First Edition: Aug. 25, 2023
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News:
‘All We Want Is Revenge’: How Social Media Fuels Gun Violence Among Teens
Juan Campos has been working to save at-risk teens from gun violence for 16 years. As a street outreach worker in Oakland, California, he has seen the pull and power of gangs. And he offers teens support when they’ve emerged from the juvenile justice system, advocates for them in school, and, if needed, helps them find housing, mental health services, and treatment for substance abuse. (Szabo, 8/25)
KFF Health News:
Illustrated Report: How Gun Violence Goes Viral
As chatter and images about guns and violence slip into the social media feeds of more teens, viral messages fueled by “likes” can lead to real-world conflict and loss. This illustrated report has been adapted from a KFF Health News article, “‘All We Want Is Revenge’: How Social Media Fuels Gun Violence Among Teens,” by Liz Szabo. (Tempest and Szabo, 8/25)
KFF Health News:
California’s Medical Board Can’t Pay Its Bills, But Doctors Resist Proposed Fixes
California doctors and state lawmakers are squaring off once again over the future of the Medical Board of California, which is responsible for licensing and disciplining doctors and has been criticized by patient advocates for years for being too lax. A bill before the legislature would significantly increase the fees doctors pay to fund the medical board, which says it hasn’t had the budget to carry out its mission properly. It would also mandate new procedures for investigating complaints. (Sciacca, 8/25)
KFF Health News:
California Offers Lifeline To 17 Troubled Hospitals
Madera Community Hospital in California’s Central Valley, which ceased operations last December and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, moved a step closer to reopening Thursday when California’s new fund for troubled hospitals said it was prepared to offer the facility up to $52 million in interest-free loans. The program is offering an additional $240.5 million in no-interest loans to 16 other troubled hospitals, including Beverly Community Hospital in Montebello and Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister, both of which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. (Wolfson, 8/24)
KFF Health News:
Republican Debate Highlights Candidates’ Views On Abortion
Eight Republican hopefuls took the stage Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee for the first debate of the 2024 presidential primary campaign. The eight-way faceoff, generally chaotic and contentious, included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy; former Vice President Mike Pence; U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.); former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; Trump administration ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley; North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum; and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Fox News anchors Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier often struggled to keep the evening on track. Former President Donald Trump chose not to attend, leading Baier to refer to him as “the elephant not in the room.” (KFF Health News and PolitiFact staffs, 8/24)
KFF Health News:
A Not-So-Health-Y GOP Debate
The first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 cycle took place without front-runner Donald Trump — and with hardly a mention of health issues save for abortion. Meanwhile, in Florida, patients dropped from the Medicaid program are suing the state for not giving them enough notice or a way to contest their being dropped from the program. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too. (8/24)
Modern Healthcare:
CDC Releases Sepsis Guidelines For Prevention, Treatment
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released guidelines to help hospitals create more effective sepsis management teams and improve patient survival rates. The agency's seven "Sepsis Core Elements," announced Thursday, come as sepsis cases continue to rise and industry leaders call for better surveillance systems, diagnostic tools and education surrounding the life-threatening condition. (Devereaux, 8/24)
CNN:
CDC Launches Effort To Bolster Hospital Sepsis Programs
In a typical year, at least 1.7 million adults in the US develop sepsis, and at least 350,000 die in the hospital or are moved into hospice care, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On top of that, about a third people who die in a hospital in the US have sepsis during that hospitalization, the agency says. (Musa, 8/24)
AP:
Canadian Wildfires Led To Spike In Asthma ER Visits, Especially In The Northeast
The smoke from Canadian wildfires that drifted into the U.S. led to a spike in people with asthma visiting emergency rooms — particularly in the New York area. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published two studies Thursday about the health impacts of the smoke, which shrouded city skylines with an orange haze in late spring. A medical journal also released a study this week. (Stobbe, 8/24)
ABC News:
Judge Rejects Argument By Abortion Pill Maker That State Bans Violates Constitution
West Virginia has the right to block the sale of the abortion drug mifepristone, even though federal regulators have decided the medication is safe, a federal judge ruled on Thursday. The decision by U.S. District Judge Robert Chambers is a blow to abortion rights groups that had hoped to strike down state bans using a novel and somewhat arcane legal argument invoking an idea known as "federal preemption." (Flaherty, 8/25)
Reuters:
Planned Parenthood Asks Court To Reconsider South Carolina's 'Heartbeat' Abortion Ban
Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers on Thursday asked South Carolina's top court to reconsider its Wednesday ruling upholding the state's recent ban on abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected. In its petition, Planned Parenthood said that the South Carolina Supreme Court had left undecided whether fetal cardiac activity refers to the first regular contractions of heart tissue, which usually occurs around six weeks of pregnancy, or whether it requires the four chambers of the heart to be fully formed - which is usually not until 17 to 20 weeks. (Pierson, 8/24)
AP:
South Carolina Abortion Ban With Unclear 'Fetal Heartbeat' Definition Creates Confusion, Doctors Say
When the South Carolina Supreme Court upheld a ban on most abortions this week, the majority wrote that they were leaving “for another day” a decision on when, exactly, the “fetal heartbeat” limit begins during pregnancy. Doctors practicing under the strict law cannot similarly punt on that question. Physicians say the statute’s unclear guidance is already chilling medical practice at the few abortion clinics that operate in the conservative state. With potential criminal charges hanging in the balance, most abortions are being halted as doctors wrestle with the murky legal definitions. (Pollard, 8/25)
AP:
Backers Blast Approved Ballot Language For Ohio's Fall Abortion Amendment As Misleading
The Ohio Ballot Board approved language Thursday for a fall measure seeking to establish abortion access as a fundamental right, but one Democratic member blasted it as “rife with misleading and defective language.” Key among opponents’ objections is language developed by Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, an abortion opponent, amid warnings the language could face a legal challenge even before the proposal goes before Ohio voters in November. (Smyth, 8/24)
AP:
Democrats In Pennsylvania Want To Keep A Supreme Court Majority. They Are Talking Up Abortion Rights
As they try to pad their state Supreme Court majority in a presidential battleground, Democrats in Pennsylvania now hope to harness the same voter enthusiasm for protecting abortion rights that has already helped their side to a string of high-profile election victories. Democrats and their allies are bringing up talk of abortion rights at their rallies and in their ads and are casting a contest for a Pennsylvania high court seat as an existential response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority. (Levy, 8/24)
CNBC:
Covid Vaccines: CDC Expects New Shots To Be Available In Mid September
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects updated Covid vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax to be available to the public in mid-September, an agency official told reporters Thursday. That amounts to the most specific timeline to date. Federal officials have said the new shots could arrive around September. CDC Director Mandy Cohen had previously provided a later timeline, telling NPR that the vaccines could be available by the “early October time frame.” (Constantino, 8/25)
The Hill:
CDC, FDA Gearing Up For Fall Vaccine Campaign With US In ‘Strongest Position Yet’
Federal health authorities are laying out plans for taking on this year’s respiratory viral season, with officials emboldened by the new spate of preventive medications the U.S. has gathered heading into the fall and winter. “We are in our strongest position yet to be able to fight COVID-19 as well as the other viruses that are responsible for the majority of fall and winter hospitalizations, namely flu, COVID as well as RSV,” a CDC official said in a press call on Thursday. (Choi, 8/25)
Stat:
Health Officials Lay Out Plans To Cope With Respiratory Virus Season
With last fall’s chaotic early start to the respiratory virus season still fresh in the public memory, federal health authorities are trying to move quickly to convey the impression that this year will be different. (Branswell, 8/25)
The New York Times:
Faulty Oxygen Readings Delayed Covid Care For Black And Hispanic Patients: Study
Pulse oximeters routinely overestimated levels of oxygen in the blood in darker-skinned Covid patients, leading to delays in treatment and hospital readmissions, according to a research article published on Thursday. The research focused on the first years of the coronavirus pandemic, when patients overwhelmed hospitals. At the time, blood-oxygen levels were a key factor in deciding which patients wound up in limited hospital beds and received treatment. (Jewett, 8/24)
AP:
California Doctor Lauded For COVID Testing Work Pleads Guilty To Selling Misbranded Cosmetic Drugs
A “rock star” doctor who tested tens of thousands of people for COVID-19 in the pandemic’s early months in a badly-stricken California desert community has pleaded guilty to misbranding cosmetic drugs, authorities said Thursday. Dr. Tien Tan Vo acknowledged in a plea agreement that none of the lip fillers used by his Imperial Valley clinics from November 2016 to October 2020 were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, federal prosecutors said. (8/24)
CIDRAP:
Pandemic Altered Teen Vaccine Uptake, With Major Lags Seen In HPV
Today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers show that teens born in 2008, who were ages 11 and 12 in 2020, have significant gaps in vaccine coverage for three common immunizations, including the tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine, meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY,) and the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. (Soucheray, 8/24)
Modern Healthcare:
UnitedHealth Lawsuit Over Mental Health Claims Revived By Appeals Court
A federal appeals court has revived a high-profile class action lawsuit that accuses a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary of improperly denying mental health claims. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled Tuesday that some policyholders may be entitled to relief from United Behavioral Health, partially reversing an earlier decision. (Tepper, 8/24)
Los Angeles Times:
Kaiser Healthcare Workers To Vote On Possible Strike
Tens of thousands of workers at Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics across the country will soon vote on whether to authorize a strike, union officials announced Thursday. The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which includes a dozen local unions with members in seven states and the District of Columbia, said voting would begin Saturday and extend into the middle of September. Any strike would start no earlier than Oct. 1. (Alpert Reyes, 8/24)
Modern Healthcare:
Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs Cut Costs In 2022
Nearly two-thirds of Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organizations earned shared savings last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday. These ACOs saved Medicare $1.8 billion in 2022, 8.4% more than during the previous year, according to CMS. The proportion of Shared Savings Program ACOs that generated cost reductions increased from 58% to 63%. (Berryman and Tepper, 8/24)
Fierce Healthcare:
Fewer, But Larger, Healthcare Data Breaches Reported In The First Half Of 2023
The healthcare industry has suffered fewer but larger cybersecurity breaches in the first half of 2023, suggesting a shift in targets and tactics among attackers, wrote cybersecurity firm Critical Insight in a new report. The 308 healthcare data breaches reported to the federal government from January through June represent a 15% sequential decline from the back half of 2022’s 363, according to the report. (Muoio, 8/24)
Stat:
NYU Langone Launches Private ChatGPT For Its Health Care Data
A fourth-year medical student, a music therapist, a child psychiatrist, and a physician-researcher stared at their laptops, puzzling over the combination of words that would make a supposedly intelligent system — NYU Langone’s customized version of ChatGPT — think about health care problems in a way that was useful to them. (Aguilar, 8/25)
Becker's Hospital Review:
West Virginia Hospital Infection Free Since 2021 Opening
Since opening in December 2021, there has not been a single hospital-acquired infection at Mon Health Marion Neighborhood Hospital in White Hall, W. Va.. "Achieving over 600 days without a hospital acquired infection is no small task," Alison Gwynne, infection preventionist at the hospital, said in an Aug. 23 news release. "It takes the whole team, from the moment that a patient is admitted, to recognizing symptoms, early testing, and communication to have this success." (Carbajal, 8/24)
Modern Healthcare:
Cleveland Clinic, UPMC Invest In Expansion Projects
Nonprofit healthcare systems are adding or expanding facilities in an effort to keep up with patients' growing demands, despite a challenging operating environment. At the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, construction continues on a 17-story UPMC Presbyterian inpatient tower, a $1.5 billion project at the system's Oakland hospital campus that will house 636 beds. The tower, on track to open in 2026, will offer specialty care such as cardiology and neurology, according to UPMC. (Hudson, 8/24)
The Washington Post:
Sliman Bensmaia, Who Added Sensations Of Touch To Prosthetics, Dies At 49
Simon Bensmaia, a trailblazing neuroscientist working on brain computer interfaces allowing amputees and paralyzed patients to control prosthetic and robotic limbs while simultaneously feeling the natural sensations of touch, died Aug. 11 at his home in Chicago. He was 49.The University of Chicago, where Dr. Bensmaia was a professor of organismal biology and anatomy, announced his death but did not cite a cause. (Rosenwald, 8/24)
Modern Healthcare:
Social Determinants Of Health Screenings Hit Trust Barrier
Healthcare providers are struggling to get patients to tell them about problems they face outside of the exam room. Providers want patients to tell them about their social needs but confront mistrust, shame and other obstacles to people sharing unflattering details about their personal lives, said Lauren Barca, vice president of quality at 86Borders, a patient engagement vendor. Patients also may not trust what providers will do with the information they collect, she said. (Hartnett, 8/24)
The Wall Street Journal:
Wealthy People Are Getting Full-Body Scans. Early Detection Or Unnecessary?
Companies are selling body scans to seemingly healthy patients, promising peace of mind. Traditional medical professionals are concerned about the costs. The financial cost for a preventive scan ranges from $650 to several thousand dollars. Insurance generally doesn’t cover it. Demand for these types of procedures has surged, particularly among the wealthy, healthcare professionals say. (Janin, 8/24)
Stat:
What AAP's Gender-Affirming Care Evidence Review Actually Means
When the American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed its support for gender-affirming care earlier this month, and called for a systematic review of the evidence, some swaths of the public saw the move as casting doubt on the benefits of such care. (Gaffney, 8/25)
The Washington Post:
Doctors To Parents: Stop Smashing Eggs On Your Kids’ Heads On TikTok
Pediatricians and other child development experts have spoken out about the risk of emotional harm to the children featured in many of these videos. (Bisset, 8/25)
Axios:
Bullying Rates Are Jumping In Schools: Survey
Bullying in schools has shot up over the past five years, according to an annual survey by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Years of pandemic disruption have caused students to struggle with stress management, problem solving and peer relationships, the survey found. 40% of child and teen respondents said they were bullied on school campuses in the past year, according to the Youth Right Now survey, conducted annually by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. (Rubin, 8/24)
The Washington Post:
A Mother’s Stress May Change The Makeup Of Her Child’s Microbiome
When it comes to microbiome health, many people focus on the foods that will help the trillions of good bacteria in their guts thrive. But less is known about how other factors like stress and trauma influence our gut health. A provocative study suggests that a mother’s stress may leave a lasting scar on future generations by impacting the makeup of her child’s gut microbiome. (Zimmerman, 8/24)
CIDRAP:
West Nile Remains Most Common Mosquito-Borne Disease In US
Today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) arthropod-borne disease surveillance data confirm that West Nile virus remains the most common mosquito-borne disease in the United States, with almost 3,000 cases reported in 2021. The surveillance data shows 3,035 cases of domestic arthropod-borne diseases, including 2,911 of West Nile, 40 cases of La Crosse, 32 cases of Jamestown Canyon, 24 cases of Powassan virus, 17 cases of St. Louis encephalitis, 5 cases of eastern equine encephalitis, and 6 cases of an unspecified California serogroup virus. (Soucheray, 8/24)
CBS News:
Death Linked To West Nile Virus Reported In Yolo County, Its 1st Death From The Disease Since 2018
On Thursday, Yolo County Public Health officials announced that a resident had died from the disease. It's the county's first West Nile virus death since 2018, officials said. "This tragic death underscores the importance of preventing mosquito bites. While most West Nile virus infections have no symptoms, some people get very sick and may die, especially older adults and people with underlying conditions or weakened immune systems," said Yolo County's Public Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson in a statement. (Padilla, 8/24)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Multiple People Sickened After Recent Sonoma Tough Mudder Race
Sonoma County Health officials have issued a health advisory after a spate of participants in the county’s “Tough Mudder” race reported developing rashes with fevers, nausea, muscle pain and vomiting. In an advisory released Wednesday, health officials urged participants who are experiencing symptoms to seek medical care or visit their local emergency departments. (Vainshtein, 8/24)
The Texas Tribune:
West Texas Ambulances Will Get Telehealth Services To Help Save Lives
West Texas is home to endless miles of plains filled with oil field machinery, wind turbines, farms and ranches. But what’s not always available in the deep stretches of empty plains and state highways are hospitals and emergency rooms — leaving the people who live there or traveling without immediate care in their time of incredible need. (Carver, 8/25)
AP:
What Is Stockholm Syndrome? It All Started With A Bank Robbery 50 Years Ago
t’s a common term these days, deployed to describe the bond that victims of kidnappings or hostage situations sometimes develop with their captors: “Stockholm syndrome.” And it got its name 50 years ago this week, during a failed bank robbery in Sweden’s capital. Stockholm syndrome — dubbed by its founder “Norrmalmstorg syndrome,” after the square where the bank heist took place — has since been used in connection with hostage-takings around the world, including the kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst in the 1970s. (Ritter and Olsen, 8/25)