The Top 5 Healthcare Stories of 2019
In its inaugural year, NextHealth PHL covered the latest and best innovations in Philly’s biotech and life sciences scene.
Getty Images | HYWARDS
NextHealth PHL launched in May 2019, just days before the BIO International Convention brought nearly 20,000 healthcare professionals from around the world to Philadelphia. Six months and nearly 100 stories later, the vertical has covered the local healthcare industry’s latest and most innovative developments.
This year’s stories challenged the status quo, introduced new ways of thinking about health and healthcare, and offered a glimpse into the future that Philly’s science and biotech innovators are working to create. Here are our top five stories from 2019:
5. The Shortage of Black Male Doctors Is Medicine’s Real Emergency
Cameron is one of 15 black male students in the class of 2023 at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, the most diverse class in the school’s history. / Courtesy
After Temple University hosted its second annual Black Men in Medicine symposium, we took a deeper look at the lack of black men enrolling in medical schools across the country and talked to local recruiters about what they’re doing to help put more black men in white coats.
4. Biotech Tour: Inside That Enormous Life Sciences Co-Working Campus in King of Prussia
The Discovery Labs in King of Prussia. / The Discovery Labs
We toured several biotech spaces in the Philadelphia region to show you where the most innovative work is being produced. With one million square feet of real estate on 200 acres of land, The Discovery Labs was, by far, the biggest of them all.
3. Philly-Based Bioquark Wants a Shot at Bringing the Dead Back to Life
We spoke with Ira Pastor, a researcher and chief executive officer at Bioquark, about why he’s determined to prove his company can bring brain dead patients back to life and what he thinks of the ethicists who say it’s just not possible.
2. This New IVF Treatment Is a Cheaper Option for Infertility Patients
After struggling with infertility for nearly two years, Andrea and Randy Missimer learned they’ll soon be welcoming a baby to the family thanks to a new In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment called INVOcell. / Courtesy
Amid the rising costs of fertility treatments that are often not covered by insurance, we spoke to one local family who conceived using a new, cheaper In Vitro Fertilization treatment being offered at Main Line Fertility.
1. This Non-Drug Therapy Could Replace Opioids for Pain Management
We covered one patient’s experience using a recently FDA-approved treatment for acute and chronic pain in lieu of addictive prescription medications. The patient received the treatment at MossRehab, the only facility in the region to offer the 60-Day implant.
