Florida’s Dietitian Licensing Law Could Go To Federal Appeals Court
Meanwhile, lawmakers in Florida have allowed payments to parents whose children died of traumatic brain injuries received during birth. A protest by the deaf community in Ohio, a doctor taking UT Southwestern to court over its children's trans care limits, and more are also in the news.
Health News Florida:
A Federal Appeals Courts Has Been Asked To Revisit A Florida Law On Dietitian Licensing
Arguing that her First Amendment rights were violated, a woman who was blocked by the Florida Department of Health from providing dietary advice is asking a full federal appeals court to take up a challenge to a state dietitian law. Attorneys for Heather Kokesch Del Castillo filed a 30-page motion last week asking the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the case, after a panel of the court upheld the law in February. Del Castillo, a Northwest Florida resident, was cited by the Department of Health in 2017 for getting paid to provide dietary advice without being a state-licensed dietitian or nutritionist. Del Castillo, who operated what is described in court documents as a health and nutrition coaching business, paid a $754 fine after the state was tipped off by a licensed dietitian. (Saunders, 3/16)
In other news from Florida —
Miami Herald:
Florida Lawmakers OK Payments To Parents Of Children Who Died Of Brain Injuries
In a legislative session highlighted by culture war battles and redistricting, Florida lawmakers made time to give a measure of mercy to a group of parents whose children died of catastrophic birth-related brain injuries. ... The reforms were implemented after a series of stories by the Miami Herald and the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica, called Birth & Betrayal, documented how parents in NICA had to beg for help from the program, which was supposed to provide “medically necessary” care to certain children left severely disabled by oxygen deprivation or spinal injury at birth. Parents complained that they had to plead, often in vain, for medication, specially equipped vans, in-home nursing care and home modifications, to which they were entitled under the NICA statute. (Miller and Chang, 3/15)
In updates from Ohio, Texas, and Georgia —
The Columbus Dispatch:
Deaf Community Protest Over Director's Firing At Ohio Services Agency
The sign in front of a Worthington-based deaf services agency boasts "Where Communication Happens." Yet more than 50 people served by Deaf Services Center say the agency has failed to include them in decisions or inform them about changes in leadership. The group hoisted banners, waived at passing cars and listened to speakers during a protest Tuesday night in front of the organization's Ohio headquarters. ... Having a leader who is not hard of hearing or deaf is offensive and wrong, they say. "We need someone who is part of our population, someone who understands our struggles," said Vince Sabino, a social worker from Hilliard, who is deaf and an advocate for the deaf. "We're a very small population, but we're very marginalized." (Narciso, 3/16)
Dallas Morning News:
Doctor Who Treats Transgender Children Takes UT Southwestern To Court Over Change In Care
The court filing, known as a 202 petition, allows attorneys and their clients to investigate claims before filing a lawsuit. It marks the first time one of the program’s leaders has pushed back in such a public way against the university’s decision to close Genecis to new patients. Lopez’s lawyer provided a copy of the petition exclusively to The Dallas Morning News. Lopez is asking the university and Children’s Health to turn over documents, including communications that might show pressure from elected officials triggered the changes at Genecis, and wants top officials to sit for depositions. The petition notes the information sought will allow Lopez to decide if and against whom she files a lawsuit seeking to overturn the university’s decision to cut off care to new transgender patients. (Wolf and McGaughy, 3/16)
AP:
Ex-Nurse Pleads Guilty In Nursing Home Death Of War Veteran
A former nurse has pleaded guilty to her role in the death of a World War II veteran whose pleas for help were ignored at a nursing home, prosecutors said. Loyce Pickquet Agyeman of Snellville pleaded guilty Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter, neglect of an elder person and concealing the death of another, The DeKalb County District Attorney said. A judge sentenced Agyeman to serve eight years in prison. (3/16)
In updates from Missouri, Mississippi, and Indiana —
Kansas City Star:
Missouri Child Welfare Worker Shortage Putting Lives At Risk
Like others inside Missouri’s troubled child welfare agency, Dayna Eckhardt feared that a critical shortage of abuse and neglect investigators was putting children’s lives at risk. She tried to get the attention of her bosses — and even their bosses — by writing detailed emails about what she saw as the growing dangers inside the Missouri Department of Social Services. When that didn’t work, and DSS leaders failed to acknowledge the problem, she again sat down to write about the troubles, desperate to have someone, anyone, listen. In that email, obtained by The Star, Eckhardt told Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, a Republican from eastern Missouri, that there were so few investigators in her circuit that investigative reports were drastically overdue. And because of that, the child abuse investigator said, some allegations that otherwise would be substantiated had been concluded as “unsubstantiated.” (Bauer and Thomas, 3/16)
Mississippi Clarion Ledger:
As Mississippi Medical Marijuana Takes Shape, Patients Are Hopeful
The trajectory of Mississippi’s medical marijuana program is often described as a rollercoaster ride. It’s been a year and a half since 74% of voters first approved the framework for a robust medical marijuana program via a ballot initiative process in November 2020. Since then, the future of the program was mired in legal and legislative debate until Feb. 2, when Gov. Tate Reeves ultimately signed the program into law. It still could take months for products to become available. The Mississippi State Department of Health said in a notice that it could take until at least the end of the year to allow for testing and quality control. (Clark, 3/16)
Indianapolis Star:
Indiana Lawmakers Reduce Vaping Tax During 2022 Legislative Session
Indiana lawmakers had second thoughts on a tax on vaping products before it was even implemented, a move critics worry could impact the health of teens who are more prone to use e-cigarettes than other nicotine products. Under Senate Bill 382, which Gov. Eric Holcomb signed Tuesday, the tax on prefilled e-cigarette cartridges, or vape pods, would be reduced from 25% to 15% of the wholesale price. Public health advocates roundly criticized the tax cut, saying that it will likely wind up encouraging tobacco use in Indiana, which has the 10th highest smoking rate in the country, according to the American Cancer Society. Not only will it discourage adults from shaking the habit, it could encourage more youth to start vaping, they said. (Lange and Rudavsky, 3/17)