State Highlights: Texas Reopens Probe Into Nursing Homes’ Hurricane Harvey Response; Spending Rules Put States In Catch-22 Situation Over Replacing Lead Pipes

Dallas Morning News: Did Nursing Homes Do Enough To Save Patients When Hurricane Harvey Hit? A Widow Wants Answers
Two nursing homes are once again under investigation by the state after they refused to evacuate during Hurricane Harvey and left frail residents wallowing in stinking, murky floodwaters. The state said it had initially closed its investigation in April when officials couldn’t reach staff members at the Port Arthur nursing homes because they haven’t reopened since the storm. But the Texas Health & Human Services Commission took a renewed interest in the facilities, owned by a Dallas company, after inquiries from The Dallas Morning News. (Emily and Branham, 8/23)

Stateline: Public Health Vs. Private Property In War On Lead
It was a precarious situation here: There was lead in the tap water, and the city had a year to begin replacing an estimated 17,000 lead pipes or else face millions in fines. Barred by state law from spending public money on private property, Pittsburgh in spring 2017 — nearly a year after the lead was first detected in July 2016 — began replacing sections of lead pipe running from the water main to curbs, leaving the part of each pipe running from the curb into homes untouched. But officials noticed an alarming trend: lead levels didn’t fall. Instead, they spiked, in some homes to more than six times the amount allowed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (Beitsch, 8/23)

Stat: Dartmouth Misconduct Case Highlights Mistreatment Of Junior Scientists 
The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice probably isn’t the most collegial of places these days. That’s because Dartmouth officials agreed with Samir Soneji, an associate professor at the New Hampshire university, that his colleague Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, a leading expert on cancer screening and overtreatment, used data that belonged to Soneji and a collaborator in California in a subsequent publication without even a hat tip. (Oransky and Marcus, 8/24)

Dallas Morning News: Measles Case Confirmed At Plano West Senior High School 
One case of measles has been confirmed at Plano West Senior High School, according to Collin County health officials. Collin County Health Care Services said in a release Thursday that anyone at the school from Aug. 14 to 16 could have come into contact with the highly contagious disease and that it was reviewing individual cases of exposure. People who may have been exposed, even those who are vaccinated against measles, should monitor for symptoms of the disease — rash, fever, cough, runny nose and eye redness — until Sept. 6, officials said. (Steele, 8/23)

Boston Globe: Measles Case Confirmed In Mass.; Others May Have Been Exposed At Logan Airport
State health authorities have confirmed a case of measles and are warning that others may have been exposed to the disease at Boston’s Logan Airport, among other locations in Massachusetts. In a statement, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said the individual who was diagnosed with measles at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center “was in a number of locations that could have resulted in exposures to other people.” (McDonald, 8/23)

California Healthline: CalPERS Health Chief Wields The Power Of Data To Tame Costs
As prices for drugs and procedures soar, and health insurance premiums for employer-based and individual policies inexorably climb, more than are few people are asking: Is the health care industry spiraling out of control? Liana Bailey-Crimmins, a top official with California’s public employee benefits and retirement system (CalPERS), offered a simple response. “Yeah,” she said. (Leed Matthews, 8/23)

WBUR: Mass. Health Alert: Risk Of Recent Measles Exposures At Logan, Lexington Pool And Library, Hospital
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has confirmed a case of measles which was diagnosed at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center (LHMC). ...Measles is very contagious and people who are not immune and visited the locations on the below specified dates may be at risk for developing measles or may now be developing symptoms of the disease. (Goldberg, 8/23)

Reuters: NY Health Officials Investigating Illnesses Linked To McDonald's Outlet
New York State health officials said on Thursday they were investigating reports of multiple illnesses potentially associated with a McDonald's Corp restaurant in Jamestown, NY. The state health department and the Chautauqua County Health Department said 22 individuals reported symptoms of nausea, vomiting or diarrhea and on being interviewed 15 said they had eaten various breakfast sandwiches at the McDonald's outlet between August 4-21. (Sampath, 8/23)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mammograms Reach Under-Served Communities Through Milwaukee Clinic
[Lisa] Zochert, now a certified aromatherapist who works through Froedtert Hospital, gave hand massages to women last week at the Lisbon Avenue Health Center. Part of her practice was to sit and talk with the women who came in for screenings — some for their first mammograms ever. (Walter, 8/23)

Texas Tribune: Gov. Greg Abbott Names Courtney Phillips Executive Commissioner Of HHSC
Courtney Phillips is the new executive commissioner for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday. Phillips is currently the chief executive officer for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. She starts her role as commissioner Oct. 19. (Evans, 8/23)

The Associated Press: Fertility Doctor Who Used Own Sperm, Surrenders License
A retired Indianapolis fertility doctor who lied about using his own sperm to impregnate possibly dozens of women surrendered his medical license Thursday to a state board that also barred him from ever seeking its reinstatement. After an attorney for Dr. Donald Cline surrendered his expired license to the Indiana Medical Licensing Board, the 7-member panel voted to prohibit the 79-year-old Cline from ever applying for a license in Indiana again. (8/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: SF Health Director Garcia Forced To Resign Over Conflict-Of-Interest Allegations
San Francisco Public Health Director Barbara Garcia’s abrupt resignation Wednesday came after a months-long conflict-of-interest investigation into allegations that she had failed to disclose her wife’s income from an educational institution that had been awarded a million-dollar, sole-source contract with the health department, multiple sources have confirmed. (Matier and Ross, 8/23)

The Associated Press: Officials Report Whooping Cough Outbreak In Central Delaware
Public health officials are investigating an outbreak of whooping cough in central Delaware. Officials on Thursday advised residents to get vaccinated against the highly contagious disease, also known as pertussis. Officials say the investigation began in June when they learned of cases of whooping cough occurring among Kent County’s Amish population. (8/23)

Miami Herald: How And Where To Get Medical Marijuana In Florida
The Florida Department of Health Office of Medical Marijuana Use regulates and oversees where and how the drug is obtained. It also licenses Florida businesses to cultivate, process and dispense medical marijuana to qualified patients. Here are five steps on how to qualify for medical cannabis. (Madan, 8/23)