Judith J. Mercado

What World AIDS Day reminds us during the covid-19 pandemic

Judith J. Mercado 7 hours ago

History can provide us with guideposts to better health, but only if we look beyond superficial explanations. In the case of AIDS — and likely ultimately for covid-19 as well — survival can depend on political mobilization and demands by patients to receive more than biomedical solutions to disease.

This was particularly the case for women living with HIV/AIDS, and a new archive provides a set of reflections on how women, the majority of whom are Black and brown, have survived with HIV for decades. Among the 39 women featured in “I’m Still Surviving,” is Marta Santiago, a straight Latina who grew up on Chicago’s west side in the 1960s and 1970s. Santiago remembers saying to herself in the early 1980s that she and her newborn son had nothing to worry about when it came to gay-related immunodeficiency (GRID, the initial name given to AIDS). What

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Did the Celtics get better this offseason despite losing Gordon Hayward?

Judith J. Mercado 4 days ago

Forsberg: Did the Celtics get better this offseason? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

While we all wait for Gordon Hayward’s departure to finalize, a question to ponder: Are the Boston Celtics better than they were at the end of last season?

The simple answer is no. You don’t lose an All-Star talent like Hayward and suggest that your ceiling got higher. But the discussion is a bit more complicated than that and might require the benefit of time.

The Celtics most certainly got better on the margins. Tristan Thompson is a championship-owning boost at the center position and Jeff Teague is a necessary lift at the backup point guard spot, particularly given the concerns about Kemba Walker’s knee.

Time will tell if first-round picks Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard can help this team but, if their skill sets translate from the college level — and whispers from first glimpses

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TDOC Stock: Teladoc Health Is a Name to Accumulate on the Recent Dip

Judith J. Mercado 6 days ago

2020 has been a crazy year. Some stocks have fallen 90%; others have risen 900%. Some industries are in turmoil, while others are experiencing the best growth imaginable. For better or for worse, Teladoc Health (NASDAQ:TDOC) is experiencing strong growth this year. As a result, TDOC stock is up 126% in 2020. 

Teladoc Health (TDOC) logo on a mobile phone screen

Source: Piotr Swat / Shutterstock.com

It’s not a black-and-white situation though. 

First, Teladoc has been raging higher this year as telehealth has been thrust into the spotlight. This drove up growth significantly, as more and more people turned to alternative meetings with health professionals. 

This also accelerated the growth rate for Livongo Health, which was leveraging technology in the healthcare space as well. It’s my belief that the two companies will continue to reap massive rewards in this space over the long term. Yes, the novel coronavirus accelerated growth in the short term. But that should

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Aetna Better Health Donates $15,000 to Children’s Home Society of West Virginia in Recognition of National Adoption Month

Judith J. Mercado 1 week ago

Posted: / Updated:

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Aetna Better Health of West Virginia (ABH-WV), a CVS Health company announced a $15,000 donation to Children’s Home Society of West Virginia (CHS) in celebration of National Adoption Month. The funding will go toward the purchase of winter coats, hats, gloves and other essential items to help children in foster care and receiving adoption assistance stay warm this winter.

As part of the Mountain Health Promise managed care program, Aetna Better Health of West Virginia provides physical and behavioral health care services on a statewide basis to more than 20,000 children and youth in the foster care system and individuals receiving adoption assistance. ABH-WV has developed a transformative program that has benefited the state’s foster youth by introducing innovative interventions and models of care focused on the wellbeing of the

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