State Highlights: Calif. Prisoner First To Receive State-Funded Sex-Reassignment Surgery; Ga. Hospitals Dinged On Quality Of Patient Care

The Associated Press: California Is First To Pay For Prisoner’s Sex-Reassignment Surgery
A 57-year-old convicted killer serving a life sentence in California is the first inmate in the United States to receive state-financed sex-reassignment surgery, the prisoner’s lawyers said. California prison officials agreed in August 2015 to pay for the surgery for the inmate, Shiloh Heavenly Quine, who was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery for ransom and has no possibility of parole. (1/7)

Savannah Morning News: Savannah’s Three Major Hospitals Hit With Federal Penalties For Patient-Care Issues 
Savannah’s three major hospitals are among 13 hospitals in Georgia to be hit with federal penalties for high rates of patient care complications, according to federal health officials. Memorial University Medical Center, Candler Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital were cited for high levels of complications including infections, blood clots, bedsores and falls, officials with the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported in an annual survey. There were 31 of 134 hospitals — 23 percent — penalized in the state. (Skutch, 1/7)

Chicago Tribune: Should Illinois Hospitals Have To Pay Property Taxes? Court Will Weigh Question
A case set to go before the state Supreme Court on Thursday is challenging the law that allows Illinois' not-for-profit hospitals to skip paying property taxes. Those challenging the law say many not-for-profit hospitals enjoy hefty profits and should have to contribute to their communities, just like any other business. Hospitals, however, argue they provide valuable charitable care and use the exemptions to fulfill their communities' health care needs.Hundreds of millions of dollars — for hospitals, communities and taxpayers — are at stake. (Schencker, 1/8)

San Jose Mercury News: Troubled Theranos To Lay Off 41 Percent Of Employees
Beleaguered blood-testing startup Theranos is laying off nearly half of its remaining workforce, the company said Friday, as it reels from federal sanctions and lawsuits brought on by its underperforming product. The Palo Alto startup will lay off 155 employees — about 41 percent of its workforce — as part of an ongoing restructuring effort. Theranos has shuffled its management, closed its labs and voided two years of test results as it tries to backpedal from the failure of its signature Edison machine, which promised to perform a variety of blood tests using a pin prick’s worth of blood. (Kendall, 1/6)

The Washington Post: This Louisiana Town Has A Serious Problem With Lead In Its Water. It Won’t Be The Only One This Year.
In the tiny town of St. Joseph, La., a local preacher has temporarily suspended baptisms, figuring that if officials don’t want people drinking the tainted water, he ought not to be plunging them into it, either. “I just don’t feel comfortable immersing people in that water,” Pastor Donald Scott told the Advocate, a Baton Rouge newspaper, recently. “I’m pretty sure God understands.” (Dennis, 1/6)

Minnesota Public Radio: As Flu Cases Surge In Minnesota, Vaccinations Stall
Minnesota and neighboring states are seeing an increase in the number of flu cases. It'll likely be several more weeks before flu season peaks in Minnesota. There's still time to get a flu shot, but federal data show that most people haven't bothered. Public health officials are publicizing the increase in flu cases with hopes that the information will spur people to rush out for a flu shot. But if recent trends hold, it may not. (Benson, 1/6)

The Courier-Journal: Child Abuse Findings Voided Secretly In Kentucky
Using a secret process that not even victims may know about, [Kevin] Watson, exercising his right to a confidential appeal, was able to overturn the cabinet's child abuse finding against him. That kept his name from being added to an official list — also confidential — known as the state Child Abuse and Neglect Registry that can restrict adults from some occupations or activities, such as child care, working or volunteering with youths or serving as foster parents. (Yetter, 1/7)

KCUR: Kansas Gov. Brownback Unveils Plan To Increase State's Doctors 
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback unveiled a two-part plan Friday to bring more doctors to the state and quell health care shortages that he said threaten to kill rural communities. Brownback, flanked by Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, a hospital executive and the head of the Kansas Farm Bureau, harkened back to his days growing up in Parker — population 250 — to personalize the push for more rural doctors. (Marso, 1/6)

KCUR: Kansas Community Mental Health Centers See Lottery As Potential Funding Source 
In tight budget times, Kansas mental health advocates are turning to the lottery for some financial help. Kyle Kessler, executive director of the Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas, said the association will ask the Legislature to commit an additional $31 million over the next two fiscal years for the centers. That $31 million — pulled from Kansas lottery proceeds — would return funding for the 26 centers across the state to the 2007 fiscal year level. (Wingerter, 1/6)

WABE : Ga. GOP To Prioritize Health Care, Avoid Religious Exemptions 
State Republican leaders indicated Thursday they are not prioritizing religious exemption bills that have headlined legislative sessions in years past.Republican House and Senate leaders spoke about their legislative agendas Thursday for this year’s General Assembly which starts Monday. The Senate GOP Caucus’s priorities included topics ranging from health care to education funding, but did not include religious exemptions bills.  (Yu, 1/6)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Study Suggests Prevention Efforts Are Having An Effect On Melanoma In Pa., N.J.
Free skin cancer screenings on Jersey Shore beaches. Laws cracking down on indoor tanning. Melanoma prevention programs for children as young as 3. Efforts such as these may explain why a new analysis has found a small but heartening decline in melanoma cases and deaths in most Northeastern states, in contrast to trends for the deadliest skin cancer in the rest of the country. The new study, led by dermatologist Robert Dellavalle of the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center and published recently in JAMA Dermatology, compared melanoma deaths and incidence by region for 2003 and 2013. (McCullough, 1/7)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Summa Doctors Say Leadership Needs Replacing After ER Staffing Shakeup 
Doctors at Akron's Summa Health System are divided over the hospital's decision to terminate the contract of its emergency physicians on New Year's Eve. After a week of turmoil, about 250 Summa physicians on Thursday evening gave their President and CEO, Dr. Thomas Malone, a vote of "no confidence" at an unscheduled medical staff meeting, according to doctors who attended. More than 200 staffers later signed a letter to the health system's board of directors seeking Malone's resignation. (Zeltner, 1/7)

Health News Florida: Report: Florida Ranks 47 In Country In Child Health Care
The quality of health care among Florida's children has improved since 2008, but the state still lags far behind much of the nation. That's according to a report released today by Florida Kids Count. Florida made strides in crucial health care factors, including the number of children born with low birth weights and the number of deaths among children and teens. (Ochoa, 1/9)

New Hampshire Public Radio: State Could Be Back In Court Due To Slow Progress On Mental Health 
The state of New Hampshire could find itself back in court this year if it doesn’t comply with a class-action settlement aimed at rebuilding the state’s damaged mental health system. The latest six-month report from an expert reviewer found the state is making big progress in improving how it serves those with mental illness. (Rodolico, 1/9)

Health News Florida: Medical Marijuana Dispensary Could Open In Tampa As Soon As Next Week 
A new medical marijuana dispensary could be up and running in Tampa as soon as next week. The Tampa location on North Dale Mabry Highway is owned by the company Trulieve. It will join the company's other dispensaries in Clearwater and Tallahassee. (Colombini, 1/6)