Florida Gets New Purple Alerts To Help Find Missing Adults With Disabilities

WLRN 91.3 FM: Purple Alert, For Adults With Disabilities, Added To Florida System For Finding The Missing
Floridians may notice a new color of alert flashing across highway message boards soon. After several years of development between disability advocates, law enforcement and transportation officials, the Purple Alert will be rolling out July 1. The alert will be “used to assist in the location of missing adults suffering from mental, cognitive, intellectual or developmental disabilities,” according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The Purple Alert will join Florida’s Silver (senior), Blue (law enforcement) and Amber (children) alerts. (Lloyd, 6/21)

In news from California —

AP: CA Governor's Mental Health Court Plan Advances Amid Worries 
A controversial proposal by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to prod more homeless people into mental health treatment is making its way through the Legislature, despite deep misgivings from lawmakers struggling to address a problem that reaches every corner of the state. Legislators are worried that there isn’t enough guaranteed staffing or housing for the program to succeed while forcing vulnerable individuals into court-ordered services against their will. Even so, the bill unanimously cleared the Senate last month, and passed out of the Assembly judiciary committee Tuesday, one of several stops before being voted on by the full chamber. (Har, 6/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco To Open Drug Sobering Center To Address Meth And Fentanyl Epidemic And Street Crisis
San Francisco will open a drug sobering center on Monday where people on the streets can temporarily ride out highs and get connected to treatment, the latest initiative to address the overdose crisis and complaints about drug use on city streets. The center, called SOMA RISE, will operate out of a former office building the city is leasing at 1076 Howard St. in the South of Market Neighborhood, one of the epicenters of the drug crisis, along with the Tenderloin. (Moench, 6/21)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. City Council Backs $25 Minimum Wage For Some Health Workers
The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to boost the minimum wage for workers at privately owned hospitals to $25 an hour, rather than sending the question to the November ballot for voters to decide. The wage requirement will cover a wide range of workers, including nurses, aides, housekeepers, guards, janitors and other employees who are not supervisors or managers. “Burned out and traumatized from the pandemic, many feel disrespected and undervalued and have left the profession, and more are considering leaving soon,” SEIU-UHW, a union that represents California healthcare workers, said in a statement. “Raising the minimum wage helps acknowledge their vital, life-saving work and retain workers for Los Angeles’ future healthcare needs.” (Alpert Reyes, 6/21)

In other news from across the U.S. —

AP: NC Appeals Court Won't Strike Down Medical Certificate Law
A state appeals court on Tuesday rejected a request by an eastern North Carolina eye doctor to strike down a state law that requires regulators to agree new operating rooms are needed in his region before they could be built. A three-judge panel of the intermediate-level state Court of Appeals court ruled the state’s certificate of need law doesn’t violate the constitutional rights of Dr. Jay Singleton and the Singleton Vision Center when it comes to the situation the ophthalmologist wants to change. (Robertson, 6/21)

NPR: S.C. Law Lets Health Care Providers Refuse Nonemergency Care Based On Beliefs
Amberlyn Boiter worries that doctors in South Carolina now have a legal excuse to deny her health care. "I haven't felt comfortable going to a doctor in well over a year," says Boiter. That's when Boiter, who is 35 years old, began transitioning into the woman she believes she's meant to be and doctors would not give her the hormones she needed. Boiter bought them online and found an out-of-state doctor she sees via telehealth — care that she says most of her transgender friends cannot afford. "The truth is, it's dangerous for a lot of trans people out there who don't have access to mainstream health care," says Boiter. She fears the situation will only get worse now that the Medical Ethics and Diversity Act has been signed into law by Gov. Henry McMaster. (Hansen, 6/21)

New Hampshire Public Radio: With New Public Health And Safety Team, Manchester Aims To Reduce Non-Emergency Calls To The Police Department
The city of Manchester on Tuesday introduced eight community health workers who will connect residents to resources and services, and serve as a non-emergency responders when police services aren’t required. The new workers, dubbed the Public Health and Safety Team, or PHAST, are assigned to the city’s wards based on their language skills and other challenges facing the neighborhood. During an event at City Hall, Manchester Chief Allen Aldenberg said the program aims to assist residents in need of services, including mental health treatment, rather than having those calls funneled to the police. The community health workers are also trained in de-escalation techniques, with the goal of limiting the involvement of law enforcement in non-emergency or non-violence situations. (Lozada, 6/21)

In environmental health news —

Axios: Cities May Need To Be Redesigned For Extreme Heat
The hotter it gets, the less people want to move their bodies outdoors, according to recent research in the International Journal of Biometeorology. While the finding may seem obvious, it's just one example of the implications extreme heat has on health and wellness — and why experts say cities will need to adapt. The authors of the study used electric counters to track hourly pedestrian and cyclist traffic on a popular trail in Austin, Texas, looking for the connection between the temperatures and trail use. (Reed, 6/21)

AP: Business Groups Sue Over Heat And Smoke Worker Protections
Some Oregon business groups are suing over the state’s new job site rules mandating that employers take steps to protect workers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke. Regulations adopted by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division mandate that employers act once the temperature or air quality reaches a certain threshold. The heat rules took effect June 15, while the wildfire smoke rules start July 1. (6/21)

NPR: Extreme Heat Is Taking A Toll On Health And Finances, Survey Finds
From higher electricity bills to worsened health, more than half of Americans have felt the impacts of extreme heat, according to a new survey released by NPR, Harvard University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. That percentage is even higher in California, where heat was the top climate impact, reported by 71% of those surveyed. "California does have low rates of air conditioning in homes, maybe because it's blessed with cool breezes in a lot of parts of the state, but when an extreme heat event comes and there's no cool air available, you're in trouble," says David Eisenman, a doctor who directs the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters. "That's why you're seeing this higher number." (Peterson, 6/22)