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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Few Treatment Options in WV for "Signature Wound" of Iraq War

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Monday, July 16, 2007   


It's been called the "signature wound" of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Many veterans return with traumatic brain injuries, but experts say treatment options are few and far between, especially in rural states like West Virginia. Hilda Heady is a rural health expert at West Virginia University. She says brain injuries can have many complications, including memory loss, difficulty performing basic tasks, and mental health problems.

"The care that these individuals need many times is gonna be very, very sophisticated kind of care. And rural people's access to those kind of facilities are very limited."

She notes the VA has made progress in reaching out to rural areas, but there's still room for improvement -- things like providing more brain injury case managers, working with community health centers to provide more access to care, and recruiting and training more doctors to work in rural areas.

Heady points out that living in a supportive home environment can help brain injury victims recover, but that's hard to do if veterans can't get medical care close to home.

"When the kind of care that they need is someplace else, they have to be separated from their families. And when that happens, then we lose access to the first line of comfort as well as first line of defense helping the veteran recover."


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The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

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Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

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Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

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Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

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Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

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New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

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Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

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Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

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