Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Boston University Launches Five-Year Cancer Research Partnership With J&J; 911 Calls From Las Vegas Shooting Released
Boston Globe: BU, Johnson & Johnson Team Up To Seek Earlier Detection Of Lung Cancer
Despite the remarkable progress that medicine has made treating some varieties of cancer, one common form remains nearly as deadly as it was four decades ago: lung cancer. ... The disease is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States, killing about 154,000 people each year, more than those who die from breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer combined. On Wednesday, Boston University and the health care giant Johnson & Johnson announced a five-year collaboration that they hope will change that. (Saltzman, 6/6)
The Associated Press: Boston U. Boosts Lung Cancer Research With Johnson & Johnson
Boston University is pairing with Johnson & Johnson to help fight lung cancer. School officials announced Wednesday the company will pay for a new lung center at the university where researchers will work to prevent and cure the disease. It's part of a five-year research partnership between the school and Johnson & Johnson Innovation, a development arm of the New Jersey-based health care products company. (6/6)
Los Angeles Times: 500 Recordings Of 911 Calls Detail Chaos, Agony And Determination After Las Vegas Shooting
The voices are sobbing at times. Panicked. Fearful. A 911 dispatcher tries to calm one caller down. “Hello? Are you at the Route 91?” the dispatcher asks. “I’m going for my boyfriend who is at Route 91,” the woman says. “He’s hiding inside of a cooler.” “OK, you tell him to stay hunkered down. We don’t have this thing contained yet and we need to get everyone — just tell him to stay put, OK?” the dispatcher responds. (Montero, 6/6)
The Associated Press: New Jersey Lawmakers Set To Vote On 6 Gun Control Bills
New Jersey lawmakers are set to vote on a half-dozen measures to tighten the state's already-strict gun laws. The Democratic-led Assembly and Senate have scheduled votes for Thursday on bills that began advancing after the fatal high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in February that left 17 people dead. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has said he supports the measures, as part of a promise for more "sensible" gun-control. (6/7)
The Associated Press: USC Medical School Official Feared Dean Was ‘Doing Drugs’
A former vice dean of University of Southern California’s medical school testified he feared the then-dean, Dr. Carmen Puliafito, “could be doing drugs” before Puliafito abruptly quit in 2016. Dr. Henri Ford’s testimony at a state Medical Board hearing marks the first suggestion that any USC administrator had suspicions about Puliafito’s possible drug use, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday. Ford said he expressed concerns about Puliafito’s general well-being to the university’s provost. (6/6)
Boston Globe: Brockton Hospital Staff Overlooked Warning About A Deadly Allergy. ‘Alert Fatigue’ May Be To Blame
A nurse at the Brockton hospital last winter administered the drug, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, to the patient, who suffered a life-threatening reaction and had to be transferred to the intensive care unit, according to a federal and state inspection report obtained by the Globe. ...The phenomenon is a growing concern at hospitals nationwide as technology revolutionizes how patients’ medical information is collected and circulated among providers. (Kowalczyk, 6/6)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Court Order Requires Cleveland To Placard Hundreds Of Lead Hazard Homes This Month
If the city complies with a recent court order, it will have to ensure that as many as 400 Cleveland homes with lead hazards are placarded with warning signs by June 23, according to state records obtained by The Plain Dealer. The exact number of homes requiring an order to vacate is unclear, but state records show that as of May 23, the date of the court's order, city and state lead investigators had issued orders to remediate lead hazards to the owners of at least 503 Cleveland homes. (Dissell and Zeltner, 6/6)
Kansas City Star: Kansas Measles Outbreak That Started In Daycare Is Over
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday that the threat caused by an outbreak that began in a Johnson County daycare in March has passed after 22 people in three counties were infected. ...It was the most cases of measles Kansas has had in a year since 1990. (Marso, 6/6)
Concord (N.H.) Monitor: Executive Council Hears Pitch To Overhaul N.H.’s State Retiree Health Care Plan
The New Hampshire Department of Administrative Services (DAS) is proposing a sweeping overhaul of the state’s retiree health care plan, seeking to switch users into a Medicare program that officials say could help the state save $11.8 million through 2020. The proposal, presented to the Executive Council on Wednesday, would move the state’s 9,600 Medicare-eligible public retirees off their present plan – a state-funded program called “Medicomp” – and onto a federal initiative known as Medicare Advantage. (DeWitt, 6/7)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Deaf Slidell Resident Sues Local Nursing Home Over Inadequate Interpreter Service
A deaf Slidell resident has filed a lawsuit in federal court against a Hammond-based nursing home who she said did not provide her adequate access to an American Sign Language interpreter during her stay. Under the Affordable Care Act, nursing homes, hospitals, health plans, clinics, physicians and other providers have to offer "qualified interpreters" to limited English proficient patients. Although interpreters are not required to be certified, they have to have some training to be considered qualified and need to be fluent in either language. (Clark, 6/6)
Health News Florida: $53 Million Deal Points To Lucrative Marijuana Market
A California-based company has bought a Florida medical marijuana operation for $53 million in the latest transaction in what investors hope will be among the nation’s most-lucrative medical pot markets. Under the agreement, the company MedMen will acquire Treadwell Nursery’s five-acre cultivation facility, located in Eustis, and the right to operate 25 dispensaries throughout the state, the maximum currently allowed under Florida law. (Hokrein, 6/6)
