TASK DEFINITION: Given a paragraph, generate a claim that is supported by the given paragraph. 1) The claim must contain information from within the paragraph. 2) A sentence within the paragraph can be used as a claim. 3) The claim should not have contradictions within the paragraph. 4) The claim should be at most one sentence long.
PROBLEM: The Hall of Fame rocker, who has been an advocate for teen cancer patients for nearly three decades, visited with children, young adults and their families at Rainbow Babies Hospital on Monday. The Who’s front man toured the Angie Fowler Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Institute, which was founded in 2012 to better serve young patients while they undergo cancer treatments and following their release. “Teenagers for so long have been overlooked,” said the 73-year-old, still on the road with longtime bandmate Pete Townshend. “Not nearly enough has been done for them.” For years, teenage cancer patients were hospitalized on pediatric floors or placed with older patients. After consulting with doctors researching treatments and recovery, Daltrey understood the need for teens to have a place of their own, where they could recover in surroundings more suited to their interests and maturity level. “The light went on in my head with this one,” said Daltrey, who first got involved with the Teenage Cancer Trust in 1989. “I was in the Who when I was 18 years old and without the support of this age group — adolescents and young adults — our business wouldn’t be there. The music business is built mostly with this age group. It’s an easy way for me to say, ‘Thank you.’” During his visit, Daltrey, whose iconic voice helped make Who songs such as “My Generation,” ″Behind Blue Eyes” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” anthems for generations of fans, spent time with young cancer patients who have benefited from their time in facilities like the one at Rainbow Babies Hospital. Daltrey quickly connected with several of the teens, who eagerly shared stories of being diagnosed and lengthy hospital stays. He had a warm word, hug or handshake for each of them and was happy to pose for photos. For Adam Kirk, Daltrey’s visit was a chance to meet a rock hero. The 40-year-old’s daughter, Sawyer, has been fighting leukemia for months and Daltrey’s face lit up when he saw the 1½-year-old being carried toward him. Kirk came prepared for his meeting, getting Daltrey to sign a well-worn copy of “Who’s Next,” regarded as the band’s signature album. As he made his way around an outdoor, rooftop garden, Daltrey was approached by another dad who wanted to show his appreciation for the singer’s charitable work. Tyson Stiles presented Daltrey with a musical gift. While his son, Ryver, spent nearly 300 days in the hospital after being born prematurely, Stiles recorded a short album that included songs he wrote about his son’s ordeal. “I wanted you to have a copy,” Stiles said. “Is it any good?” Daltrey asked. “No, it’s terrible,” Stiles quipped as both men laughed. Later, Daltrey donated a guitar signed by him and Townshend that will be permanently displayed in the Fowler Institute’s in-patient unit. Daltrey also shared memories of his previous visits to Cleveland. He and the Who first came to town in 1967. “It’s a lot different than it used to be,” he said. “It was the dirtiest place I’d ever been to in my life. Everything was covered in soot. But Cleveland audiences were some of the best we ever played for.”

SOLUTION: The Who’s Roger Daltrey visits teenage cancer patients.

PROBLEM: Democrats on a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform released a cache of internal Juul emails and other documents that committee staff described as early attempts to “enter schools and convey its messaging directly to teenage children.”   Juul’s use of social media influencers to promote its vaping devices in the years after it launched in 2015 also came under scrutiny. James Monsees, Juul’s co-founder and chief product officer, told the committee that the company’s target audience from the beginning has been adult cigarette smokers. Among efforts cited in the Juul documents released were a $134,000 payment to set up a five-week “holistic health education” summer camp at a Maryland charter school, recruiting children from third through 12th grades, and offering $10,000 to schools using the company’s “youth prevention and education” programs for students, including those caught using e-cigarette products. “You don’t think that sounds strange at all?” Representative Katie Hill, a Democrat, asked Juul’s chief administrative officer, Ashley Gould. “All of these educational efforts were intended to keep youth from using the product,” Gould responded. When Juul realized how the school involvement could be perceived as negative, “we stopped the program,” she said. In a statement after the hearing, Juul said the $134,000 donation was to “facilitate already-existing community outreach and youth-prevention programs,” and said the company “did not have any direct interaction with the students.”  Several committee members said Juul’s initiatives appeared similar to past efforts by the tobacco industry to reach young people under the guise of smoking prevention programs. Gould said Juul, which is 35 percent owned by Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc (MO.N), halted its program last year once it became aware of the tobacco industry’s past moves. Caleb Mintz, 17, a New York city high school student, testified at a separate hearing on Wednesday that a Juul representative came to his school as part of an educational program on mental health and addiction last year. He said in an interview Thursday that students received “mixed messages” about the product, being told it was safe but not to buy it. Mintz said after the hearing that the Juul presentation seemed to be “playing to the side of teens as rebellious. When a teen is told not to do something, they’re more likely to do it.”    Members of the committee also quizzed Gould and Monsees over the use of social media influencers to promote Juul’s vaping devices. Company executives early on agreed that “younger consumers age 25 to 34 was going to be the target of our initial campaign,” Monsees said. “They would be more receptive to new technology solutions,” such as the Juul device. Amid an enormous uptick in teenage use of e-cigarettes in 2018 — a 78% increase among high school students from 2017 to 2018, according to federal data — Juul said it ended all social media advertising last fall. Juul also pulled many flavored nicotine pods, except mint, menthol and tobacco, from retail stores, which Monsees said represented more than half of the company’s sales at that time.

SOLUTION: U.S. lawmakers grill e-cigarette maker Juul over efforts targeted at schoolchildren.

PROBLEM: With state and local governments urging isolation to stem the spread of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly respiratory illness, the 62-year-old Nebraska woman worries she will not be able to provide emotional support for her daughter, whose husband is paralyzed with Guillain-Barre syndrome. If someone were to infect her son-in-law with his weakened immune system, “he’d be dead,” Ostberg said. Chicagoan Mike Wisler was prescribed a sedative to help him sleep when the financial and emotional impact of the pandemic hit the 50-year-old bartender. “My mind won’t shut off,” Wisler said. “As soon as I wake up, it’s like, ‘How am I going to get by this month?’”  With public gatherings banned, his work tending bar at parties and private events has evaporated. In North Carolina, 23-year-old Niko, who asked that his last name not be used, is in recovery for drug addiction, and fears a relapse. The grocery store clerk is suffering nervous ticks and bouts of reticence while trying to put on a brave face to avoid alarming shoppers. “What I’m worrying about in my head, I’m only showing about 20 percent of it,” he said. Psychologists and psychiatrists are beginning to report signs of distress among patients worried about the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic that has infected more than 14,500 nationwide, and over 255,000 globally, killing more than 10,000. Six clinicians interviewed by Reuters say the coronavirus has been the prime focus of virtually all recent therapy sessions. Stress caused by fear of the disease is compounded by isolation, mental health experts say, as governments close schools and restaurants, and recommend that people limit social interaction. Stress-reducing activities like exercise, watching sports and going to movies, are becoming nearly impossible after shutdowns of gyms, professional leagues and theaters. The virus’ invisibility makes it all the harder to reconcile the severity of the response. “We’re all a little disoriented,” said Sharon Greenfield, a clinical psychologist in Concord, Massachusetts. “When we see a bear, we go straight into fight-or-flight, but this is a bear we can’t see or taste. Our brains aren’t quite sure whether we’re being exposed to a traumatic trigger or not.”  A Reuters/Ipsos poll this week showed 48% of Americans feel the pandemic is an “imminent threat” to the United States, up 20 percentage points from previous polling taken March 2-3. Psychiatrists interviewed by Reuters cited surges in requests for new anti-anxiety prescriptions and longer refills on existing ones. For mental health professionals, there is the challenge of  providing much-needed care while following social distancing guidelines. That likely means seeing patients via video services. But remote therapy, known as telehealth, isn’t covered by every insurance plan. Federal legislation enacted this month in response to the coronavirus eases restrictions on telehealth coverage under Medicare. Some states are also requiring private insurers to cover telehealth more broadly. Most therapists, though, have not historically provided it. A 2018 study published in the American Psychological Association (APA) Journal showed nearly 60% of providers do no online counseling, and just 6% do more than five hours per week. Since the outbreak took hold, people are scrambling to figure out how to do telehealth, said psychologist Lynn Bufka, director of practice research and policy at the APA. Greenfield said the mental health impact of the coronavirus should warrant a coordinated response, and that federal and local leaders should have protocols for managing a mental health emergency as they do a physical one. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had no comment when asked if coordinated plans exist. The mental health of hospital and other healthcare workers, who risk increased exposure to the virus, is a rising concern. The Facebook group “Covid19 for Healthcare Workers”, which had 124,000 members as of Friday, circulated online signup sheets for therapists willing to donate a free hour of care to such workers. Volunteers “may be asked to provide some debriefing support, for the healthcare workers’ mental health needs during Covid-19,” the form said. Administrators for the group did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday. To manage anxiety, doctors recommend limiting news intake to once or twice a day, to stay abreast of health experts’ recommendations while avoiding over-exposure that can trigger panic. They suggest watching comforting movies, video-chatting with family, and going outside as long as it does not conflict with health experts’ guidance. “Connect more deeply with nature, since that is a safe space many of us have become too busy to enjoy,” said Charles Mobayed, a psychologist in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. They also recommend acknowledging anxious thoughts, rather than repressing them - but then moving on quickly. “Notice yourself starting to go there, and say, ‘I hear you, but I’m not gonna think about that right now,’” said Laura Dalheim, a psychiatrist in New York City, which has seen a big spike in coronavirus cases with increased testing. Therapists who spend hours each day soothing the fears of others say they are not immune to the anxiety all around them. Dalheim says she’s had to fight the urge to mirror her patients’ concern during sessions. Greenfield, after an exhausting week, said she found herself on her couch last Friday night eating cheese puffs - and in bed by 9:30. It’s common for health workers to exhaust themselves in a crisis, and crucial they heed the same stress-management advice they provide, said psychologist Jacqueline Sperling, an instructor at Harvard Medical School. “If you wear down your resources,” she said, “you have only an empty hand to give.”

SOLUTION:
As coronavirus takes emotional toll, mental health professionals brace for spike in demand.