It’s been two months since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, but nearly 10 percent of the island’s 3.4 million residents still don’t have access to clean, safe water. Half of the electric grid is still out of service, which has made it difficult to safely store food or medicines that need to be refrigerated. The outages have also left many residents vulnerable to heat exposure; temperatures remain in the high 80s on the island.

There’s also growing concern that Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program — which covers nearly half of Puerto Ricans — will soon run out of money to pay doctors and hospitals. The territory’s governor has asked the Trump administration to waive Puerto Rico's share of Medicaid costs, and some Democratic senators have made similar appeals.

Here’s your regular reminder that supplement makers shouldn’t go around claiming they can treat or prevent disease. The Federal Trade Commission has settled charges against three Florida-based supplement companies that made false claims about five dietary supplements. The companies claimed that one product, a seaweed supplement called Fucoidan Force, could fight cancer, prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS to uninfected people, relieve symptoms of hepatitis, and lower high blood pressure. Ads for the BioMazing HCG supplement claimed it could “signal the brain’s hypothalamus to burn current body fat stores." Another product promised  to work wonders against colds and the flu cited “Rock-Solid Science” — which of course didn’t exist. The FTC settlement bans the companies from making any claims in that vein without evidence again.

Salmonella can spoil a chicken dinner. (CDC/NIAID)

The USDA is eyeing new ways to keep us safe from food poisoning. Health officials are hoping to launch a series of studies to find the best ways to teach the public about food safety. They’re starting by talking to people who intentionally undercook food — like anyone who grills a medium-rare burger in their backyard — to develop good ways to communicate the potential health risks of undercooked meat. Researchers want to pinpoint what consumers actually know about food safety and how they handle, prepare, and store raw meat and eggs. If the research gets a green light — it’s open for public comments now — the studies would get underway next year.

Dr. anna konopka looks through her patient appointment book. (Cheryl Senter for STAT)

n early November, after 84-year-old Dr. Anna Konopka voluntarily gave up her license so that the New Hampshire Board of Medicine wouldn’t suspend it, she went to court so she could get it back. The Board told her it had concerning evidence that called her abilities as a physician into question, but she wonders if other factors, including her refusal to adopt electronic health records, might be at play. She's of a kind of medicine that’s all but extinct. She works alone in a cottage next to her house, rarely uses a computer, and doesn’t take insurance. Instead, she charges each patient $50 cash for an office visit or a house call. In the fight to get her license back, she’s also become the face of a debate about how to best ensure that older doctors are providing the most up-to-date care. STAT’s Eric Boodman has the story — read here.

Sticking cancer cells on a scale could give doctors a better idea which drugs might be best to combat them, according to new research. Scientists at MIT have come up with a new strategy that can precisely measure cell mass, and in turn, calculate the growth rate of a single cell over time. The device is made up of a series of sensors that weigh cells as they make their way through tiny channels. The researchers used that system to track how tumor cells from multiple myeloma patients responded to combinations of three cancer drugs. The responses they saw matched the outcomes seen in patients — which suggests the strategy could one day be used to determine which drug is best for an individual patient before ever starting treatment. They’ve since spun off a company that’s now planning a bigger clinical study to test the approach.

Nationwide, 39 states require some kind of CPR education in high school — but a new report finds that the training varies widely from one school to the next. The report found that not all laws require that certified CPR instructors teach those classes, and nine states don’t require students to learn how to use an automated external defibrillator, or an AED, which is used to treat sudden cardiac arrest. Only one state requires students to be fully certified in providing CPR. The report’s authors argue that while there’s been significant progress in enacting policies that boost CPR training in schools, states that don’t have those laws in place are missing a critical opportunity.