San Francisco city officials have proposed a free universal mental healthcare plan for its residents, USA Today reports.

Many Americans face challenges meeting social needs, such as safe housing, balanced meals, transportation and social support, which can negatively affect their health, according to a survey released June 4 by Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente.

A team from Dallas-based Parkland Health and Hospital System determined loneliness is the top reason patients repeatedly visit emergency rooms in Dallas County, reports WFAA, a local ABC affiliate.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is prepared to enact part of the VA Mission Act, which will expand veterans' access to care providers within the VA community, Federal News Network reports.

Finding a purpose in life is not only fulfilling, it may also help people live longer, according to new research published in JAMA Network Open.

Fannie Mae chose five organizations to receive contract awards under the housing finance firm's $10 million Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge, which is aimed at tackling social determinants of health.

Health IT facilitated care at the population level is at its best when it focuses on prevention, prediction, and management of chronic conditions which, when treated effectively, helps reduce the total cost of care.

In 2017, former-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy wrote in the Harvard Business Review that loneliness is a serious healthcare problem.

Milwaukee County leadership declared racism a public health crisis and has pledged to examine and change institutions that may perpetuate negative health outcomes, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

New York City-based NYC Health + Hospitals is using data science to implement several initiatives to help better identify and serve its homeless population, according to a Harvard Business Review article co-authored by four of the health system's executives.

From 2007-17, claim lines for mental health diagnoses grew 108 percent to represent 2.7 percent of all medical claim lines, according to nonprofit claims database Fair Health.

Dayton-based Premier Health is launching a community paramedicine program with the Dayton Fire Department to provide in-home care to select patients, Dayton Daily News reports.

Although hospitals don't actively collect information on social determinants of health, there has been a shift in providers investing in population health management strategies, the Harvard Business Review reports.

Drug abuse is most pronounced in the District of Columbia, according to an analysis by personal finance website WalletHub.  

On March 4, Tamarah Duperval-Brownlee, MD, assumed her new role as St. Louis-based Ascension's first chief community impact officer. The newly created role focuses on improving coordination and collaboration between healthcare organizations and community partners to improve the overall health and well-being of people who live within Ascension's markets.

The Healthy Nevada Project — a population health study that combines genetic, clinical, environmental and social data — is offering free genetic testing to 25,000 residents of Las Vegas.

Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente revealed May 6 that it is launching a health network to address people's social needs such as food, housing and transportation.

Since 2011, children younger than 19 years have been increasingly attempting suicide by poisoning themselves, according to a study published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

The March 2017 release of Netflix's "13 Reasons Why," a show that examines the story of a teenage girl who commits suicide, was associated with a 28 percent increase in suicide rates among U.S. residents ages 10 to 17 one month after its release, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Researchers at West Virginia University found confusion over laws governing drug paraphernalia is one of the biggest barriers to safely disposing of used needles and obtaining clean ones.