Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Colo.'s Licensing For Health Care Workers Doesn't Require Background Checks; In Philadelphia Area, For-Profits Are Moving Into Nursing Home Market
The Denver Post: Colorado 1 Of 6 States That Don’t Require Criminal Background Checks For Nurses
Nurses with convictions for sexual offenses, drug thefts and crimes of violence have escaped detection under Colorado’s porous system for licensing health care workers, which has far fewer protections than most states. (Osher, 6/26)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: For-Profits Are Snapping Up Nursing Homes
Nonprofits sell facilities for many reasons: They need the money, change their mission, or succumb to financial pressures on the industry largely caused by heavy reliance on the federal government's low-paying Medicaid program. Whatever the reason, the shift of 5,000 beds comes at a critical time. (Brubaker, 6/24)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Welcome To Death Café, A Place To Discuss End-Of-Life Decisions
Death Café was founded in London in 2011 by Jon Underwood, who was concerned that discussions about death had been co-opted by doctors, funeral directors and religious leaders. He wanted everyone to feel comfortable talking about one of life’s most important events. The groups have expanded worldwide, including outposts in St. Louis County, St. Charles and Belleville. (Bernhard, 6/27)
ProPublica: Florida Cracks Down On Troubled For-Profit Facility For The Disabled
After years of tepid action, Florida officials are moving to intensify monitoring and remove residents from a sprawling complex for the disabled that has a long history of abuse and neglect. The state is taking the unusual step of stationing an investigator at the Carlton Palms Educational Center and forming a special team to closely watch over staff and residents, documents obtained by ProPublica show. Residents will eventually be relocated to new homes. (Vogell, 6/24)
San Francisco Chronicle: Meningococcal Outbreak Prompts SF Warning On Pride Weekend
A meningococcal outbreak in Southern California that has mostly infected gay men prompted San Francisco health officials Friday to issue a warning on the eve of Pride weekend and a plea for people to get inoculated against the disease. The warning came after state health officials announced that nine people in the Los Angeles and Orange County area have tested positive for the bacterial disease, which is spread through nose and throat secretions. One of them died from the infection. “Here in San Francisco it is Pride week, with lots of visitors from around the state, the country and the world coming to town to celebrate,” Dr. Naveena Bobba, deputy health officer for San Francisco, said in a statement. (Veklerov, 6/24)
The Austin Statesman: UT To Open Medical School In Austin After 135 Years
The University of Texas will open an Austin medical school in July nearly 135 years after the university was founded in the city without one, the Austin American-Statesman reported Saturday. When the university system was established in 1881, Texas voters decided the main university would be in Austin and the medical school in Galveston, then the largest Texas city, where it remains. The medical school's backers say that it will improve health care for Austin's low-income residents and spur economic development. (6/25)
Houston Chronicle: Houston Area Seen As A Major Hub For Medicare Fraud
The "patients" were rounded up at McDonald's near the downtown bus station, lured by the promise of $50 or $100 and a free ride to a Houston clinic if they reported neck, back or hip pain, or other vague complaints. The clinic physician noted the symptoms and ordered costly diagnostic tests - renal ultrasounds, electrocardiograms, anal sphincter exams - at Medicare's expense. (Banks, 6/24)
The Tennessean: Nashville Health-Care Entrepreneurs, Village Capital Team Up
Village Capital, an investment nonprofit focused on global issues, will be working with Nashville health-care entrepreneurs to provide digital solutions targeting low-income patients as part of a partnership with the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. Village Capital, along with Michigan-based The Kresge Foundation, chose Nashville, Philadelphia and San Francisco for its initiative.(McGee, 6/24)
The Dallas Morning News: Second Texas Man Could Lose Leg To Flesh-Eating Bacteria
A Buda man who traveled to Port Aransas to enjoy the Father's Day weekend with his family is now fighting an infection from a flesh-eating bacteria...Within a few days, [his rash] got worse and a doctor diagnosed him with Vibrio vulnificus -- a bacteria caused by eating under-cooked shellfish or getting contaminated water into a cut or open wound. (Cardona, 6/27)
The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio School Districts Weigh Later Starts To School Day
The drumbeat for later starting times for school seems to be getting louder. This month, the American Medical Association joined the American Academy of Pediatrics in calling on middle schools and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Chronic sleep deprivation among teenagers, the groups say, can impair immune systems and lead to unhealthy body weight, poor memory and mood disorders. (Gilchrist, 6/27)
