Detroit's Jazz community is mourning the death of Gretchen Valade, who passed away last week at the age of 97. The Carhartt heiress was a prominent arts supporter and philanthropist who founded Mack Avenue Records and kept the Detroit Jazz Festival alive. "I came to call her the 'Angel of Jazz' many years ago because she has this purity of vision, purity of dream," Chris Collins,  Professor and Director of Jazz Studies and Valade Endowed Chair in Jazz at Wayne State University, said. In doing so, Valade turned the dreams of countless artists into reality.  Sharing her success to ensure there was a thriving Jazz community in metro Detroit.  "What she's about is breaking down barriers so that people can participate in these things. Everyone is invited to the party," Collins said. One of those parties, the Detroit Jazz Festival, that Valade rescued more than a decade ago. She established a foundation with a $10 million endowment to keep the largest free Jazz festival in North America alive. In recent years Valade donated $9.5 million to Wayne State University for a new Jazz center that will bear her name. "It will put a footprint of Jazz right on Cass Avenue in a facility that is more than a club, but not quite as huge as the festival where we have 1000s of people just in that right spot," Collins said.

By Darren Cunningham   Following the collapse of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during Monday Night Football, the American Heart Association is encouraging people to understand the importance of CPR and the difference between cardiac arrest and a heart attack. Cardiologist Dr. Brian O'Neil is the chair of Wayne State University’s Department of Emergency Medicine and board president for the American Heart Association Detroit chapter. He said when someone does need CPR and receives CPR, their chances of being discharged from the hospital increases by three-fold.  O’Neil explained, “When you’re doing CPR, you’re maintaining blood flow to the heart itself because even though it’s not beating, it’s still using a lot of energy and if you don’t resupply that energy you get into something called the flatline or asystole." "That’s never what you want," he added. O’Neil said what happened Monday is uncommon but not unheard of. 

By Frank McGeorge and Brandon Carr  Getting hit in the chest isn’t something that happens often in everyday life, but during athletic activities, getting hit in the chest isn’t unusual.  Fortunately, those blows don’t usually lead to cardiac arrest. In this particular case, doctors are concerned about a very rare condition called commotio cordis, in which the  chest is hit at the exact right time to cause the heart to go into an abnormally deadly heart rhythm called ventricular fibrillation. In the department of biomedical engineering at Wayne State University, the chairperson, Dr. Cynthia Bir, studies injury biomechanics. “It’s predominantly in the youth population,” said Dr. Bir. “We’ve seen it occur more often in children under 18 based on the data that we’ve looked at, so it’s not something that occurs very often once you get past that 18 to 20 years of age.” One focus of WSU research is chest protection. “We looked at a lot of different chest protectors, and sometimes they’re protective, and sometimes they’re not,” Bir said. “There’s some protectors that have been called heart guards, and they didn’t perform as well as some of the other chest protectors performed…“I think that the chest protectors, there’s not one that’s going to necessarily prevent commotio cordis, we know that we’ve looked at it, there’s some that probably do better than others in terms of preventing that transmission of force. But the main thing that could help prevent a serious fatal outcome is having the AED close to the field.” 

The number of incidents in which children under age 6 accidentally ate edible cannabis products rose to 3,054 in 2021, up from 207 in 2017 - a 1,375 percent increase, according to a study of national poison control data in the journal Pediatrics. The total number of cases over the five years was 7,043. The cases are a small but quickly growing portion of the more than 850,000 annual poison exposures in this age group tracked by the National Poison Data System (NPDS). Several factors probably have contributed to the increase: Edible cannabis products come in child-appealing forms, such as colorful gummy candies or tasty desserts; are seldom contained in child-resistant packaging; and are increasingly available as more states legalize recreational marijuana. Clinical toxicologist Varun Vohra said the Michigan Poison & Drug Information Center at Wayne State University School of Medicine, where he is the director, has experienced its own "pretty healthy increase in pediatric marijuana exposures, especially kids under 5 and mostly with edibles." The numbers continue to rise: In 2021, the poison center had 211 cases of youngsters under 19 exposed to edibles (156 of them under age 5); through October of 2022, it already had 225 cases (164 under age 5). 

Officer-involved shootings like the one in Warren Monday, are becoming all too common and just one reason why more cops are leaving law enforcement, industry experts say. Many who do stay on the force have a harder time coping with the risks. The same day as the Warren incident, gunshots were fired at an undercover Dearborn officer on the southwest side of Detroit. The officer was not hurt - at least physically. But the stress can cause lasting trauma. It is one reason why the Police Officers Association supports Frontline Strong Together, a therapy program for first responders based out of Wayne State University. 

The Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy at Wayne State University Law School on December 12 released a new edition of its "Portraits in Oversight" series that details the multiple congressional oversight investigations that exposed the deadly impact of the Love Canal environmental disaster and disclosed that it was just one of thousands of hazardous waste sites across the country. In response to these investigations and the public outcry that followed, Congress enacted the Superfund Program which provided the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority and funding to identify and clean up hazardous waste sites across the United States. Jim Townsend, director of the Levin Center noted, "Love Canal marked a turning point in Congress' willingness to acknowledge and investigate industrial waste sites poisoning American communities. The new Portrait in Oversight commemorates the bipartisan work that exposed and acted on a complex, nationwide environmental problem, reminding Congress and the public of what is possible."

By Nada Hassanein Diabetes is expected to surge dramatically in young people over the next several decades in what experts say should be a wake-up call to prioritize health in America. Researchers estimate that in 2060, there could be as many as 220,000 people under age 20 with Type 2 diabetes, an increase of nearly 700%, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Thursday. Those with Type 1, the most common type in young people, could see a 65% increase. Overall, the findings estimate that more than half a million young people could have diabetes in 2060, if current rates continue and with population increase. In 2017, that number was 213,000, according to the study published in American Diabetes Association's Diabetes Care. The statistics are concerning and should stir urgency in addressing the health of American young people, such as prioritizing efforts to bring obesity rates down, experts say. Despite a known link between obesity and Type 2 diabetes, "it’s very unsettling that we have not made any progress to really decrease this risk of Type 2 diabetes in children," said Dr. Colleen Buggs-Saxton, a pediatric endocrinologist at Wayne State University.

When you think resolution, you naturally might think about diet or exercise goals. But you should add "get better sleep" to that list. People should get at least 7 hours of sleep at night, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). "There's good evidence that getting less than that not only makes you feel sleepy and fatigued, but also, over time, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as poorer immune function," says James A Rowley, MD, professor of pulmonary and critical care and sleep medicine at Wayne State University and president-elect of AASM.

Erika Bocknek, associate professor of educational psychology at Wayne State University, wrote an article for The Conversation about sleep routines. Everyone knows that sleep is critical for growing children and their mental and physical health. Regular, high-quality sleep habits help children consolidate memory and learn better. A lack of sleep contributes to childhood depression, anxiety and even risk of suicide, along with physical health problems, including risk of injury. The challenge is making sure kids log those valuable zzz’s. She writes that there are three main components of high-quality sleep for children. First, they need enough total hours – sleep duration. Sleep quality is important, too – sleeping soundly during the night with few disruptions or awakenings. And, finally, there’s sleep timing – essentially, a consistent schedule, with bedtime and risetime about the same across the whole week.

On Dec. 17, Casey Guevara graduated from a Michigan university nursing program for military veterans, where she was chosen for the special honor of giving a convocation speech. Guevara, who grew up in Tulsa and attended Edison Preparatory School, graduated previously from Tulsa Community College’s nursing program. She also spent eight years with the Oklahoma National Guard and achieved the rank of sergeant. Guevara had been thinking about a medical career since childhood, she said, but not necessarily as a nurse. That changed when, as a result of her personal health crisis, she got a view of the profession up close. “The care in the hospitals while I was ill — it was the nurses that were by my side the entire time,” she said. After the family relocated to Michigan, she learned that Wayne State School of Nursing in Detroit had a special accelerated program for military veterans that would allow her to earn a bachelor’s degree. Now that she’s officially a graduate, Guevara will go to work at a hospital in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. She’s starting off as an emergency room nurse. Her goal is eventually to move into labor and delivery. Now that she’s officially a graduate, Guevara will go to work at a hospital in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. She’s starting off as an emergency room nurse. Her goal is eventually to move into labor and delivery. In her graduation speech, Guevara said she told her fellow students that commencement should be a celebration of much more than just completing degree requirements.

By Sara Powers As a snowstorm is underway in many areas throughout the state, the Michigan Poison & Drug Information Center at the Wayne State University School of Medicine issued carbon monoxide warnings, encouraging Michiganders to safely prepare for the weather. If someone loses power, they should not run gas-powered generators indoors. "Carbon monoxide production results when a carbon-based fuel (gas, propane, natural gas, wood, charcoal) does not burn completely in a furnace, water heater, grill, generator or internal combustion engine. The resulting gas is colorless and odorless," according to Michigan Poison & Drug Information Center officials.

By Bret Jaspers  It’s been about three months since Sophia Lewis’ son Shamond died after being arrested and taken to the Dallas County Jail. She wants answers. For now, she only has questions. Medical records say Shamond came to Parkland Hospital unresponsive. That was about thirteen hours after Dallas Police took him to the jail. He died six days after arriving at the hospital. Sophia wants to know what happened between his arrest and his arrival at the hospital. She was at the scene of the arrest. While he appeared to be having a psychotic episode, Sophia said he was otherwise physically fine. Shamond’s severe mental illness is at the heart of his story. The 24-year-old had struggled with schizophrenia for about five years, sometimes landing in law enforcement custody and other times in the care of a mental health facility. The conversation around how law enforcement responds to patients with mental illness often focuses on that first, unpredictable interaction on the street. Wayne State University professor and dean Sheryl Kubiak said there’s been an increased push for training and awareness that must go beyond the initial arrest. Kubiak researches the intersection of the criminal and legal systems and behavioral health. “We have to expand it not only to law enforcement officers on the street, but we also have to do it for law enforcement and corrections officers who are working in institutional settings,” Kubiak said. Kubiak says 20 to 25% of people in jails nationally are like Shamond Lewis — folks with serious mental illnesses like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and serious depression. And jailers don’t always know that that’s what’s going on. “Because of confidentiality, it may be that just the medical staff has that information,” she said. “And I think that, unfortunately, jail administrators and jail staff aren’t generally trained in understanding mental illness or mental health.” 

By Betty Gold and Juno DeMelo  The new year is a great time for a health reset. But when we set the bar too high, we inevitably blow it, blame ourselves, and go back to the status quo. You're supposed to get two and a half hours of moderate-intensity physical activity each week, or about 30 minutes five days a week.9 But don't let those numbers intimidate you out of doing what you can. Experts say you can break down the time into 10-minute sessions without missing out on exercise's physical and mental benefits. And research backs up the power of short workouts: One study found that 13 minutes of weight training three times a week is enough to build strength, while another showed that just five minutes a day of running is all it takes to reduce your risk of death from cardiovascular disease. "Some studies suggest that merely standing is good for metabolic health," says Tamara Hew-Butler, PhD, an associate professor of exercise and sports science at Wayne State University in Detroit. "The bottom line is that any exercise is better than none at all."

Arash Javanbakht, associate professor of psychiatry, and Linda Saab, assistant professor of psychiatry, wrote an article about the holiday blues. “The holiday blues – that feeling of being in a lower or more anxious mood amid the significant change in our environment and the multitude of stressors that the holidays can bring – is a phenomenon that is yet to be researched thoroughly. However, as academic psychiatrists and neuroscience researchers, we have seen how several factors contribute to this experience,” they write. Javanbakht and Saab discuss factors contributing to the holiday blues, including memories of holidays past, the sense of social or financial burden or obligation, and unrealistic expectations.  

Feeling proud of your background is key to one’s mental health when dealing with online racism, a new study in the Journal of Applied Communication Research suggests. Identity affirmation was linked to better psychological health in Asian Americans who were faced by a rise in online hate speech at the start of the COVID pandemic. Being proud of who you are and what you stand for, a form of resilience, was also associated with better physical health, better personal relationships and greater satisfaction with living circumstances. “Online hate speech attacks deep components of human identity and so may have sparked people’s need to reaffirm core elements of who they are,” says researcher Stephanie Tom Tong, an associate professor of communication studies at Wayne State University in the US. “This may have offered them comfort, provided them with meaning or helped guide their behavior, making them more able to protect themselves against the damaging effects of online racial harassment.” 

Wayne State University has received $6 million to recruit and hire 30 new humanities faculty and create a Black studies center. The money – from The Mellon Foundation – will help fund a cluster hire program that will recruit 10 early career scholars in the humanities for a tenure-track preparatory initiative; 10 new tenure-track hires; and 10 tenured faculty at the associate or full professor level. The focus will be on scholars with research interests including people of color, race, racism, inequality, equality, and justice.