Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Cold Temperatures In Maryland Claim First Fatality Of Season; Minnesota Police Take New Look At How To Respond To Suicide Calls
The Washington Post: Season’s First Cold-Related Death Reported In Baltimore
Maryland health officials said Wednesday that a man in Baltimore died of “cold-related illness,” the first such recorded death of this winter season. State health officials released few details about the circumstances of the death, only describing the man as being in the “45-64 age range,” according to a statement released Wednesday. No information was provided about when or where in the city he died. (Williams, 12/11)
The Baltimore Sun: Cold Temperatures Claim First Fatality Of Season, Maryland Health Officials Say
“As temperatures continue to drop, Marylanders are urged to take every precaution to help prevent cold-related illnesses,” Deputy Secretary for Public Health Fran Phillips said in the release. “Take care to limit your exposure to the cold. Wear layers if you go outside and contact your local health department if you need access to a warming center in your area.” (Reed, 12/11)
MPR: Minnesota Cops Rethink How To Respond To Suicide Calls
Law enforcement leaders from across the state gathered in Bloomington Wednesday to talk about how best to respond to people threatening to kill themselves. Some police departments around the country have shifted how they respond to suicide calls, said Andy Skoogman, executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association. (Collins, 12/11)
The New York Times: ‘They Saw Him Hanging And Did Nothing’: A Teen’s Agony In Rikers
Nicholas Feliciano was hauled into a holding pen at Rikers Island on the night before Thanksgiving, after a brawl broke out among detainees at the jail. His lip had been gashed and his friend, Alfonso Martinez, had been stabbed. As Mr. Martinez was being taken to an infirmary, he recalled his friend saying, “If they separate us, I’m going to kill myself.” It was no idle threat. Mr. Feliciano, 18, had tried to take his own life several times before, most recently at a juvenile detention center, his grandmother, Madeline Feliciano, said. (Ransom and Sandoval, 12/12)
The Advocate: At Acadia Jail: No Mental Health Care, Botched Watch Logs And Two Suicides In Six Weeks
The jail has no mental health program, which is required under voluntary accreditation standards issued by the American Correctional Association and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. The jail does not seek accreditation. Nor is there any record of either suicide resulting in a review of policies and procedures aimed at preventing another one. (Myers, 12/11)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Audit Finds Problems With Aid Program For Rural Georgia Hospitals
A politically popular program that has diverted millions of state tax dollars to struggling rural hospitals has not always benefited the most needy facilities, a state audit of the program found. And a vendor that administers the $60 million-a-year program has reaped far more money than it cost to do the work and won’t let the state see where the money has gone, the report said. (Hart, 12/11)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Is The Only State Without Standards On Teaching Health. Here's Why.
Forty-nine states set standards on how to educate students on everything from childhood diabetes prevention and exercise to addressing bullies and avoiding tobacco. Ohio does not. It stands alone, largely because of state lawmakers' trepidation about comprehensive sex education. (Balmert, 12/11)
The Associated Press: Arkansas Judge Denies Students' Appeal To Vaccination Policy
A judge has denied two University of Arkansas students' request to block a public health decree that has barred them from attending classes during a mumps outbreak because they don't have the proper vaccinations. The Arkansas Department of Health issued the public health directive in a Nov. 22 letter that stated students without at least two doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine either be vaccinated immediately or be barred from classrooms and school activities for at least 26 days. (12/11)
ProPublica/Chicago Tribune: 'None Of The Children At The School Are Safe'
Since mid-May, DCFS has opened a total of 21 abuse investigations involving students at Gages Lake. Citing evidence from surveillance video, agency reports describe workers grabbing children by the wrists, shoving them into walls and throwing them to the ground in a cluster of four seclusion spaces — some with lockable doors, others open — that the school calls “the office.” Two aides at the center of the investigations resigned from the school. One of them is facing criminal charges; Lake County prosecutors allege he used excessive force on students. (Cohen and Richards, 12/12)
The Associated Press: Woman Accidentally Calls DA Investigator, Gets Needed Walker
An 84-year-old New Mexico woman's misdial meant for a medical supply store went to an investigator in a district attorney's office — and led to a new walker. KOB-TV reports Bernice Weems mistakenly called Kyle Hartsock with the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque, New Mexico, seeking a new walker. She left a voicemail. It turns out Hartsock's number is just one digit off from the medical supply store she was trying to call. (12/12)
The Associated Press: Company To Pay $245M Toward Cleanup Of Kalamazoo River PCBs
One of the companies responsible for polluting an 80-mile stretch of river and floodplains in southwestern Michigan with toxic chemicals will pay at least $245.2 million to advance a cleanup effort that began more than 20 years ago, federal officials said Wednesday. NCR Corp. will fund the dredging of contaminated sediments and removal of an aging dam in the Kalamazoo River under an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of Michigan, officials told The Associated Press ahead of an official announcement. (12/11)
Iowa Public Radio: Reynolds: University Of Iowa Doctors Will Review Treatment At Glenwood Center
Physicians from the University of Iowa will go to the Glenwood Resource Center to review residents’ health and their treatment charts, according to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating allegations of mistreatment at the center operated by the Department of Human Services, which cares for Iowans with intellectual disabilities. (Gerlock, 12/11)
KCUR: 18 Years After Mysterious Deaths In A Chillicothe Hospital, Court Dashes Families' Hope For Answers
After nearly 18 years, the families of five patients who died under mysterious circumstances at a Chillicothe, Missouri, hospital have reached the end of the road. In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled their lawsuits accusing the hospital of fraudulently concealing the true cause of their loved ones’ deaths were filed too late. (Margolies, 12/11)
Health News Florida: DeSantis Administration Fights Tampa Company Over Pot Ruling
The Florida Department of Health is challenging a July appellate decision that found a state law requiring medical marijuana operators to grow, process and sell cannabis and derivative products --- a system known as “vertical integration” --- runs afoul of a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana. The department went to the Supreme Court in a lawsuit filed by Florigrown, a company owned in part by strip-club operator Joe Redner. (Kam, 12/11)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: GOP Medical Marijuana Proposal Snuffed Out By Senate Leader Fitzgerald
Two Republican lawmakers tried Wednesday to breathe new life into a proposal to legalize marijuana for medicinal use, but it was blocked within an hour by the leader of the state Senate. The proposal from Rep. Mary Felzkowski of Irma and Sen. Kathy Bernier of Chippewa Falls would create a new state program to license dispensaries of marijuana for anyone with a serious medical condition, like cancer, AIDS or post-traumatic stress disorder. (Beck, 12/11)
Health News Florida: ‘Green Rush’ Investors Turn Skittish On Medical Marijuana Licenses
In what was jokingly called a “green rush,” investors not long ago stampeded into Florida to gain entry to what was expected to be one of the nation’s most lucrative marijuana markets. The competition swelled after Florida voters three years ago broadly legalized medical marijuana. But even as the possibility of legal recreational pot looms on the horizon, the bidding war for medical-marijuana licenses in the Sunshine State has fizzled. (Kam, 12/11)
