Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Calif.'s Hep A Case Count Still Rising, But No New Deaths Reported; Ga. Senate Panel Pushes To Give More Power To Nurses
Los Angeles Times: San Diego's Hepatitis A Update: Case Count Climbs, But Death Total Holds At 20
Though they continue to see fewer cases and no new deaths have been reported since Oct. 31, San Diego County supervisors on Monday chose to continue the local health emergency status for the region’s ongoing hepatitis A outbreak. Supervisor Ron Roberts noted that, while he considered the latest hepatitis A report from the county Health and Human Services Agency good news, the emergency won't be truly over until new-case rates shrink further. (Sisson, 11/27)
Georgia Health News: Panel Backs Broader Powers For Advanced Nurses In Rural Areas
A Senate study committee Monday recommended the state allow advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) broader medical authority if they work in rural, underserved counties. Under current state law, nurse practitioners and other advanced nurses in Georgia can prescribe medications only under a collaborative agreement with a physician. (Miller, 11/27)
Denver Post: UCHealth Rolls Out Campaign To Motivate Men To Take Care Of Themselves
November is men’s health awareness month, and UCHealth is spreading the word. The care system launched a campaign called “MANtenance” to address the importance of physical health and stress management and to talk about topics like masculinity — subjects many believe need greater emphasis in modern life. While more men are paying attention to and talking about health issues like prostate and testicular cancer, MANtenance encourages men to focus on and maintain their everyday health, as well. UCHealth recruited C.J. Anderson of the Denver Broncos, Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche and University of Colorado men’s basketball head coach Tad Boyle to serve as spokesmen for the campaign. (Rios, 11/27)
Miami Herald: UM Hospital Can’t Stop Bleeding Money As Costs Soar And Admissions Drop
A recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing for UM shows that the university lost $94.5 million operating the hospital during the year that ended May 31. That’s more than double the $45 million UM lost on the hospital during the prior year. (Chang, 11/27)
Nashville Tennessean: Mayor Barry Announces Stakeholder Team For Contentious Nashville General Hospital Overhaul
Two weeks after Mayor Megan Barry abruptly announced plans to end inpatient care at Nashville General Hospital, a new 11-member stakeholder team has formed to guide the administration's final proposal. Barry, in a letter last week to the Metro Council, said she will lean on a committee organized by Meharry Medical College President James E. K. Hildreth to help form a final proposal for the city's safety-net hospital that serves Nashville's indigent population. (Garrison, 11/27)
Dallas Morning News: In-Home Nurses Provide Personal Care For New Dallas-Area Mothers And Their Children
The Nurse-Family Partnership provides first-time, low-income mothers in Dallas-Fort Worth with a personal nurse from the time they're pregnant until their child's second birthday. The free initiative partners with the WiNGS Dallas center, the Parkland Health & Hospital System and Tarrant County Public Health services to assign mothers a registered nurse to check on them and their baby at their home. (Limón, 11/27)
Health News Florida: USF Partners With HCA To Train Doctors In West Florida
The University of South Florida has formed a partnership with a network of hospitals to train more doctors in the Tampa Bay area. The consortium with HCA West Florida could help with the state's looming physician shortage and help the hospital chain keep more qualified doctors in the Tampa Bay area. (Ochoa, 11/27)
Minnesota Public Radio: After The Bullet: HCMC Helps Young Gun Victims Find Their Footing
On a recent weekday morning, [D'Andre] Alexander glides his wheel chair into an office at HCMC to check in with counselor Farji Shaheer, one of two who staff the hospital's Next Step program. Since 2016, 170 HCMC patients have participated in the program. The majority of whom are, like Alexander, between 14 and 26 years of age, black and have been injured by gun fire. (Williams, 11/27)
The Associated Press: Lawsuit: Iowa School For Juvenile Offenders Misusing Drugs
Officials at an Iowa school for juvenile offenders are failing to provide adequate mental health care to youth and are instead administering powerful drugs without proper oversight or consent, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by two advocacy groups. Disability Rights Iowa and Children’s Rights, a national watchdog group, accuse administrators at the state-run Boys State Training School of giving juveniles “dangerous” psychotropic medications. The groups allege the drugs are used “as a behavioral management tool” they likened to a chemical straitjacket. (Rodriguez, 11/27)
The Washington Post: Nurse Removed From Hospital After Saying White Boys ‘Should Be Sacrificed To The Wolves’
An Indiana hospital system says a nurse is no longer an employee after she was tied to a message on Twitter claiming white women are raising sons “with the HIGHEST propensity to be a terrorist, rapist, racist, killer, and domestic violence all star.” Officials at Indiana University Health said over the weekend they were investigating “several troubling posts on social media” that appeared to be made by a recently hired employee identified in news reports as Taiyesha Baker. IU Health spokesman Jason Fechner confirmed Monday that the nurse no longer works at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis but he would not say whether she was fired, citing company policies. (Bever, 11/27)
