State Highlights: Even With More Residency Slots, Fla. Still Faces Doc Shortage; Mental Health, Drug Abuse Driving Up E.R. Visits In N.J.

Health News Florida: Florida Increases Medical Residency Slots, Still Faces Doctor Shortages 
A new report shows that Florida hospitals have increased their number of residency slots 19 percent since 2013. The state faces a severe shortage of about 7,000 medical specialists through 2025. Since Florida policymakers began focusing on graduate medical education in 2013, hospitals have filled 736 more residency slots. A total of 310 newly filled residency slots were in physician specialties facing the most severe shortages. The report, “Training Tomorrow’s Doctors: Graduate Medical Education in Florida 2016 Annual Report” was produced by the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida (SNHAF) and the Teaching Hospital Council of Florida to document and evaluate progress toward increasing residency slots. (Miller, 10/25)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Behavioral Health Drives Rise In ER Visits In New Jersey
A new report from the New Jersey Hospital Association found that patients with behavioral health diagnoses, especially those with substance abuse problems, were responsible for a disproportionate share of the increase in emergency department visits in the state over the last five years. The state report comes on the heels of a survey and several studies released recently by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) that found that emergency departments are often clogged with psychiatric patients who are waiting for inpatient care.  Nationally, about half of emergency physicians said mental health care in their communities was worse this year than last.  That percentage was 49 percent in Pennsylvania and 38 percent in New Jersey. (Burling, 10/25)

The Associated Press: Universal Health Care Experiment A Tough Sell In Colorado
The closing days of the push to make Colorado the nation's first state with universal health care are showing why supporters face such steep odds. Most voters have already received ballots in the mail and endured a long campaign to explain the measure, but huge questions remained at a meeting this week in suburban Denver to examine the proposal: How much is this really going to cost? Who would decide what my health care would look like? And what if it all ends in failure? (10/25)

Richmond Times Dispatch: Virginia's Depressed Youth Among Least Likely In Nation To Receive Treatment
Youth who are battling depression in Virginia are among the least likely in the nation to receive treatment for their mental illness, according to a study released recently by a national nonprofit group. Only one out of four Virginia youth suffering from major depression is treated — a rate that falls below all but two other states, according to Mental Health America’s annual rankings of mental health systems across the country. Virginia’s untreated youth was one of the biggest factors that led to a precipitous drop for the state in this year’s overall ranking, which was released at a time when lawmakers are meeting to discuss ways to improve the system. (Kleiner, 10/25)

Denver Post: Colorado Springs Teen Suicides Highlight Gap In Mental Health Services
Colorado Springs is in the midst of a teen suicide cluster. That should be more than enough to scare adults into action to improve adolescent mental health care in Colorado — and there is much room for improvement. First The Gazette and then Newsweek identified the trend of teens taking their own lives in a horrifying contagion of death that has left 29 kids dead in two years, many from the same few schools. No one is certain what exactly drives rashes of suicides like this, but one thing is certain — data shows that children and adults are much less likely to attempt suicide if they have access to mental health care. (Schrader, 10/25)

Los Angeles Times: Hospital Agrees To Pay $450,000 To L.A. To Settle Homeless Patient Dumping Lawsuit
Two years after it dumped a homeless woman on skid row with no identification and wearing only paper pajamas, a Hawaiian Gardens hospital has agreed to pay $450,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Los Angeles, the city attorney’s office announced. City Atty. Mike Feuer sued Gardens Regional Hospital & Medical Center last year after the woman, identified in the suit as Jane Roe to protect her privacy, was dropped off by a hospital van in 2014. She was found wandering the streets and eventually ended up in front of Union Rescue Mission. (Serna, 10/25)

Atlanta Journal Constitution: Anthem Said To Plan New Jobs In Atlanta
Gov. Nathan Deal and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed are scheduled to announce a corporate expansion Wednesday, and people with knowledge of situation said the company involved is health care giant Anthem, parent of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. The company is expected to announce it is adding new corporate and technology jobs in the city.The number of jobs wasn’t immediately known, but was said to be in the hundreds. (Trubey and Bluestein, 10/25)

Cleveland.com: South Euclid Looks To Collect Past-Due EMS Bills Totaling Nearly $700,000
The city is owed nearly $700,000 from those who have used EMS transport services and is looking to get as much of that money back as possible. City Council's Safety Committee met Monday night to discuss legislation that would have the city contract with the Ohio attorney general for the collection of the unpaid fees, which date to August, 2008. While it would be difficult to collect all the money, as some people have died within the past eight years, council members believe the state's authority will help it get back a lot of what is owed, including from those who have moved elsewhere. (Piorkowski, 10/25)

The Baltimore Sun: EY And Hopkins Join Forces To Make Medical Facilities Safer
Consulting firm EY is partnering with Johns Hopkins Medicine to try to make hospitals and other health care organizations safer. The firm plans to help its health care clients devise safety plans and initiatives using clinical research and expertise from the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. EY also plans to develop new products for its clients under the long-term contractual partnership. Financial details were not disclosed, and EY does not share client information. (McDaniels, 10/25)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Former MetroHealth Executive Arrested In Federal Criminal Probe 
Former MetroHealth System executive Edward Hills and three dentists were arrested Tuesday morning following a grand jury's indictment in a racketeering and corruption case involving the hospital's Department of Oral Health and Dentistry. Prosecutors accuse the quartet of giving and taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, as well as airplane tickets, an LED TV and a Louis Vuitton briefcase. Their schemes touched upon the hospital system's residency program, as well as remedial training required for dentists by the Ohio State Dental Board, according to court filings. (Heisig, 10/25)

New Hampshire Union Leader: Health Officials Issue Warning After UNH Mumps Cases 
State health officials are asking residents to take precautions after three cases of the mumps were found to have links to the University of New Hampshire campus in Durham. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services, issued a release this week urging residents to take precautions against the transmission of mumps, which officials warn can spread easily — particularly among college-age students. (Feely, 10/25)

Seattle Times: Record Gift To UW: $210M From Gates Foundation Toward Bold Goal Of Improving World’s Health 
A bold initiative by the University of Washington to improve the health of all the world’s people is getting a big boost from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is writing a $210 million check to build a home for the project — the largest single donation the UW has ever received. The new building will house many of the players in the UW’s Population Health Initiative, announced in May by UW President Ana Mari Cauce and envisioned as a major focus of the UW’s faculty, researchers and students for the next 25 years. Virtually every college and department at the university is expected to play some kind of role. (Long, 10/25)

Sacramento Bee: Dementia Patients Build Trust By Interacting With Horse In Connected Horse Program At UC Davis 
A groundbreaking program that has helped people with dementia by having them interact with horses will launch at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine at the end of this month after a test run at Stanford University. The veterinary school, the UC Davis School of Medicine’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the nonprofit group Connected Horse will collaborate on a clinical trial, which will pair people undergoing early stage dementia and mild cognitive impairment and their caregivers with horses in the hopes of improving the patients’ demeanor and communication skills. (Caiola, 10/25)

The Washington Post: Canadian Woman Killed Eight Nursing Home Patients In Her Care, Police Say
For seven years, Elizabeth Tracey Mae Wettlaufer worked as a nurse in southwestern Ontario, moving between long-term care facilities to tend to the elderly and vulnerable. ... It’s a job that sees death often, one that ushers ailing minds and failing bodies through their final months. Which could explain why nobody noticed when at least eight residents in Wettlaufer’s care died during that seven year period. They were all in their later years, between ages 75 and 96. (Mettler, 10/26)

Columbus Dispatch: Medical Marijuana Legal In Ohio, But Patients Still Can’t Get It 
Technically, medical marijuana has been legal in Ohio since a new law, House Bill 523, took effect Sept. 8. But as of yet — and probably not until 2018 — patients in Ohio cannot legally buy marijuana for medical purposes. Before that happens, the complicated, time-consuming job of drafting rules, policies, certifications, licenses and many other things must be completed. Rules don’t have to be in place, by law, until next year. Only after rules go through two state oversight agencies can cultivators begin growing marijuana crops, with processing, lab testing and sales through licensed dispensaries to follow. (Johnson, 10/26)