Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Concerns Rise About Health, Mental Care At Conn. Prisons; Ill. Day Care Workers Charged With Giving Kids Melatonin Before Naps
The Connecticut Mirror: Dwindling Oversight Heightens Concern Over Medical, Mental Health Care For Inmates
Early one recent morning, an inmate at the state’s lone women’s prison gave birth in her prison cell. That incident – as well as large budget cuts, a lack of outside oversight and a history of complaints – have fueled concerns among some legislators and civil rights groups about the quality of medical and mental health care being provided to inmates. (Rabe Thomas, 3/5)
The Associated Press: 3 Day Care Workers Charged With Giving Children Melatonin
Police in suburban Chicago say three day care workers are charged with giving children gummy bears containing the sleep aid melatonin. Des Plaines police said Monday that officers were called to Kiddie Junction on Friday. Police said the children were given the melatonin "in an effort to calm them down before nap time." Authorities say parents hadn't given permission for their children to receive the melatonin. Police contacted parents and no children were sickened. (3/5)
Chicago Sun Times: Des Plaines Day Care Teachers Charged With Drugging Kids With Sleep Aid
Three teachers at a day care center in northwest suburban Des Plaines have been charged with drugging children with melatonin, a sleep aid. Officers were called at 12:48 p.m. Friday to Kiddie Junction, 1619 E. Oakton St. in Des Plaines, according to a statement from Des Plaines police. When they arrived, investigators learned that some of the teachers had been giving children gummy bears containing melatonin “in an effort to calm them down before nap time.” (Wilusz, 3/5)
KCUR: Some Healthcare Providers May Lose Under Kansas City's Proposed Budget
The proposed budget for Kansas City, Missouri, keeps overall funding for safety net health care providers steady at $31.9 million, but the majority of those programs would see budget cuts. Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center is facing the biggest cut. The city has proposed cutting their funding by just over half a million dollars for the 2018-19 fiscal year. The proposed reallocation of money from the city’s health levy would also reduce funding for Kansas City Health Clinic, Northland Health Care and Swope Parkway Health, which faces the second biggest cut of nearly $30,000. (Tudhope, 3/5)
The Associated Press: Judge Delves Into Science Behind Roundup Cancer Claim
A federal judge on Monday waded into the arcane science behind claims that the widely used weed killer Roundup can cause cancer. The expected weeklong testimony is intended to help him determine whether a jury should hear from doctors who link the product to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria heard from an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles about how she evaluated scientific studies of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, to arrive at her conclusion that it can cause cancer. (Thanawala, 3/5)
Wyoming Public Media: State Health Officials Announce New Vaccine Rules
The Wyoming Department of Health has added two vaccines to the list of those required for children to attend school or daycare in the state. (Elder, 3/5)
Minnesota Public Radio: What Help Is Available For Minnesota Kids Struggling With Mental Health?
A proposed first-of-its-kind mental health treatment facility for children and teenagers is on hold in Forest Lake after the city council delayed action on the plan last week. (3/5)
Modern Healthcare: HCR ManorCare Files For Bankruptcy, Proposes Ownership Transfer
Struggling nursing home provider HCR ManorCare's parent company filed for bankruptcy Sunday, and plans to shift ownership and leadership to its landlord, the real estate investment trust Quality Care Properties. Under the arrangement, which must be approved by a bankruptcy court in Delaware, Bethesda, Md.-based QCP will assume ownership of HCR ManorCare's more than 500 skilled-nursing and rehabilitation centers, assisted-living facilities, and hospice and home health agencies. The announcement comes at a tumultuous time for the skilled-nursing industry, which is challenged by low government reimbursement, declining occupancy and high labor expenses. (Bannow, 3/5)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Merger Between Elliot Hospital & Southern N.H. Health Can Move Ahead, State Says
The state Attorney General's office will allow a proposed affiliation between two New Hampshire hospital systems to move forward. (3/5)
Pioneer Press: Nurse Practitioner At St. Paul Allina Clinic Accused Of Reusing Syringes On 161 Patients
Liz Lightfoot was in a work meeting when she got a phone call from Allina Health. She wasn’t expecting the call and wondered if she’d missed a bill payment or — worse — was receiving bad news from a dermatology appointment last year. Instead, Allina informed Lightfoot that a nurse practitioner at a dermatology clinic at Bandana Square in St. Paul had reused a syringe — but not the needle — during an injection on Lightfoot during a recent appointment. The health care system told Lightfoot that she should be tested for HIV and hepatitis. (Chavey, 3/5)
The Orlando Sentinel: What Was Inside The Abandoned Sanford Burnham-Florida Hospital Contract?
Sanford Burnham was planning to transfer $25 million in cash to Florida Hospital when the two were on track to close a transition deal last year, according to draft documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. (Miller, 3/5)
Georgia Health News: Flu Lingers But Is Dropping Significantly
The latest Georgia data continue to show the flu epidemic trending downward in the state. (Miller, 3/5)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Ochsner, Chamberlain University Create Nursing Program At Ochsner Medical Center On Jefferson Highway
Ochsner Health System has partnered with Chamberlain University to create a new nursing program on the West Campus of Ochsner Medical Center on Jefferson Highway. Chamberlain University is a global education provider that offers a three-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing as well as a Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program. (Clark, 3/5)
California Healthline: User-Friendly Or Error-Ridden? Debate Swirls Around Website Comparing Nursing Homes
Earlier this year, the state Department of Public Health launched a new website, Cal Health Find, intended to help people compare the quality of nursing homes and other health care facilities. Now, California nursing home advocates are calling on the state to take it down, saying the new site is incomplete, inaccurate and “a huge step in the wrong direction.” (Wiener, 3/5)
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Marquette President Mike Lovell Championing New Ideas To Address Core Milwaukee Problem: Trauma
Marquette University President Mike Lovell wants to inject new intellectual muscle into Milwaukee’s efforts to break the cycle of poverty, crime and joblessness with programs that focus directly on the city's crippling epidemic of trauma. (Schmid, 3/5)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Miss. Doctor Convicted In $400 Million Pharmacy Scheme: Report
A Mississippi doctor was found guilty of 16 fraud counts in connection with a $400 million scheme to defraud health care providers by prescribing medically unnecessary compounds, the Hattiesburg American reported. Dr. Albert Diaz, 78, an obstetrician and gynecologist whose practice is in Biloxi, admitted on the witness stand Thursday (March 1) in Hattiesburg he signed several prescriptions for compounded pain and scar creams without ever seeing the patients, the newspaper reported. Compounded drugs are the mixture of two or more drugs by a pharmacist to meet a patient's specific needs. (Chatelain, 3/5)
