State Highlights: Partners HealthCare Urges Workers To Lobby Against Mass. Bill To Regulate Hospital Prices; Va. Health Commissioner OKs Merger Despite FTC Opposition

The Boston Globe: Partners HealthCare Asks Workers To Oppose State Health Care Bill
Executives at Partners HealthCare and its largest hospitals are so concerned about a big Massachusetts health care bill that they’re asking employees to lobby against some of the legislation’s provisions. Partners executives sent e-mails to most of the organization’s 73,000 employees Friday, warning about the possible ramifications of the bill now making its way through the Senate. (McClusky, 11/3)

Modern Healthcare: Mountain States, Wellmont Skirt Federal Regulation And Score State Merger Approval
The Virginia state health commissioner recently approved the proposed merger between Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health System despite the Federal Trade Commission's opposition. Both Tennessee and Virginia approved the organizations' certificate of public advantage, or COPA, which essentially allows them to skirt challenges from federal regulators in favor of 10 years of state oversight while the companies integrate under Ballad Health. COPAs are used to demonstrate that a merger's public benefit outweighs potential anticompetitive consequences. (Kacik, 11/3)

Earlier KHN coverage: In Appalachia, Two Hospital Giants Seek State-Sanctioned Monopoly

The Washington Post: ‘Veritas Will Be Blamed For This’: Ex-Hospital Official Says Consultants Interfered With Patient Safeguards
The consulting firm running D.C.’s only public hospital came under growing pressure Friday as the hospital’s chief medical officer and a former executive who oversaw quality of care said the firm has disregarded patients’ safety in an effort to preserve a lucrative contract with the District government. Veritas of Washington faced intense criticism at a public hearing by the D.C. Council’s health committee, as Maria Costino, who until several months ago was United Medical Center’s director of quality management and patient safety, said the firm’s employees repeatedly sought to handicap her work. (Jamison, 11/3)

KCUR: Planned Parenthood Loses Second Challenge To New Abortion Law
A federal judge in Kansas City on Friday denied Planned Parenthood’s request to block a Missouri regulation requiring its clinic in Columbia to have a so-called complication plan for medication abortions. The Legislature enacted the requirement this summer after Gov. Eric Greitens called it into special session. Later the Department of Health and Senior Services issued a rule that an OB-GYN had to be on call 24/7 to treat complications from a medication abortion. (Margolies, 11/3)

The Denver Post: Child Health Clinic Treats Kids From Birth To 18
The clinic treats kids from newborns to age 18 — about 27,000 visits a year. It is funded by the Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation, a past recipient of the Post’s Season to Share campaign. The clinic focuses on disease prevention and health maintenance. Services include hearing and vision screening, nutritional counseling and laboratory testing. Mental health services, including consultations with behavioral health and psychiatry specialists, are also available. (McGhee, 11/5)

Minnesota Public Radio: Brainerd Medical Center No Longer Admitting Civilly Committed Patients
Citing a lack of beds and staffing concerns, a central Minnesota hospital says it's no longer accepting people committed by courts for psychiatric care. St. Joseph's Medical Center in Brainerd will admit to its 16-bed behavioral health center only those patients who are seeking treatment voluntarily. (Sepic, 11/3)

Minnesota Public Radio: As Mental Health Calls Rise, MN Police Training Takes On Vital Role
Authorities say that expertise is crucial because of the growing number of police calls involving people who are in the throes of a mental health crisis when the squad cars roll up. Of the 14 Minnesotans shot and killed by police in 2016, six were in the throes of some kind of mental health crisis. (Lillie, 11/3)

Tampa Bay Times: When The Goal Is Getting To The ER Fast And Cheap, Some Choose Ride Sharing Over 911
Ride-sharing drivers in Tampa Bay and beyond are noticing an uptick in rides to and from the emergency room as consumers try to avoid spending what could be thousands of dollars for an ambulance. It’s an updated version of a role long played by cabs. What’s new is that the ride-sharing experience, with its ability to tell people how soon a car will arrive, is seen by many as more nimble and better suited to a spur-of-the-moment decision like rushing to the ER. (Griffin, 11/6)

Minnesota Public Radio: Health Care And Religion On Collision Course In Flu Shot Mandate
A hospice volunteer in Itasca County doesn’t want a flu shot and she may lose her volunteer job if she doesn’t get one. It’s apparently not enough if workers for Essentia Health cite religious beliefs for refusing flu shots. It wants workers to prove they live by religious doctrine in other aspects of their life too. (Collins, 11/5)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Despite Pa. Incentives, Why County Health Departments Haven't Gone Viral
Flu-shot clinics; restaurant inspections; checkups for low-income mothers, infectious-disease contingency plans. For the last 70 years, Pennsylvania has been encouraging counties to create health departments to provide such services, calling local agencies the best way to promote the health of state residents. (Bond, 11/5)

The Detroit Free Press: Optimal Care Bridges Physical Distance With Chats, Weekly Luncheon For Employees
Nearly everyone on Optimal's staff is a full-time employee with full benefits, which isn't always the case in home health care. Optimal is also fairly unique in the industry for offering its employees annual profit-sharing checks. These checks range in size from several hundreds dollars to several thousand dollars, Murphy-DeOrsey said. The company started focusing in recent years on employees' strengths in annual performance reviews, rather than page after page pointing out weaknesses, said Erik Wilson, Optimal's director of nursing. (Reindl, 11/4)

Columbus Dispatch: Cold And Flu Seasons Call For Stepped-Up Cleaning At Schools, Public Buildings
For agencies across central Ohio, the main strategy against spreading cold and flu is to encourage people to get a flu shot, stay home when they’re sick, wash their hands and contain sneezes. But the people responsible for keeping facilities in tip-top shape say that the work done by custodial staffs is another important step in the battle to prevent illnesses this time of year. (Viviano, 11/5)

The Washington Post: ‘She Won’t Be Quiet!!!!’: Teacher Accused Of Taping The Mouth Of A Student With Cerebral Palsy
In March 2016, Doreen Smith received a text message from her daughter’s teacher. It contained a picture of Rosa, her daughter, who has cerebral palsy. Rosa was grimacing as four pieces of tape covered her mouth. “Help. She won’t be quiet!!!!” the teacher wrote in a follow-up text message that included two emojis, according to court documents. (Phillips, 11/5)