Georgia Hides New Maternal Mortality Committee Members’ Identities
The Department of Public Health, which previously disclosed that information, “determined that the broad confidentiality protections directed toward the committee should be extended to the identities of the committee members.” Other news comes from Oregon, Texas, California, and Pennsylvania.
ProPublica:
Georgia Won’t Reveal The Names Of Its Maternal Mortality Committee Members
Georgia recently relaunched its maternal mortality review committee after dismissing all 32 of its members last year. But state officials won’t say who the current members are. The dismissals were in response to ProPublica obtaining internal reports in which the committee detailed the “preventable” deaths of two women who were unable to obtain legal abortions or timely care after Georgia banned abortion. (Yurkanin, 3/4)
More news from Georgia —
AP:
Georgia House Passes School Safety Bill After Apalachee High School Shooting
Georgia House members voted 159-13 on Tuesday for a school safety bill that supporters say is aimed at preventing a school shooting like the one in September that killed two teachers and two students at Apalachee High School. But some lawmakers remain uneasy about its proposed creation of a statewide student database of disciplinary, mental health and law enforcement information to evaluate students who might commit violence. (Amy, 3/5)
In other news from across the country —
The Washington Post:
Dysentery Cases Are On The Rise In Oregon. Here’s What To Know
Dysentery cases are on the rise in the Portland area. In January, health officials reported 40 cases of the highly contagious bacterial infection in Multnomah County, where Portland is located — up from 17 in January 2024, according to the Multnomah County Health Department. Health officials have linked the rise in dysentery cases to the number of people experiencing homelessness in the county. (Raji, 3/4)
The Guardian:
How Texas’s Bankruptcy Courts Are Used To Shield A Prison Healthcare Provider
When late last year the largest provider of healthcare to inmates in jails and prisons in the US found itself facing an avalanche of medical malpractice lawsuits, its path forward was seemingly obvious. By filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas’s increasingly popular bankruptcy courts, Wellpath Holdings could restructure itself, in the process staying the 1,500 lawsuits it had been facing and limiting its exposure to more than $100m in potential liabilities. (Gray Desai, 3/4)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Spent Millions On A Homeless RV Dweller Site With Few Results
The demise of San Francisco’s only parking site for homeless people living in vehicles could be used as a case study on how difficult it is for one of the nation’s wealthiest cities to solve its intractable homelessness crisis. Over the past three years, San Francisco has poured more than $18 million into establishing and operating the site in an underused parking lot at Candlestick Point — likely the most expensive per capita intervention ever tried by the city. But despite city efforts to get the residents into housing or shelter, when officials shut down the site late Monday night, nearly all of the site’s 35 or so residents were back to where they started — on the streets. (Angst, 3/4)
CBS News:
Community College Of Philadelphia's New Vending Machine Offers Free Reproductive Health Supplies
A new vending machine at the Community College of Philadelphia aims to keep college students safe and healthy thanks to a new program. Research shows condoms can dramatically reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, along with preventing pregnancy. Doctors say they're more likely to be used when they're free and easily accessible. (Stahl, 3/4)
