Jeff Jensen, M.D., addresses misinformation about hormonal birth control side effects being posted on TikTok, including a push by influencers to track fertility cycles naturally to prevent pregnancy. He says: “ The old joke we used to say is that those that use natural family planning have naturally large families. For individuals that have highly regular cycles and are willing to have periods of voluntary abstinence, that will work. But many of my patients have busy lives and this may not be the thing they want to focus on.

The Daily Journal of Commerce reports on the OHSU ED expansion. Erik Robinson says, “Even though OHSU will expand its overall hospital capacity with the opening of Vista Pavilion next spring, OHSU’s emergency department is the entry point for many people to the hospital and remains far beyond capacity with many patients being treated in hallways, waiting rooms and spaces such as a temporary surge space created outside an auditorium adjacent to the emergency department.”

In an interview with The New York Times about cannabis poisonings increasing among kids, Rob Hendrickson, M.D., says in recent years he has treated more patients for cannabis poisoning, including a toddler who ended up in the intensive care unit after eating a cannabis cookie.

A team of OHSU nurses who help the unhoused, called Street Nurses, facilitated a discussion about trauma-informed care at a new volunteer orientation for Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice and Southern Oregon Housing for All in Ashland.

Ana Wilson, Ph.D., will participate in an ADDitude webinar on the prevalence and causes of chronic pain among neurodivergent youth Sept. 9, 2025.

OHSU is among 158 hospitals nationwide to be receive the American Heart Association's new “Commitment to Quality” award.

Joel Nigg, Ph.D., is cited in a Medscape commentary about the increase in ADHD diagnoses among children, titled “ADHD: Not a Diagnosis but a Warning Label”; he says for a large percentage of individuals diagnosed with ADHD, “there is nothing neurobiologically notable about them. Instead, their symptoms are situational or conditional.”

In response to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that show the U.S. fertility rate -- the overall number of children being born per individual -- dropped to the lowest level on record last year, Paula Amato, M.D. says, “As women get older, their fertility rates, their ability to get pregnant decreases. So, if you start later, you may have fewer children even if you wanted to have a bigger family.” She added that insurance mandates to cover treatment for infertility -- people who have a hard time conceiving a child -- likely have only a limited effect on the overall fertility rate: "I think just on principle, [insurance coverage for infertility] should happen. But whether or not it would affect the fertility rate — it would probably affect the fertility rate a little bit, but it's probably not the main driver of decreasing fertility rates."

Continued coverage of Suvi Neukam M.D.'s interview with AARP News on the importance of maintaining meaningful social connections as we age.

KGW-TV reports Gov. Kotek signed five bills the week of Aug. 4aimed at supporting the state’s behavioral health crisis, including HB 3321, which involves a commission in collaboration with OHSU tasked with education and technical assistance to youth substance-use disorder providers and early intervention services. Around $1 million is being invested in this effort.