Healthcare Access

Chicago – September 24, 2026 -- WovenX Health, a Chicago-based specialty care platform, has won the Industry Disrupter Award at 1871's 19th Annual Momentum Awards for its model expanding access to gastroenterology care.

National GI wait times average 40 days as two-thirds of U.S. counties lack a specialist

One in five Americans is affected by a gastrointestinal condition, yet the average wait for a GI consult has grown to 40 days nationally, according to the company. GI-related visits account for 10% of all emergency department visits, 86% of which WovenX says are avoidable with timely specialty access.

Mobile, Ala. – September 23, 2026 -- AltaPointe Health has completed a $15 million expansion at BayPointe Hospital, adding 34 adult psychiatric beds and raising total capacity from 104 to 138 beds, the organization announced at a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Monday.

Mobile County funded $6 million of the project through American Rescue Plan Act allocations

The Mobile County Commission contributed $6 million in federal pandemic-relief funding toward the $15 million total cost, according to AltaPointe Health. Commission President Connie Hudson and Commissioner Merceria Ludgood attended the ceremony alongside state lawmakers and AltaPointe board members.

Brookfield, Conn. – September 22, 2026 -- ROM Technologies Inc. (ROMTech) said its PortableConnect Rehab System can address two structural barriers facing Department of Veterans Affairs knee-replacement patients: distance from rehabilitation sites and fractured coordination between VA and Community Care providers.

Rural Veterans face outsized travel burdens for post-surgical rehabilitation

Approximately 3 million rural Veterans are enrolled in VA health care, and 54% are age 65 or older. A national VA knee-replacement study found 40.8% of patients lived in rural areas, making repeated long-distance travel a barrier to consistent rehabilitation. The VA's 2026 revised budget request includes roughly $2.29 billion for Beneficiary Travel, though the agency does not break out spending attributable to rehabilitation or rural Veterans specifically.

Aurora, Colo. – September 22, 2026 -- University of Colorado Anschutz has received an anonymous $50 million gift, one of the largest in campus history, to expand its CSF Leak Program into a world-leading center for diagnosis, treatment and research of cerebrospinal fluid leaks.

Patient survey reveals systemic diagnostic failures across the field

CU Anschutz researchers, working with the Spinal CSF Leak Foundation, conducted the largest patient survey ever done on the condition. Nearly 80% of patients reported being misdiagnosed, seeing a median of more than six clinicians before an accurate diagnosis. More than 60% said long waitlists blocked access to specialized care, forcing many to travel across state lines for treatment.

Washington – September 20, 2026 -- More than half of U.S. women, 51%, report at least one negative healthcare experience in the past five years, compared with 39% of men, according to a new Gallup-Pivotal survey released Sept. 18, 2026.

The research, conducted by Gallup in partnership with Pivotal, the organization founded by Melinda French Gates, finds that 42% of women say their health has prevented them from doing everything they wanted to do in life over the past five years. Fifty-four percent report at least one health-related impact on family life or relationships, 42% on work or career, and 32% on community participation.

Henderson, Nev. – September 20, 2026 -- PDS Health provided $22.8 million in donated dental services to 5,863 patients nationwide during its 16th annual Smile Generation Serve Day, held throughout August.

More than 14,000 team members logged 83,549 volunteer hours in one month

The integrated healthcare support organization mobilized over 14,000 staff members across its network of affiliated practices to deliver free treatment to individuals facing barriers to dental care. Since the initiative launched in 2011, cumulative donated care has reached more than $117 million.

PHOENIX – September 19, 2026 -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Health Choice (AZ Blue Health Choice) is distributing approximately 3,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to Medicaid families across Arizona this year, tying the giveaway directly to a push for increased preventive pediatric care.

Backpack Distribution Ties School Supplies to Well-Child Visit Access

AZ Blue Health Choice partnered with Equality Health Foundation on the initiative, which supplies notebooks, folders, pencils, crayons, rulers and glue sticks to children and families statewide. The program is structured around partnerships with pediatric and primary care practices to connect families with annual wellness visits, aiming to identify health issues early and reduce financial strain on households ahead of the school year.

Global – September 19, 2026 -- More than two billion people worldwide live with skin disease, yet a new benchmark study finds over 80% of countries fall below the dermatologist density needed to meet demand, with 74% of nations reporting skin health is not a national government priority.

Global dermatologist density falls nearly half short of the new benchmark

The study, which supports implementation of the World Health Assembly's 2025 Resolution on Skin Diseases as a Global Public Health Priority, establishes the first evidence-based benchmark for adequate dermatology care. It finds a global average of 2.66 dermatologists per 100,000 people, against an estimated requirement of 5.63 per 100,000.

Plymouth Meeting, Pa. – September 18, 2026 -- The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Oncology Research Program has awarded funding for four quality improvement projects targeting metastatic prostate cancer (mPCA) care, backed by Pfizer Global Medical Grants (GMG).

Four institutions receive two-year grants to standardize mPCA treatment protocols

The selected projects, each set for completion within two years, will run at UT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Northwestern University's Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Moffitt Cancer Center. Changchuan (Charles) Jiang, MD, at UT Southwestern will lead a biomarker action-loop initiative within a major U.S. safety-net cancer program. Paul Leger, MD, at Georgetown will implement multilevel interventions across the Medstar Health Network under the I-CARE PCA project.

Denver – September 17, 2026 -- The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) has launched a Complimentary IASLC Full Membership program for healthcare professionals in World Bank-designated low-income and lower-middle-income economies, eliminating financial barriers to its global thoracic oncology network.

Board approves fee waiver to widen access to research and clinical resources

The IASLC Board of Directors approved the initiative this spring, extending full membership benefits at no cost to clinicians, researchers, nurses, allied health professionals and patient advocates in eligible countries. Eligibility is determined annually using World Bank country income classifications.