Oregon’s Assisted Suicide Law Now Extends To Residents Of Other States
Opponents said the change in the law would lead to "suicide tourism," but advocates stressed that safeguards in the law make that extremely unlikely. The lawsuit had been filed on behalf of a Portland physician who had been unable to write terminal prescriptions for patients who live just across the Columbia River in Washington state.
AP:
Oregon Ends Residency Rule For Medically Assisted Suicide
Oregon will no longer require people to be residents of the state to use its law allowing terminally ill people to receive lethal medication, after a lawsuit challenged the requirement as unconstitutional. In a settlement filed in U.S. District Court in Portland on Monday, the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Medical Board agreed to stop enforcing the residency requirement and to ask the Legislature to remove it from the law. (Johnson, 3/29)
And more news from Oregon —
AP:
Portland Expands Unarmed Emergency Response Program
People across Portland, Oregon, looking to help someone experiencing a mental health crisis have a new option: They can call 911 and ask for the Portland Street Response. The unarmed emergency response program began serving people citywide on Monday, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. (3/28)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
After Weeks Of Debate, Mental Health Bill Clears Georgia Senate Panel
After two weeks of emotional hearings, a Senate panel on Monday passed its version of legislation that aims to expand the way mental health is covered in Georgia. The new version of House Bill 1013 would require most insurance companies to cover mental health care the same way physical health is covered, forgive student loans for mental health providers who work in underserved areas of the state and take other steps to improve care. The bill passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee unanimously. (Prabhu, 3/28)
AP:
Lawmakers Hear Calls To Improve State Psychiatric Hospital
Five years after a patient abuse scandal, Connecticut’s only maximum-security psychiatric hospital still needs significant improvements to its treatment programs, staff behaviors and oversight, members of a state task force told lawmakers Monday. Members of the panel also told the Public Health Committee that Whiting Forensic Hospital in Middletown needs to be moved into an entirely new building because the current hospital is inadequately designed for psychiatric care and is in disrepair. (Collins, 3/28)
North Carolina Health News:
Access To HIV Care Varies Across NC Jails, Study Finds
People with HIV have a high rate of ending up behind bars, but even though the diagnosis is common among people in county jails, it’s hard to know the kind of care these patients receive while they’re detained due to a lack of research. A recent study from researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill attempted to glimpse through the curtain at what HIV treatment looks like for people living with HIV who cycled through 21 out of the state’s 95 jails. The researchers interviewed 23 people, who reported more than 300 jail incarcerations across North Carolina in the time since they had been diagnosed with HIV. What they found is indicative of medical care across jails in the state: that care varies depending on the jail. (Thompson, 3/29)
Columbus Dispatch:
Columbus Schools To Build 2 New Health Centers For Students, Families
Columbus City Schools announced Monday it has partnered with Nationwide Children's Hospital and PrimaryOne Health to build two new school-based health centers. The health centers will be based in two high schools — Columbus North International and Fort Hayes — and will be funded through grants and other funding from the two health care systems. "School-based healthcare centers mean less time out of the classroom for many students, which directly aligns with our district's strategic priority of Whole-Child Focus that allows the students to reach their full potential," said Columbus Schools Superintendent Talisa Dixon in a news release. (Lee, 3/28)
KHN:
At A Tennessee Crossroads, Two Pharmacies, A Monkey, And Millions Of Pills
It was about 1 a.m. on April 19, 2016, when a burglary alarm sounded at Dale Hollow Pharmacy in Celina, a tiny town in the rolling, wooded hills near the Kentucky border. Two cops responded. As their flashlights bobbed in the darkness, shining through the pharmacy windows, they spotted a sign of a break-in: pill bottles scattered on the floor. (Kelman, 3/29)
KHN:
‘American Diagnosis’: ‘Water Warriors’ Tap Diné Resilience To Increase Access On Navajo Land
Over decades, federal and state policies have left many tribal communities without access to clean, running water. This episode explores what separates some Diné and other Native people in the western United States from this critical resource. (3/29)
