Communication more than convenience rates highly among teenagers when it comes to smartphone applications. Lori Janjigian draws on her 14-year-old sister's preferences to serve up a list of eight iPhone apps that appear to be indispensable to teens.

Students at some Seattle-area schools are engaging in mindfulness activities to help curb stress and anxiety. Teachers, counselors and school nurses at one high school decided to schedule 20 minutes per day for such activities after observing that students' stress had reached a "crisis level."

An Alaskan school district is working to establish regional behavioral centers at neighborhood elementary schools to improve the inclusion of students whose disabilities include challenging behaviors. Once the program is set, the district plans to close its separate, centralized campus that houses 60 students with severe emotional and behavioral issues.

Doctors should be a resource for families exploring out-of-home arrangements for their children with complex medical needs, according to guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The guidance suggests several arrangements from medical facilities to alternative types of home-based care, such as host families or voluntary foster care.

Seattle-area hospitals are being redesigned to offer more amenities, even in critical care units, to compete for patients. St. Elizabeth Hospital has beds programmed to speak to critically ill patients in 20 languages, the University of Washington Medical Center's $115 million expansion will include a 50-bed NICU and Seattle Children's Hospital has begun a $200 million expansion that includes critical care and emergency department areas.