Rev. Kelly Spahr, MDiv, BCC

F.D.A. Approves Covid Shots With New Restrictions

This is quite concerning.

Thank you to the people who created and led this truly transformative experience. #urmc #spiritualcare #quantitative #qualitative #research #hapc #chaplaincy

It was a foundational reminder to center voices from the margins and of the exhaustion that comes from the emotional labor of decentering the male, white, heteronormative experience and perspective in our field. I met brilliant, thoughtful colleagues and made amazing new connections.

It really helped me continue to think about chaplaincy from a lens of the professional scope and responsibility we have to engage in reading and creating research and to think of my discipline from a place of plenty, not scarcity.

Just finished a week long research conference at Rush University through Transforming Chaplaincy’s Chaplaincy Research Summer Institute. I couldn’t be more grateful to the Neuropalliative clinic @urmc for investing in my professional development.

🚨BREAKING: Cal State LA just moved classes online and let faculty work remotely, not for a storm, not for COVID, but because ICE is in the area.

Let that sink in, an entire university is treating immigration enforcement like a public health crisis.

Senator, 100 health groups sound alarm after ‘abrupt’ cancellation of USPSTF meeting The influential task force dictates whether health insurers must cover preventive services such as mammograms and low-dose CT lung exams, which some say could be in jeopardy.

100 health groups sound alarm after ‘abrupt’ cancellation of USPSTF meeting. The influential task force dictates whether health insurers must cover preventive services such as mammograms and low-dose CT lung exams, which now may be in jeopardy.
radiologybusiness.com/topics/healt...

Wellesley Centers for Women IN THE NEWS "[Dr. Andrew Clark] decided to test some of the most popular bots on the market, posing as teenage patients in need. The results were alarming. The bots encouraged him to 'get rid of his parents and to join the bot in the afterlife to share eternity.' They often tried to convince him that they were licensed human therapists and encouraged him to cancel appointments with actual psychologists. They also crossed the line into sexual territory, with one bot suggesting an intimate date as an 'intervention' for violent urges." TIME

Read the article by @andrewrchow.bsky.social and Angela Haupt here! time.com/7291048/ai-c... [2/3]
#devpsy #cogpsyc #bioethics #icsfeed #womeninstem

What brave thing did you say as a chaplain this week? #chaplaincy #spiritualcare #hapc

Live Updates: California Senator Is Forced to Floor and Handcuffed After Interrupting Noem in L.A.

Senator Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed and handcuffed after interrupting a news conference by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, about ongoing federal immigration enforcement efforts in Los Angeles. Follow live updates.

Health secretary RFK Jr. abruptly fires CDC vaccine advisory panel - STAT

Science requires ethical oversight – without federal dollars, society’s health and safety are at risk There are several steps between research on seemingly esoteric subjects and breakthrough medical treatments. Ethical oversight at every stage ensures science and society ultimately benefit.

We've all heard about NIH & other scientists being fired by 47's admin. But an underreported problem is that infrastructure support & ethical oversight is also being hollowed out.

A pair of legal & bioethics scholars explain how these actions undermine our health & safety.

No pay wall.

Opinion | Trump’s White House accidentally admitted the truth about its tax plan Earlier this week the White House published evidence that the president’s “big, beautiful bill” hikes taxes on the poor to cut taxes for the rich.

OPINION by @jamescdownie.bsky.social:

“In 2029, Americans making less than $30,000 will actually pay more in taxes under the GOP's plan than under current law.”

READ MORE:
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Rural health study is told it’s losing federal funds, and other major heart studies are worried A federal health study that was examining the high burden of chronic disease in rural areas learned its funding has been cut off.

Another devastating cut to research that would help people. “Vasan Ramachandran is baffled. A cardiologist and veteran of the famed Framingham Heart Study, he is struggling to understand why a similar study he brought to life in 10 rural counties across four Southern states is facing elimination.”

Attending the National Student Bioethics Association conference this weekend and feeling grateful for this community and this vital research and conversations. #bioethics

For Google, health equity becomes 'health optimization' as Trump targets DEI Google recently revised its websites and changed a senior executive's title to downplay its commitment to health equity.

Google has changed mentions of health equity on its website to "health optimization."

Does scrubbing the language mean that Google is changing its work?

More from @mariojoze.bsky.social at @statnews.com:
🖥️🩺
www.statnews.com/2025/03/10/g...

Report finds those with Parkinson’s have unmet hospice needs Hospice use varies depending on whether a person has Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia or Alzheimer’s disease and those with Parkinson’s may have more unmet needs, a new study finds.

McKnight's Long-Term Care News “Report finds those with Parkinson’s have unmet hospice needs”
Kristen Fischer #hapc
www.mcknights.com/news/report-...

Judge Blocks Trump Orders to Stop Funds for Trans Youth Health Providers The ruling affects hospitals nationwide, putting on hold the administration’s plan to withhold research grants from those that offer gender transition treatments to young people.

“The Court cannot fathom discrimination more direct than the plain pronouncement of a policy resting on the premise that the group to which the policy is directed does not exist,” Judge Hurson wrote.
#gendersky

White House Moves to Pick the Pool Reporters Who Cover Trump In announcing plans to hand-select the reporters who can ask the president questions at many events, the White House is breaking decades of precedent.

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/b...

I’m hoping that Congress and the courts will do their part whether divinely inspired or not. I have tremendous compassion for the rock and hard space people are being put in.

IDK why federal employees are so confused about what to do or not do about Elon Musk’s email. He’s not your boss so ignore it. Easy. 👏👏👏👏

Dicks of Great Ego

Three updates:
1. The Justice Department has deleted a database tracking federal police misconduct. The database was first proposed in 2020 following the police killing of George Floyd.

RFK Jr. Announces New HHS Guidance Recognizing Only Two Sexes The new guidance follows President Trump’s demand that the Health and Human Services Department align with his executive order barring transgender athletes from women’s sports.

What does this person not understand about biology? It’s like we are all being forced into a Creationist view. #gender #chaplaincy

Justice Department fires multiple immigration judges amid case backlog A union representing the judges said it “makes no sense” to make cuts to immigration courts as Trump promises to carry out mass deportations, which must go through the courts.

Justice Department fires multiple immigration judges amid case backlog

If Palliative Care made candy hearts: 6 candy hearts each with these messages- What brings you joy? Extra Layer of Support, Tell Me More, I’ll never withdraw care, I’m listening, How can I help?

Your yearly #hapc Valentine’s Day message

#adoptdontshop #dogs #goldenretriever

Rosie getting some sun ☀️

Judge temporarily blocks NIH research cuts after 22 states sue - Roll Call Lawsuit comes after Friday's announcement that the NIH would limit the indirect costs it will pay grantees to 15 percent of a grant.

#publichealth #research

One of the coolest things about working and studying at a University medical center is the access to the library and research. #gradschool #bioethics #urmc #chaplaincy