State Highlights: California Jury Orders J&J To Pay Woman $29M For Cancer Linked To Talc-Based Powders; Health Officials Cite ‘Deplorable’ Conditions At Aging Louisiana Mental Health Center

The Associated Press: California Jury Awards $29M In Baby Powder Cancer Case
A California jury has awarded $29 million to a woman who claimed her terminal cancer was caused by Johnson & Johnson baby powder. Jurors in Oakland found the company liable Wednesday in a suit that claims asbestos in the powder gave Teresa Leavitt mesothelioma. Some 13,000 similar lawsuits around the country allege New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson hid the powder's health risks from the public for decades. (3/14)

Bloomberg: J&J Found Liable For California Woman’s Talc-Linked Cancer
The panel, which included a lawyer and a state-court judge, also found the world’s largest maker of health-care products didn’t warn Leavitt its baby powder was tainted with the carcinogen. ...Leavitt’s doctors say her mesothelioma is advanced and she’s not expected to live beyond 2020, according to testimony in the case. The mother of two testified that baby powder was used on her when she was a child, and she continued that practice into adulthood, sometimes as a “dry shower’’ and as foundation for her makeup. (Feeley, Burnson and Fisk, 3/13)

NOLA: Louisiana's 170-Year-Old Mental Hospital Is 'Quickly Deteriorating' With More Than 600 Patients Inside 
Louisiana’s first state-run psychiatric hospital, which opened more than 170 years ago, is “deplorable, antiquated and quickly deteriorating,” even as more than 600 people are still held there. That’s the assessment by the Louisiana Department of Health in a request for $348 million over five years to build a 750-bed replacement for the hospital in East Feliciana Parish. Tucked away in the town of Jackson, the Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System is one of only two state-run mental health hospitals left in Louisiana after years of closures and budget cuts. (Sayre, 3/13)

The Associated Press: Agreement Reached To Increase Alcohol Limits On Beer In Utah
Alcohol limits for beer at Utah grocery stores inched closer to the rest of the country Wednesday under a legislative compromise in the state where the predominant faith teaches abstinence from alcohol. The agreement would raise alcohol limits to 4 percent starting in November, a level that's still lower than almost all other states but would allow beers like Bud Light and Corona to be sold, Republican Sen. Jerry Stevenson said. (3/13)

KCUR: Third Hospital Once Run By North Kansas City Company Closes Its Doors 
Yet another ailing rural hospital once operated by EmpowerHMS, which used to be based in North Kansas City, has closed. The Horton (Kansas) Community Hospital about 78 miles northwest of Kansas City shut its doors at 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to City Administrator John Calhoon. ...The 25-bed hospital’s closure came just weeks after two other hospitals once operated by EmpowerHMS turned off the lights. Oswego Community Hospital in Oswego, Kansas, about 160 miles south of Kansas City, shut down a month ago. (Margolies and McLean, 3/13)

The Associated Press: Johns Hopkins Wants Armed Police; Baltimore Says Not So Fast
Johns Hopkins University, a thriving private research institution with one of the world's foremost medical schools, wants to create an armed police force similar to those patrolling numerous other U.S. colleges and universities. But in its home city of Baltimore, split by deep divisions and seared by years of discriminatory policing, it's not going to happen easily. A bill that would authorize a force for Johns Hopkins' three city campuses is nearing conclusive votes in Maryland's legislature — just one year after lawmakers chose not to endorse such an idea after being flooded with constituents' objections. (3/13)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: St. Bernard Parish Hospital Makes History With Acid Reflux Procedure
History was made in the St. Bernard Parish Hospital recently when Dr. Thomas Delahoussaye performed the first LINX Procedure, a permanent, drug-free treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease. The treatment is designed to help patients suffering from GERD experience a better quality of life and get relief without needing daily medication. What made the procedure even more significant is that it was the first of its kind to be performed in the metro area. (Lemoine 3/13)

Boston Globe: Deaths And Injuries Prompt Sweeping AG Nursing Home Investigations And Safety Reforms
Attorney General Maura Healey announced on Wednesday settlements with seven nursing homes to resolve allegations of systemic failures that led to five residents’ deaths and several injuries. The settlements impose fines on the nursing homes ranging from $30,000 to $200,000. (Lazar, 3/13)

WBUR: Patient Deaths Cited In Mass. Settlement With 7 Nursing Homes
In Wednesday's settlements, the nursing homes also agreed to increase monitoring over the course of three years. They now face additional fines if they don't comply with recommended improvements. One of the nursing homes has closed. (Walters, 3/13)

Miami Herald: Surgeon Fired For Sharing Graphic Photos Of Patients
A University of Miami Health System doctor has been fired after sharing on his personal Instagram account graphic photos of patients, including pictures of genitalia of some patients who were having gender reassignment surgery, according to a petition launched by transgender advocates asking the American College of Surgeons to intervene. Dr. Christopher John Salgado, section chief of UHealth’s LGBTQ Center for Wellness, Gender and Sexual Health, posted the photos as recently as Valentine’s Day, when he shared a photo of the removed penis of a transgender patient and shaped it into a heart, with the comment, “There are many ways to show your LOVE.” (Chang, 3/13)

Reuters: As Wildfires Devour Communities, Toxic Threats Emerge
As an uncontrollable wildfire turned the California town of Paradise to ash, air pollution researcher Keith Bein knew he had to act fast: Little is known about toxic chemicals released when a whole town burns and the wind would soon blow away evidence. He drove the roughly 100 miles to Paradise, located in the Sierra Nevada foothills, from his laboratory at the University of California, Davis, only to be refused entrance under rules that allow first responders and journalists - but not public health researchers - to cross police lines. (3/13)

Boston Globe: Medical Marijuana Dispensary Reopens After Shutdown Over Product Labeling, Security
A medical marijuana dispensary in Acton announced it would reopen Wednesday, five weeks after being closed for security and labeling violations. Mass Wellspring said it had “worked diligently” to update its policies to comply with the Cannabis Control Commission’s new regulations. (Martin, 3/13)

Miami Herald: Miami Beach May Ban Sunscreen Chemicals That Harm Coral Reefs
On Wednesday, the City Commission sent a proposal that would prohibit the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate to the city’s sustainability committee for further study. The chemicals — which are commonly found in skincare products and protect against the harmful effects of sun exposure — have been linked to coral bleaching and other damage to coral reefs. (Gurney, 3/13)