State Highlights: 1,400 New Pharmacists Sidelined In California Over Cheating Scandal Surrounding Exam; Troubled VA Hospital In Atlanta Takes Steps To Improve Services

Los Angeles Times: Cheating Scandal Causes Uproar Among Pharmacists
Cheating, protests and outrage have upended the otherwise buttoned-up world of pharmacy in California. California officials have invalidated more than 1,000 pharmacists’ test scores because of cheating on a state exam, a move that has caused an uproar among pharmacists who say they have lost wages and job opportunities as a result. Layla Mina, 28, of Anaheim said her job offer to be a pharmacist at CVS was rescinded because she could not become licensed without her exam scores. (Karlamangla, 10/17)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Reckoning Comes To VA Atlanta Hospital After Years Of Problems
It suspended routine surgeries in late September after a string of incidents that exposed mismanagement and dangerous practices. It hopes to resume normal operations by early November as it struggles to retrain staff and hire new nurses. The partial shutdown came about two weeks after Joel Marrable, a cancer patient in the same VA complex, was found covered with more than 100 ant bites by his daughter. (Quinn, 10/17)

The Associated Press: Michael Jordan Opens First Of 2 Medical Clinics In Charlotte
An emotional Michael Jordan unveiled the first of two medical clinics he and his family funded to provide care to underprivileged members of the community. The six-time NBA champion and Hornets owner was on hand Thursday for the grand opening of the $7 million Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic. Tears streamed down Jordan's cheeks as he said, "This is a very emotional thing for me to be able to give back to a community that has supported me over the years." (10/17)

Detroit Free Press: Mental-Health Counselors Win Passage Of Bill Allowing Them To Practice
A bill that would allow licensed professional counselors to continue to diagnose and treat mental-health patients passed with unanimous support in the state Senate Thursday and is headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is expected to sign it into law. The bill and its swift passage were the result of a concerted push by the counselors, who provide services to some 150,000 people, to stop rules proposed by the state Department of Licensing and Regulation that would have impacted the counselors’ ability to officially diagnose and treat patients. (Gray, 10/17)

The CT Mirror: What Is Connecticut's Religious Exemption From Vaccines? Here Are Five Things To Know About The Controversial Provision
Democratic legislators ignited controversy last spring when they suggested the state repeal its religious exemption to mandatory vaccinations, a longstanding provision in Connecticut law that allows parents to refrain from immunizing their school-aged children on the basis of religious belief. (Carlesso, 10/18)

The Associated Press: Suit: Hospital Mishandled Infection That Killed 3 Babies
The parents of a newborn who died in a Pennsylvania hospital's neonatal intensive care unit allege in a lawsuit that hospital officials failed to protect their son from a lethal bacterial infection that had already killed two other premature babies. Geisinger knew the neonatal intensive care unit of its flagship hospital in Danville was "dangerous, defective and contaminated" but continued filling its beds with premature infants and hid the obvious danger from parents, according to a wrongful death suit filed Thursday. (10/17)

The Oregonian: Measles Risk At Portland International Airport After Sick Person Passes Through 
A person who passed through the Portland International Airport on Saturday has become sick with measles, the Multnomah County Health Department reported on Thursday. The health department said people who were in the airport during that time may have been exposed to the virus. Lisa Ferguson, the communicable diseases manager for the health department, said the person passed through international arrivals and went through customs and immigration between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 12. (Ramakrishnan, 10/17)

Sacramento Bee: Dignity Lays Off CA Health Care Workers, Citing Budget Woes
Dignity Health announced layoffs this week to employees from Sacramento northward to Mount Shasta, saying that the health care company is not meeting its financial projections. ...Dignity spokesman William Hodges would not disclose the total number of employees who would lose their jobs. (Anderson, 10/17)

St. Louis Public Radio: St. Louis-Area LGBTQ Workers Prepare For ‘Terrifying’ Supreme Court Rulings In 2020
The court could rule next year that federal civil rights law doesn’t prevent employers from firing people for being gay, bisexual or transgender. If the court decides against the employees in the cases, Missouri’s estimated 180,000 LGBTQ adults would be left with little recourse against discrimination in the workplace. (Petrin, 10/18)

St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Commission Wants Legislators To Scrap Nuclear Plant-Funding Law
The Missouri Air Conservation Commission is asking state legislators to repeal a decades-old law that controls how companies fund new nuclear power plants. The Construction Work in Progress law, passed by Missouri voters in 1976, prohibits utility companies from charging customers to cover the cost of building nuclear plants until the facilities are up and running. (Farzan, 10/18)

Sacramento Bee: Feds: Doctor Did Needless Vein Procedures, Reused Catheters
A Southern California doctor was found guilty on Wednesday of performing unnecessary vein procedures and giving his patients contaminated but repackaged single-use catheters. Following a six-day trial, a federal grand jury convicted Dr. Donald Woo Lee, 54, of Temecula on seven counts of health care fraud and one count of adulterating a medical device, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release Thursday. His sentencing is scheduled for March. (Gilmour, 10/17)

Iowa Public Radio: North Iowa Food Program Offers Bounty Box Option
The Bounty Box program is the latest project for North Iowa Fresh, a group of farm partners providing produce for 20 weeks starting in May. Jan Libbey is a founding member of that group and explained the Bounty Box is ideal for families and individuals who find it difficult to get to a farmer’s market. (Blank, 10/18)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Covington Ethylene Oxide Emissions Concern State Regulators
State regulators said Thursday that high levels of a carcinogenic gas detected in Covington are “very concerning,” and expressed regret about not informing the public earlier about the risks posed by a chemical used as a sterilizer and in manufacturing. The joint meeting between the Cobb and Fulton county legislative delegations was intended to focus on emissions from Sterigenics, a Cobb company that uses ethylene oxide to sterilize single-use medical equipment. (Kass, 10/17)

North Carolina Health News: Pittsboro Drinking Water Forum Draws A Crowd 
Roughly 200 people turned out Wednesday evening for a forum in Pittsboro to learn more about contaminants in the town’s drinking water. Those who spoke asked state regulators and university researchers about the water coming out of their taps. Whether they needed filtration systems in their homes. Whether it’s safe to eat vegetables from their gardens. Some wanted to know more about a temporary spike of a likely carcinogen called 1,4 dioxane in the town’s drinking water. (Barnes, 10/18)