The Tampa Period Pantry offers free menstrual hygiene products like tampons and pads, as well as other items to help during periods like heating patches for cramps or sanitary wipes.
Stephanie Colombini/WUSF
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A middle-aged man smoking crack cocaine in Rhode Island. The state had the country’s fourth-highest rate of overdose deaths involving cocaine in 2022. Lynn Arditi/Lynn Arditi/The Public’s Radio hide caption
Mary Ann Herbst, a patient at the Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Le Mars, Iowa, gets her first COVID-19 vaccine shot on Dec. 29, 2020. A recent study found only 4 out of 10 nursing home residents in the U.S. have gotten at least one dose of the most recent COVID vaccine, which was released last fall.
Sanford Health
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Sophia Ferst (left) and her wife, Madison Bethke, outside of Helena, Montana. After Roe v. Wade was overturned, Ferst decided to get sterilized. She is one of many people under 30 now seeking permanent contraception. Shaylee Ragar hide caption
Damari was worried about his future after he was arrested for carrying a gun. The Youth Gun Offender Program gave him a second chance. Octavio Jones hide caption
Law enforcement gather at the scene of a fatal shooting in Philadelphia on April 28, 2023. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption
Mifepristone and misoprostol inside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Fairview Heights, Ill. in 2021. The drugs are used after miscarriage and for bleeding and other obstetrical procedures and problems. In combination, they can also induce an early abortion. Lawmakers in Baton Rouge are considering a bill to reclassify the medications as controlled dangerous substances. Jeff Roberson/AP hide caption
A coalition of advocates call for full Medicaid expansion in Mississippi at a rally at the State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, April 17, 2024. The gathering drew supporters from throughout the state representing religious, social and human service organizations, medical professionals and legislators. Rogelio V. Solis/AP hide caption
Miguel Divo shows his patient, Joel Rubinstein, a dry powder inhaler. It's an alternative to some puff inhalers that emit potent greenhouse gases, but is equally effective for many patients with asthma. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption
In March, mom Indira Navas learned that her son Andres, 6, was kicked off of Florida Medicaid, while her daughter, Camila, 12, was still covered. The family is one of millions dealing with Medicaid red tape this year. Javier Ojeda hide caption
Aaron Hunter doing physical therapy at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital's outpatient center in Sarasota on Oct. 12, 2023. After getting shot in the head last June, Aaron struggled with weakness and balance on the left side of his body. He spent months in physical therapy before being discharged in February. Stephanie Colombini/WUSF hide caption
People line up outside a public assistance office in Missoula, Montana, before its doors open at 8 a.m., Oct. 27, 2023, to try to regain health coverage after being dropped from Medicaid, a government insurance program for people with low incomes and disabilities. Katheryn Houghton/KFF Health News hide caption
Many young people who started vaping nicotine as teens several years ago haven't quit the habit, data show. Daisy-Daisy/Getty Images hide caption
Eric Portenga and Kevin O'Neill with daughters Sylvie, Robin and Parker O'Neill celebrating the girls' second birthday in September 2023. The babies' surrogate lived in Ohio because of Michigan's laws, which are changing now. The Portenga-O'Neill family hide caption
Kim Botteicher, founder and executive director of FAVOR ~ Western PA, runs the nonprofit out of the basement of an old church building in Bolivar, Pa. In addition to providing various addiction and recovery support services, she would like to hand out clean syringes to help prevent disease transmission. But doing that isn't authorized under state law. Nate Smallwood hide caption
Composting vessels arranged in a honeycomb array at the Recompose human composting facility in Seattle, WA. Recompose hide caption
Under Louisiana's abortion ban, doctors face penalties of up to 15 years in prison, $200,000 in fines and loss of their medical license. Dr. Neelima Sukhavasi, a Baton Rouge OB-GYN, says that doctors are scared. Here, Dr. Sukhavasi poses for a portrait in Baton Rouge, La., on Monday, March 18, 2024. Christiana Botic hide caption
Miriam McDonald spends time with her 4-year-old son, Nico. McDonald struggled to get care for postpartum depression at Kaiser Permanente, an experience that would eventually lead to significant policy changes by the health care provider. Keith McDonald hide caption
North Philadelphia resident Katherine Camacho expressed interest in becoming a "trusted messenger" with the opioid crisis outreach team when a canvasser approached her at her home. Kimberly Paynter/WHYY hide caption
Tim Lillard at the home he and his late wife, Ann Picha-Lillard, shared in suburban southeast Michigan. Since her death in 2022, Lillard has made it his mission to pass the Safe Patient Care Act, which would create mandatory nurse-to-patient ratios in Michigan hospitals. Beth Weiler/Michigan Public hide caption
As part of his pediatric practice, Dr. Safdar Medina treats opioid use disorder. During a recent appointment at a clinic in Uxbridge, Mass., Medina switched a teenage patient's buprenorphine prescription to an injectable form and checked in about his school and social life. Martha Bebinger/WBUR hide caption
Dr. Stefan Friedrichsdorf demonstrates one of the distraction techniques he uses for children receiving shots at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in San Francisco on Dec. 18. Beth LaBerge/KQED hide caption