Latest news with #Children'sHospitalLosAngeles
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Children's Hospital Los Angeles Launches First-of-Its-Kind Sleep App
The CHLA-developed app will collect data for future research in machine learning to detect sleep disorders and help advance the standards of pediatric care in pain and sleep medicine Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is launching the first sleep registry in the country for children using Apple Watch as well as a new data collection app called WISE-HARE, or 'Wearable Intelligent Sensor Enhancement Home Apnea Risk Evaluation.' The app was developed to gather streams of high-fidelity data for future research, such as training machine learning algorithms from Apple Watch data to detect sleep disorders and provide crucial information to clinicians that inform patient care decisions. 'There are not enough pediatric sleep study beds in the country, which inevitably results in delayed care for children. In looking into solutions to solve this, it was clear that no application currently on the market would give us the immense amount of raw data needed to properly conduct sleep studies on children at home without specialized equipment,' said Eugene Kim, MD, principal investigator and chief of the Division of Pain Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. 'At Children's Hospital Los Angeles, we are always looking to pioneer the latest research and innovations with the goal of advancing the standards of pediatric care. We developed a custom app with graduates from Apple's Developer Academy in Fortaleza, Brazil, who supported the integration of Apple technologies, including HealthKit. This will allow us to create a first-of-its-kind sleep registry, which will be used to train machine learning algorithms from Apple Watch data to detect sleep disorders and inform clinicians on the need for ICU (Intensive Care Unit) admissions following surgery,' according to Kim. Polysomnography (PSG) studies, in which patients are admitted to the hospital overnight and numerous sensors are placed on the patient while they sleep, are the gold-standard test for assessing sleep and are essential in the diagnosis of sleep disorders such as sleep apnea. They are often needed to assess anesthetic risk before procedures, to help clinicians evaluate the risk of complications post-surgery. However, these tests are costly, have significant waitlists and require children to sleep in an unfamiliar environment at the hospital, which can lead to different results than a child sleeping comfortably at home. To launch this new registry, CHLA is enrolling children ages 5 to 18 years old currently scheduled for a PSG study. Enrolled participants will use the WISE-HARE app and wear an Apple Watch, in addition to the standard PSG sensors. Results from the PSG and Apple Watch devices over the next year will be used to train machine learning algorithms to detect high-risk sleep disorders, with families with the ability to screen for these highrisk sleep disorders at home without the need for special equipment. 'It was important that the benefits of our research would be made accessible for all patients. For this to happen, we needed a device that was comfortable to wear, commercially available and didn't require special training to operate,' added Dr. Kim. 'Apple Watch is a device that many children and their parents are already familiar with. The latest version met our requirements for a platform that allows us to collect and manage enormous amounts of data efficiently and securely.' Throughout the course of a typical eight-hour sleep test, WISE-HARE will amass over 30 million lines of data per patient. As home to the Virtual Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (vPICU), a data hub for providers in pediatric intensive care units worldwide, CHLA and its team of data scientists are among the few in the country with the expertise and infrastructure required to manage this data. 'The WISE-HARE app has the potential to help alleviate the delays and frustrations caused by the national shortage of pediatric sleep study beds in the coming years,' said Emily Gillett, MD, pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist at CHLA. 'The Sleep Center and Sleep Laboratory at Children's Hospital Los Angeles were among the first in the country to focus exclusively on sleep disorders in children, so it's very fitting that our team at CHLA is pioneering this new sleep monitoring technology with the potential to streamline care for pediatric sleep patients.' The registry was funded by the Robert J. Coury Family Foundation. WISE-HARE will be accessible as open-source software and made available to researchers.
Axios
09-07-2025
- Health
- Axios
Trump administration probes lead to trans care cutbacks
The Trump administration's push to end gender-affirming care for transgender youth is having a chilling effect on health systems, prompting some to pull back on the services in states where they remain legal. The big picture: Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Stanford Medicine and Pittsburgh's UPMC are among the facilities pausing or shutting down services following federal probes and concerns that funding could be at risk. That's despite a judge temporarily halting President Trump's executive order that would strip federal funding from hospitals providing gender-affirming medical services to minors. What they're saying:"Certainly there have been a lot of threats, which have translated into a lot of fear," said Kellan Baker, executive director of the Institute for Health Research and Policy at Whitman-Walker, the LGBTQ+ health center. "I think it's really important, now more than ever, that institutions in our lives, whether that is hospital systems or the states themselves or the courts, are standing up for transgender young people," he said. "What this administration is doing is serious overreach." Driving the news: The Federal Trade Commission will hold a public workshop on Wednesday to "gauge the harms consumers may be experiencing" surrounding gender-affirming care for minors. Speakers at the hearing include prominent voices against youth gender-affirming care, including a Texas doctor accused of illegally obtaining information on patients and sharing it with a conservative activist. The Trump administration dropped the case in January. It's the latest in a string of Trump administration actions that show the federal government isn't backing down from its goal to stop surgeries, hormone treatments and puberty blockers for youth with gender dysphoria and and tie the awarding of federal funding to recognizing only a person's sex assigned at birth. Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this year directed prosecutors to investigate providers of gender-affirming surgical procedures, which she characterized as female genital mutilation. She also directed the Justice Department's civil division to investigate drug manufacturers and distributors for making false claims about on- or off-label use of puberty blockers and hormone therapies, as well as providers for billing Medicaid related for what she called "radical gender experimentation." The FBI last month requested tips from the public on hospitals and providers offering gender-affirming care for youth. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in May sent letters to nine hospitals seeking information about informed consent protocols for kids with gender dysphoria, adverse events related to procedures and financial data for all pediatric gender-affirming surgeries covered at least in part by a federal program. The Trump administration has said its actions are necessary to protect minors from fraud and medical complications as a result of gender-related medical interventions, as well as regret from having undergone care. "President Trump has been clear: America will protect kids from life-altering and experimental procedures. CMS has warned hospitals and state Medicaid programs about these dangers — and is taking regulatory enforcement actions. It's time for children's hospitals to do the right thing," CMS administrator Mehmet Oz said in a statement to Axios. The White House referred queries to CMS. Reality check: Gender-affirming care for kids with gender dysphoria is supported by major medical organizations including the American Medical Association. A broad medical evidence review published by the University of Utah in May at the request of the state's legislature found that gender-affirming hormone treatments are safe, and effective for promoting mental health. Drugs like puberty blockers are temporary and reversible and used for both trans and non-trans youth who experience early onset puberty. Surgeries for transgender children are rare, and most people who accessed transition-related care as adolescents are happy with that decision as adults, research shows. Still, the federal actions taken together are creating significant risk for health care providers, even in states where families of transgender kids are moving to seek better access to care. While some providers that paused gender-affirming care for kids after January's executive order have since resumed services, other providers have decided they can't weather the prospect of prosecution or losing federal funds. Case in point: Children's Hospital Los Angeles announced last month that it will close its Center for Transyouth Health and Development and gender-affirming care surgical program on July 22 because of the threat of losing federal funding. "This decision does not come lightly. ... However, it follows a lengthy and thorough assessment of the increasingly severe impacts of federal administrative actions and proposed policies that have taken place since that time," hospital leadership wrote in a letter to staff. If the hospital lost all access to federal funding, it would only be able to sustain operations for about 50 days, the letter says. Stanford Medicine last month also paused gender-related surgical procedures for patients under 19 years old after considering federal government actions, the health system confirmed to Axios. Community Medical Center in Montana and UPMC in Pennsylvania also both recently stopped providing gender-affirming medical services to minors. "As we continue to monitor executive branch memos, directives, and other guidance from the federal government, these actions have made it abundantly clear that our clinicians can no longer provide certain types of gender-affirming care without risk of criminal prosecution," a UPMC spokesperson said in a statement to Axios. Between the lines: Providers that stop caring for transgender youth may be in violation of California's anti-discrimination laws, said Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights. CHLA did not respond to a request for comment on concerns that it would violate state anti-discrimination laws. What we're watching: Whether the administration takes action against gender-affirming care providers based on any of its investigations as litigation over the executive order continues.
Miami Herald
03-07-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Administration may cut funds to hospitals offering gender care to kids
The Trump administration may cut off federal funding to hospitals that provide gender-related treatments to children and teens. Nine major children's hospitals recently received letters from federal officials seeking information about procedures such as hormone therapy, puberty blockers and sex-reassignment surgeries, The Wall Street Journal reported. Dr. Mehmet Oz, who now leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the goal is to protect children from 'life-altering and experimental procedures.' 'CMS has warned hospitals and state Medicaid programs about these dangers - and is taking regulatory enforcement actions,' Oz said. Officials at CMS say they are looking into whether they can block federal Medicaid or insurance funding to hospitals that offer such care. They're also reviewing whether hospitals could be removed from Medicaid entirely if they continue to treat minors for gender-related issues, The Wall Street Journal said. Most children's hospitals depend heavily on Medicaid. One of the hospitals that received a letter, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, has already announced it will shut down its gender-related care program. The hospital said more than 65% of its funding comes from federal sources. 'These threats are no longer theoretical. The federal government has already cut off hundreds of millions of dollars from U.S. academic and research institutions,' hospital leaders said in a June 12 letter to the staff. Boston Children's Hospital said it has a legal duty under Massachusetts law to provide access to gender-affirming care and is still reviewing the CMS letter. The letters were sent as part of a broader effort by the administration to restrict gender-affirming care for minors. In April, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department would investigate doctors and hospitals that perform gender-related surgeries or mislead families about treatment. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that states can limit access to these treatments for minors, and more Americans are expressing concern about transgender-related policies in schools and sports. According to nonprofit health research group KFF, 27 states now have laws or policies that restrict gender-related care for children and teens. Some hospitals that received the CMS letter are scaling back services. UPMC Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh said it would stop offering puberty blockers, citing the risk of legal action, The Wall Street Journal said. 'As we continue to monitor executive-branch memos, directives and other guidance from the federal government, these actions have made it abundantly clear that our clinicians can no longer provide certain types of gender-affirming care without risk of criminal prosecution,' a hospital spokesperson said. The nine hospitals that received letters include: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Seattle Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Boston Children's Hospital, Children's National Hospital, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland, Children's Hospital Colorado, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, The Wall Street Journal reported. Children's Hospital Colorado and Cincinnati Children's both said they don't perform surgeries for minors. Ellen Kahn, senior vice president of the Human Rights Campaign, said transgender surgeries for youth are rare and that parents, doctors and patients should make those decisions. 'Studies consistently show that affirming care reduces depression, anxiety and suicide risk among transgender youth,' she said. 'The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should protect healthcare, not politicize it,' she added. Supporters of gender-related treatments say these services are often life-saving for young people with gender dysphoria. But others argue there is not enough evidence yet about any long-term outcomes. More information: The HHS Office of Population Affairs has more on gender-affirming care for young people. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Newsweek
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Meghan Markle Shows She's Still Not Ready to Accept Her Flaws
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Meghan Markle was asked what she would have done differently to re-write her narrative and responded: "I would ask people to tell the truth." The Duchess of Sussex was asked the question as a guest on the Aspire with Emma Grede podcast, but her answer is problematic for a number of reasons. The most obvious is that the veracity of some of her own and Prince Harry's past statements has been called into question. However, there is a second underlying issue, which is that she did not actually answer the question that was put to her, and swerving it speaks to a longstanding flaw in her messaging. Meghan Markle attends the Children's Hospital Los Angeles gala at L.A. Live Event Deck, in Los Angeles, California, on October 5, 2024. Meghan Markle attends the Children's Hospital Los Angeles gala at L.A. Live Event Deck, in Los Angeles, California, on October 5, Meghan Markle Told Emma Grede About 'The Truth' Grede asked Meghan: "If you could rewrite your public narrative from scratch, is there anything that you would do differently?" The duchess replied during Tuesday's episode: "Yes, I would ask people to tell the truth." The remark sparked a perhaps predictable backlash from the British press, with some newspapers going as far as suggesting it was a veiled attack on the monarchy. It is easy to see how some might view the comment as hypocritical after some of Meghan and Harry's own statements have been publicly questioned. For example, Meghan's account of an unnamed royal expressing "concerns" about her unborn child's skin tone in March 2021 prompted King Charles III to write to Meghan to say the comment was simply curiosity, according to biography Endgame. And when Harry told ITV in January 2023 that Meghan had never accused the royals of racism but rather unconscious bias, it prompted some to argue that if the public had misinterpreted her comments, the couple should have corrected the record right away instead of waiting around a year and a half. Dickie Arbiter, a former spokesperson for Queen Elizabeth II, also said he was misquoted in Prince Harry's book, Spare, which suggested he was part of a "Fleet Street jury" and "concluded, with his fellow jurors, that we should hereafter 'expect no mercy'" following the couple's decision to quit royal life. In reality, the quote had come from British journalist Sir Trevor Phillips, while Arbiter told Newsweek he deserved an apology, though he did not get one. There are innumerable other examples, from the Archbishop of Canterbury correcting Harry and Meghan's account of marrying in secret to the couple contradicting each other in relation to Meghan's first curtsy to Queen Elizabeth II. In their 2022 Netflix biopic, Meghan said she messed up the curtsy: "I mean, Americans would understand this. We have Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament [a dinner theater]...it was like that." But in Spare, Harry wrote: "Meg went straight to her and dropped a deep, flawless curtsy." And, of course, Queen Elizabeth II responded to their 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview with the famous line: "Some recollections may vary." The problems, though, go beyond the question of whether it is hypocritical for Meghan to demand the truth from others. Prince Harry Denounces the Media Days Into Their Relationship Not least of all, the couple effectively did ask people to tell the truth, albeit using a more elaborate form of words. Harry released a statement through Jason Knauf, the communications secretary at Kensington Palace, on November 8, 2016, just more than a week after their relationship became public knowledge, which stated: "The past week has seen a line crossed. His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. "Some of this has been very public—the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments. "Some of it has been hidden from the public—the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past photographers in order to get to her front door; the attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home and the calls to police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by papers to her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life." The reference to "defamation" and a "smear" was a clear indication Harry felt the stories in the papers were untrue. And that was itself a re-iteration of Harry's longstanding and very well-known position in the British media. For example, when he turned 21, he gave an interview in which he spoke about how protective he was of then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy: "I suppose that is the media in general. There's truth and there's lies and unfortunately I can't get the truth across because I don't have my own column in the paper." Meghan also made similar comments during an interview in 2019 for ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey: "I never thought this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair. And that is the part that is hard to reconcile." All of these interventions were interpreted as pleas for the media to tell the truth at a point when Harry had very firmly established his position that the tabloids were full of lies. Needless to say, none of these interventions resolved the couple's conflicts with the media. Harry and Meghan's Inability to Acknowledge Their Own Flaws In reality, Meghan's answer has the effect of deflecting the question away from how she might have done things differently and onto her frequently repeated existing narrative about what others should have done differently, namely, she wanted them to tell the truth and feels they did not. And it has been said for years that for all their criticisms of other people, Harry and Meghan have done nowhere near enough to acknowledge their own flaws. Rather than batting the question away, Meghan could have finally engaged with the idea that some aspects of her current situation may be a product of her own past mistakes. Prince Harry told Anderson Cooper during his 60 Minutes interview in January 2023: "Meghan and I have continued to say that we will openly apologize for anything that we did wrong, but every time we ask that question, no one's telling us the specifics or anything." However, that statement is hard to reconcile with the passage of his book Spare, in which he described tensions with the staff: "Nerves were shattering, people were sniping. In such a climate there was no such thing as constructive criticism. All feedback was seen as an affront, an insult. "More than once a staff member slumped across their desk and wept. For all this, every bit of it, Willy blamed one person. Meg. He told me so several times, and he got cross when I told him he was out of line." The question of whether there is anything Meghan and Harry might have done differently may well come up again in the future, and it might not be the worst idea for them to have an actual answer for it that does not deflect the blame onto others. Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page. Do you have a question about King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@ We'd love to hear from you.
Time of India
17-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Transgender youth clinic in Los Angeles to shut next month amid Trump funding pressures
Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), one of the nation's largest providers of gender‑affirming care, will close its Center for Transyouth Health and Development on July 22, citing loss of federal funding tied to Trump's Executive Order 14187. The order threatens to withhold Medicare and Medicaid support from providers of puberty blockers, hormones, or surgeries for individuals under 19, despite ongoing federal court injunctions. CHLA warns that without two‑thirds of its federal funding, it cannot sustain broader pediatric services. The decision has triggered widespread outcry from LGBTQ+ advocates, led by protests and legal pressure from California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Show more Show less
