Operation Allies Welcome Medical Response Unit at Philadelphia International Airport: A Framework for Medical Triage of High Volume of Displaced Persons Arriving by Air.

In the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, over 100,000 individuals were evacuated to the United States, primarily arriving through Philadelphia International Airport and Dulles International Airport under Operation Allies Welcome. In Philadelphia, evacuees were greeted at the airport by a medical triage unit (MTU) that was rapidly assembled to provide on-site medical care. The MTU triaged emergent medical complaints, handled minor complaints on-site to reduce impact on local health care systems, distributed patients who did require a higher level of care among area hospitals, and ensured appropriate follow-up care for individuals with ongoing needs.

Changing The Playbook For Immigrant Health.

Philadelphia's response to welcoming Afghan evacuees during the COVID-19 pandemic suggests the need for a new approach to immigrant health care.

Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Philadelphia.

To estimate excess all-cause mortality in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the COVID-19 pandemic and understand the distribution of excess mortality in the population. With a Poisson model trained on recent historical data from the Pennsylvania vital registration system, we estimated expected weekly mortality in 2020. We compared these estimates with observed mortality to estimate excess mortality.

Changes in voluntary admission and restraint use after a comprehensive tobacco-free policy in inpatient psychiatric health facilities.

Cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, predominantly due to tobacco use, are the leading causes of death among individuals with serious and persistent mental illness. However, many psychiatric health facilities do not routinely treat tobacco use disorder. The purpose of the current study was to examine the impact of implementing a tobacco-free policy in inpatient psychiatric health facilities in a large, urban setting on behavioral problems, treatment access, and tobacco treatment.

Evaluation of a Healthy Chinese Take-Out Sodium-Reduction Initiative in Philadelphia Low-Income Communities and Neighborhoods.

Objectives: Sodium reduction in restaurant foods is important because 77% of sodium in the United States is consumed by eating prepared and restaurant foods. We evaluated a sodium-reduction intervention, Healthy Chinese Take-Out Initiative, among Chinese take-out restaurants in low-income neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Our objectives were to (1) analyze changes in the sodium content of food samples and (2) collect data on changes in chefs' and owners' knowledge about the health risks of sodium overconsumption, perceptions of the need for sodium reduction, self-efficacy for lowering sodium use, and perceptions of training needs for sodium-reduction strategies.

Characteristics of tobacco purchases in urban corner stores.

Introduction: To examine the prevalence and patterns of tobacco purchases at low-income, urban corner stores.

Methods: Data on tobacco products and other purchases were collected through direct observation of customers' purchases (n=6369) at 120 urban corner stores in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from April to September 2012.

Results: Overall 13% of corner store purchases included tobacco products.