Uab Hospital

Birmingham Could Be Two Weeks Away From NYC COVID-19 Rates

The coronavirus pandemic in Alabama is not as bad as hot spots elsewhere in the country, but public health officials expect that to change.

UAB Hospital To Open Appointment Only Test Site For COVID-19

Starting Monday, UAB hospital will offer testing for COVID-19 at a drive-thru center in downtown Birmingham. Symptomatic patients must call first and make an appointment.

Birmingham Approves No-Smoking “Health District”

The Birmingham City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday to ban smoking in a portion of downtown Birmingham.

Cyberattacks Like The One On DCH Are Increasingly Common

Officials with DCH Health System in Tuscaloosa are still recovering from last week's ransomware attack. Experts say this kind of cybercrime is becoming more common.

UAB Using Whole Blood to Improve Trauma Care

For decades, blood banks have separated blood into different parts: cells, plasma and platelets. Experts say that has a lot of advantages, but sometimes, patients just need whole blood.

How Prepared is UAB Hospital for a Mass Shooting?

UAB Hospital is Alabama’s busiest high-level trauma center. But how prepared is the hospital for tragedy on a larger scale?

Training Better Robotic Surgeons in Virtual Reality

Surgery today can look a lot different than it did 20 years ago. In addition to scalpels and forceps, many surgeons need to know how to operate using a robot. But learning to use the device can be a challenge.

UAB Closing Residential Addiction Unit to Expand Other Services

UAB hospital recently announced it will close its residential addiction treatment unit, which has provided overnight care for patients with substance use disorder for more than 20 years. Some are criticizing the decision, but officials say the closure is part of a bigger plan.

A Deadly Week: September Homicides Could Foreshadow Record Year in Birmingham

Six homicides happened in Birmingham during the first week of September, putting the city firmly on track for its most violent year in more than two decades and pressuring city leaders to improve their strategies for responding to such incidents and to focus on preventing them.

UAB Hospitals Given Top Marks On Patient Safety

UAB Hospital and UAB Highlands Hospital each scored an "A" on a national nonprofit's patient safety assessment released Tuesday.

Infectious Strain of Flu Hits Area Hard

This year the flu is peaking early and intensely. It’s one of the most active seasons in decades, and a nasty strain is going around. Area hospitals are at capacity and pharmacies are scrambling to stock medicine. But there are things you can do.

Small Banks Continue Move to Birmingham

Birmingham’s banking sector has seen smaller banks entering the market hoping to latch onto growth in the state’s biggest metro area. So far in 2016, that trend is not slowing. We start there in this week’s Magic City Marketplace. The Birmingham Business Journal's Ty West also explains how the healthcare community is reacting to a General Fund budget Alabama's Medicaid commissioner says is below what's needed to maintain services.

UAB Research Lab Hopes To Define Concussion Biomarkers

There’s been a spike in children under 19 visiting the emergency room with concussions. ERs saw a more than 50 percent increase between 2001 and 2009. Doctors say this could actually be a good thing, resulting in part from improved awareness of what a concussion is. But, perhaps surprisingly, there’s still a lot we don’t know about concussions, like how long they last or what all the long term effects are. A group of doctors at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who aim to change this.

Carly’s Law Study: Patients On Marijuana Derivative Oil Report Progress

Last year, Alabama was the second state to legalize limited use of marijuana derivate, commonly known as CBD oil. Alabama’s Carly’s Law, is allowing doctors at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to study and prescribe CBD oil to select patients. CBD oil has only traces or no THC --the active ingredient in marijuana known to produce a high-and is changing the debate surrounding the use of use of marijuana as medicine. UAB’s study officially started this spring.