State Highlights: 8th Police Officer’s Suicide Rattles N.Y.C.; Minn. Officials Raise Concerns About Vaping’s Harm

USA Today: NYPD Officer Kills Himself Amid Rash Of Police Suicides
A New York Police Department officer killed himself Tuesday in Yonkers, the eighth NYPD officer to die by suicide this year. ... "The NYPD suffered another tragedy today with the loss of another officer to suicide," the department said in a Tweet. "To those who may be facing struggles – Help is always available, you are not alone." (Spillane, 8/13)

The Wall Street Journal: NYPD Officer Kills Himself In Eighth Department Suicide This Year
NYPD officials have said that in a typical year four or five officers die by suicide and called the spike in 2019 a mental health crisis. ... The NYPD said that 2019 is on track to see the highest number of officer suicides in a year in more than a decade. Four of the six deaths in 2019 occurred in June, a cluster that prompted police officials to rethink mental health protocols and ask departments in other cities for advice on how they are working to prevent officer suicides. (Chapman, 8/13)

The New York Times: 8th N.Y. Police Officer Dies By Suicide, Further Unsettling The Force
The officer, Johnny Rios, worked in the 50th Precinct and had been temporarily assigned to a detail at Yankee Stadium. He had been with the department for seven years and had no blemishes on his record, the police said. Gerard Rios, 60, an older brother, said that his younger brother had been melancholic in the last few months after losing his father, Evaristo Rios, 80, in April and after the recent suicide of a fellow officer, Kevin Preiss. (Sandoval, 8/13)

Pioneer Press: MN Health Officials See Vaping Link To Severe Lung Injuries
Four cases of severe lung injury in Minnesota that may be related to vaping have state health officials concerned that what’s been billed by some as a relatively harmless substitution for smoking has hidden dangers, especially among young people. ...In the Twin Cities, Children’s Minnesota Hospitals and Clinics has reported four cases in which the teenage patients, who used e-cigarettes, were hospitalized for weeks, some in intensive care, all with respiratory issues. (Weniger, 8/13)

Boston Globe: It’s Code Red For EEE In Nine Communities South Of Boston
There will be no more evening concerts on the lawn at Middleborough Town Hall this summer – forget about hearing the Vegas Valentinos — and all outdoor activities, including youth football, have been canceled in Carver from dusk to dawn. Similar restrictions are in place throughout Southeastern Massachusetts until the first frost eliminates the danger of contracting the dangerous mosquito-borne disease Eastern equine encephalitis in what state officials are calling a “really bad year” for the disease. (Seltz, 8/13)

New Hampshire Union Leader: EEE Found In Mosquito Test Batch In Pelham
Eastern Equine Encephalitis has been found in a mosquito test batch in Pelham, and the town has plans to spray parks, fields and schools. No people in New Hampshire have gotten the virus this year, but the state Department of Health and Human Services said it is possible. A man in southeastern Massachusetts has been infected with the virus, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced Saturday. (8/13)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: VA Labor Contract Would Harm Workers, Protesters Say
Holding signs and banners that read "Don't Privatize the VA," "Union Busting is Disgusting" and "VA Employees Deserve Dignity, Fairness, Respect," a small group stood on a sidewalk near Milwaukee's VA Medical Center Tuesday afternoon to protest employee contract negotiations. ... In early May, the Department of Veterans Affairs proposed a new collective bargaining agreement with more than 250,000 federal employees that would sharply limit the number of hours VA employees can perform union work while on the clock. The VA contends its proposal would also empower supervisors, streamline hiring and job classifications and make sure the contract doesn't interfere with the MISSION Act, which funnels tax dollars to private health care facilities for veteran care. (Jones, 8/13)

The CT Mirror: Correction Department To Begin Testing, Treating Inmates For Hepatitis C
The [Connecticut] Department of Correction says it will begin testing and treating inmates for the Hepatitis C virus this fall. The department’s announcement was issued in an Aug. 7 memorandum from Commissioner Rollin Cook, who began his tenure in December. (Phaneuf and Lyons, 8/13)

MPR: What You Need To Know About Hepatitis A Amid Outbreak In Minnesota
Last week, the Minnesota Department of Health declared an outbreak of hepatitis A in the state. Health officials across nine counties have reported nearly two dozen cases of the liver infection since May. (John and Hallberg, 8/13)

Stat: Alzheimer’s Advocates Are Swarming Politicians At The Iowa State Fair
The Iowa State Fair is a rite of passage for presidential candidates — they eat weird fried food, kiss babies, and answer question after question about their vision for America. But this year the candidates got a different sort of question, over and over again: What’s your plan for fighting Alzheimer’s? Volunteers with the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement, the advocacy arm of the Alzheimer’s Association, swarmed the state fair this weekend and posed that question to nearly every Democratic presidential candidate at the fair. (Florko, 8/13)

The Wall Street Journal: New York City Councilwoman Wants Patient Advocate Office
A bill set to be introduced Wednesday in the New York City Council seeks to create a new office to receive and report on complaints against health-care facilities and providers. Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, chairwoman of the council’s Committee on Hospitals, is seeking to create an office of the patient advocate housed within the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The office would help people regarding medical services and coverage, including concerns or inquiries relating to providers, facilities and health insurance. (West, 8/13)

The New York Times: ‘Juul-Alikes’ Are Filling Shelves With Sweet, Teen-Friendly Nicotine Flavors
After Juul Labs, under pressure from the Food and Drug Administration, stopped selling most of its hugely popular flavored nicotine pods in stores last fall, upstart competitors swooped in to grab the shelf space. Trumpeting their own fruity and candy-flavored pods as compatible with Juul devices, they have seen their sales soar. The proliferation of “Juul-alikes” is not only complicating Juul’s efforts to clean up its tarnished image, but also shows just how entrenched the youth vaping problem has become and that voluntary measures are unlikely to solve it. (Kaplan, 8/13)