43 People Now Being Monitored For Monkeypox Exposure In Georgia

Georgia Health News: Georgia Now Monitoring 43 For Monkeypox; Still No Reports Of Symptoms 
The number of people in Georgia being monitored for potential exposure to monkeypox has increased to 43, Public Health officials said Monday. The new 17 were added to the 26 reported by GHN last week because the CDC “originally assigned them to the wrong jurisdiction,’’ said Nancy Nydam, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Public Health. None of the 43 has reported having a fever or any other symptoms, she said. They are all considered to be at low risk for getting the rare disease, and are under the same exposure timeline. (Miller, 7/26)

Also —

AP: Air Force Takes Next Step In Fuel Cleanup At New Mexico Base
The U.S. Air Force has spent years trying to keep a jet fuel leak from reaching Albuquerque’s drinking water supply and now says it has enough information to outline its work, paving the way to wrapping up the cleanup efforts. Officials from Kirtland Air Force Base say they will spend the next several months to a year writing a report that they will submit to the New Mexico Environment Department. Once the state reviews and approves it, the base can make recommendations for a final cleanup. (Fonseca, 7/27)

Albany Herald: Dougherty Commission Hears Report On Care Home That Drew Complaints
Operators of a personal care home located on Poinciana Avenue that has drawn complaints have taken steps to come into compliance with county regulations, with specific steps taken including applying for a business license and filing a parking plan. The Dougherty County Commission had asked for answers about the facility after next-door neighbor Paul Murray made two appearances to report issues he has with the operation of the home. Murray told commissioners during those meetings that he had issues with parking at the facility and residents of what he described as a residence for adults with behavioral health issues roaming the neighborhood. (Mauldin, 7/26)

The Washington Post: Texas Is Cutting Red Tape For Doctors And Patients 
Doctors and health insurers are butting heads in the Lone Star State over a new kind of effort to roll back red tape for American patients. Starting Sept. 1, many Texas doctors will no longer have to obtain advance permission known as “prior authorization” from a health insurer before administering a procedure or prescription. The new law will grant automatic approval for medical orders from doctors who have a strong track record of getting the greenlight from insurance companies. Providers have long complained about the hassle of submitting paperwork to insurance companies to get approval before a procedure or prescription. The process can leave patients waiting for days to learn whether their insurance will cover their medical care. (Ellerbeck and Cunningham, 7/26)

Des Moines Register: Gov. Kim Reynolds Criticized Over Iowa State Board Of Health Vacancies
Democrats criticized Gov. Kim Reynolds Monday for leaving a majority of seats on a state public health board vacant, causing it to cancel a meeting earlier this month. There are only four members currently serving on the Iowa State Board of Health, out of 11 total spots, leaving seven vacancies which must be filled by the governor. The openings meant the board had to cancel a scheduled July 14 meeting because it lacked a quorum. The board, which advises the Iowa Department of Public Health, is supposed to be made up of a mix of medical and public health professionals, substance-abuse treatment experts and members of the general public. (Gruber-Miller and Leys, 7/26)

The New York Times: Homeless People Are Moved From Midtown Hotels Back To Shelters 
New York City resumed the process of transferring thousands of homeless people from pandemic hotel rooms back to barracks-style group shelters on Monday, two weeks after a judge halted the moves on the grounds that the city was not giving adequate consideration to people’s health. Monday’s transfers, which caused confusion outside at least two hotels in Midtown Manhattan, came amid growing concerns over the recent quadrupling in coronavirus cases citywide and over the objections of advocates for homeless people, who said that the city was flouting the judge’s orders. (Newman, 7/26)

KQED: 'A Critical Part Of Our Infrastructure': How California Plans To Bolster Child Care
California has almost 3 million children 5 years old and younger. As many parents of young children know, finding affordable, high-quality child care is hard to find — especially in the Bay Area. Hundreds of thousands of families who qualify for child care programs can't access them because there simply aren't enough slots. The pandemic, which led to the closure of 8,500 care facilities, only worsened the bottleneck. Lack of child care means that in many households, at least one parent, usually the mother, according to labor statistics, isn't able to work. The pandemic caused a “she-cession” rather than a recession, by disproportionately pulling women out of the workforce for lack of child care, said Democratic state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, who chairs the California Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee. (Madrigal and Sarah, 7/26)

AP: Tennessee Man Sentenced In Scheme That Duped Cancer Patients
A Tennessee man who ran a Ponzi scheme disguised as a holistic wellness business was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday. Howard L. Young falsely claimed to have a grant from Vanderbilt University to study cancer patients and other patients with chronic medical conditions, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office in Nashville. Young also claimed he he had cured himself of cancer using naturopathic methods. He required patients to pay $10,000 to participate in his nonexistent study but told them they would get their money back at the end of the year. (7/26)

And in teledentistry in North Carolina —

North Carolina Health News: Your Dentist Can See You Remotely 
Shaun Matthews, an evangelist for telehealth in the United States and abroad, was giving a presentation to the International Association of Dental Research on a Zoom call last week when he learned that North Carolina lawmakers had just approved a bill formalizing the use of teledentistry. As part of his presentation on “The Rise of Teledentistry in Clinical Practice: An Inevitable Response to a Global Pandemic or a False Dawn,” Matthews mentioned work he had done in North Carolina while at the UNC-Chapel Hill dental school. (Blythe, 7/27)