Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Flames From California Wildfire Are Banked, But Not The Trauma For Survivors; 'Supported Housing' Deaths In New York Questioned By Judge
The New York Times: The Wildfire May Be Over, But Those It Burned ‘Live That Nightmare Every Day'
Bill Blevins had pulled himself out of homelessness and addiction with a job as an alarm systems repairman, dexterous work with tiny electrical components that he enjoyed. But last week he was forced to confront a new hurdle: His left pinkie finger was amputated. It was his third surgery since his hands were ravaged by the wildfire that devastated the town of Paradise, Calif., last month. And now he’s not sure if he will be able to work again. (Nir, 12/8)
ProPublica: Judge Calls For Examination Of Quality Controls In New York Supported Housing System
At a court hearing Thursday, U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis questioned New York state officials and disability advocates about people with mental illness dying or coming to harm after moving from adult group homes into “supported housing” apartments, problems raised in a ProPublica and Frontline investigation published that day with The New York Times. (Sapien, 12/7)
Reuters: Michigan Medical Officer Ordered To Trial Over Flint Water Deaths
A Michigan judge on Friday ordered the state's chief medical officer to stand trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the contamination of the city of Flint's water supply, a crisis that resulted in 12 deaths. Eden Wells, a physician who serves as the state medical executive, faces the manslaughter charge for her alleged failure to stop an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease while the city was taking its water from the Flint River. The charge carries a possible prison sentence of 15 years. (12/7)
Los Angeles Times: More Than 20 Women Accused A Prominent Pasadena Obstetrician Of Mistreating Them. He Denied Claims And Was Able To Continue Practicing
A Times investigation identified more than 20 women who claim [Dr. Patrick] Sutton mistreated them during his medical care. Their allegations date to 1989, his first year at Huntington, and include unwanted sexual advances, medical incompetence, the maiming of women’s genitals and the preventable death of an infant. Sutton denied each allegation in an interview with The Times. Top Huntington administrators were warned repeatedly about Sutton over the decades, according to interviews with current and former administrators and other hospital employees. One obstetrician at the hospital told The Times she complained to Huntington’s chief medical officer and its compliance department on several occasions about what she saw as his poor clinical judgment and misogynistic remarks. (Ryan and Hamilton, 12/9)
Concord Monitor: State Mental Health Plan Praised At Hearing Amid Concerns About Funding
[Peter] Dowling was one of 200 people who testified last week at a public hearing for the Department of Health and Human Services’ proposed 10-year mental health plan. Just a young man, he stood in front of the crowd with his mother and spoke about his experience with psychosis and depression. He said he’s been hospitalized four times in four years. ...DHHS’s $24 million, 10-year plan calls for enhanced mental health programs in schools, more integration with primary care and behavioral health services, support between transitions in care and an infusion of peer supports. (Willingham, 12/9)
The Associated Press: Jury Deliberations To Resume Latest Meningitis Outbreak Case
Jury deliberations are continuing in the case of six former employees of the Massachusetts facility responsible for the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that killed 76 people and sickened hundreds. Jurors in the latest case stemming from the outbreak linked to the now-closed New England Compounding Center are scheduled to return to federal court on Monday after failing to reach a verdict Friday. (12/9)
The Baltimore Sun: GBMC Forms Center To Hunt For Treatments, Cure For A Rare Genetic Disease
Greater Baltimore Medical Center has established the country’s first center for treatment of Alstrom Syndrome, an extremely rare genetic disease that does devastating harm to every system in the body, the Towson hospital announced Friday. The Maine-based nonprofit support group Alstrom Syndrome International donated an undisclosed amount of funding for the effort, which will mean more people will have access to the specialized care offered by GBMC. It also will mean more research that could translate into treatments for the syndrome and other related ailments such as diabetes and heart disease. (Cohn, 12/7)
The Associated Press: Baltimore Officials Consider New Laws To Curb Smoking
Elected officials in Baltimore are considering new laws to cut down on smoking and vaping. The Baltimore Sun reports the city council has introduced a package of anti-smoking legislation. One of the measures would ban the sale of flavored vaping liquids. (12/8)
Kansas City Star: JoCo Shelter Opens For Homeless Adults, But More Help Needed
The emergency shelter, called Project 1020, is unusual in that it’s run entirely by a small group of volunteers trying to respond to an unmet need in the most prosperous county in Kansas. For the past three winters, shelter co-founders Barb McEver and Dean Askeland and other dedicated helpers have provided a cold-weather refuge for homeless Johnson County adults. (Horsley, 12/10)
New Hampshire Public Radio: State, Military Seek To Study How Chemical Use At Pease Drove Disease Rates
Veterans and families who lived and worked at the former Pease Air Force Base want the government to begin collecting data about their disease rates and possible ties to chemical exposures on the installation. At a forum in an aircraft hangar Friday, dozens of people stood at a microphone and told an Air National Guard colonel about their health problems and their experiences at the base. (Ropeik, 12/9)
Kansas City Star: Volunteers Defy KC Health Department, Feed Homeless People
On Nov. 4, city health inspectors shut down several such picnics around the area, including one at Ilus Davis Park. Inspectors, saying they were concerned about public safety, confiscated the food and drowned it all in bleach. The Health Department has since issued a statement saying it “has reviewed its food disposal practices during inspections. In the future, inspectors will no longer use bleach in these types of situations.” (Williams, 12/8)
Georgia Health News: Fourth Georgia Case Of Mysterious Illness Confirmed
A fourth case of a rare polio-like illness has been confirmed in Georgia, with two more cases considered probable, public health officials say. The Georgia Department of Public Health did not give any identifying information about the fourth patient with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), but the person is presumed to be a child. (Miller, 12/9)
Concord (N.H.) Monitor: At Area High Schools, Educators Try To Catch Up With Vaping Craze
Allyssa Thompson sees the growing number of New Hampshire teenagers inhaling e-cigarettes, the incorrect perceptions of parents and the way schools have struggled to get a handle on the issue. Now, she’s trying to reinforce to students, parents and educators the same messages that made smoking unpopular among young people: it’s costly, it’s addictive and it can hurt you later in life. (Stoico, 12/9)
KQED: Richmond Looks To Get Out Of Managing Its Low-Income Housing
Richmond will search for outside public and private partners to manage its low-income housing properties and Section 8 voucher programs, the City Council decided this week. Faced with major financial and operational challenges and ongoing federal budget cuts, the Richmond Housing Authority has long struggled to meet the basic needs of its tenants, many of whom are elderly and physically impaired. (Veltman, 12/7)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Supervisors Push Ousting Private Companies From Jail Medical Services
The track record of a private company providing inmate medical services at the Milwaukee County Jail and House of Correction — lack of staff, poor care and falsifying records — prompted one group of supervisors this week to recommend hiring county employees to do the job. Now, Armor Correctional Health Services is facing even more problems — a pending criminal charge of abuse of prisoners, a felony, related to the treatment of Terrill Thomas, who died of dehydration while in custody in April 2016. (Behm, 12/7)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Urban Garden Produces Free Vegetables, Safe Place For Boys
It is June 16, the kickoff of the fifth year of the “We Got This” program, which Ellis, 58, runs on a shoestring budget. The program is aimed at boys, ages 12 to 17. They arrive each Saturday to work in the garden, pick up trash in the neighborhood. At the end, they collect a $20 bill for their efforts.Along the way, they receive support and guidance from adult mentors. (Causey, 12/7)
Miami Herald: Wish Book: How To Help Girl’s Health Issues Have Created Financial Hardship For Her Family
It was determined that Isabella had Turner Syndrome, a condition in which which one of the X chromosomes is completely or partially missing. It is estimated that Turner’s occurs in about one in every 2,000 girls. The result: Nicole resigned from her job in order to give constant care to Isabella and the resulting loss in household income left the family in dire financial straits. (Spencer, 12/7)
Boston Globe: Homeless Women Offered Medical Care — Plus A Haircut, Facial, And Even A Movie
The quiet waiting room at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program is transformed into a buzz of activity every Saturday, offering women, most of whom are homeless, free medical care and welcoming them to a day of fun — with haircuts, facials, arts and crafts, and board games. (Takahama, 12/8)
The Star Tribune: Minnesota Medical Marijuana Expanding To Add Alzheimer's
Alzheimer’s disease will become eligible for treatment with medical marijuana in Minnesota next year, making it the 14th health condition approved since the state’s cannabis program began in 2015. The Minnesota Department of Health announced Monday that it was adding the degenerative neurological disorder to the program, despite limited evidence on the effectiveness of treatment with cannabis. Some studies have found that marijuana inhibits the formation of tau proteins that accelerate dementia and memory loss related to the disease. (Olson, 12/8)
The Associated Press: Maryland’s Medical Marijuana Sales Hit $96 Million
Maryland’s medical marijuana industry brought in $96.3 million during its first year of operation. The Baltimore Sun reports that between 250 and 350 people a day are applying to be certified by the state to buy medical marijuana. There were nearly 52,000 patients who bought 730,000 individual products from dozens of licensed stores across Maryland since sales became legal last December. (12/9)
