State Highlights: California Nurses Ratify Contract That Includes 15 Percent Pay Increases; Unarmed ER Patient Shot In Florida Hospital

Sacramento Bee: UC Nurses Approve Five-Year Contract With 15 Percent Wage Increases
The California Nurses Association reported Monday that registered nurses at the University of California have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a five-year contract that includes pay increases totaling 15 percent over the life of the deal. The new contract becomes effective immediately, union officials said, and besides wages, includes clauses that ensured nurses would not be assigned to areas requiring specialty expertise without proper training, granted greater protections for nurses working on a daily contractual basis and required UC facilities to have a comprehensive plan to manage workplace violence. (Anderson, 10/1)

The Associated Press: Police In Florida Fatally Shoot Man During ER Lockdown
Police officers in Florida on Monday fatally shot an unarmed patient they say told hospital emergency room workers that he had a gun and that "it was going to end right here today. "Orlando Police Chief John Mina said during a news conference that the man was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center for a medical condition. After arriving at the hospital, Mina said the man told staff there he would "shoot anyone who came near him." Police were called and the emergency room was placed on lock down. (10/1)

Iowa Public Radio: Children's Mental Health Board Asks For Public Input
The group tasked with developing recommendations for creating a children’s mental health system in Iowa is hosting a series of meetings starting this week to get public input. The first meeting is Tuesday in LeMars, followed by eight more meetings throughout the state. (Sostaric, 10/1)

Dallas Morning News: Parents Fighting To Save Girl Declared Brain-Dead At Fort Worth Hospital Get 14 More Days
A North Texas family whose daughter was declared brain-dead after cardiac arrest is fighting to keep the 9-year-old on life support. Payton Summons went into cardiac arrest Tuesday and was taken to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth. Emergency room personnel restored her heartbeat, but she had to be put on a ventilator to breathe, the hospital said Sunday in a written statement.   (Cardona, 10/1)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: LSU Health Wants To Train More Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners
LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing has received a $1.3 million grant to increase access to certified sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) for victims in southeast Louisiana who have been sexually assaulted. The grant will be used to create a program aimed at training more nurses equipped to work with victims of sexual assault to collect forensic evidence that can then be used to apprehend and prosecute violent perpetrators, according to a press release. (Clark, 10/1)

Austin American-Statesman: Texas Health Agency Cancels Contract Procurements After Problems Identified
Texas Health and Human Services Commission officials announced Monday that they have canceled three bids for vendors due to problems in the procurement process. Monday’s revelation is the latest in a series of contract woes that have beset the agency, which has led to a series of high-profile departures from its leadership this year. (Chang, 10/1)

San Francisco Chronicle: Hospital Probes Whether Staff Followed Guidelines In Case Of Man Who Allegedly Decapitated Grandmother
Believing he was possessed by a demon, Luke had repeatedly slammed his head against a wall on Sept. 24, causing a gash that had to be stapled closed, prosecutors said. Despite his mental breakdown, Luke was sent home, where hours later, he allegedly killed 82-year-old Chii-Chyu Horng. On Monday, officials at San Francisco General Hospital said they are investigating whether staff followed proper protocol for people experiencing crises when they released Luke, 30, shortly after treating the wound. (Sernoffsky, 10/1)

Health News Florida: Insurers Shun State Health-Care Website
Members of a statewide advisory panel were told this week that the Agency for Health Care Administration is “in the process of working with” insurance giant Florida Blue on getting claims data to use for the long-promised website that is supposed to help consumers compare health-care prices. But the State Consumer Health Information and Advisory Panel wasn't told that other companies aren’t supplying the claims data that the site will rely on. (Sexton, 10/1)

Georgia Health News: Many Georgia Kids Face Barriers To Health Insurance, Medical Care
More than 80 percent of uninsured Georgia children were eligible for coverage in government health insurance programs in 2016, but were not enrolled, a new report says. Several barriers to enrollment and medical services can prevent kids from getting the care they need, said the report, from the advocacy group Voices for Georgia’s Children. (Miller, 10/1)

KCUR: Bed Bugs Are On The Rise In Kansas City 
Bed bugs are back, and they’ve become a problem in Kansas City.The Shawnee branch of the Johnson County Library has been closed since Friday after librarians discovered bed bugs inside the pages of a returned book. Since then, library officials have been working to deep clean the branch of bed bugs, including using bug-sniffing dogs, working with a fumigator, and baking the infested materials. (Calacal, 10/1)

California Healthline: California’s Newly Minted Health Care Laws: Doctor Misconduct, Drug Prices, Kids’ Meals And More
California Gov. Jerry Brown, who faced the final bill-signing deadline of his gubernatorial career on Sunday, approved a variety of health care measures that will directly affect consumers — right down to the drinks in their children’s kiddie meals. Some of these laws broke ground nationally, such as one that will require doctors to notify patients if they’ve been placed on probation for serious misconduct. Others exemplify California’s ongoing resistance to Trump administration policies. (Ibarra, 10/1)

Wyoming Public Radio: Claims Of Sexual Abuse Continue To Haunt LDS Church
This week The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meets in Salt Lake City for its bi-annual conference. Meanwhile a report in the Salt Lake Tribune says a new lawsuit claims the Church turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children in one of its programs. (Neumann, 10/1)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Plans New Neurosurgery Program
Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital Milwaukee plans to invest $2 million in its new neurosurgery program as it moves to provide more complex care. The hospital hired two neurosurgeons in May and began offering neurosurgery this past summer. (Boulton, 10/1)

St. Louis Public Radio: No One Knows Where Nearly 1,200 Sex Offenders Live In Missouri, Audit Finds
Police in Missouri do not know the whereabouts of nearly 1,200 sex offenders who are required by law to register with law enforcement — or nearly 8 percent of the total population who are supposed to be tracked. An audit released Monday by state Auditor Nicole Galloway found that nearly 800 of those individuals have committed the most serious crimes, such as rape or child molestation in the first degree. (Lippmann, 10/1)