Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Rep. Cori Bush Demands Investigation Into St. Louis Nursing Home Closure
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Cori Bush Calls For Investigation Of St. Louis Nursing Home
U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, on Monday called for an investigation into the closure of Northview Village Nursing Home, the 320-bed facility that shut down without notice last month in St. Louis. Northview’s former workers staged a rally outside the owners’ offices in Brentwood on Monday morning, calling to be paid for their final days at the facility. (Merrilees, 1/8)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
CBS News: 2 More Measles Cases Confirmed By Philadelphia Health Department, Bringing Total To 8
Two more measles cases were confirmed by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health on Monday, bringing the total number of cases to eight since the outbreak began. The health department says seven of the eight cases are in Philly and the other case is outside the city. The city's health department also expanded the number of locations in the Philadelphia region that were potentially exposed to the virus. (Ignudo, 1/8)
Reuters: US Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To California Flavored Tobacco Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's challenge to a voter-approved measure in California that banned flavored tobacco products in the most-populous U.S. state. The justices rejected an appeal by R.J. Reynolds, a unit of British American Tobacco, and other plaintiffs of a lower court's ruling holding that California's law did not conflict with a federal statute regulating tobacco products. (Raymond, 1/8)
Capitol News Illinois: Illinois Aims To Aid Drug Abuse Prevention Staff Shortages
Amid five straight years of record overdose deaths in Illinois, a new state program aims to alleviate a shortage of professionals who work to prevent substance use disorders. (Raju, 1/9)
The Mercury News: Free Narcan: Santa Clara County Will Mail Fentanyl OD Medicine To Residents
With fentanyl and other opioids continuing to take a deadly toll on the country, Santa Clara County has begun distributing Narcan, the opioid overdose-reversing nasal spray, by mail to residents free of charge. ... .Santa Clara County has already stocked free Narcan in several of its libraries, making the mail-order effort just the latest initiative to combat the opioid crisis. (Hase, 1/8)
WMFE: As Children's Mental Health Issues Rise, A New Orlando-Area Clinic Offers Free Service
A Central Florida mental health clinic is expanding its services to uninsured children free of charge. The Mental Health Association of Central Florida is expanding its services to Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Brevard, Lake, and Polk counties to meet the crisis needs of ages 6 to 17. (Pedersen, 1/8)
North Carolina Health News: Crooning For A Cure: The Song That Changed NC’s Health Landscape
No matter where you went in the early months of 1947, the song “It’s All Up To You” was inescapable. A recording of the song by Frank Sinatra and Dinah Shore played in heavy rotation on the state’s radio stations and jukeboxes. Though largely forgotten today, “It’s All Up To You” was written to raise awareness of North Carolina’s poor health conditions. (Baxley, 1/9)
KFF Health News: These Patients Had To Lobby For Correct Diabetes Diagnoses. Was Their Race A Reason?
When Phyllisa Deroze was told she had diabetes in a Fayetteville, North Carolina, emergency department years ago, she was handed pamphlets with information on two types of the disease. One had pictures of children on it, she recalled, while the other had pictures of seniors. Deroze, a 31-year-old English professor at the time, was confused about which images were meant to depict her. Initially, she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, as shown on the pamphlet with older adults. It would be eight years before she learned she had a different form of diabetes — one that didn’t fit neatly on either pamphlet. (Sable-Smith, 1/9)
