State Highlights: Death Of Ill New Jersey Woman After Power Was Shut Off Raises Alarms; Oregon Serves As Model For Adult Foster Care System

The New York Times: ‘Totally Preventable’: How A Sick Woman Lost Electricity, And Her Life
Linda Daniels had fallen behind on her electricity bills, her meter run up by medical equipment going around the clock and increasingly hot weather. But on July 3, her family said, they pulled together $500 to pay down her debts, believing it would maintain her service. Two days later, her electricity was shut off. It was a sweltering day and temperatures in Newark soared into the 90s. Ms. Daniels’s house was stifling, the air so stuffy that her daughter said it was difficult to breathe. Even more serious: Ms. Daniels relied on an oxygen machine, and it required electricity. (Rojas, 7/13)

PBS NewsHour: In Oregon, Adult Foster Care Offers Support For The Elderly
In a bid to meet the demand for long-term care in the U.S., which is expected to grow in the coming years, some states are turning to adult foster care to offer aging adults physical assistance and emotional support. NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent Joanne Elgart Jennings reports from Oregon, where adult foster care has existed for more than 40 years, as part of an ongoing series of reports called “Chasing the Dream,” which reports on poverty and opportunity in America. (Elgart Jennings, 7/15)

Stat: Menendez Sets Up Phony Health News Website To Attack Bob Hugin
It has headlines and bylines, an original story 834 words long, and links to 10 articles from other outlets concerning health policy and drug pricing in New Jersey. But readers expecting journalism from the upstart HealthNewsNJ.com may be in for a surprise: It’s fake news. In reality, it’s a campaign site run by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who is facing a re-election challenge from Bob Hugin, the former CEO of the pharmaceutical company Celgene. (Facher, 7/13)

The New York Times: Cuomo Moves Closer To Marijuana Legalization In New York
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo took a step closer to voicing full-throated support for legal marijuana on Friday, embracing elements of a state Health Department report that favored legalization. Mr. Cuomo, addressing reporters after an unrelated speech in Brooklyn, said New York would no longer have the option of trying to simply prevent the flow of the drug into the state now that its neighbors in Massachusetts and New Jersey are moving forward with plans to legalize the drug. (Goodman, 7/13)

NH Times Union: 'Buried In Treasures' Takes On Hoarding
The eldest child of parents who lived through the Great Depression, Rhonda absorbed values of thrift — along with habits that inevitably led to her stockpiling a pirate’s bounty of clutter, including buttons, zippers, old clothes, scraps of fabric, catalogs, greeting cards, college papers and anything that could be repaired or re-used. “‘Waste not, want not. Take care of what you have, and you’ll never do without. Don’t throw things away because you never know when you’ll need them,’” Rhonda says. “It’s what I learned growing up.” (Baker, 7/15)

NH Times Union: Assistance For Hoarders Is Available But It Can Be Costly
Tim Dow, cleanup operations manager for ServPro in Manchester, is frequently called by city health and safety agencies and insurance companies to clean up catastrophic clutter in the city and surrounding towns. He says hoarding seems to be especially common in seniors who live alone, and whose families seldom check on them. (Baker, 7/15)

Kansas City Star: Hospitals Fear Parson Budget Cut Could Endanger Patients
Gov. Mike Parson had vetoed money to pay the three staff members of the Time Critical Diagnosis program, or TCD, a statewide system that seeks to ensure that critically ill patients suffering from trauma, stroke and certain types of heart attack get to hospitals that have the capacity to treat them most effectively. The veto amounted to less than $154,000 out of the state’s $28 billion budget. (Hancock, 7/13)

The Associated Press: Nurses At Vermont Hospital Back At Work After 2-Day Strike
Nurses at Vermont’s largest hospital are back on the job after a two-day strike.The strike of 1,800 nurses from the University of Vermont Medical Center ended at 7 a.m. Saturday after 48 hours. Hospital administrators brought in outside nurses during the strike and say most hospital operations were unaffected by it. The union is seeking about a 22 percent pay increase over three years. The Medical Center offered about a 14 percent pay increase over three years. (7/14)

North Carolina Health News: Future Uncertain For Thousands Of NC Children In Group Homes
A sweeping overhaul of the nation’s foster care system has North Carolina caregivers, social workers and advocates scrambling to figure out how the new laws will affect thousands of children currently living in group homes. The Family First Prevention Services Act, which Congress and the president enacted in February as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act, includes extensive reforms to the way the federal government funds state-level foster care programs. (Gebelein, 7/13)

Columbus Dispatch: 'Smart' Hospitals In High-Tech Trend To Improve Treatment, Lower Costs
Emerging technologies are being used to improve the quality and efficiency of everything these days, including patient care. And central Ohio health organizations OhioHealth and Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center are among those applying the latest technology to help make patients healthier and health care professionals more efficient and skillful. (Feran, 7/15)

Los Angeles Times: Workers Claim Injuries All Over Their Bodies For Big Payouts — But Continue Their Active Lives
After nearly two decades on the force, former LAPD Officer Jonathan Hall ended his career the way many veteran officers do these days, claiming job-related injuries across most of his body. With the help of a boutique Van Nuys law firm that specializes in workers’ compensation cases for cops and firefighters, Hall filed claims saying he’d injured his knees, hips, heart (high blood pressure), back, right shoulder — even his right middle finger. (Dolan, Menezes and Garcia-Roberts, 7/15)

The Baltimore Sun: A Visionary Volunteer Steps Away From Leading Harford's Hospitals
As the relatively young chief of surgery at the old Fallston General Hospital more than a quarter of a century ago, Dr. Roger Schneider wasn’t bashful about complaining about the poor condition of the building, or the need for more better trained physicians. He recalled a meeting with Frederick Mitchell, who was then chairman of Upper Chesapeake Medical Systems, owner of Fallston General and Harford Memorial hospitals, “who told me it was time to put up or shut up,” and offered him a seat on the Harford County nonprofit’s board of directors. (Vought, 7/13)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Cleveland Not Yet Enforcing Lead Cleanup, Legal Action Gets Results Elsewhere
Now that hundreds of Cleveland property owners and tenants have received orders to vacate homes deemed dangerous due to unaddressed lead hazards, many are asking: What happens next? It's a question city officials are still working through, too. (Zeltner, 7/15)

The Associated Press: CVS Apologizes After Managers Call Cops On Black Customer
CVS Health is apologizing after a black customer says white store managers in Chicago accused her of trying to use a phony coupon. Camilla Hudson posted cellphone video of one of the managers appearing nervous. Morry Matson's left hand shakes as he calls police around 11:30 p.m. Friday. The 53-year-old Hudson says another manager directly challenged her when she tried to use a manufacturer's coupon for a free product. She tells The Associated Press that he was "hostile." (7/15)

The Associated Press: Pennsylvania Reveals Cyber Intrusion In Birth, Death Records
Pennsylvania officials disclosed on Friday that they recently had to shut down the state's online system for requesting birth and death records for about a week after someone with apparent inside knowledge made unauthorized changes. State officials told The Associated Press the changes were "cosmetic modifications" but the intrusion triggered an extensive cyber investigation. (7/13)

Georgia Health News: New Law On ‘Virtual Credit Cards’ Preserves Pay Options For Providers
The term “virtual credit cards’’ sounds like some futuristic version of the typical plastic. But to many doctors, dentists, hospitals and other medical providers, it’s very much a part of their present day. And not always desirable. (Miller, 7/13)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Youth Smoking Trends In Philadelphia Are Changing. Now The City's Lost A Major Tool To Stop That.
Philadelphia teens are increasingly ditching cigarettes in favor of flavored cigarillos, cigars about the size of a cigarette. Data from the city’s health department shows cigarette use decreased nearly 3 percent from 2011 to 2015. Yet cigar use (including cigarillos) doubled overall, and nearly tripled among black teens, a city survey showed. (Pattani, 7/16)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Town Of Waukesha-Based Connoils Moving To Big Bend
A company that manufactures and distributes nutritional ingredients for use in a wide range of products is moving from the town of Waukesha to a much larger, yet-to-be-built facility in Big Bend, where it also plans to grow hemp on-site. Connoils, currently housed in a 7,300-square-foot facility on Pine Hollow Court in the town of Waukesha, plans to build a 24,000-square-foot production, warehouse and office building on 9.2 acres at the south end of Guthrie School Road, north of Interstate 43 in the village of Big Bend. (Dohr, 7/13)

Fresno Bee: Redwood Springs Nursing Home In Visalia Fined For Patient Death
The California Department of Public Health has fined Redwood Springs Healthcare Center, a skilled nursing home in Visalia, $100,000 for a patient death. The 176-bed nursing home on East Houston Avenue received the most severe penalty possible under state law from the California Department of Public Health. (Anderson, 7/12)

Nashville Tennessean: Distracted Driving: Fletcher Cleaves Warns Tennessee Teens Of Dangers
Fletcher Cleaves and his roommate decided to stop at Buffalo Wild Wings and pick up some chicken before watching the Titans game that frightening September night nearly a decade ago. Both freshman football players at Lambuth University, they had just finished practice, running plays with the starters for the first time. (Bliss, 7/16)

Georgia Health News: Clean Linens Are Safe Linens, And Hospitals Don’t Take Them For Granted
Rules and regulations on clean linen for health care facilities are set forth by an accrediting agency, the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC). Many health facilities do not process their own linens, but instead use accredited services. (Kanne, 7/15)

WBUR: Not Just An Apple A Day: California Doctors Start Prescribing Medically Tailored Meals
In California, doctors are prescribing food as medicine to treat low-income patients with congestive heart failure. The program delivers medically tailored meals to 1,000 patients in eight counties across the state. (Young, 7/13)

San Jose Mercury News: Cannabis Delivery, Edibles And Ads Could Change Under New, Permanent California Regulations
Cannabis retailers soon may be able to deliver marijuana anywhere in California, no matter what city or county rules say. Also, it’s likely that medical marijuana patients will be allowed to buy edibles infused with cannabis more potent than currently permitted under state law. (Staggs, 7/14)

The Associated Press: Thousands Expected At Free Health Clinic In Virginia
Thousands of people are expected to attend a free health clinic later this week in Southwest Virginia. The Remote Area Medical and Health Wagon will stage the event at the Wise County Fairgrounds from July 20 through July 22. This is 19th year the event will be held at the fairgrounds. Patients will receive provide dental, medical and vision care. (7/16)

The Bakersfield Californian: Number Of Unclaimed Bodies In Kern County On Pace To Far Surpass Last Year's Number
Every year, dozens of bodies go unclaimed at the Kern County Coroner's Office. And this year, that number is on pace to far surpass the amount of unclaimed bodies from the year before.  According to officials at Historic Union Cemetery, the cemetery has received the cremated remains of 96 people from the coroner's office as of June 9, a number that includes both remains that went unclaimed by families and remains for which no surviving family member could be found. (7/12)