Small businesses need our help now!

Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock - A city block in the SoHo section of New York City remains empty due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Coronavirus Outbreak, New York, USA - 17 Mar 2020 Over the past few months, I’ve missed my daily greetings and interactions with the small coffee shops and delis in my neighborhood. These …

Our environment has improved, thanks to coronavirus

Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images With billions of people around the world under stay-at-home measures, one unexpectedly positive consequence is how this has affected the environment. Stay at home orders have reduced pollution and replenished wildlife around the globe. The air is clearer, waters are cleaner and wild animals are reclaiming natural habitats.  …

Giving birth and overcoming new challenges during COVID-19

Creator: Leo Patrizi Penn Magazine Though most day-to-day life is suspended due to COVID-19, one thing can’t be put on pause: childbirth.  On average, more than 10,000 babies are born every day in the United States.  Preparing for labor in the best of times is nerve-wracking, but coronavirus has meant pregnant women face additional challenges …

The Long Road of Injustice

ABC news I witnessed hateful behavior at my daughter’s high school graduation last week. We were at her drive-in graduation, watching the live ceremony happening a few yards away on a jumbo screen while listening on our radios. A parent rolled down his window and loudly heckled commencement speakers when they alluded to anything about …

COVID-19 can’t stop the music

Guglielmo Mangiapane / Reuters The pandemic has sent the world into turmoil and there’s no clear sign of when (or if) life will go back to “normal.” The current challenges have no borders and every country worldwide is faced with them. Thankfully there’s one universal language—music—that’s providing calm to help with the anxiety, fear, anger …

Connecting through (and in spite of) our masks

Now that the world is wearing masks, we are successfully mitigating health risks but quickly losing one important aspect of our lives: smiles.   The world seems a little less friendly when we’re wearing face coverings. Interactions with masks feel distant. I find it harder to read the emotional cues of other people. And with strangers, …

Humanizing COVID care

NBC News Patients are facing very isolating experiences when they are admitted into the hospital now. They have minimal human contact and physical touch from their providers and much more isolation, due to the “no visitor” rule.  And the amount of PPE required to keep a medical worker safe has created a physical barrier to …

What does Independence Day mean?

(Photo: Emilio Morenatti, AP) This Fourth of July, the celebration of U.S. values—freedom, unity and democracy—felt very different. But not just because of COVID. It is hard to celebrate a country that feels so unsettled and divided. Every major city has experienced racial protests. Unemployment has soared. The economy is sputtering. And Americans don’t even …

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) remains in short supply around the world

Megan Farmer .   IPTC Photo Metadata. Months into the worldwide pandemic, it’s astonishing that there is still a shortage of PPE for health care workers.  As we start the second wave with almost all states seeing a surge of cases, front-line health care workers still don’t have enough PPE to keep them safe from …

“We Have Done The Impossible”

The coronavirus pandemic hit New York state harder than almost anywhere else in the world. While everyone was worried about California’s vulnerability with flights coming from China, New York City got surprised by an explosion of COVID-19 cases from infected patients flying in from Europe in mid February. New York City quickly became one of …