Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia will use a $50 million donation to advance research exploring how infants’ earliest relationships with caregivers and others affect their development and health.
The $50 million gift from the Einhorn Collaborative, a New York-based philanthropic organization, will be used to establish the David M. Einhorn Institute for Early Relational Health to study parent-child relationships.
Decades of research have found that early relationships and social interactions have lasting effects on brain health, social development, and overall well-being. But the science of so-called early relational health is not typically a primary focus in pediatric care, said Dani Dumitriu, a pediatrician who specializes in parent-child health and is the institute’s newly appointed director.
“Our goal is to close this critical gap,” Dumitriu said in a statement. The $50 million gift “propels us toward developing real-world, scalable interventions that meaningfully support early relationships for every family.”
Science of relationships
The Einhorn Institute will be housed in CHOP’s Research Institute, where researchers will collaborate with experts from the health system’s PolicyLab, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and other specialties.
The institute will study the critical first relationships infants form, and how these attachments create feelings of safety and trust that affect their development.
Researchers want to take those findings to develop interventions that doctors could use with patients to strengthen caregiver-child relationships.
“Human connection is one of the most powerful and underappreciated forces shaping the health and well-being of individuals, communities, and our society at large,” David Einhorn, founder and trustee of the Einhorn Collaborative, said in a statement. Einhorn’s philanthropic organization supports efforts to improve human relationships.
Pediatricians are trusted resources for new parents, making pediatric clinics an ideal place to support early relational health and encourage positive parent-child connections, Einhorn wrote in an announcement about the CHOP gift posted on the Einhorn Collaborative’s website.
Einhorn is also president of Greenlight Capital, a hedge fund, and the primary funder of the Einhorn Collaborative.
“If the Einhorn Institute is successful, a new parent walking into a well-child visit will leave with more than a growth chart,” he wrote. “They’ll receive specific practices and knowledge to strengthen emotional connection with their child, delivered with the same rigor and credibility we currently apply to physical health.”
Nazareth Hospital was not cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for any safety violations between April 2025 and March of this year.
Located in northeast Philadelphia, the hospital is part of Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic.
Here’s a look at the publicly available details:
July 1, 2025: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance. Complaint details are not made public when inspectors determine it was unfounded.
Feb. 18, 2026: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
Felix White worries his ability to keep working — and avoid a health crisis — could be at risk.
The 62-year-old Montgomery County resident relies on Medicaid to afford the insulin he needs to manage his type 1 diabetes.
Beginning in January, people with Medicaid will be required to provide proof that they are working 80 hours a month, unless they are considered too sick to work and qualify for an exemption.
If White fails to submit enough evidence, he could lose Medicaid. Yet without the government-funded coverage, he won’t be able to get the medications and care he needs to stay healthy enough to keep working.
“It would be a death sentence for me,” White said.
A few years ago, White lost his job in computer science — and the private health insurance that once covered the medications, glucose monitor, and specialists he needs to manage type 1 diabetes.
Finding work in his field has been challenging at his age, White said. So instead, he’s relied on a string of odd jobs, such as mowing lawns, for income and Medicaid for healthcare.
Pennsylvania expects 310,000 residents to lose Medicaid when the new rules take effect, and White fears he could be among them.
The work requirements are part of Republicans’ 2025 spending and tax cut bill, which is expected to cut more than $900 billion in Medicaid spending over the next 10 years.
The legislation passed by Congress allowed exemptions for Medicaid recipients considered “medically frail.” The law loosely defined categories of exemptions, such as for people with a substance use disorder, a disabling mental disorder, a “serious or complex” medical condition, and disabilities that limit their daily activities.
White’s Type 1 diabetes is considered a disability that could hinder a person’s ability to work.
But in June, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provided additional details: To be exempt from the work requirement, people will need to prove not only that they are “medically frail,” but also that their illness is so severe they are unable to work.
Republicans who pushed the legislation argue that work requirements ensure only people with the greatest needs receive the safety-net support, while helping people who have been sick reintegrate into society.
Pennsylvania is among 25 Democrat-led states suing over the interim final CMS rule, which they say oversteps the law, HR 1. The June rule “differed significantly” from initial guidance and “undermines months of work and human and financial resources” Pennsylvania has spent to meet the new requirements outlined in HR 1, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services said in a statement.
“This redirection poses an even greater threat to health and well-being for Medicaid recipients and the stability of our entire healthcare system,” said Brandon Cwalina, a spokesperson for DHS.
Shifting Medicaid rules
Implementing the new Medicaid rules represents a massive undertaking for states. The law calls for many people to prove on a monthly basis that they are working, and reapply for coverage every six months, instead of once a year. Certain groups of immigrants will no longer be eligible.
These changes have required Pennsylvania and other states to overhaul the type of information they document about Medicaid applicants. Processing renewals twice as often will require more staff.
States also had to devise strategies for alerting people of the changes, for fear they will be dropped from coverage they didn’t know they were at risk of losing.
Pennsylvania DHS “has worked in good faith” to make these changes, sharing designs and plans with CMS leadership, Cwalina said.
The June rules from CMS will require “a more complex, costly, and labor-intensive approach,” he said.
Administrative hurdles for vulnerable patients
The new rules will make it harder for people to get the care they need, patient advocates and health analysts warn, saying it will drive more people to rely on emergency care, further straining the health system.
“What the administration is calling work requirements are really just hurdles for people who deserve Medicaid and access to the care they need,” said Michael Berman, director of Protect Our Care PA, a healthcare advocacy group, who spoke at a virtual press conference Wednesday with stakeholders and patients, including White.
Under the June rules, states are responsible for developing a list of diagnosis codes that qualify for an exemption, and devising a system to determine how a person can prove their diagnosis prevents them from working.
The CMS guidance provides some specific limitations.
People with substance abuse disorder, for instance, will not be eligible for a work requirement exemption if they have been in recovery for at least five years.
Behavioral health workers worry that will lead to more people relapsing.
“We know recovery works, but only when people can consistently access care,” said Jeannine L. Lisitski, CEO of Mental Health Partnerships, which provides mental health and substance abuse services in Pennsylvania.
People with HIV/AIDS and cancer, also considered serious medical conditions, will only be exempt from the work requirement rules if they prove they are too sick to maintain a job.
Gathering the documentation could be especially burdensome for people who are seriously ill.
“For someone who’s in cancer treatment, to go back to a doctor and get another piece of paper filled out is just going to make it harder and less likely they’re able to get the care they need to survive,” Berman said.
Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital was cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for maintenance and sanitation issues in March.
The incident was one of nine times inspectors visited the hospital, formerly known as Einstein Medical Center, to investigate potential safety problems.
Here’s a look at the publicly available details:
April 15, 2025: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance. Complaint details are not made public when inspectors determine it was unfounded.
June 3: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
June 18: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
July 30: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
Sept. 30: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
Nov. 19: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
Jan. 23, 2026: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
March 11: Inspectors visited for a mental health survey and found the hospital was in compliance.
March 11: Inspectors cited the hospital for sanitation issues in several rooms, including tacky floor stains, debris left in trash cans, and a dark substance in the corners of a shower stall. Inspectors also found the hospital had not installed sloped safety coverings for medical gas and vacuum valves on the wall above the bed in four patient rooms. Without the coverings, the exposed valves posed a ligature risk, meaning a patient could use the edges to harm themselves. Hospital administrators agreed to install valve covers and retrained staff on cleaning procedures.
A 2-month-old Bucks County infant was struggling to swallow and could hardly hold his head up.
He was diagnosed last month with infant botulism, a rare, potentially deadly infection that affects the nervous system and can lead to paralysis.
The family and their lawyer believe the baby, now recovering at home, ingested the bacteria that causes the infection from an infant formula subsequently recalled by its manufacturer, Nara Organics, over contamination concerns.
Federal legislation proposed this spring could protect babies by requiring formula manufacturers to test for more pathogens. The bill, HR 7867, is awaiting hearings in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
“I want responsible manufacturers, responsible industry partners, who say we know there is a risk of this and we’re going to be ahead of the game,” said U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Montgomery County Democrat and cosponsor of the bill.
When asked for comment on the proposed legislation, Nara Organics pointed to safety protocols posted on its website saying the company exceeds the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s current requirements.
The New York-based company said it voluntarily recalled all of its infant formula on June 13 “in an abundance of caution,” after the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported three cases of infant botulism in babies who had consumed Nara formula.
As of July 6, a fourth case had been confirmed, and FDA testing identified the botulism-causing bacterium C botulinum in some of the company’s formula, according to an update posted on the company’s website.
Nara Organics did not comment directly on the proposed regulations. When asked for its position on the legislation, the Infant Nutrition Council of America, which represents manufacturers, said its members “share the goal of ensuring families have access to safe, high-quality infant formula.”
“Infant formula is among the most highly regulated foods in the United States, and INCA supports science-based, risk-based improvements that strengthen infant formula safety,” the organization said in a statement.
The push to bolster regulations comes several years after federal regulators and lawmakers started looking more closely at infant formula safety in 2022, when a massive recall for a non-botulism bacterial contamination left shelves bare for months.
But two recent infant botulism outbreaks linked to formula show the inadequacy of the steps that companies are already taking, said Bill Marler, a Seattle-based food safety lawyer who is representing Erica and Micky Goldfin, the Yardley couple whose son developed botulism after being fed Nara Organics formula.
“We need to do more to protect these kids,” Marler said.
A dangerous infection
Infant botulism occurs when babies ingest C botulinum in foods or dust and dirt particles. The bacteria’s spores colonize in the large intestine and release a toxin that affects the nervous system.
Symptoms include changes in facial expressions, such as smiling less, slow feeding, constipation, and low energy. Untreated, the toxin can spread and cause paralysis, making it hard for babies to breathe and eat.
Infants are at greatest risk of illness because their digestive systems are still developing and less able to fight off infection.
The Goldfins’ baby, identified by the initials W.G. in court records,spent two nights in the intensive care unit at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was treated with BabyBIG, the botulism antitoxin that is manufactured by the California Department of Public Health. The medication’s antibodies bind to the toxin and neutralize it, improving symptoms within 48 hours.
On June 6, he returned home, where he is feeding well again, and regaining movement in his arms and legs. He is receiving weekly physical therapy for developmental delays in his gross and fine motor skills, according to the lawsuit.
Testing challenges
Federal regulators began looking more closely at infant formula in 2022, after Abbott Nutrition issued a massive recall over concerns of non-botulism bacterial infections.
Abbott temporarily shut down one of the largest formula manufacturing plants in the country while it investigated the cause of the contamination, leaving families scrambling to find the formulas they relied on for their infants and medically fragile children.
Pinpointing the exact source of contaminants can be challenging.
The bacteria that causes botulism, for instance, could have been present in the Nara Organics’ powdered milk formula, in dust that settled on the packages during transportation, in the water used to mix it, or on the hands of those preparing the food, said Molly Potter, a senior clinical dietitian with Nemours Children’s Health in Delaware.
According to its website, Nara Organics tests its formulas throughout the manufacturing process, first testing raw ingredients, then during production, and again with the final product.
The tests the company uses include so-called sulfite-reducing clostridia (SRC) enumeration, which a leading international food-safety group recommends for identifying spores of the bacteria that causes infant botulism.
Researchers from IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group, a Washington-based firm that specializes in laboratory testing and analysis for the food industry, worked with ByHeart to analyze its infant formulas that had been linked to at least 28 cases of infant botulism this year and last.
A bottle of milk prepared from infant formula.Giulia Marchi
Improving safety
Dean said she hopes the proposed legislation will open up more conversation about how best to improve infant formula safety.
The bill tasks the FDA with developing a list of pathogens that formula companies should test for, and working with manufacturers to begin any tests they aren’t already doing.
The FDA would also set a schedule for how often manufacturers need to test for the new list of pathogens.
Under the legislation, companies would be required to report contamination results within a day, and retain records of positive test results.
Dean is among more than two dozen lawmakers to sign on as cosponsors. Rep. Jefferson Van Drew, who represents South Jersey’s 2nd District, is one of two Republican cosponsors.
Potter, the Nemours dietitian, said she hopes increased testing will help families feel more at ease.
In the meantime, parents can reduce the risk to their children by only purchasing formula from reputable stores, checking expiration dates, and storing powdered formula canisters properly. Caregivers should make sure to mix formula in clean equipment, and wash their hands before preparing and feeding it to a baby.
Chestnut Hill Hospital was not cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for any safety violations between April 2025 and March of this year.
The Philadelphia-based hospital is majority-owned by Temple Health, which holds an 80% share in a partnership with Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Here’s a look at the publicly available details:
May 21, 2025: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance. Complaint details are not made public when inspectors determine it was unfounded.
July 7: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
Aug. 15: The Joint Commission, a nonprofit hospital accreditation agency, renewed the hospital’s accreditation, effective June 2025, for 36 months.
Paoli Hospital was not cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for any safety violations between April 2025 and March of this year.
Located in Chester County, the hospital is one of four owned by Main Line Health.
Here’s a look at the publicly available details:
June 18, 2025: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance. Complaint details are not made public when inspectors determine it was unfounded.
June 19: The Joint Commission, a nonprofit hospital accreditation agency, renewed the hospital’s accreditation, effective April 2025, for 36 months.
Oct. 20: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
March 12, 2026: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance.
A group of Rutgers researchers led by neuroscientist Ioana Carcea want to learn more about how women’s brains are affected by pregnancy, motherhood, menopause, and other hormonal changes that they say have been under studied.
The Women’s Brain Health Initiative at the Rutgers Brain Health Institute in Piscataway will focus on research and public education about women’s brain function, neurodevelopment, mental health, and disease vulnerability.
The Inquirer spoke with Carcea, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, to learn more about the initiative, which launched in June.
The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Ioana Carcea is an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.Courtesy of Rutgers
What is the focus of your research and the Women’s Brain Health Initiative?
In my laboratory we study different aspects related to how the brain works, how it communicates with the body. One focus area for us is understanding maternal behavior and what regulates maternal behavior. The institute is much broader than what I do. In the Rutgers Women’s Brain Health Initiative, we want to focus on the transitions in life that are specific to women — puberty and monthly menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause. These are very dramatic hormonal changes that women experience and they impact general health, particularly brain health.
How are the hormonal changes women experience different from men?
Men obviously experience puberty, but it’s a different set of hormones. Post-puberty, testosterone does have a full cycle mode of release, but it’s not the monthly cycle that women experience in hormone levels, and the fluctuations are not as profound as in women. Then with aging, men don’t really experience a “pause.” There is going to be a decrease in testosterone levels with aging, but it’s not a complete pause like we see in women.
What are some of the challenges in this type of research?
It is a difficult topic to study. Menopause varies among women, as far as when it starts, how long the perimenopause period lasts — it can be two years, it can be 10. The symptoms vary, genetic risks can amplify the risk of disease. Another challenge is we don’t really have great animal models for menopause. Menopause is very rare in nature. Other than women, only orcas and some other whales have true menopause, where they can lead healthy lives after the reproductive window closes. Primates can come close to menopause – it’s not quite the same, but they do experience reproductive aging.
Has research funding been a challenge?
We need more funding in this area. The funding climate has been changing and both NIH and private foundations are now investing more in women’s brain health research, but that hasn’t happened for a long time, and I think that’s one of the reasons we have these gaps in knowledge when it comes to women’s brains.
Erica and Micky Goldfin’s 2-month-old son wasn’t eating and seemed to be having trouble swallowing. His cries were weak, and his eyelids were droopy.
Within weeks, the Yardley parents were rushing their baby to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was admitted June 1to the intensive care unit and treated for infant botulism, a rare, potentially deadly infection that affects the nervous system and can lead to paralysis, according to court records.
The couple are now suing Nara Organics, the maker of the whole milk infant formula they began feeding their son days after his birth in March, and Target, where they bought it. New York-based Nara Organics voluntarily recalled all of its infant formula on June 13, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported three cases of infant botulism in babies who had consumed Nara formula in Pennsylvania, California, and Washington.
In the lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the family alleges that Nara Organics did not do enough to protect customers after federal regulators cautioned that whole milk powder can carry the bacteria that cause botulism.
“Parents trusted a label that told them this was the safest, most premium thing they could feed their child,” said Bill Marler, a foodborne illness lawyer and a managing partner at Washington-based Marler Clark, who is representing the family.
The Goldfins, who declined an interview through their lawyer, are also represented by Cherry Hill’s Ferrara & Gable.
Nara Organics did not respond to a request for comment, but said on its website that it had issued the recall “in an abundance of caution,” and that none of its formulas had tested positive for the botulism-causing bacterium C botulinum. Tests are ongoing, according to the lawsuit.
“We believe in taking the strongest possible measure to protect the safety of babies,” the company wrote in its recall. “Your family deserves to have complete confidence in the safety of your baby’s food.”
Target did not respond for a request for comment.
This is the second recent botulism outbreak linked to powdered whole milk infant formula. An infant botulism outbreak associated with ByHeart formula that began in November sickened at least 28 babies.
What is botulism?
Infant botulism is caused when babies ingest C botulinum in foods or dust and dirt particles. The bacteria’s spores colonize in the large intestine and release a toxin that affects the nervous system.
Symptoms include changes in facial expressions, such as smiling less; slow feeding; constipation; and low energy.
Untreated, the toxin can spread and cause paralysis, making it hard for babies to breathe and eat.
Infants are at greatest risk of illness because their digestive systems are still developing and less able to fight off infection. Nationally, there were 181 cases of infant botulism in 2021, the most recent year for which CDC data are available.
The Goldfin infant,who was identified only by the initials W.G.,spent two nights in the intensive care unit at CHOP, where he was treated with BabyBIG, the botulism antitoxin that is manufactured by the California Department of Public Health and must be flown to hospitals overnight. The medication’s antibodies bind to the toxin and neutralize it, and symptoms improve within 48 hours.
On June 6 he returned home, where he is feeding well again, and regaining movement in his arms and legs. He is receiving weekly physical therapy for head lag and delays in his gross and fine motor skills, according to the lawsuit.
Shriners Children’s Philadelphia was not cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for any safety violations between April 2025 and March of this year.
The specialty children’s hospital is part of Shriners Hospitals for Children, a Florida-based nonprofit that operates health facilities across the country.
Here’s a look at the publicly available details:
July 15, 2025: Inspectors came to investigate a complaint but found the hospital was in compliance. Complaint details are not made public when inspectors determine it was unfounded.
