Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Kentucky Fund Allots First Award To Fight Opioid Crisis
AP: Group Makes First Funding Award To Combat Opioid Epidemic
A Kentucky commission assigned to distribute money from a massive settlement with opioid companies has made its first funding award to help combat the state’s opioid epidemic, Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Tuesday. The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission has awarded $10.5 million in funding to a pilot program, Cameron announced. The program will offer behavioral health treatment options for people struggling with substance use disorder as an alternative to incarceration. (Schreiner, 1/31)
On hunger and nutrition —
AP: West Virginia Looking For Help Feeding Kids During Summer
The state of West Virginia is looking for local government agencies, nonprofit groups and other organizations to help run a summer feeding program for children. The program sponsored by the Department of Education provides free meals to children in lower-income areas at sites such as schools, churches, community centers, pools, parks, libraries, housing complexes and summer camps. (2/1)
Iowa Public Radio: Food Assistance Org Dispute Threatens Funding While Pantries Struggle
There's been ongoing disagreements between the Food Bank of Iowa and the Des Moines Area Religious Council over policy changes that has led the city of Des Moines to consider withdrawing financial support. And it’s causing some pantries to struggle to keep food on the shelves. (Wheeler, 1/30)
North Carolina Health News: Access To Food Benefits May Reduce Rates Of Child Neglect, Abuse
States that expanded access to federal food benefits saw decreases in the rates of cases investigated by child protective services, a new study by researchers from UNC Chapel Hill shows. (Fernandez, 2/1)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri Lawmakers Seek To Ease Rules For Physical Therapy
Patients could get help from physical therapists without first seeing a doctor or getting a prescription under legislation debated Tuesday in the Missouri Senate. The GOP-led chamber gave the proposal initial approval in a voice vote. It had bipartisan support. Missouri patients currently need a referral from a doctor or a prescription before they can get physical therapy. (Erickson, 1/31)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Council Moves Toward 6-Month Moratorium On New Vape Shops
The proposal ― sponsored by Alds. Jonathan Brostoff, Marina Dimitrijevic and Mark Borkowski ― calls for a pause on the distribution of occupancy permits to any establishments that sell "electronic cigarettes or electronic cigarette paraphernalia." "We're facing, with the proliferation of these vape shops, a threat to our health, safety and welfare as a city and we don't have the tools in place to properly address that," Brostoff said after the vote. "That's what this legislation is about." (Shastri, 1/31)
KHN: Nursing Home Owners Drained Cash During Pandemic While Residents Deteriorated
After the nursing home where Leann Sample worked was bought by private investors, it started falling apart. Literally. Part of a ceiling collapsed on a nurse, the air conditioning conked out regularly, and a toilet once burst on Sample while she was helping a resident in the bathroom, she recalled in a court deposition. “It’s a disgusting place,” Sample, a nurse aide, testified in 2021. (Rau, 2/1)
