State Highlights: Charges Expected In Nursing Home Deaths During Florida Hurricane; Multiple Blunders Led To Water Crisis In Newark

The New York Times: 4 Will Be Charged In Florida Nursing Home Deaths After Hurricane Irma, Lawyers Say
The police in Hollywood, Fla., plan to charge four employees of a nursing home in the deaths of a dozen residents who succumbed to heat exposure there in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in 2017, lawyers for three of the employees said on Saturday. Among those charged will be Jorge Carballo, the administrator of the nursing home, as well as a charge nurse and two other nurses, the lawyers said. (Bogel-Burroughs and Hard, 8/24)

The New York Times: Tainted Water, Ignored Warnings And A Boss With A Criminal Past
In the year after receiving test results showing alarming levels of lead in this city’s drinking water, Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark made a number of unexpected decisions. He mailed a brochure to all city residents assuring them that “the quality of water meets all federal and state standards.” He declared the water safe and then condemned, in capital letters on the city’s website, “outrageously false statements” to the contrary. (Corasaniti, Kilgannon and Schwartz, 8/24)

The Associated Press: Couple Says Hospital Misplaced Remains Of Miscarried Baby
A couple says a suburban Philadelphia hospital misplaced the remains of their miscarried baby. Tiffany Griffin and Chad Greaves filed a lawsuit Thursday claiming Bryn Mawr Hospital mistakenly gave a funeral home Griffin's placenta to cremate instead of the baby's remains. Seventeen days later, the remains were found, having been misplaced like "a set of keys or item of clothing," the lawsuit alleges. (8/23)

Modern Healthcare: Massachusetts General Data Breach Affects 9,900 Patients
Massachusetts General Hospital announced on Thursday that approximately 10,000 people had their private information revealed in a data breach at its neurology department. MGH learned on June 24, 2019 that an unauthorized third party had access to two computer applications used by researchers in their neurology department between June 10 and June 16, 2016. The data are related to neurology research conducted by MGH and may include first and last names, date of birth, diagnosis and medical history, among other information. (Brody, 8/23)

Modern Healthcare: Minnesota Blues Strikes Up Outcomes-Based Cancer Care Arrangement
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Minnesota Oncology have entered a five-year value-based arrangement to pay for cancer care based on patient outcomes rather than the number of services performed. St. Paul, Minn.-based Blue Cross said the risk arrangement will allow Minnesota Oncology to better coordinate patient care and manage members at the right time and place. It also eliminates the need for Minnesota Oncology to seek prior authorization for cancer care that follows national evidence-based guidelines. (Livingston, 8/23)

Boston Globe: She’s Been Bounced Through More Than A Dozen Foster Homes. And She’s Just 6
Marie’s outbursts terrified her new parents. The 6-year-old threw furniture. She howled obscenities and gave them the finger. She hurled things at them while they drove. Moe and Hollis Leary had adopted Marie’s sister Noelle, now 12, as a baby years earlier. With enough love, they thought, they could help Marie, too. But her rage was overwhelming, and within weeks the Learys sought an emergency psychiatric evaluation. That was when, in a stark hospital room, the waif of a girl in a pink flamingo T-shirt and shorts calmly confided her dark plans to a nurse. She would wait until nighttime. Then she would creep into the Learys’ bedroom with a gun and shoot them while they were sleeping. (Lazar, 8/24)

The Washington Post: Md. Dental Program For Poor Pays To Remove Teeth — But Not Replace Them
Bridget Morlan called the number on her first-ever dental insurance card and held her breath. After more than 30 years of dealing with broken teeth, gum infections and toothaches that landed her in the emergency room dozens of times, the Baltimore woman hoped the new coverage would make everything better. “I’m wishing for a miracle,” said Morlan, 53, whose teeth were damaged years ago by an abusive boyfriend and subsequent lack of care. (Kim, 8/24)

Detroit Free Press: Rare Form Of Gonorrhea Spreads In Michigan: Symptoms, What To Know
A rare and serious infection caused by the same bacteria that causes gonorrhea is spreading in Michigan, and state health officials are urging residents to abstain from sex or use condoms to prevent the spread of disseminated gonococcal infection, or DGI. Six cases are under investigation in Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Calhoun counties, the state Department of Health and Human Services said Friday, in people ranging in age from 20-55. Five of the six cases have been confirmed. (Shamus, 8/23)

North Carolina Health News: State Unveils Long-Awaited Psychiatric Hospital In Morganton 
Health officials showered accolades on the state health department’s newest psychiatric facility at an outdoor ribbon-cutting ceremony in Morganton on Wednesday. Officials touted the new Broughton Hospital’s roughly 477,000 square-feet structure’s sunny hallways, onsite pharmacy and dental clinic and bathrooms that offer patients a modicum of privacy. The red-brick structure’s debut came roughly five years late, as multiple construction delays derailed the $130 million project. At the building’s dedication this week, Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, acknowledged these hurdles while stressing that many of them happened before she assumed office in 2017. (Engel-Smith, 8/23)

California Healthline: Doctors Fight Legislation Prompted By Sex Abuse Scandals
Daniella Mohazab didn’t know what to expect from her first pelvic exam in 2016. The University of Southern California sophomore, then 19, was startled when her doctor examined her vagina for several minutes without gloves, but assumed it was standard procedure. It wasn’t until two years later, when she read about Dr. George Tyndall’s alleged sexual abuse against USC students, that she realized she may have been sexually violated by him as well. (Almendrala, 8/23)

Detroit Free Press: University Of Michigan, St. Joseph Mercy Consider New Hospital
The University of Michigan is in talks with St. Joseph Mercy Health System to partner on a new hospital in Livingston County, the Free Press has learned. As part of the deal, Michigan Medicine would be a co-owner and minority partner in a plan to bring a new Catholic hospital to the Brighton/Howell area, according to internal emails obtained by the Free Press. The hospital would be governed by Trinity Health, a national Catholic health system that owns 92 hospitals in 22 states, including the St. Joseph Mercy System. (Shamus, 8/23)

Texas Tribune: Texas School Ratings: Four Takeaways From The 2019 A-F Grades
Many Texas educators and advocates are frustrated in the week after the state released letter grades rating their school districts and campuses, as they work to decipher the potential impacts for their schools. Though many school superintendents agree the grades are inaccurate measures of school performance, they still feel pressure to get high marks or else risk receiving harsh state penalties, including the forced closure of a low-performing school. A lot of buzz surrounds the fate of Houston ISD, the state's largest district, which might see its elected school board replaced with a state-appointed board of managers because of one high school that has failed to meet academic standards for seven years. (Swaby and Cai, 8/21)