State Highlights: D.C. Public Hospital To Permanently Shutter Nursery And Delivery Rooms; Fla. Hospitals Seek More Funding To Combat Doctor Shortage
Media outlets report on news from Washington, D.C., Florida, Connecticut, California, Indiana, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Georgia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
The Washington Post:
Nursery And Delivery Rooms At D.C.’s Public Hospital Will Not Reopen
The board of D.C.’s public hospital voted Wednesday to permanently close the facility’s nursery and delivery rooms, leaving a broad section of the nation’s capital east of the Anacostia River without a hospital where women can give birth and seek prenatal care. The obstetrics ward at United Medical Center has been closed since Aug. 7, when regulators shut it down after uncovering what they said were serious medical errors in the treatment of pregnant women and newborns. However, elected officials, maternal-health advocates and residents of Southeast Washington had expressed hope that it would reopen. (Jamison, 12/13)
Tampa Bay Times:
Florida Hospitals Call For More Funding In Effort To Address Looming Doctor Shortage
The number of doctors practicing in Florida has not kept up with the state’s surging population growth, and more money is needed to recruit and keep them here, hospital leaders said Wednesday. The shortage is particularly acute in four speciality areas: urology, thoracic surgery, nephrology and ophthalmology, according to a second annual report by the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida and the Teaching Hospital Council of Florida. (Griffin, 12/13)
The Associated Press:
Activism, Charity Sustain Sandy Hook Families 5 Years Later
Out of a senseless tragedy, they have sought ways to find meaning in advocacy. Many relatives of the 26 children and educators killed five years ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School have dedicated themselves to charity, activism and other efforts to channel their grief and, in many cases, to help prevent violence. (12/14)
San Jose Mercury News:
Uber Reduces Ambulance Usage Across The Country, Study Says
In what is believed to be the first study to measure the impact of Uber and other ride-booking services on the U.S. ambulance business, two researchers have concluded that ambulance usage is dropping across the country. A research paper released Wednesday examined ambulance usage rates in 766 U.S. cities in 43 states as Uber entered their markets from 2013 to 2015. (Seipel, 12/13)
The Associated Press:
Fertility Doctor Faces Judge For Lying About Using Own Sperm
A retired Indianapolis fertility doctor accused of inseminating patients with his own sperm is set to plead guilty to charges that he lied to investigators. Dr. Donald Cline is scheduled to appear in a Marion County court Thursday, when a judge is expected to sentence him on two counts of obstruction of justice. Prosecutors say the 79-year-old Cline initially wrote to investigators denying he used his own sperm. (12/14)
Nashville Tennessean:
Mayor Barry Slammed Over Handling Of Nashville General Hospital Plans
Less than 48 hours after the Metro Council last week signed off on Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s $275 million Major League Soccer stadium, many African-American council members say they were blindsided by the next big proposal. With no warning, Barry announced plans to end inpatient care at Nashville General Hospital, a longtime symbol in the city’s black community, which has fought for years to keep the safety-net hospital in operation. The mayor cited the facility’s long-standing fiscal instability. (Garrison, 12/13)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
N.H. Near Last In Spending To Combat Tobacco Use
New Hampshire ranks near the bottom in the country when it comes to funding anti-smoking programs and prevention. According to a national report released Wednesday, New Hampshire ranks 47th among the 50 states. (Sutherland, 12/13)
APM:
The Minneapolis Police Department Used To Give New Recruits Five Psychological Tests. Now It Just Uses One
Starting in 2012, the city eliminated four of the five psychological tests used to screen applicants for its police academy. Those tests — at least one of which the department had used since at least the mid-1990s — were dropped even though a federally funded study conducted in the Minneapolis Police Department showed some were effective at identifying problem officers. (Gilbert, 12/14)
Georgia Health News:
Brookhaven OKs Big Children’s Healthcare Development
The Brookhaven City Council on Tuesday night approved several steps that will enable Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to move forward with its planned $1 billion North Druid Hills campus. The 72-acre campus will serve as a catalyst for more than $40 million of transportation improvements in the surrounding area, officials said. (Miller, 12/13)
The Baltimore Sun:
Hopkins Favored Out-Of-State Patients Over Locals To Increase Revenue, Lawsuit Claims
A former supervisor in the patient appointments department at the Johns Hopkins Health System Corp. has accused the medical system in a lawsuit of prioritizing out-of-state patients over Maryland residents to boost revenue. Anthony C. Campos said in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court that his department was directed with the task of “filling the plane” with patients from outside Maryland. The directive to bring in more of these patients came from the highest ranks at the medical system, the lawsuit contends. (McDaniels, 12/13)
The Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com:
Suburban Woods And Elkins Crest Nursing Homes, Facing Big Fines, Will Have New Operators
A group of 20 Pennsylvania nursing homes, including three facing $1.2 million in federal fines for deficient care, will have new operators after less than three years in the hands of a nonprofit formed to run them. The nonprofit, Oak Health & Rehabilitation Centers Inc, headed by Bala Cynwyd lawyer Howard Jaffe, was put into receivership by its landlord in September after failing to make at least three rent payments totaling $10.5 million and missing financial targets. (Brubaker, 12/14)
