State Highlights: Atlanta Considers Ban On Smoking In Public Places; Doctor Shortages In Rural Areas Impede Patients’ Access To Care

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Atlanta To Take Aim At E-Cigarettes, Smoking In Public Places
Whether it’s cigarette smoke or e-cigarette vapors, the majority of the states in the U.S. have banned it in public, passing smoke-free air laws. Georgia lags behind. But the City of Atlanta is considering doing its part by banning smoking and vaping in the public places where it’s still allowed. (Stevens, 5/21)

Los Angeles Times: Beverly Hills Votes To Ban Tobacco Sales, But Exempts Schwarzenegger’s Favorite Cigar Club
The city of Beverly Hills cleared the last hurdle to enact what officials say is the most stringent tobacco ban in the country Tuesday night, eliminating the sale of virtually all recreational nicotine products — with one very Beverly Hills exception. For an elite group of aficionados, hundreds of whom swamped committee meetings and wrote the city in protest, cigars will be spared — as long as they’re smoked inside one of three dedicated lounges. (Sharp, 5/21)

NPR: Doctor Shortages Leave Some Rural Americans Without Access To Health Care
Taylor Walker is wiping down tables after the lunch rush at the Bunkhouse Bar and Grill in remote Arthur, Nebraska, a tiny dot of a town ringed by cattle ranches. The 25-year-old has her young son in tow, and she is expecting another baby in August. "I was just having some terrible pain with this pregnancy and I couldn't get in with my doctor," she says. (Siegler, 5/21)

Seattle Times: Seventh Person Confirmed To Have Measles In Puget Sound Outbreak 
The number of measles cases in King County continues to grow. A woman in her 30s is the seventh recently confirmed measles case in the Puget Sound region and the fourth person in the county to contract the virus this month. She likely came in contact with the virus at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, according to Public Health – Seattle & King County. Before the woman knew she was sick, she was at the Hudson Alki Bakery Store outside of security checkpoints on the ticketing level near the B gate exit on May 10, 11, 12 and 13. (Blethen, 5/21)

The Associated Press: Hospital That Treated Baby Cut From Womb Investigated
The agency that licenses and inspects health care facilities in Illinois has started an investigation of a suburban Chicago hospital where doctors treated a baby brought in by a woman claiming to be his mother, a spokeswoman for the agency said Tuesday. The woman was charged weeks later with killing the actual mother and cutting the child from her womb. (Babwin, 5/21)

The Associated Press: Attorneys: Ohio State Needs To Reveal Who Knew About Abuse
Administrators at Ohio State University should release the names of all coaches, trainers and personnel who knew of but failed to act on complaints about a now-dead team doctor who sexually abused male students for nearly two decades, said attorneys for some of the victims. They also are calling on the university to give them a specific plan by June that shows how Ohio State will deal with future sexual abuse allegations and how it will make sure this never happens again. (Seewer, 5/21)

The Washington Post: Frederick Doctor Arrested On 65 Sexual Offense And Assault Charges Involving Patients
A Frederick, Md., doctor, who this month was charged with raping an 18-year-old woman during an examination, was arrested Monday after a grand jury indicted him on 65 sexual offense and assault counts against 11 more victims, including many juvenile girls, Frederick police and the State’s Attorney’s Office said in a joint statement. (Williams, 5/21)

The Star Tribune: Allina Health Income Drops 42% As Legal, Consulting Costs Climb 
More expense for malpractice litigation and increased consulting fees cut into operating income last year at Allina Health System, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit group that's one of the state's largest operators of hospitals and clinics. Analysts with S&P Global Ratings cited the financial results as well as increased competition as they lowered the outlook at Allina from "stable" to "negative." (Snowbeck, 5/21)

KQED: Depending On Family For Basic Care
Seniors will make up one-in-five Californians by 2030, and experts say there won’t be enough caregivers to help. As part of our series, Graying California, CALmatters Elizabeth Aguilera met a senior being cared for by his daughter. (Aguilera, 5/21)

KQED: With Growing Reports Of Sexual Violence, Santa Clara County Weighs $5 Million Fund To Help Survivors
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is weighing whether to create a $5 million reserve fund to prevent gender-based violence in the community and to help survivors, with law enforcement and local leaders saying reports of such attacks are on the rise. (Leitsinger and Shuler, 5/21)

CALmatters: "If You Think The System Works, You’re Dead Wrong:" A Discussion On California's Mental Health System
A physician, an advocate, a public health specialist, a suicide-attempt survivor and a California state lawmaker gathered in downtown Sacramento today to offer their diagnosis of the state’s mental health system. The consensus was summed up by Sen. Jim Beall: “We need to start from scratch.” “I haven’t heard a lot of cheerleaders for the status quo,” said Beall, a Democrat from San Jose and the author of several bills that would expand access to mental health treatment. “If you think the system works, you’re dead wrong.” The panel discussion, hosted by CALmatters and the California Health Care Foundation, builds off an ongoing CALmatters reporting project by Jocelyn Wiener and Byrhonda Lyons on the state’s fragmented, sometimes fatally dysfunctional mental health system. (Christopher, 5/20)

Sacramento Bee: Workers Hit Kaiser Roseville In First Of 3 Local Protests
Hundreds of union-represented workers at Kaiser Permanente’s Roseville Medical Center used their lunch breaks to picket the health care giant, part of rallies organized at Kaiser facilities around California through June. Kaiser recently kicked off contract talks with Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, and the union says it is using the protests to send a message that it wants the company to respect how its members have partnered with management and physicians to solve problems and enhance quality and service in the nonprofit’s hospitals. (Anderson, 5/21)

Tampa Bay Times: Moffitt To Open Outpatient Cancer Center At AdventHealth Wesley Chapel
AdventHealth and the Moffitt Cancer Center are teaming up to build a new outpatient center for cancer patients in Pasco County. The two hospital systems broke ground Tuesday on a 100,000-square-foot, three-story medical office complex on the AdventHealth Wesley Chapel hospital campus that is scheduled to open late next year. (Griffin, 5/21)

Sacramento Bee: Marshall Miles’ Family Sues Sacramento County For Wrongful Death
Marshall Miles’ family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging the deputies who subdued the Sacramento man inside the county’s jail last October ignored his cries that he could not breathe, suffocated Miles until he lost consciousness then left him to lay face down and alone in his cell before seeking help. Three days later, on Nov. 1, Miles was pronounced dead at a Sacramento hospital. He was 36. (Smith and Sullivan, 5/21)

NPR: Justice Department Forces Alabama To Address Deadly Prison Conditions
Alabama must rectify the dangerous conditions this week or face a Justice Department lawsuit. Critics say plans to build new prisons won't solve issues that have been found to be unconstitutional. (5/20)