State Highlights: New Program Expands Treatment For New Hampshire’s Opioid Epidemic; Hospital, College Take Step To Improve Pediatricians’ Training In Louisiana
Media outlets report on news from New Hampshire, Louisiana, Kansas, Texas, Michigan, Maryland and California.
New Hampshire Public Radio:
At UNH, Nurse Practitioners To Be Trained In Medication-Assisted Treatment For Addiction
UNH's nurse practitioner programs will now include training in medication-assisted treatments for addiction. Nurse practitioners, like doctors, can write prescriptions and can serve as a patient's primary care provider. Thanks to a new $450,000 federal grant, nurse practitioner students at UNH will now be trained in how to use medication to treat addiction. (Moon, 11/5)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Tulane Partnering With Children’s Hospital To Train Next Generation Of Pediatricians
Children’s Hospital and Tulane University will partner to train aspiring pediatricians and conduct research, part of an effort to increase access to high-quality pediatric health care for children across Louisiana. Last week, Children’s and Tulane signed an affiliation agreement to work together on clinical, academic and research activities in pediatrics, according to a news release. Under the partnership, Tulane medical school students and residents will start caring for Children’s Hospital patients in 2019. (Nobles, 11/5)
Kansas City Star:
Shortage Of Shingles Vaccine Shingrix: Pain For Older Adults
Sean Clements, a spokesman for the pharmaceutical company, said Shingrix “has been met with an unprecedented level of demand from patients and health care professionals,” but GlaxoSmithKline, or GSK, is ramping up production and patients should keep checking with their providers to see if they have it in stock. ...Shingles is a painful skin condition caused by the herpes zoster, or chicken pox, virus. (Marso, 11/5)
Dallas Morning News:
Why Dallas' 66-Bed Promise Hospital Is Staying Open After Parent Company's Bankruptcy
The owner of the 66-bed Promise Hospital of Dallas filed for bankruptcy Monday in Delaware federal court and seeks to reorganize after years of financial losses. The long-term, acute-care hospital in Dallas specializes in "ventilator weaning and medically complex care," according to the hospital's website. The facility is on Harry Hines Boulevard, north of Dallas' medical district. (Mosier, 11/5)
Sacramento Bee:
Judge Wants Investigator To Probe Whistleblower Claims On Prison Psychiatric Reports
A federal judge in Sacramento said Monday that she intends to appoint an independent investigator to look into whether state corrections officials committed “fraud on the court” in reports they have submitted regarding the level of psychiatric care inside California’s prisons. The extraordinary move by U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller would give an investigator or law firm access to corrections records and witnesses to determine whether allegations leveled by the state’s chief prison psychiatrist have merit. (Stanton, 11/5)
Detroit Free Press:
Beaumont Announces New Mental Health Hospital In Dearborn
Beaumont Health announced details Monday about its plan to build a new mental health hospital in Dearborn in conjunction with Pennsylvania-based Universal Health Services. Construction on the $40-million freestanding hospital is to begin in early 2019 on 8 acres of vacant land on Oakwood Boulevard near the Southfield Freeway. When it opens, the hospital — Beaumont's ninth — will have space for 150 beds and will be operated and managed by UHS, which also will be the majority owner. (Shamus, 11/5)
The Baltimore Sun:
Johns Hopkins Footprint In Saudi Arabia Raises Human Rights Concerns After Khashoggi Killing
Johns Hopkins doctors have set up shop and worked in Saudi Arabia, treating its citizen’s health needs, since at least 2010. The Baltimore medical system has thrived in the Middle Eastern nation under the auspices of spreading good health care throughout the world, but done so against a backdrop of human rights complaints about which Hopkins officials have largely stayed quiet. (McDaniels, 11/5)
San Jose Mercury News:
Trial Date Set For Lawsuit Over CalPERS Insurance Rates
A class-action lawsuit that could cost CalPERS $1 billion is headed to trial in June, and many of the 122,000 retirees who bought an insurance plan at the center of the case are receiving small checks from an agreement that settled a portion of the claims. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Friday set a date for the main trial, known as Sanchez. vs. CalPERS. The three- to four-week trial is scheduled to begin on June 10. (Ashton, 11/5)
KCUR:
Tempers Flare After Kansas City Health Department Shuts Down Homeless Food Handouts
Depending on whom you ask, health department officials on Sunday either stopped an unlicensed group from illegally handing out potentially bacteria-ridden food or destroyed the property of some “friends” having a “picnic.” According to official documents, the Kansas City Health Department stopped volunteers of Free Hot Soup Kansas City from handing out food at several Kansas City parks because they lacked the required food handling permits. The food was seized and discarded or was destroyed with bleach. (Smith, 11/5)
