State Highlights: Civil Rights Officials Investigate Sexual Arousal Study At Iowa Home For Disabled; Kansans For Life Group Disturbed By Democratic Governor’s Appointment Of New Judge

The Associated Press: Sexual Arousal Study Investigated At Iowa Home For Disabled
Few details are being released about an investigation conducted by civil rights officials from the U.S. Department of Justice into possible human experiments focused on sexual arousal at a state-run Iowa institution for disabled residents, but Gov. Kim Reynolds recently acknowledged that the state’s response to long-term issues at Glenwood Resource Center was inadequate. (12/16)

KCUR: Kansas Has A New Supreme Court Justice, And Abortion Opponents Aren't Happy 
A Shawnee County district judge was named Monday to one of the vacancies on the Kansas Supreme Court. Though the state’s most prominent anti-abortion group opposed Shawnee County District Court Judge Evelyn Wilson, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly Chose Wilson from among the three candidates recommended by the Supreme Court Nominating Commission. It’s a choice that could fuel efforts to change how Kansas’ Supreme Court justices get their seats. (Koranda, 12/16)

The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission Appoints New Executive Director 
The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission has appointed William Tilburg as its executive director after serving as its acting director for several months. In a news release, the commission wrote that Tilburg had been serving as the acting executive director since 2019 and previously served as its director of government affairs and policy. (Davis, 12/16)

KQED: Kaiser Mental Health Therapists Strike Again Over Long Wait Times
Four thousand mental health clinicians are walking off their jobs at Kaiser Permanente today, affecting care at more than 100 clinics across the state. The week-long strike is the second in a year, as the workers’ union and Kaiser management remain deadlocked on a new contract. Therapists’ main complaint is long wait times for patients. While industry best practice is to see clients every one to two weeks, the majority of Kaiser clinicians say their patients with anxiety and depression are forced to wait four to eight weeks between appointments. (Dembosky, 12/16)

Kaiser Health News: Despite Quick Fixes, Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Care Still Lags
After years of state sanctions and fines, Kaiser Permanente claims it has gone a long way toward improving its mental health care. The national managed-care giant — California’s largest insurer with 9 million members — touts more than 1,200 therapist hires since 2016, improved patient access to appointments and an expanded training program for mental health professionals. Regulators at California’s Department of Managed Health Care report that Kaiser is meeting the benchmarks laid out in a 2017 settlement agreement that resulted from two years of negotiations. (Gold, 12/17)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trust Issues Plague Ascension Wisconsin Relationship With Community
Three empty chairs at a community meeting epitomized the mistrust between the leaders of Ascension Wisconsin and the St. Joe’s Accountability Coalition. The coalition, composed primarily of community leaders from Milwaukee’s north side, invited Ascension Wisconsin to that Oct. 1 meeting to press the health system to sign a legal contract binding it to a list of commitments. The commitments included keeping Ascension St. Joseph hospital open and providing an urgent care clinic, affordable housing assistance, local hiring, more employee training and living wages for all employees. (Shelbourne, 12/16)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Autopsies: Cobb Inmates Died Of ‘Natural Causes’ While In Custody
The Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office has finalized the autopsies of two inmates who died after experiencing medical emergencies at the Adult Detention Center. The autopsies on Steven Davis and William John Kocour show the manner of death for both men to be natural causes. However, that’s where the similarities end. (Dixon, 12/16)

Modern Healthcare: RWJBarnabas Health, St. Peter's Healthcare System Sign Letter Of Intent
RWJBarnabas Health and St. Peter's Healthcare System have signed a letter of intent to join forces, the New Jersey-based not-for-profit health systems announced Monday. The letter of intent—the exact structure of which is still undetermined—follows St. Peter's request for proposals in October 2018. In Middlesex County, and across the country, it has been increasingly hard to operate an independent hospital, said Leslie Hirsch, president and CEO of St. Peter's, which owns the 478-bed acute-care teaching hospital, St. Peter's University Hospital. (Kacik, 12/16)

California Healthline: Valley Fever Cases Climb In California’s Central Valley — And Beyond
Valley fever cases are on the rise in California and across the arid Southwest, and scientists point to climate change and population shifts as possible reasons. California public health officials documented 7,768 reports of confirmed, suspected and probable new cases of the fungal disease as of Nov. 30, 2019, up 12% from 6,929 in the first 11 months of 2018. (Feder Ostrov and Rowan, 12/16)