In the first days of his second term, President Donald Trump has already made clear his intention to dismantle some policies and guidelines that Black and Brown Americans depended on for improved access to health care and protection from the ravages of climate change. URL Media and our partners will continue covering these issues and how they affect our communities.As always, share thoughts about this newsletter with us at [email protected].

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How public hospitals will respond to ICEThe big idea: NYC Health + Hospitals, the overarching public hospital and patient care system in New York City, released a memo to its 43,000 employees with guidelines on how to handle a visit from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This system is the largest of any city in the United States, and it delivers care to about 19,000 migrants and asylum seekers, Documented reports. What are the guidelines?: Workers were instructed via the memo to first gather information from officers, such as their name, badge number, and a signed judicial warrant, before escalating to an Immigration Liaison or manager. From there, H+H’s General Counsel may be contacted. Other standard health care regulations also protect patient data, including immigration status. However, health care workers were instructed to not interfere with or obstruct ICE in any way. If they themselves feel in danger while collecting information, they are advised to allow entry and document the officers. The stakes: Hospitals used to be a protected area from ICE activity — along with schools and places of worship — until the Trump administration rolled back those protections earlier this month. So far, the Justice Department has backed the escalation. ICE also has a history of making “collateral arrests,” which is when someone who is not a target is still arrested just because they were present.From the source: “We want to hope for the best but expect the worst. But we don’t have clear answers ourselves,” one employee told Documented.Documented has the rest → Plus: Four things to know from our investigation of the Home Healthcare Workers of America, New York’s fastest-growing union (Documented) 

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Puerto Rican women and the opioid crisisThe big idea: Puerto Rican women have become increasingly vulnerable to opioid drug abuse and the struggles that come with it. The reasons fall on the colonial government, its lack of data collection, and decades of targeted abuse, palabra. reports.The fine print: About 28,000 people reportedly were using injection drugs on the island as of 2020, but the true scope of the epidemic is obscured by the lack of governmental overdose data. Plus, the information that does exist is largely about men, while advocates say there are more women users than before. The impacts on women are especially under-studied, as their drug use also intersects with issues like sexual and domestic violence, poverty, child abuse, and natural disasters. Finding volunteers to participate in the studies is also a challenge. Hard feelings and memories remain long after an OxyContin trial in the 1970s, a birth control trial in the 1950s, and a sterilization program in the 1930s all targeted and coerced Puerto Rican women into participating. What are possible solutions?: Experts who spoke with palabra. recommended a range of ways to take action and improve the situation. They included decriminalizing drug use, regulating “soft drugs” like cannabis, focusing on harm reduction services, making drug treatment and counseling more accessible, and forming pathways for women to regain custody of their children. Additional research and data collection is also a priority. From the source: “I am a woman who believes in possibilities and every day I think that it is possible to develop new services for women,” said Yorelys Rivera Amador, executive director of Iniciativa Comunitaria, a nonprofit focused on health and rehabilitation services. “The knowledge is on the island, the resources are there for the services.”Get the full story →  

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Caring For A Loved One With Alzheimer’s  The big idea: A reader wrote to India Currents asking for help supporting their loved one who seems to be showing early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, such as forgetfulness and confusion around times and places. Dr. Manoj Sharma answered their questions. Dr. Sharma’s tips: According to Dr. Sharma, a professor of social and behavioral health and internal medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, preparing oneself to show up for a loved one can make all the difference. You can take care of someone else best if your own health and mental wellbeing are sound. If the diagnosis is indeed Alzheimer’s, then finding acceptance is also crucial, though it can take time and be a sad process. Remembering other roles and purposes in life can help, as can talking with a therapist. “Living with and caring for someone with Alzheimer’s is a life-altering persistent life difficulty. You must prepare your body and mind for this challenge,” he advises. Tackling the problem: There is not currently any cure for Alzheimer’s, but certain medications have been shown to slow its pace. Doing brain teasers and exercises can also help, and medical research is making additional strides every day. More advice in India Currents →

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The story: In a first for Washington, the Tulalip Tribes have signed a data sharing agreement with the state’s Department of Health. As a result, the tribes’ sovereign right to know how the state collects, stores and uses health data is affirmed. At the center: The agreement was signed by Tulalip Chairwoman Teri Gobin, who said the action will bring “vital” transparency to the relationship between public health agencies and tribal communities, according to Native News Online. →Credit: WSDOH