Health Defense, an organization that says it restores and protects the health of children by eliminating exposures to environmental toxins, issued the following commentary by Michael Nevradakis, senior reporter for The Defender and host of the Defender In-Depth on CHD.TV.:
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He Sought Help for a Broken Leg That Wouldn't Heal. The Hospital Treated Him for COVID -- Then Declared Him Brain Dead
In 2020, Andy Hodge broke his leg in a work-related accident. The accident, subsequent surgeries and hospitalizations, and a positive COVID-19 PCR test ... Show Full Article FRANKLIN LAKES, New Jersey, Sept. 29 -- Children's Health Defense, an organization that says it restores and protects the health of children by eliminating exposures to environmental toxins, issued the following commentary by Michael Nevradakis, senior reporter for The Defender and host of the Defender In-Depth on CHD.TV.: * * * He Sought Help for a Broken Leg That Wouldn't Heal. The Hospital Treated Him for COVID -- Then Declared Him Brain Dead In 2020, Andy Hodge broke his leg in a work-related accident. The accident, subsequent surgeries and hospitalizations, and a positive COVID-19 PCR testset off a cascade of events that his sister, Ellie Hodge Hayse, says led to his death on March 2, 2021. Ellie alleges doctors and hospital staff ignored her brother's complaints about his leg, and instead subjected him to COVID-10 hospital protocols.
September 28, 2026
In 2020, Andy Hodge was leading a happy life. The 38-year-old licensed plumber, a single father of three, lived in Kentucky with his sister, Ellie Hodge Hayse, and her family -- a life Ellie described as "perfection."
That changed in August 2020, when Andy broke his left leg in a work-related accident. The accident, subsequent surgeries and hospitalizations, and a positive COVID-19 PCR test set off a cascade of events that led to his death on March 2, 2021.
In an interview with The Defender, Ellie detailed Andy's hospital treatment, including COVID-19 hospital protocols, which she believes caused his death. She shared extensive documentation with The Defender to corroborate her story.
Ellie discussed the aftermath of Andy's death, including finding inconsistencies in hospital documents that raise questions about the treatment he received.
After lawyers refused to take her case, she co-launched Dead Serious...Kinda Not, an advocacy group for families of COVID-19 hospital protocol victims.
"We can't have a chapter where I can set it down and say, 'This is what happened to my brother,'" Ellie said. "We don't get that. We get nothing, and it makes me sad."
Admitted for leg injury complications -- but treated for respiratory issues
According to Ellie, Andy's orthopedist, Dr. David Seligson, described Andy's injury, which included a "crushed" ankle, as "one of the worst cases" he'd ever seen, and suggested the surgery to repair it would be complicated and high-risk.
Doctors at University of Louisville (UofL) hospital placed screws in Andy's leg and prescribed a follow-up course of blood thinners and antibiotics.
Two months later, Andy began experiencing a "different" kind of leg pain. It turned out the screws were protruding from his ankle.
After running into delays -- which UofL hospital attributed to being "short-staffed due to COVID" -- Andy was scheduled for a second surgery.
The second surgery was also unsuccessful, and Andy continued to experience "horrible" pain. Yet, on Jan. 18, 2021, a nurse practitioner at UoL Orthopedics cleared him to return to work.
Still in pain, Andy visited the emergency room at Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky, on Feb. 10, 2021.
But there, the staff didn't focus on Andy's leg. In a text message, Andy told Ellie that a nurse at Twin Lakes said, "We're not worried about your leg right now. We're worried about saving your life."
Andy was admitted, placed on oxygen and prescribed a new round of antibiotics. Four days in, he said he was "feeling better," but staff were ignoring complaints about his leg, which was still sore.
And told Ellie that if the hospital put him on a ventilator, to "please don't let them shut it off."
The next day, Twin Lakes doctors transferred Andy to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital (part of the same hospital system) for a bronchoscopy. Andy and Ellie asked that instead, he be transferred to Norton Hospital in Louisville. But Andy changed his mind because, as he told Ellie, his doctors told him he would die if he did not accept the transfer to Owensboro.
Little food or water -- but five doses of remdesivir under the COVID protocol
Andy was admitted to Owensboro on Feb. 17, 2021, in stable condition. Though doctors initially told them Andy was being transferred for a bronchoscopy, hospital records listed it as an "emergency transfer" for respiratory issues.
"What I can say isn't in the notes anywhere is his leg. They didn't check it. They didn't even acknowledge it," Ellie said.
Ellie later learned that Andy was tested twice for COVID-19 on Feb. 17, 2021. While his nasal swab test was negative, PCR testing by physician and Owensboro board member Dr. Jason Mills was positive -- so the hospital initiated its COVID-19 protocol.
The next day, Owensboro gave Andy the first of five remdesivir doses. According to Ellie, hospital staff also didn't offer Andy much food or drink and didn't administer "maintenance medications that he needed every day" for his leg.
Hospital staff told Ellie that the COVID-19 protocol didn't allow other treatments to be administered, as doctors would be unable to "scientifically say" whether it was the protocol medications or other medications that succeeded in treating him.
They also told Ellie that Andy couldn't receive visitors due to a 14-day "isolation protocol." She later learned that she had the right to visit Andy twice a day, despite the protocols.
Placed on a ventilator after a stroke was left unaddressed for hours
On Feb. 20, 2021, Andy told Ellie he was "doing better" and was being relocated to a room on the COVID-19 floor.
However, while Andy appeared in good spirits during a video call, he complained of a headache and said hospital staff kept telling him that "everything is COVID."
By the next morning, Ellie awoke to the news that Andy had had a stroke -- and to a message Andy sent the previous evening, shortly after the call ended, that included a photo that showed his lip sagging.
Andy insisted he hadn't had a stroke, but Ellie learned that he was diagnosed with a stroke at 1:20 a.m., nearly two hours after Andy's text message, and wasn't treated until 4:38 a.m., outside the three-hour window for administering a tissue plasminogen activator, a time-sensitive treatment for ischemic strokes.
According to hospital documents, physicians wrote that the decision not to provide a tissue plasminogen activator was "also complicated by the fact that patient just received prophylactic Lovenox," a blood thinner, shortly before his stroke.
Ellie and other relatives remained on a video call with Andy throughout that day -- not knowing that it would be the last time they would speak with him.
Late that evening, without his family's knowledge or approval, Owensboro staff placed Andy on a ventilator. The news caught Ellie by surprise -- and was accompanied by evidence that Andy had resisted being ventilated.
"I wake up, and he's vented. They didn't ask permission. He was restrained to the bed. They said he was fighting the vent ... I can imagine that maybe he was trying to tell them he didn't want the vent, and they forced it," Ellie said.
Ellie said she implored the nurse, and several other doctors in the days that followed, to examine Andy's leg, but to no avail.
Instead, doctors and hospital staff repeatedly told her that Andy "wouldn't make it" and that she was being "inhumane" for keeping him on a ventilator.
On Feb. 23, 2021, Andy received his final dose of remdesivir.
It wasn't until Feb. 24, 2021, that a physician at the hospital told Ellie that a blood clot had been found in Andy's right leg. However, Ellie later learned physicians had previously observed a clot. The same physician claimed he tried calling her -- but he had been calling Andy's phone instead.
Rather than address Andy's leg troubles, doctors instead tracked Andy's condition through what Ellie later found out were "window visits" -- visually observing Andy through the window of his hospital room, "due to COVID."
Hospital claimed Andy was brain-dead, but family saw signs of consciousness
By Feb. 26, 2021, doctors at Owensboro declared Andy brain-dead, based on a test performed a day earlier. Ellie said the test was questionable.
"If you look at the records, it says, 'This test cannot be used to deem brain death due to patient is on a paralytic.'" Ellie learned that a medical student had given Andy a paralytic, typically used only during surgery to block muscle movement, on the same day as the test that was used to determine his brain death.
On Feb. 27, 2021, Ellie made a video call to Andy's phone with a nurse present in his room. Elli and other family members decided to "talk to him and stimulate his brain and tell him we're there, we love him, to keep fighting."
"Every time I would speak to him, his blood pressure would go up, way up. You could see life," Ellie said.
The nurse in the room with Andy, "Angela," agreed with Ellie -- or seemed to. Later that day, with the video call still in progress, another nurse, "Rachel," entered Andy's room to siphon fluids out of his mouth, causing him to gag -- another sign he wasn't brain-dead.
But instead of pursuing this, the nurse disconnected Andy's phone when the call ended. The next day, Ellie learned that the nurse had shut Andy's phone because she felt it was a "liability" to be recorded on the job.
Ellie and her husband finally visited Andy on Feb. 28, 2021. Once more, Andy showed signs of life when he heard Ellie's voice.
"When I start talking, his blood pressure starts going up. Those doctors saw that. They were right behind me," Ellie said. By the next day, Ellie said hospital staff were giving her "all kinds of promises" and were claiming they were "sorry for the misunderstanding." Yet, "they still weren't acknowledging his leg."
It was at this time that Seligson, who had originally treated Andy's leg, contacted Ellie. She said he sounded "traumatized, terrified" at the news of Andy's condition and his treatment at Owensboro. He told her he would visit Andy the next day and to tell the hospital to simply "keep him on the ventilator."
But when Ellie informed the hospital about Seligson's planned visit, the hospital ethics committee said it had already met that afternoon, without her knowledge, and had changed Andy's status to "DNR."
The committee also decided to place a sign at the door to Andy's room, prohibiting anyone from treating him.
Ellie said that when she and other family members questioned hospital staff about changing Andy's status and threatened legal action, they were told -- in a message they recorded -- that the decision of the ethics committee "trumps" any court order.
Did the hospital intend to harvest Andy's organs?
On March 2, 2021, Andy was declared dead. Ellie's mother learned of Andy's death in a rushed phone call from Dr. Brad Brasher, one of the physicians treating Andy.
"He told my mom that Andy passed away, his heart stopped, that he hopes that this gives some closure, and he's very sorry," Ellie said.
The aftermath of Andy's death led to a series of eye-opening revelations for Ellie, through her examination of the documents, interactions with entities involved in Andy's care and his funeral, and discussions with outside physicians and experts.
Ellie learned that the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates -- later known as Network for Hope -- was at Andy's bedside on at least three and as many as six occasions while he was on a ventilator. During this period, Ellie recalled that an Owensboro physician asked if Andy was an organ donor.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shut down Network for Hope after a whistleblower reported incidents of the organization attempting to harvest organs from living patients.
Ellie said she can't be certain whether Andy's organs were left intact or if any were harvested. "I can't say that they did, but I can't say that they didn't. I'm going to leave it at that. But they better hope they didn't."
Owensboro did not perform an autopsy on Andy after his death. The funeral home, which collected Andy's body directly from the hospital, subsequently embalmed him.
Ellie's review of Andy's hospital documents after his death revealed further inconsistencies or details that she was previously unaware of. These included:
* The use of "multiple" lethal cocktails of sedatives and paralytics, including morphine, fentanyl, ketamine and Precedex. Ellie suggested this was done to put Andy "in a coma with medication" to support the claim he was brain-dead.
* Andy's ventilator failed three times in one day and stopped providing Andy with nitric oxide. Ellie learned that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalled the model used in the hospital later that year due to malfunctions.
* Andy's charts showed that he lost 41 pounds in 21 days at Owensboro. Ellie said this is a sign he was not fed properly.
* Andy's records showed no evidence at any time that he had developed COVID-19 antibodies, casting doubt on the accuracy of the positive PCR test.
* An independent physician who analyzed Andy's records on behalf of his family determined that Andy's bronchoscopy was performed to "pull a positive" PCR test result. He also determined, through analysis of Andy's hospital photos, that Andy's injured leg lacked blood flow and was discolored.
* Despite COVID-19 being listed as Andy's cause of death, the "died of communicable disease" check box on his post-death toe tag was unchecked.
* Andy's records also include the names of personnel "that don't even exist," including a registered nurse purportedly by the name of "Paula Brasher."
In the aftermath of Andy's death, possible conflicts of interest came to light
Despite what Ellie believes is compelling evidence of hospital wrongdoing, she said she has faced difficulty pursuing legal action.
"I have called probably every lawyer in this state. I have probably called every lawyer that has a license to practice law outside of their states. Every single time, I get the same exact answer: 'Oh, you've got a case, but unfortunately, we're not going to be able to handle it,'" Ellie said.
Ellie said the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act of 2005 (PREP Act) poses a significant barrier. The law provides the manufacturers of emergency countermeasures used during public health emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and those who administer the products, with a legal liability shield.
Ellie filed a work-related workers' compensation claim, partly to bypass the PREP Act. The claim was successful. She later learned the company that paid the claim was Sedgwick, which also served as Owensboro's third-party administrator -- a potential conflict of interest.
Ellie also learned that in January 2021, weeks before Twin Lakes insisted that Andy transfer to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, Owensboro had acquired Twin Lakes.
"If you dig deeper, you'll see that Owensboro also had already planned to take Twin Lakes COVID medical patients, and the very day Andy was transferred is the day that Owensboro became the big COVID spot in Kentucky," Ellie said.
'We can get accountability. We can protect our kids'
Ellie said she has taken matters into her own hands by launching Dead Serious...Kinda Not, an informal group that "welcomes anybody who has lost a hospital protocol patient." The group is active in about 30 states.
"We can use our voices and our stories," Ellie said. "We connect dots and get the medical records," using a tool her group developed that analyzes medical records, puts them in chronological order and "can point the red flags out."
Dead Serious...Kinda Not co-organized a remembrance event in Washington, D.C., for COVID-19 hospital protocol victims on Sept. 27-28, with family members as speakers.
"We're going to get names read ... and they're going to be remembered. We're going to do slideshows and we're going to do photos," Ellie said before the event.
"Will we ever get justice? No. It's never there to be had. But we can get accountability. We can protect our kids, children that are going to have these same issues if we don't change them now."
Related articles in The Defender
* 'Remdesivir Papers' Allege Controversial Drug Used to Treat Service Members Led to 601 Deaths (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/remdesivir-papers-drug-military-members-601-deaths/)
* 'Before They Scrub This History': Group Documents Stories of COVID Protocol Victims (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/covid-protocol-victims-remdesivir/)
* Gilead Falsely Advertised Remdesivir as Safe and Effective, Lawsuit Alleges (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/gilead-falsely-advertised-remdesivir-lawsuit/)
* 'Stunning': Only 1 in 7 Germans With Positive PCR Test Had COVID Infection (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/1-in-7-germans-positive-pcr-test-covid-infection-study/)
* Zuckerberg: White House Would 'Scream' and 'Curse' at Facebook Staff to Remove COVID Content (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/zuckerberg-white-house-facebook-staff-remove-covid-content-joe-rogan/)
* Workers' Compensation: A Pathway to Immediate Relief for COVID Vaccine Injury Victims? (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/workers-compensation-covid-vaccine-injury-victims/)
* * *
Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D., based in Athens, Greece, is a senior reporter for The Defender and host of "The Defender In-Depth" on CHD.TV.
* * *
Original text here: https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/he-sought-help-for-broken-leg-hospital-treated-him-for-covid-then-declared-him-brain-dead/
[Category: Health Care]
* * *
He Sought Help for a Broken Leg That Wouldn't Heal. The Hospital Treated Him for COVID -- Then Declared Him Brain Dead
In 2020, Andy Hodge broke his leg in a work-related accident. The accident, subsequent surgeries and hospitalizations, and a positive COVID-19 PCR test ... Show Full Article FRANKLIN LAKES, New Jersey, Sept. 29 -- Children's Health Defense, an organization that says it restores and protects the health of children by eliminating exposures to environmental toxins, issued the following commentary by Michael Nevradakis, senior reporter for The Defender and host of the Defender In-Depth on CHD.TV.: * * * He Sought Help for a Broken Leg That Wouldn't Heal. The Hospital Treated Him for COVID -- Then Declared Him Brain Dead In 2020, Andy Hodge broke his leg in a work-related accident. The accident, subsequent surgeries and hospitalizations, and a positive COVID-19 PCR testset off a cascade of events that his sister, Ellie Hodge Hayse, says led to his death on March 2, 2021. Ellie alleges doctors and hospital staff ignored her brother's complaints about his leg, and instead subjected him to COVID-10 hospital protocols.
September 28, 2026
In 2020, Andy Hodge was leading a happy life. The 38-year-old licensed plumber, a single father of three, lived in Kentucky with his sister, Ellie Hodge Hayse, and her family -- a life Ellie described as "perfection."
That changed in August 2020, when Andy broke his left leg in a work-related accident. The accident, subsequent surgeries and hospitalizations, and a positive COVID-19 PCR test set off a cascade of events that led to his death on March 2, 2021.
In an interview with The Defender, Ellie detailed Andy's hospital treatment, including COVID-19 hospital protocols, which she believes caused his death. She shared extensive documentation with The Defender to corroborate her story.
Ellie discussed the aftermath of Andy's death, including finding inconsistencies in hospital documents that raise questions about the treatment he received.
After lawyers refused to take her case, she co-launched Dead Serious...Kinda Not, an advocacy group for families of COVID-19 hospital protocol victims.
"We can't have a chapter where I can set it down and say, 'This is what happened to my brother,'" Ellie said. "We don't get that. We get nothing, and it makes me sad."
Admitted for leg injury complications -- but treated for respiratory issues
According to Ellie, Andy's orthopedist, Dr. David Seligson, described Andy's injury, which included a "crushed" ankle, as "one of the worst cases" he'd ever seen, and suggested the surgery to repair it would be complicated and high-risk.
Doctors at University of Louisville (UofL) hospital placed screws in Andy's leg and prescribed a follow-up course of blood thinners and antibiotics.
Two months later, Andy began experiencing a "different" kind of leg pain. It turned out the screws were protruding from his ankle.
After running into delays -- which UofL hospital attributed to being "short-staffed due to COVID" -- Andy was scheduled for a second surgery.
The second surgery was also unsuccessful, and Andy continued to experience "horrible" pain. Yet, on Jan. 18, 2021, a nurse practitioner at UoL Orthopedics cleared him to return to work.
Still in pain, Andy visited the emergency room at Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky, on Feb. 10, 2021.
But there, the staff didn't focus on Andy's leg. In a text message, Andy told Ellie that a nurse at Twin Lakes said, "We're not worried about your leg right now. We're worried about saving your life."
Andy was admitted, placed on oxygen and prescribed a new round of antibiotics. Four days in, he said he was "feeling better," but staff were ignoring complaints about his leg, which was still sore.
And told Ellie that if the hospital put him on a ventilator, to "please don't let them shut it off."
The next day, Twin Lakes doctors transferred Andy to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital (part of the same hospital system) for a bronchoscopy. Andy and Ellie asked that instead, he be transferred to Norton Hospital in Louisville. But Andy changed his mind because, as he told Ellie, his doctors told him he would die if he did not accept the transfer to Owensboro.
Little food or water -- but five doses of remdesivir under the COVID protocol
Andy was admitted to Owensboro on Feb. 17, 2021, in stable condition. Though doctors initially told them Andy was being transferred for a bronchoscopy, hospital records listed it as an "emergency transfer" for respiratory issues.
"What I can say isn't in the notes anywhere is his leg. They didn't check it. They didn't even acknowledge it," Ellie said.
Ellie later learned that Andy was tested twice for COVID-19 on Feb. 17, 2021. While his nasal swab test was negative, PCR testing by physician and Owensboro board member Dr. Jason Mills was positive -- so the hospital initiated its COVID-19 protocol.
The next day, Owensboro gave Andy the first of five remdesivir doses. According to Ellie, hospital staff also didn't offer Andy much food or drink and didn't administer "maintenance medications that he needed every day" for his leg.
Hospital staff told Ellie that the COVID-19 protocol didn't allow other treatments to be administered, as doctors would be unable to "scientifically say" whether it was the protocol medications or other medications that succeeded in treating him.
They also told Ellie that Andy couldn't receive visitors due to a 14-day "isolation protocol." She later learned that she had the right to visit Andy twice a day, despite the protocols.
Placed on a ventilator after a stroke was left unaddressed for hours
On Feb. 20, 2021, Andy told Ellie he was "doing better" and was being relocated to a room on the COVID-19 floor.
However, while Andy appeared in good spirits during a video call, he complained of a headache and said hospital staff kept telling him that "everything is COVID."
By the next morning, Ellie awoke to the news that Andy had had a stroke -- and to a message Andy sent the previous evening, shortly after the call ended, that included a photo that showed his lip sagging.
Andy insisted he hadn't had a stroke, but Ellie learned that he was diagnosed with a stroke at 1:20 a.m., nearly two hours after Andy's text message, and wasn't treated until 4:38 a.m., outside the three-hour window for administering a tissue plasminogen activator, a time-sensitive treatment for ischemic strokes.
According to hospital documents, physicians wrote that the decision not to provide a tissue plasminogen activator was "also complicated by the fact that patient just received prophylactic Lovenox," a blood thinner, shortly before his stroke.
Ellie and other relatives remained on a video call with Andy throughout that day -- not knowing that it would be the last time they would speak with him.
Late that evening, without his family's knowledge or approval, Owensboro staff placed Andy on a ventilator. The news caught Ellie by surprise -- and was accompanied by evidence that Andy had resisted being ventilated.
"I wake up, and he's vented. They didn't ask permission. He was restrained to the bed. They said he was fighting the vent ... I can imagine that maybe he was trying to tell them he didn't want the vent, and they forced it," Ellie said.
Ellie said she implored the nurse, and several other doctors in the days that followed, to examine Andy's leg, but to no avail.
Instead, doctors and hospital staff repeatedly told her that Andy "wouldn't make it" and that she was being "inhumane" for keeping him on a ventilator.
On Feb. 23, 2021, Andy received his final dose of remdesivir.
It wasn't until Feb. 24, 2021, that a physician at the hospital told Ellie that a blood clot had been found in Andy's right leg. However, Ellie later learned physicians had previously observed a clot. The same physician claimed he tried calling her -- but he had been calling Andy's phone instead.
Rather than address Andy's leg troubles, doctors instead tracked Andy's condition through what Ellie later found out were "window visits" -- visually observing Andy through the window of his hospital room, "due to COVID."
Hospital claimed Andy was brain-dead, but family saw signs of consciousness
By Feb. 26, 2021, doctors at Owensboro declared Andy brain-dead, based on a test performed a day earlier. Ellie said the test was questionable.
"If you look at the records, it says, 'This test cannot be used to deem brain death due to patient is on a paralytic.'" Ellie learned that a medical student had given Andy a paralytic, typically used only during surgery to block muscle movement, on the same day as the test that was used to determine his brain death.
On Feb. 27, 2021, Ellie made a video call to Andy's phone with a nurse present in his room. Elli and other family members decided to "talk to him and stimulate his brain and tell him we're there, we love him, to keep fighting."
"Every time I would speak to him, his blood pressure would go up, way up. You could see life," Ellie said.
The nurse in the room with Andy, "Angela," agreed with Ellie -- or seemed to. Later that day, with the video call still in progress, another nurse, "Rachel," entered Andy's room to siphon fluids out of his mouth, causing him to gag -- another sign he wasn't brain-dead.
But instead of pursuing this, the nurse disconnected Andy's phone when the call ended. The next day, Ellie learned that the nurse had shut Andy's phone because she felt it was a "liability" to be recorded on the job.
Ellie and her husband finally visited Andy on Feb. 28, 2021. Once more, Andy showed signs of life when he heard Ellie's voice.
"When I start talking, his blood pressure starts going up. Those doctors saw that. They were right behind me," Ellie said. By the next day, Ellie said hospital staff were giving her "all kinds of promises" and were claiming they were "sorry for the misunderstanding." Yet, "they still weren't acknowledging his leg."
It was at this time that Seligson, who had originally treated Andy's leg, contacted Ellie. She said he sounded "traumatized, terrified" at the news of Andy's condition and his treatment at Owensboro. He told her he would visit Andy the next day and to tell the hospital to simply "keep him on the ventilator."
But when Ellie informed the hospital about Seligson's planned visit, the hospital ethics committee said it had already met that afternoon, without her knowledge, and had changed Andy's status to "DNR."
The committee also decided to place a sign at the door to Andy's room, prohibiting anyone from treating him.
Ellie said that when she and other family members questioned hospital staff about changing Andy's status and threatened legal action, they were told -- in a message they recorded -- that the decision of the ethics committee "trumps" any court order.
Did the hospital intend to harvest Andy's organs?
On March 2, 2021, Andy was declared dead. Ellie's mother learned of Andy's death in a rushed phone call from Dr. Brad Brasher, one of the physicians treating Andy.
"He told my mom that Andy passed away, his heart stopped, that he hopes that this gives some closure, and he's very sorry," Ellie said.
The aftermath of Andy's death led to a series of eye-opening revelations for Ellie, through her examination of the documents, interactions with entities involved in Andy's care and his funeral, and discussions with outside physicians and experts.
Ellie learned that the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates -- later known as Network for Hope -- was at Andy's bedside on at least three and as many as six occasions while he was on a ventilator. During this period, Ellie recalled that an Owensboro physician asked if Andy was an organ donor.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shut down Network for Hope after a whistleblower reported incidents of the organization attempting to harvest organs from living patients.
Ellie said she can't be certain whether Andy's organs were left intact or if any were harvested. "I can't say that they did, but I can't say that they didn't. I'm going to leave it at that. But they better hope they didn't."
Owensboro did not perform an autopsy on Andy after his death. The funeral home, which collected Andy's body directly from the hospital, subsequently embalmed him.
Ellie's review of Andy's hospital documents after his death revealed further inconsistencies or details that she was previously unaware of. These included:
* The use of "multiple" lethal cocktails of sedatives and paralytics, including morphine, fentanyl, ketamine and Precedex. Ellie suggested this was done to put Andy "in a coma with medication" to support the claim he was brain-dead.
* Andy's ventilator failed three times in one day and stopped providing Andy with nitric oxide. Ellie learned that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalled the model used in the hospital later that year due to malfunctions.
* Andy's charts showed that he lost 41 pounds in 21 days at Owensboro. Ellie said this is a sign he was not fed properly.
* Andy's records showed no evidence at any time that he had developed COVID-19 antibodies, casting doubt on the accuracy of the positive PCR test.
* An independent physician who analyzed Andy's records on behalf of his family determined that Andy's bronchoscopy was performed to "pull a positive" PCR test result. He also determined, through analysis of Andy's hospital photos, that Andy's injured leg lacked blood flow and was discolored.
* Despite COVID-19 being listed as Andy's cause of death, the "died of communicable disease" check box on his post-death toe tag was unchecked.
* Andy's records also include the names of personnel "that don't even exist," including a registered nurse purportedly by the name of "Paula Brasher."
In the aftermath of Andy's death, possible conflicts of interest came to light
Despite what Ellie believes is compelling evidence of hospital wrongdoing, she said she has faced difficulty pursuing legal action.
"I have called probably every lawyer in this state. I have probably called every lawyer that has a license to practice law outside of their states. Every single time, I get the same exact answer: 'Oh, you've got a case, but unfortunately, we're not going to be able to handle it,'" Ellie said.
Ellie said the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act of 2005 (PREP Act) poses a significant barrier. The law provides the manufacturers of emergency countermeasures used during public health emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and those who administer the products, with a legal liability shield.
Ellie filed a work-related workers' compensation claim, partly to bypass the PREP Act. The claim was successful. She later learned the company that paid the claim was Sedgwick, which also served as Owensboro's third-party administrator -- a potential conflict of interest.
Ellie also learned that in January 2021, weeks before Twin Lakes insisted that Andy transfer to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, Owensboro had acquired Twin Lakes.
"If you dig deeper, you'll see that Owensboro also had already planned to take Twin Lakes COVID medical patients, and the very day Andy was transferred is the day that Owensboro became the big COVID spot in Kentucky," Ellie said.
'We can get accountability. We can protect our kids'
Ellie said she has taken matters into her own hands by launching Dead Serious...Kinda Not, an informal group that "welcomes anybody who has lost a hospital protocol patient." The group is active in about 30 states.
"We can use our voices and our stories," Ellie said. "We connect dots and get the medical records," using a tool her group developed that analyzes medical records, puts them in chronological order and "can point the red flags out."
Dead Serious...Kinda Not co-organized a remembrance event in Washington, D.C., for COVID-19 hospital protocol victims on Sept. 27-28, with family members as speakers.
"We're going to get names read ... and they're going to be remembered. We're going to do slideshows and we're going to do photos," Ellie said before the event.
"Will we ever get justice? No. It's never there to be had. But we can get accountability. We can protect our kids, children that are going to have these same issues if we don't change them now."
Related articles in The Defender
* 'Remdesivir Papers' Allege Controversial Drug Used to Treat Service Members Led to 601 Deaths (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/remdesivir-papers-drug-military-members-601-deaths/)
* 'Before They Scrub This History': Group Documents Stories of COVID Protocol Victims (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/covid-protocol-victims-remdesivir/)
* Gilead Falsely Advertised Remdesivir as Safe and Effective, Lawsuit Alleges (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/gilead-falsely-advertised-remdesivir-lawsuit/)
* 'Stunning': Only 1 in 7 Germans With Positive PCR Test Had COVID Infection (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/1-in-7-germans-positive-pcr-test-covid-infection-study/)
* Zuckerberg: White House Would 'Scream' and 'Curse' at Facebook Staff to Remove COVID Content (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/zuckerberg-white-house-facebook-staff-remove-covid-content-joe-rogan/)
* Workers' Compensation: A Pathway to Immediate Relief for COVID Vaccine Injury Victims? (https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/workers-compensation-covid-vaccine-injury-victims/)
* * *
Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D., based in Athens, Greece, is a senior reporter for The Defender and host of "The Defender In-Depth" on CHD.TV.
* * *
Original text here: https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/he-sought-help-for-broken-leg-hospital-treated-him-for-covid-then-declared-him-brain-dead/
[Category: Health Care]
Alzheimer's Association, Special Olympics Partner on Brain Health Resources for People With Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- The Special Olympics issued the following news release:
* * *
Alzheimer's Association and Special Olympics Launch Partnership to Expand Brain Health Resources for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
[Chicago, Il - September 28, 2026] The Alzheimer's Association and Special Olympics today announced a new partnership to increase access to brain health education, dementia resources and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), their families and caregivers.
In conjunction with the new partnership, the organizations will ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- The Special Olympics issued the following news release: * * * Alzheimer's Association and Special Olympics Launch Partnership to Expand Brain Health Resources for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities [Chicago, Il - September 28, 2026] The Alzheimer's Association and Special Olympics today announced a new partnership to increase access to brain health education, dementia resources and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), their families and caregivers. In conjunction with the new partnership, the organizations willcollaborate to expand awareness of brain health and dementia, develop accessible educational resources, and strengthen connections between local Alzheimer's Association chapters and Special Olympics Programs. An initial focus of the partnership is adapting the Alzheimer's Association's "10 Healthy Habits for Your Brain" resource into an easy-read format to better serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
* * *
"This partnership reflects our commitment to making brain health and dementia resources accessible to all communities. Together with Special Olympics, we can better support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families and caregivers with trusted information, education and resources."
- Carl V. Hill, Ph.D., MPH, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at the Alzheimer's Association
* * *
The partnership comes at a critical time. People with Down syndrome are at significantly increased risk for Alzheimer's disease, with estimates suggesting that 50% or more of people with Down syndrome will develop dementia due to Alzheimer's disease as they age. In addition, by age 40, most people with Down syndrome have the brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, including the buildup of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, although not everyone develops dementia symptoms.
Through the collaboration, the Alzheimer's Association and Special Olympics, will work to:
* Increase awareness of brain health and dementia among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
* Expand access to educational materials and support resources.
* Develop accessible and inclusive health education tools and resources.
* Connect individuals, families and caregivers to information about dementia, caregiving and support services.
* Explore opportunities for local Alzheimer's Association chapters and Special Olympics Programs to collaborate in communities across the country.
* Explore future potential to collaborate on research and evaluation focusing on dementia in the population of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
* * *
"People with Down syndrome face a significantly increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, making trusted brain health and dementia resources critically important. Special Olympics is proud to partner with the Alzheimer's Association to expand the education and resources available to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and caregivers so they can recognize the signs of dementia, make informed decisions, and seek appropriate care."
- Dimitri A. Christakis, MD, MPH, chief health officer at Special Olympics
* * *
The Alzheimer's Association offers information and resources for individuals with Down syndrome, their families and caregivers, including guidance on understanding Alzheimer's risk, recognizing symptoms and accessing support services.
"As our organizations work together, we have an opportunity to build stronger connections between our local networks and create meaningful pathways to education, support and care," Hill added. "Together, we can help ensure that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families have access to the resources they need throughout every stage of life."
* * *
Original text here: https://www.specialolympics.org/about/press-releases/alzheimers-association-and-special-olympics-launch-partnership-to-expand-brain-health-resources-for-people-with-intellectual-and-developmental-disabilities
[Category: Business]
* * *
Alzheimer's Association and Special Olympics Launch Partnership to Expand Brain Health Resources for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
[Chicago, Il - September 28, 2026] The Alzheimer's Association and Special Olympics today announced a new partnership to increase access to brain health education, dementia resources and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), their families and caregivers.
In conjunction with the new partnership, the organizations will ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- The Special Olympics issued the following news release: * * * Alzheimer's Association and Special Olympics Launch Partnership to Expand Brain Health Resources for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities [Chicago, Il - September 28, 2026] The Alzheimer's Association and Special Olympics today announced a new partnership to increase access to brain health education, dementia resources and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), their families and caregivers. In conjunction with the new partnership, the organizations willcollaborate to expand awareness of brain health and dementia, develop accessible educational resources, and strengthen connections between local Alzheimer's Association chapters and Special Olympics Programs. An initial focus of the partnership is adapting the Alzheimer's Association's "10 Healthy Habits for Your Brain" resource into an easy-read format to better serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
* * *
"This partnership reflects our commitment to making brain health and dementia resources accessible to all communities. Together with Special Olympics, we can better support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families and caregivers with trusted information, education and resources."
- Carl V. Hill, Ph.D., MPH, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at the Alzheimer's Association
* * *
The partnership comes at a critical time. People with Down syndrome are at significantly increased risk for Alzheimer's disease, with estimates suggesting that 50% or more of people with Down syndrome will develop dementia due to Alzheimer's disease as they age. In addition, by age 40, most people with Down syndrome have the brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, including the buildup of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, although not everyone develops dementia symptoms.
Through the collaboration, the Alzheimer's Association and Special Olympics, will work to:
* Increase awareness of brain health and dementia among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
* Expand access to educational materials and support resources.
* Develop accessible and inclusive health education tools and resources.
* Connect individuals, families and caregivers to information about dementia, caregiving and support services.
* Explore opportunities for local Alzheimer's Association chapters and Special Olympics Programs to collaborate in communities across the country.
* Explore future potential to collaborate on research and evaluation focusing on dementia in the population of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
* * *
"People with Down syndrome face a significantly increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, making trusted brain health and dementia resources critically important. Special Olympics is proud to partner with the Alzheimer's Association to expand the education and resources available to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and caregivers so they can recognize the signs of dementia, make informed decisions, and seek appropriate care."
- Dimitri A. Christakis, MD, MPH, chief health officer at Special Olympics
* * *
The Alzheimer's Association offers information and resources for individuals with Down syndrome, their families and caregivers, including guidance on understanding Alzheimer's risk, recognizing symptoms and accessing support services.
"As our organizations work together, we have an opportunity to build stronger connections between our local networks and create meaningful pathways to education, support and care," Hill added. "Together, we can help ensure that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families have access to the resources they need throughout every stage of life."
* * *
Original text here: https://www.specialolympics.org/about/press-releases/alzheimers-association-and-special-olympics-launch-partnership-to-expand-brain-health-resources-for-people-with-intellectual-and-developmental-disabilities
[Category: Business]