The New York Times: Science Does Not Support Claims That Contraceptives Are ‘Abortion-Inducing’
During his Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Thursday, Judge Brett Kavanaugh referred to some forms of birth control as “abortion-inducing drugs.” The phrase is a characterization that some anti-abortion religious groups use, but it is not supported by scientific evidence. Judge Kavanaugh used the phrase while answering questions by Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, about a 2015 dissent he wrote in a case brought by a Catholic organization over a requirement in the federal health care law that employers include contraception coverage in employee health plans. (Belluck, 9/7)

The New York Times: Democrats Sow Disorder In The Senate Over Kavanaugh And The Court
Boorish. Rude. Disrespectful. Insulting. Grandstanding. Hyperventilating. Deranged. Ridiculous. Drivel. Those were among the words angry Senate Republicans used this week to assail the conduct of Democrats at a Supreme Court hearing that was often tense and sometimes toxic. (Hulse, 9/7)

Bloomberg: Facing Long Odds On Kavanaugh, Democrats Make It All About Trump
Facing an uphill battle to derail Donald Trump’s second nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Senate Democrats fanned out on Sunday to cast Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation fight as a referendum on White House accountability. Liberals fear that elevating Kavanaugh to the nine-person court could create the most conservative panel since the 1930s and lead to legal reversals on precedents including women’s abortion rights. (Bain and Brody, 9/9)

Politico: Judiciary Committee Vote Next Hurdle For Kavanaugh
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has announced that he will hold a committee on Sept. 13. Democrats can delay a panel vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination for one week. At that point, Grassley would be expected to push Kavanaugh’s nomination through his panel and onto the Senate floor, setting the stage for a big political win for President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Democrats can only slow down Kavanaugh’s nomination at that point — they can’t stop it without GOP help. Senate Republicans currently have a 51-49 majority, with the replacement for the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Jon Kyl, having been sworn in on Wednesday, giving McConnell another vote to work with to get Kavanaugh through the Senate. (Bresnahan, 9/7)

PBS NewsHour: Even With Roe V. Wade Intact, Many States Have Aggressively Restricted Abortion Access
Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court has many abortion rights advocates worried that the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision is in imminent peril. In many places the rollback of access is already steadily progressing. (Nawaz, 9/7)

The New York Times: Manchin Counts On Health Care To Stave Off Republican Tide In West Virginia
There were the beauty queens, ages 6 to 60, riding in style in the Labor Day Parade, including Teen Miss West Virginia Coal. There was the man driving a pickup truck memorial to 29 workers killed in a 2010 mine disaster, each victim’s portrait airbrushed on metal. And there was Senator Joe Manchin, in a sky-blue shirt with the state’s craggy outline on its crest, walking the route and greeting voters who brought up his favorite issue themselves. (Gabriel, 9/8)

In other news from the 2018 campaign trail —

The New York Times: Abortion Opposition Once Defined Marsha Blackburn. But Not In Senate Race.
Inside the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce one morning last month, a few dozen voters sipped coffee and listened for 45 minutes to Representative Marsha Blackburn tick off all the reasons that this traditionally Republican stronghold in northeastern Tennessee should support her in one of the most high-stakes Senate races this year. She praised President Trump. She warned of an invasion of liberal policies and a Democratic takeover of committees if Republicans lose the Senate. She stressed securing the border, fighting MS-13 and lowering taxes. She highlighted her work as a Republican House member to “get government off your back.” (Dias, 9/9)

The Hill: Obama Calls 'Medicare For All' A 'Good' Idea
Former President Obama on Friday called "Medicare for all" a "good" idea during a speech in Illinois where he launched his midterm campaign efforts for Democrats. "Democrats aren't just running on good, old ideas like a higher minimum wage. They're running on good, new ideas like Medicare for all," Obama said. (Hellmann, 9/7)

Politico: Obama Touts Medicare For All As Evidence Of Democrats’ New Ideas
“They’re sabotaging the Affordable Care Act, already cost more than 3 million Americans their health insurance,” Obama said in a wide-ranging speech that also criticized the Trump administration‘s policies. “And if they’re still in power next fall, you better believe they're coming at it again. They’ve said so.” The remarks at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign launched Obama's midterm campaigning and drew attention to calls for universal health coverage, a cause that has rallied progressives in congressional races and statewide initiatives. (Demko, 9/7)

McClatchy: Medicare For All: GOP Says Single-Payer Hurts Entitlements
Two months before Election Day, some Republicans have embraced an unexpected new way to attack Democratic candidates: The party of Medicare for All, they charge, actually wants to take away Medicare from senior citizens. It’s an attack Democrats hotly contest, dismissing it as proof positive the GOP is failing to find a winning message in a challenging political climate. (Roarty and Glueck, 9/7)

The New York Times Fact Check: Trump Falsely Claims He’s Saving Medicare And Social Security, Which He Says Democrats Are ‘Killing’
The president is wrong on both claims: that Democrats plan to deplete Medicare and Social Security and that the two society safety nets are “stronger” under his administration. First, not only has Mr. Trump failed to strengthen Medicare and Social Security, the financial outlook for both trusts has largely worsened. That’s at least partly the result of Mr. Trump’s tax law that is collecting fewer taxes from Americans and, in turn, investing less money into each program. (Qiu, 9/7)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Obamacare Insurance Rates To Fall 9.3 Percent In New Jersey
Individual health insurance rates in New Jersey will decrease on average by 9.3 percent for 2019, a far cry from the 5.8 percent average rate hike carriers requested earlier this year, Gov. Murphy announced Friday. Murphy credited two laws he signed in May for producing the rate reduction: one creating an individual health insurance mandate, and another establishing a reinsurance program. (Hetrick, 9/7)

Georgia Health News: September Surprise: Premium Hike Canceled For Many State Retirees
The Department of Community Health’s board on Friday approved a welcome change in health premiums for thousands of state retirees. Retirees in UnitedHealthcare’s standard Medicare plan were expecting a hike of $81 in their monthly premium — a rate approved by the same board last month. But on Friday, the board reversed its earlier decision and changed the 2019 premium rate to $25.38 a month, the same as it is this year. (Miller, 9/7)

The New York Times/ProPublica: Top Cancer Researcher Fails To Disclose Corporate Financial Ties In Major Research Journals
One of the world’s top breast cancer doctors failed to disclose millions of dollars in payments from drug and health care companies in recent years, omitting his financial ties from dozens of research articles in prestigious publications like The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet. The researcher, Dr. José Baselga, a towering figure in the cancer world, is the chief medical officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He has held board memberships or advisory roles with Roche and Bristol-Myers Squibb, among other corporations, has had a stake in start-ups testing cancer therapies, and played a key role in the development of breakthrough drugs that have revolutionized treatments for breast cancer. (Ornstein and Thomas, 9/8)

The New York Times: MSK Cancer Center Orders Staff To ‘Do A Better Job’ Of Disclosing Industry Ties
The chief executive of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center sent an email to all staff members on Sunday saying that the institution and its faculty “need to do a better job” of disclosing their relationships with the drug and health care industries. “The matter of disclosure is serious,” wrote the executive, Dr. Craig B. Thompson, along with Kathryn Martin, the chief operating officer. (Thomas and Ornstein, 9/9)

In other news —

Stat: That Alarm About The Cancer Risks Of CRISPR? It's Still Ringing
When papers from two independent research groups reported in June that CRISPR genome editing is more likely to succeed in cells that have lost their cancer kill switch, it raised fears that edited cells used to treat patients might initiate tumors. That inference is still the subject of intense debate — including over whether Nature Medicine should even have published the studies — but one thing is beyond question: The papers sent other scientists scurrying to their labs to check their results. (Begley, 9/10)

The Washington Post: For New Cancer Treatments, Less Is More
Tom Maguire always figured that, if he ever developed cancer, he would pursue the toughest treatment available. “You destroy yourself, and then you can come back,” he said. His view was tested earlier this year when he was diagnosed with bladder cancer that had invaded the muscle wall of the organ. The standard of care, he learned, usually involves removing the bladder. He would have the choice of permanently wearing a bag to collect his urine or having a difficult surgery to fashion a new bladder from his intestines. Both prospects filled the 63-year-old avid hiker and scuba diver with dread. (McGinley, 9/9)

The New York Times: California Says Nursing Homes Abandoned Elderly During Fire
As a firestorm descended on the Northern California city of Santa Rosa in October, staff members at two nursing homes abandoned their residents, many of them unable to walk and suffering from memory problems, according to a legal complaint filed by the California Department of Social Services. The state agency is now seeking to close the facilities and strip the managers of their licenses. (Fuller, 9/7)

North Carolina Health News: What Newly Reported Stats On Understaffing At NC Nursing Homes Means To Residents
Last Nov. 6, Hillside Nursing Center in Wake Forest admitted a woman with a diagnosis of COPD and hypoxemia, or a low level of blood oxygen. Nursing notes from Nov. 7 describe the woman, identified in a state report filed with federal regulators only as Resident #4, as “alert and verbal with some confusion.” Ten days later, she was dead. (Goldsmith, 9/10)

Denver Post: Boulder County Nursing Homes Staff At Average Or Above
Finding a facility for either long-term care for an aging loved one or short-term rehabilitation following a surgery or an injury can be a daunting task. While a number of factors come into play when choosing where to go for care, experts say staffing is chief among them. Research shows staffing is one of the most important factors in quality care at nursing homes, but some experts say state and federal staffing requirements don’t meet the minimum standards that a 2001 study, along with subsequent research, determined necessary for basic quality care. (St. Amour, 9/9)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Atrium Health And Senior Living Operations Placed In Receivership
Atrium Health and Senior Living said Friday that it has reached an agreement with its lender to have a receiver appointed for 32 nursing homes and assisted living centers in Wisconsin and one nursing home in Michigan. The company, based in Little Falls, NJ., has 23 nursing homes and nine assisted-living centers primarily in central and northern Wisconsin as well as the nursing home in Michigan. (Boulton, 9/7)

NH Times Union: Patients Say Of Pet Therapy: I Was Having A Bad Day And This Made It So Much Better
As centenarians in hospice, June LeBlanc, 100, of Goffstown and Ella Olsen, 102 of Nashua receive compassionate attention from nurses, family members, and paid attendants — but nothing as calming and instantly therapeutic as 30-minute visits from Wolfie — a dog the size of a prehistoric wolf, and Bucky and Nutmeg — miniature horses the height and girth of prize-winning sheep. “It’s something different,” says LeBlanc, who enjoys combing her fingers through Wolfie’s soft fur when he visits Bel-Air Nursing Home in Goffstown, triggering memories of growing up on her family’s chicken farm, where German shepherds protected thousands of birds. (Baker, 9/9)

The Washington Post: Hospice Workers Find Peace In Helping Patients Find Comfort At The End Of Life
It is 7:30 on a summer morning in a room overlooking the slate-gray, lapping waters of Lake Erie. Ten or so people, some just arriving at work, some finishing a night shift, sit silently on benches and in armchairs below stained-glass windows. A plump golden retriever named Linus, a therapy dog, wanders from one person to another, gratefully accepting their caresses. (Ollove, 9/9)

Stat: Richard Sackler, Member Of Clan Behind OxyContin, Has Patent For Opioid Treatment
A member of the family that owns Purdue Pharma — which is being sued by more than 1,000 jurisdictions for its alleged role in seeding the opioid crisis with its pain medication OxyContin — has been awarded a patent for a treatment for opioid use disorder. (Joseph, 9/7)

NPR: In The Debate Over Safe Injection Sites, What Does The Science Say?
As drug-related deaths rise to record numbers, at least a dozen U.S. cities are considering opening supervised injection sites, where people can use illicit drugs with trained staff present, ready to respond in case of an overdose. The future of such proposals in the U.S. is uncertain. A California bill that would greenlight a pilot injection site in San Francisco awaits the governor's signature, but a representative of the Justice Department vowed to crack down on any such site in recent public statements. (Gordon, 9/7)

Columbus Dispatch: Center Helps Moms And Babies On Path To Recovery From Opioid Dependence
The new infant recovery center in suburban Dayton — one of just two such centers nationwide — provides a quiet, homelike setting and private rooms for babies being treated for withdrawal. At the same time, Brigid’s Path offers guidance and support for their families, who participate in the care. (Price, 9/9)

Columbus Dispatch: Authorities Blame Increase In Fatal Overdoses In Franklin County On Fentanyl Mix
Authorities are blaming a recent spike in overdose deaths in Franklin County on the powerful prescription painkiller fentanyl, which they say is increasingly mixed with other illegal drugs such as cocaine and marijuana. Tests to determine which drugs contributed to a fatal overdose can take months, but a preliminary examination points to fentanyl, Franklin County Coroner Anahi Ortiz said Friday. (Cooley, 9/7)

Pioneer Press: State Offering Public Training On Use Of Opioid Antidote Naloxone
Minnesota’s Department of Human Services is offering training for anyone wanting to use the overdose reversal drug naloxone and is also making an effort to allow easier access to the medication called buprenorphine that is highly effective in helping people get off and stay off opioids. Department Commissioner Emily Piper said the opioid crisis continues to take a heavy toll in the state. (9/8)

NH Times Union: Rehabilitation Plus Rehab? Dispensing Drugs To Treat Inmate Addictions Under Scrutiny
At a time when the U.S. government is trying to deal with a nationwide opioid epidemic, many jails across the country are only now rolling out medicines to help inmates overcome addiction. And most of those jails dispense only one of the drugs currently available. Nearly one in five jail and prison inmates regularly used heroin or opioids before being incarcerated, making jails a logical entry point for intervention, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. (9/7)

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio National Guard Helps Authorities Behind Scenes With Drug Enforcement, Prevention
Staff Sgt. Alicia Stayonovich helps catch drug dealers. ...It isn’t the guys on the street corner selling dope that she targets through her job with the Ohio Air National Guard, but the ones smuggling or distributing perhaps millions of dollars worth of drugs at a time. (Zachariah, 9/9)

WBUR: Ibogaine: One Man's Journey To Mexico For Psychedelic Addiction Treatment
Ibogaine is a substance from the iboga plant that's primarily found in Africa. It's believed to be used in coming-of-age ceremonies by the Bwiti religion. For decades people have reported it eliminates withdrawal symptoms and cravings associated with various drugs. (Becker, 9/10)

California Healthline: As Treatable As Diabetes? Lawmakers Push New Ways To Stem Opioid Addiction
Theresa Andrews’ 21-year-old daughter, Olivia, is hooked on heroin — and struggling to get medication to help kick her addiction has only added to the “hell,” Andrews said. A few years ago, the San Diego mother called dozens of doctors before finding one who would prescribe her daughter buprenorphine, a widely used medication that quells heroin cravings. (Bartolone, 9/7)

The New York Times: California Tries New Tack On Gun Violence: Ammunition Control
Sold from vending machines in Pennsylvania, feed depots in Nevada, pharmacies in Georgia and jewelry stores in Texas, ammunition is in many states easier to buy than cold medicine. But in California, which already enforces some of the nation’s most restrictive gun laws, there is a movement underway against the unfettered sale of bullets. Gun control advocates here have pushed to limit internet sales, ban large-capacity magazines, require sellers to have licenses, raise taxes on bullets, and mandate serial numbers or other traceable markings on ammunition so that the police can more easily track them. (Urbina, 9/9)

In other news —

The New York Times: A Young Man Working To Stop Chicago’s Gun Violence Loses His Life To It
He was part of a group trying to stop the gun violence that has plagued this city. But this week, Delmonte Johnson was killed by it. Mr. Johnson, 19, who was fatally shot along a South Side street on Wednesday evening, was part of a group called GoodKids MadCity, which emerged in Chicago following the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla. The group has focused on curbing gun violence by pushing to create more jobs for young people and improving mental health treatment. Mr. Johnson was often among the first to show up for events and meetings, organizers said. (Davey, 9/7)

Bloomberg: This Group Teaches Kids To Love Guns, And Taxpayers Foot Bill
In the middle of Alabama sits a $20 million shooting range run by a group that’s largely financed by the American taxpayer. It is, to be accurate, a spread of rifle and pistol ranges designed with state-of-the-art targets and electronic scoring, set under a canopy of trees on country club-like grounds. A fleet of gleaming golf carts zooms across 500 acres, tricked out with custom rifle holders to prevent mishaps on the rolling terrain. This facility is run by the Civilian Marksmanship Program, or CMP, an understated pro-gun group with a quarter-billion dollars in assets. Most of that wealth—far more than the National Rifle Association Foundation has—effectively comes from the continuing generosity of the federal government. (Weinberg and Mosendz, 9/4)

The Wall Street Journal: Hospitals Step Up The War On Superbugs
During 32 years as a physician, Daniel Federman has used his stethoscope to listen to patients’ hearts and lungs. But a recent study at the West Haven, Conn., veterans’ hospital where Dr. Federman works left him aghast. After seeing an image of the bacteria accumulated on his stethoscope, he admits, “I was appalled… The basic fact is that I don’t recall cleaning my stethoscope”—ever. (Lagnado, 9/8)

The Associated Press: Doctors Explore Lifting Barriers To Living Organ Donation
Surgeons turned down Terra Goudge for the liver transplant that was her only shot at surviving a rare cancer. Her tumor was too advanced, they said — even though Goudge had a friend ready to donate, no matter those odds. "I have a living donor — I'm not taking away from anyone. I'm trying to save my own life," she pleaded. Finally, the Los Angeles woman found a hospital on the other side of the country that let the pair try. (Neergaard, 9/10)

Stat: New Flu Drug Shows Strong Potential, But Clinical Trial Results Also Raise Concerns
A new, fast-acting flu drug showed strong potential but also some surprising and even concerning results in two newly published clinical trials. The drug, baloxavir marboxil, cut the time people were sick with flu symptoms by a little over a day. And it dramatically reduced the amount of viruses that people with infections had in their upper respiratory tracts, suggesting they might be less likely to infect others through coughs and sneezes. (Branswell, 9/10)

NPR: Could Alzheimer's Be An Infectious Disease?
Dr. Leslie Norins is willing to hand over $1 million of his own money to anyone who can clarify something: Is Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia worldwide, caused by a germ? By "germ" he means microbes like bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. In other words, Norins, a physician turned publisher, wants to know if Alzheimer's is infectious. (Stetka, 9/9)

The Washington Post: Sepsis Can Kill Before You Know It, So It’s Wise To Know The Symptoms
Infection can set off a chain reaction that quickly causes death. The human immune system is a wonder, an intricately constructed network of organs, cells and biological processes designed to ward off infection and disease. (Blakemore, 9/8)

Stat: A Medical Device Giant And A Musician Redesign A Heart Monitor's Chirps
As deals struck by health care behemoths go, this was one of the stranger ones. On one side, you had a medical device giant, with a phalanx of PR professionals carefully guarding the company’s image. On the other, you had a consultant who didn’t sound much like a consultant: “I am synthetic life form ‘Yoko K.,’ assembled in the US with components made in Japan,” one of her websites explained. “I am designed to assume the role of an ‘electronic musician.’ I am one of many secret agents sent to this time to plant magical thinking in people through the use of ‘pre-22nd century nostalgia Mars pop music.’” (Boodman, 9/10)

NPR: Tracking Down Sex Partners From Years Earlier To Stop STDs' Surge
The U.S. is in the middle of a steep and sustained increase in sexually transmitted diseases. So how are public health officials responding? In northwest Oregon's Clackamas County, health officials have decided to ask anyone who comes in with an STD who their sexual partners are — and then track those partners down. (Foden-Vencil, 9/8)

The Washington Post: Two Gay Men Wanted A Baby And A Surrogate Helped
Christina Fenn and her husband, Brian, have driven an hour and a half to this quaint coffee shop in Monroe, Conn. Fenn sips her morning latte, skittishly glancing out the window at the parking lot. “I’m nervous,” she says, grabbing her husband’s arm. “Nervous-excited, though.” He smiles back. She’s wearing green, her lucky color. Green shirt and green jacket, green bracelets, green socks. She feels as if she needs all the luck she can get today. (Page, 9/8)

The Washington Post: Bursting People’s Political Bubbles Could Make Them Even More Partisan
Politics is polarizing enough, especially when it's easier than ever to find a group of like-minded friends online. The antidote, then, seems obvious: pop the bubble. Step outside the echo chamber. Reach out for other points of view. For example, to combat the rampant spread of hate speech, harassment and conspiracy theories, Twitter started "experimenting with features that would promote alternative viewpoints in Twitter’s timeline to address misinformation and reduce 'echo chambers,' " The Post recently reported. (Johnson, 9/7)

The New York Times: Smoking May Increase Dementia Risk
Yet another reason to stop smoking: It may reduce your risk for dementia. Korean researchers studied 46,140 men, 60 and older, following them for an average of eight years with periodic health examinations. Over the course of the study, 1,644 people were given a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. (Bakalar, 9/7)

The Washington Post: ‘We’re The Only Ones Who Understand Our Situation’: Wives And Girlfriends Of Men In Wheelchairs Form Unique Sisterhood
On Jan. 2, 2016, Elena Pauly traveled to Cuba with her boyfriend, Dan, on their first vacation abroad after three years together. The day before they were set to return home, Dan, dove into the shallow end of the resort pool headfirst and was immediately paralyzed. When the couple returned to their home in Vancouver, B.C., Dan, a stonemason, confronted a new life. Pauly discovered a new normal. “I would cook for him, shower him, I would turn off the lights for him, then close the door and I would just sit in my car and cry,” Pauly, 31, told The Washington Post. “I felt so alone.” From that experience, came a new group called WAGS of SCI: Wives and girlfriends of spinal cord injury. (Ferguson, 9/10)

The Washington Post: Uterine Fibroid Weighing 61 Pounds Removed From 53-Year-Old Woman's Uterus
When a 53-year-old woman showed up at the hospital, a mass that first appeared in her uterus many years ago had grown to 61 pounds — roughly the weight of an average-size second grader. Singaporean doctors have successfully removed the abnormally large mass also known as a uterine fibroid or leiomyoma, a tumor that appears in the uterus during a woman's childbearing age and grows gradually over the years if left untreated. A uterine fibroid, a common pelvic tumor, is not cancerous, but it could be life-threatening if it grows exponentially and deforms surrounding organs, according to a report on the case recently published by the medical journal BMJ Case Reports. (Phillips, 9/8)

The Associated Press: Convenience Shops Go Healthy As Millennials Choose Wellness
In convenience stores spawned by the wellness wave, kombucha slushies take the place of corn-syrupy treats infused with red dye, tortilla chips are made of cassava flour instead of corn and there are vegan ice cream bars and a dizzying selection of organic produce and craft beer on tap. Traditional corner markets have been notching up their healthier options in recent years, selling pre-made salads, nut milks and organic yogurts. (9/9)

The Washington Post: ‘No Pain, No Gain’ Sounds Tough, But You May Only Be Hurting Yourself
While training for a half-marathon last fall, Janet Sherman, 57, started noticing pain in her right leg and left foot. A diagnosis of a quadriceps strain and plantar fasciitis led to shoe inserts and cross-training. Before long, the Wyoming-based teacher was “just good enough” to get back to training, and so she did, although she opted to drop down to a shorter 10K race distance. (Loudin, 9/9)

The New York Times: Vaccines Against H.I.V., Malaria And Tuberculosis Unlikely, Study Says
Vaccines against H.I.V., malaria and tuberculosis — three major killers of the world’s poor — are unlikely to be produced in the foreseeable future unless vastly more money is committed to finding them, a new study has concluded. Other worthy goals that appear out of reach for now include a hepatitis C vaccine, a combination vaccine against the four leading causes of deadly diarrhea, a rapid cure for people who have caught tuberculosis and new treatments for a dozen neglected diseases, such as leprosy, dengue fever and sleeping sickness. (McNeil, 9/7)

Reuters: Ebola Fight Has New Science But Faces Old Hurdles In Restive Congo
When Esperance Nzavaki heard she was cured of Ebola after three weeks of cutting-edge care at a medical center in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, she raised her arms to the sky with joy and praised the Lord. Her recovery is testament to the effectiveness of a new treatment, which isolates patients in futuristic cube-shaped mobile units with transparent walls and gloved access, so health workers no longer need to don cumbersome protective gear. (9/10)

The Associated Press: In Congo, A New And Less Isolating Ebola Treatment Center
Two times a day, Kasereka Mulanda comes to a new kind of Ebola treatment center to visit his wife, easing the isolation of a highly contagious disease. Stepping to the clear plastic sheeting around the cubicle where his wife is staying, he can speak with her without the need for a protective suit. In a part of Congo that faces a deadly Ebola outbreak for the first time, the contact is reassuring. (9/10)

Modern Healthcare: Puerto Rico's Slow Hurricane Recovery Leaves Health System Exposed
Roughly a year since Hurricane Maria ripped across Puerto Rico, the island's healthcare infrastructure appears to still be years away from recovery. The storm caused one of the longest power outages in recorded history, displaced thousands of people and caused enough damage that some hospitals remain close to the condition they were in weeks after Maria hit. (Johnson, 9/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Why Counting Casualties After A Hurricane Is So Hard
Last week, Puerto Rico raised the official death toll of Hurricane Maria to 2,975, making it the deadliest storm in at least 50 years. But that number may also make history of a different sort—if, as expected, it includes a record number of indirect deaths. “At the moment, the largest we have is Katrina with more than 500 indirect deaths,” said Ed Rappaport, a meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center who tracks storm-related fatalities. “I’d be surprised if that number was not exceeded greatly.” (McGinty, 9/7)

North Carolina Health News: Rural Hospital Has Patients Headed To Walmart For Their Care
Historically, the residents of rural Robeson County have relied heavily on the Southeastern Health Emergency Department for much of their medical care, even for non-emergent issues such as sore throats and sprains. The hospital, located in the county seat of Lumberton, has about 90,000 ED visits per year, according to Southeastern Health CEO Joann Anderson. (Knopf, 9/7)

Kansas City Star: Nurses Threaten To Strike At Research And Menorah Hospitals
Nurses at two HCA Midwest Health hospitals in the Kansas City area are threatening to strike, a move that could force the facilities to transfer patients and delay elective procedures. Members of National Nurses United voted to authorize strikes at Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park and Research Medical Center in Kansas City — as well as 13 other HCA affiliated hospitals in Florida, Nevada and Texas — after months of fruitless contract negotiations with the for-profit chain. (Marso, 9/7)

San Francisco Chronicle: Taking Stock Of California’s $3 Billion Bet On Stem Cell Science
In November 2004, Prop. 71 passed with nearly 60 percent approval. It created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, or CIRM, an agency tasked with administering the $3 billion and making the campaign’s lofty visions a reality. ...Over the past several months, The Chronicle conducted an extensive analysis of CIRM’s spending, reviewing the nearly 1,000 grants the agency has made, tracking how the money has been spent, and gauging whether the promises have been realized. (Allday and Palomino, 9/8)

The CT Mirror: Outreach Bridging Racial Gap In Pregnancy-Related Health Outcomes
The March of Dimes’ 2017 Premature Birth Report Card for Connecticut revealed that between 2013 and 2015, 8.4 percent of all (live birth) infants born to white women were premature, compared with 12.4 percent of infants born to black women. Statewide, after a complication-free delivery, black women are twice as likely as white women to be readmitted to a hospital within 30 days, according to a 2015 study published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, which drew from statistics maintained by the Connecticut Department of Public Health. (Heubeck, 9/9)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: State Waits 2 Years To Tell Nursing Board Of Teen Who Nearly Died
Gov. Scott Walker's administration waited more than two years to tell the state Board of Nursing about a 14-year-old inmate who nearly died when nurses didn't get him to a doctor for three days, according to state agencies. Once the complaint was filed in July, the Board of Nursing — which itself is overseen by the Walker administration — waited seven weeks to process it, according to the board. (Marley, 9/7)

Arizona Republic: Banner Health Looking To Fill 1,500 Positions Across Arizona
Banner Health, Arizona's largest private employer, is looking to fill 1,500 job openings. The openings are at Banner facilities across Arizona and include positions in housekeeping, food services, information technology, financial services, case management, and nursing, among others. (Innes, 9/8)

The Associated Press: Hot, Dry Summer Bringing Fewer Cases Of Lyme Disease
New England's hot summer might be helping keep the ticks that carry Lyme disease at bay. The Northeastern states — which are some of the worst for Lyme in the U.S., posing a hazard to residents and vacationers alike — are still totaling the number of Lyme cases from the summer months, and there will likely be more in the fall. But preliminary indicators show the disease abating, and public health authorities are finding fewer deer ticks, state officials and researchers said. (9/9)

The Baltimore Sun: Battle Brewing Over Howard's Plans To Ban Pavement Coating Linked To Cancer
At least one Maryland-based coal tar sealant manufacturer is girding to battle Howard County’s efforts to ban the sale and use of certain coal tar and similar pavement sealants. Tom Decker, who has been president of SealMaster-Baltimore, a coal tar manufacturer for the past 21 years, said he needs “somebody to tell me what the benefit is,” in banning the sealants. (Nocera, 9/7)

Pioneer Press: Grieving Mom And South St. Paul Football Players Bring Forward Suicide Awareness
This week has been especially tough on Becky Van Dyke. Seeing kids return to school brings her back to a tragic time. Two years ago, her 14-year-old son, Dylan Engen, ended his life on what would have been his first day of ninth grade at South St. Paul High School. The wound remains fresh for Van Dyke, who struggles daily with grief, guilt and questions that will never be answered. But a new school year hits her the hardest. (Ferraro, 9/7)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Marijuana Partners: Philly Med School Announces Research Pact With Cansortium
At PCOM's campus on City Avenue, the college's scientists and educators will design studies and analyze observational data collected from patients at Cansortium medical marijuana dispensaries. PCOM researchers plan to investigate the drug's ability to treat anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, said Mindy George-Weinstein, a professor who serves as the school's chief research and science officer. (Wood, 9/7)

Denver Post: CU Boulder Research Could Block E.Coli, Other Superbugs
Kryptonite for superbugs could be on the horizon, as a result of research led by University of Colorado researchers that hinders the progress of antibiotic-resistant superbugs such as E.coli. CU researchers have created what they term the Controlled Hindrance of Adaptation of OrganismS (CHAOS) approach. It utilizes highly sophisticated DNA editing techniques to modify multiple gene expressions within the bacteria cells, for the purpose of inhibiting a pathogen’s central processes and blocking its ability to create defenses. (Brennan, 9/9)

The Oregonian: Wilsonville Breast Cancer Patient Has Seen Both Sides Of Treatment
Angela Rose knew the cancer had returned when she started feeling the abdominal pain. Then came the nausea. And the weight loss. And the relentless fatigue. Doctors thought it unlikely, but experience told her differently. The retired nurse had been diagnosed with breast cancer before. Now, at 41, she was sure it was back. (Campuzano, 9/9)

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State Offers Incentive To Dental Students To Work In Underserved Areas
The CARE program is designed to recruit dental students from those areas and to help them improve access to dental care by getting them to practice in the areas after they graduate. ...The Ohio State program emerged as part of a $95 million dental school expansion, including $26 million in state capital budget funding. (Lane, 9/9)

Columbus Dispatch: Franklin County To Start Work Helping Families Out Of Poverty
A new panel will begin work Tuesday on a strategic plan to help lift needy Franklin County residents out of poverty. Among the steering committee’s initial points of order will be a review of other studies, statistics and trends — information designed to form a foundation for creating a community-wide plan for addressing poverty. (Kovac, 9/8)

The Star Tribune: Program Monitoring Blood Pressure Made A Noteworthy Discovery Before Its End
A telemonitoring program involving pharmacists and people with hypertension proved successful in helping patients of Bloomington-based HealthPartners reduce their blood pressure levels. Until it didn’t. (Olson, 9/9)

Philadelphia Inquirer: A Historic Adult-To-Child Lung Transplant Saved Their Daughter, Who’s Now A Thriving Teen
It has been a little more than five years since Sarah Murnaghan left Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with a new set of lungs, harvested from an adult donor and trimmed down to fit a 10-year-old with cystic fibrosis. Five years since her parents helped save her life by challenging a national organ allocation system that effectively denied such adult-to-child donations. (McCullough, 9/10)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Old Schools, Hot Buildings: A ‘Public Health Concern’?
Philadelphia City Councilwoman Helen Gym said at a news conference Friday that children in districts across the state that are unable to pay to properly cool their buildings have been "held hostage" by the heat but also by "the failure of our state and federal government to invest in our school facilities." She and others called on Pennsylvania to restart and fund a dormant reimbursement program for school construction projects, with money set aside not just for new buildings but also for repairs to aging schools. (Graham and Hanna, 9/8)

Arizona Republic: ACLU Study Criticizes Arizona's Prison System
The American Civil Liberties Union this week released individualized "blueprints" that each state could follow to help reduce burgeoning prison populations and the massive budgets needed to fund them. ...The report, which cites government data and numerous studies, outlines the issues facing Arizona's prisons and prisoners and what can be done about it. (Vandell, 9/7)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Legal Woes At Teen Prison Have Cost Wisconsin $20.6 Million So Far
Lawsuits over the problems at Wisconsin’s juvenile prison complex have cost the state $20.6 million so far and those costs will continue to rise — possibly by large sums if some cases aren't resolved in the state's favor. The facility for more than three years has been under criminal investigation for prisoner abuse and child neglect. (Marley, 9/7)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Quentin Prison Exec ‘No Longer Employed’ Amid Inmate Construction Probe
A San Quentin State Prison executive who was under investigation for letting inmates build a Victorian-style playhouse for his grandchildren on prison grounds is “no longer employed” at the prison, officials said Friday. The departure of Steve Harris, the chief of the prison’s health system, comes one week after The Chronicle reported that the state was looking into the circumstances surrounding the construction project that used inmate labor. (Cassidy, 9/7)

The Hill: We Must Provide Sustained Funding Proportional To The Severity Of The Opioid Epidemic
Every day, our women and men on the frontlines — community organizers, first responders, public health officials — are fighting to save the lives of our most vulnerable residents. In Baltimore, we have installed an uncompromising three-pillar strategy: save lives with naloxone, increase access to ethical treatment and provide education to reduce stigma and prevent addiction. (Leana S. Wen, 9/9)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Have A Conversation With Your Doctor About Pain Medication
My oral surgeon told me there are two big reasons why people should get wisdom teeth removed when they are teenagers: 1) the jaw matures in a way that places sensory nerves in the area closer to the wisdom teeth, making damage more likely, and 2) things take longer to heal and hurt more when you're a cranky, busy thirty-something. I was gratefully spared the risks from the former but endured the latter -- especially after the prescribed opiate-based pain pills ran out. (Clare Mathes, 9/9)

The Washington Post: Drug Users Keep Accidentally Poisoning Themselves. Here’s An Idea To Stop Them. 
The tragic epidemic of more than 100 overdoses in New Haven, Conn., last month had health workers literally scrambling from one patient to the next on my hometown’s central green. These overdoses are better characterized as poisonings. The victims were exposed to tainted synthetic marijuana laced with Fubinaca, a powerful synthetic drug that mimics the effects of cannabis but is far more potent. The problem has reached epidemic proportions because amateur chemists here and abroad find it easy to manufacture a host of deadly synthetics. Established approaches to drug-law enforcement are inadequate to deal with this flood onto the illegal marketplace. As Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said: “We need new tactics to address synthetics.” One option to consider: drug exchanges. (Ian Ayres, 9/9)

The Hill: New Senate Legislation Would Protect And Serve Veterans Who Consume Marijuana
Last week, Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) made history with the introduction of legislation, known as The Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act, to expand and facilitate medical cannabis access to military veterans suffering from chronic pain, PTSD, and other serious medical conditions. (Justin Strekal, 9/9)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: Illinois' Sensible Solution To Opioids
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed a law allowing medical marijuana to be used as a painkiller in place of highly addictive and potentially deadly opioids. The move highlights, somewhat ironically, how our national thinking on drugs has evolved: The dangers of marijuana have been exaggerated in our culture for generations, while the far greater dangers of opioids were ignored until the nation became immersed in an addiction and overdose crisis. The Illinois law is a sane and compassionate approach to the opioid crisis that should serve as an inspiration for Missourians as they vote this fall whether to legalize medical marijuana here. (9/9)

Philadelphia Inquirer: The Crystal Meth Crisis: Addiction In America Goes Beyond Opioids
While we often hear about the opioid crisis infiltrating middle-class America, we must not forget that crystal meth continues to ravage our minority communities, further perpetuating health and economic burdens. ...Regardless of where and how our political leaders attend to our nation's addictions, be it opioids or meth, the true enemy — capitalism and business — is the beast that fuels these addictions, and goes unchallenged. (Perry Halkitis, 9/7)

Columbus Dispatch: Regulation Of Hemp-Derived CBD Products Misses The Mark
Now the Ohio Board of Pharmacy may end such Ohio sales by declaring that all CBD products, whether extracted from hemp or marijuana, or their lack of THC, can only be sold in a licensed medical marijuana dispensary. Moreover, per the pharmacy board, all CBD products will have to comply with the rules and regulations of the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program. (Rachel Friedman, 9/8)

Stat: The Crusade For 'Religious Liberty' Will Reverberate Badly In Health Care
Not that long ago, there was little difference between a physician and a preacher, a clinic and a chapel, a patient and a proselyte. Instead of prescribing medications, healers chanted hymns; instead of prescribing painkillers, they offered prayers. Faith remains an integral part of human society and the modern hospital is a place where patients and physicians of all faiths work together. I am a Muslim physician who trained at a Boston hospital formed because none of the other local hospitals would offer Jewish doctors a job. On any given day, I see patients from myriad faiths, not to mention cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations. I worry that the Trump administration is turning back the clock to a time when religious beliefs were used to deny patients medical care. (Haider Warraich, 9/10),

The New York Times: Don’t Let Migrant Kids Rot
For all the human brain’s mysteries, its development is quite well understood. Early childhood and adolescence are crucial times of unparalleled neural growth. Just as trust and stability can enhance that growth, fear and trauma can impede it. Institutionalization, in particular, can have profound and deleterious effects, triggering a range of developmental delays and psychiatric disorders from which recovery can be difficult, if not impossible. (9/9)

The Wall Street Journal: Peer Pressure And ‘Transgender’ Teens
If your teenage daughter suddenly declares herself transgender, should you assume she’s mature enough to make decisions that will permanently affect her health, fertility and future? Or could she be influenced by societal and peer pressure? Physician and researcher Lisa Littman doesn’t have the answer, but transgender ideologues are trying to silence her for even asking the question. (Jillian Kay Melchior, 9/9)

The Washington Post: Banning Hard Liquor At Fraternity Events Is Long Overdue
Colleges that have banned hard alcohol say the step has helped combat some of the most pernicious effects of campus drinking. They report less consumption, fewer alcohol-induced medical transports, hospitalizations and arrests, as well as a decrease in binge drinking and other high-risk behaviors. So the recent decision by a major association representing fraternities to no longer allow hard liquor at chapter houses or events is a welcome step, even if it is long overdue. (9/9)

Stat: Administrative Delays Threaten The Promise Of The 21st Century Cures Act
When President Barack Obama signed the landmark 21st Century Cures Act into law in December 2016, he was surrounded by elated Republican and Democratic lawmakers. At the time, Obama said the measure would bring “to reality the possibility of new breakthroughs to some of the greatest health challenges of our time.” Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, who chairs the Senate’s Committee on Health, Education Labor, and Pensions, hailed the act as “a Christmas miracle … that will help virtually every American family.” ...But laws passed by Congress must be implemented through regulations. The Cures Act gave broad authority to the executive branch to execute and enforce both the spirit and the letter of the law. Nineteen months after the act became law, that task mainly remains undone. (Joel C. White, 9/8)

Bloomberg: Health Scares Over Alcohol And Vitamin D Stem From Distorted Data 
I’ll refrain from saying there’s an epidemic of health scares, because overuse of the word “epidemic” is a common scare tactic. But let’s just agree there are a lot of them. Is it too many? Well, when it comes to health scares, there’s probably no safe level. That phrase is another common tactic. Last month a study made the rounds of news sites warning readers that there’s no safe level of alcohol consumption. That could reasonably be said of heavy metals such as arsenic, and sometimes there are real epidemics, such as Ebola. But overuse of scary phrases can make it confusing for people to figure out how to live a healthy lifestyle. (Faye Flam, 9/7)

The New York Times: In Life’s Last Moments, Open A Window
Before I specialized in palliative care, I thought the sheer vitality of nature might be an affront to patients so close to the end of life — a kind of impudent abundance. And yet, in the hospice where I work, I am often struck by the intense solace some patients find in the natural world. (Rachel Clarke, 9/8)

Lexington Herald: E-Cigs Pods New Route To Tobacco Addiction
Remember the “good old days” when all cigarettes looked alike? We have seen an astonishing explosion of electronic smoking devices in many shapes and sizes. In fact, the proportion of U.S. high-school students using e-cigarettes went up 800 percent from 2011 to 2014. While there was a slight reduction in smoking, or vaping, e-cigarettes in 2016, today more youth in Kentucky and the U.S. smoke e-cigarettes than smoke traditional cigarettes. (Ellen J. Hahn and Melinda J. Ickes, 9/9)

The Washington Post: High Schools Are Dropping Football. Students Are Safer For It.
Should children be allowed to play tackle football? With scientific studies showing a link between the sport and traumatic brain injuries that lead to lasting health problems, that question is being asked with more frequency and urgency across the country. Not surprisingly, the answer from many parents is that their children’s well-being is too important to risk for the sake of a game — no matter how bright the Friday night lights. (9/8)

The New York Times: I Had Alzheimer’s. But I Wasn’t Ready To Retire.
“How long have you got?” This is what my boss asked me when I informed him, in July 2014, that I had early-onset Alzheimer’s. I had a file an inch thick with suggestions for how I would be able to keep my job as an administrator with the British National Health Service, one I had loved for more than 20 years. Whether out of panic or ignorance, my manager didn’t see it that way. A date for my early retirement was inked into his calendar; I would leave eight months later due to “ill health.” (Mitchell, 9/7)

The New York Times: It’s Hard For Doctors To Unlearn Things. That’s Costly For All Of Us.
We know it can be hard to persuade physicians to do some things that have proven benefits, such as monitor blood pressure or keep patients on anticoagulants. But it might be even harder to get them to stop doing things. In May, a systematic review in JAMA Pediatrics looked at the medical literature related to overuse in pediatric care published in 2016. The articles were ranked by the quality of methods; the magnitude of potential harm to patients from overuse; and the potential number of children that might be harmed. (Aaron E. Carroll, 9/10)

Miami Herald: Carl Hiaasen’s Tribute To Brother Rob, Killed In Capital Gazette Shooting
Last week, a California man was arrested for threatening to assassinate journalists at the Boston Globe newspaper.In a series of phone calls, the suspect lashed the Globe for its editorials critical of Donald Trump and parroted a phrase often bellowed by the President: “You’re the enemy of the people.”In one call, the suspect vowed “to kill every f------ one of you.” He owned several firearms and, according to authorities, had recently purchased a rifle. There was a time when I might have read about such a case and assumed the person was just another fuming, rambling misfit, all bluff. (Carl Hiaasen, 9/7)

Sacramento Bee: California Needs To Catch Up On Gun Safety
As the nation grapples with the gun violence crisis, AB 2103 will ensure that California remains a leader in gun safety. It might seem like a small step, but evidence has shown that comprehensive gun safety — including live-fire training — can help keep our communities safer. (David Brame, 9/7)

Boston Globe: New Law For Treating Mass. LGBT Elder Population Will Mean Better Care For Everyone
A first-in-the-nation law signed by Governor Charlie Baker this past July will require elder service providers that receive either state funding or licensure to complete training in how to provide inclusive care to LGBT older adults. Only California has a similar law, but that training is limited to those working in the field of long-term care. (Lisa Krinsky, 9/7)

Charlotte Observer: Fayetteville In A Battle For Even Considering Helping Gays
So this is how far we’ve come in the enlightened state of North Carolina in 2018: The Values Police raise hell if a city dares to even listen to complaints around discrimination for sexual orientation. Crippling North Carolina’s reputation with the discriminatory HB2 wasn’t enough. With that embarrassment erased from the books, the obsession with looking down upon gay and transgender people has to take other forms. (9/7)