Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
RSV Pressures On Michigan Hospitals Lead To Calls For Bailout Aid
Crain's Detroit Business: RSV Surge Forces Michigan Healthcare Providers To Seek Bailout
The Michigan Health and Hospital Association is pursuing unallocated American Rescue Plan Act funds and an allocation from the state general fund to stabilize the industry, John Karasinski, director of communications for the Lansing industry group, told Crain's in an email. (Walsh, 11/14)
Los Angeles Times: California Child Dies Of Flu And RSV
Underscoring the worrisome conditions, California Department of Public Health officials on Monday reported the season’s first death of a child under 5 due to flu and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. “This tragic event serves as a stark reminder that respiratory viruses can be deadly, especially in very young children and infants,” Dr. Tomás Aragón, California’s public health director and health officer, said of the pediatric death. (Money and Lin II, 11/14)
ABC News: Mom Shares Dangers Of RSV As 7-Month-Old Is Hospitalized
A Washington state mother is warning about the dangers of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, after her 7-month-old daughter was hospitalized with the illness. Mya Walker said her daughter, Ariella Rain, was a happy, healthy baby until the end of October, when she started developing symptoms of RSV. (Kekatos, 11/15)
More health news from across the U.S. —
AP: 5 Deaths At NYC Nursing Home Blamed On Legionnaires' Disease
Five people died of Legionnaires’ disease over the summer at a New York City nursing home that had been cited repeatedly for improper maintenance of the cooling towers where the Legionella bacteria can spread, The New York Times reported. The outbreak at Amsterdam Nursing Home, a 409-bed facility in upper Manhattan, was the city’s worst since 2015 when a cooling tower in the Bronx was blamed for an infection that caused 16 deaths. (11/14)
North Carolina Health News: Lawsuits Charging Harm To Nursing Home Residents Crawl Forward
Residents of the Citadel of Salisbury, a COVID-devastated nursing home, have charged that they were damaged by the facility’s deliberate understaffing. Similar cases have taken years to move forward, meanwhile those who claim harm are aging and dying. (Goldsmith and Crumpler, 11/15)
The Boston Globe: R.I. Residents Struggle To Meet Basic Needs, New Blue Cross Blue Shield Index Shows
The Rhode Island Life Index 2022, funded by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island in partnership with the Brown University School of Public Health, reveals trends in Rhode Islanders’ perceptions of quality of life issues. The report, published Monday, showed an overall index a score of 59, four points lower than in 2021, marking the lowest index score of the report’s history. (Gagosz, 11/14)
