State Highlights: Four Gun-Control Bills Pass Virginia Committee For First Time; Oregon Health Authority Seeks $20M For Mental Health Treatment

The Washington Post: Four Firearms Bills Advance In Virginia’s Newly Gun-Free Capitol
Four gun-control bills sailed out of a Senate committee Monday as the General Assembly's new Democratic majority took up firearms legislation for the first time. In a visible show of opposition to the bills, gun rights activists swarmed the Capitol, where firearms were banned last week. But the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced most of the gun legislation proposed by Democrats, who wrested control of the state House and Senate from Republicans in November after a campaign season largely focused on guns and public safety. (Vozzella and Schneider, 1/13)

The Oregonian: Oregon Asks For $20 Million To Tackle Mental Illness Crisis
Oregon’s top health administrator has asked state lawmakers for $20 million to help ensure that people who need mental health treatment get it, particularly those who have been charged with a crime. Monday’s request comes after more than a year of struggles by state health officials to handle an ever-growing volume of criminal defendants needing treatment for schizophrenia and other disorders. Lawmakers must decide whether to take up the request as they meet starting Feb. 3 for a 35-day short session. Under a 2003 federal court order, defendants deemed in need of treatment before proceeding through the criminal justice system must be sent to the Oregon State Hospital within seven days of a judge’s order. But patients have repeatedly had to wait longer than that when the hospital has been full. (Zarkhin, 1/13)

The Baltimore Sun: Planned Parenthood Annapolis Expands Its Health Center To Serve More Patients
Planned Parenthood of Maryland expects a 66% jump in the number of patients seeking treatment over the next two years at its newly expanded facility in Annapolis. The center is unveiling a $2 million expansion Wednesday, a renovation intended to meet growing demand in the region for low-cost family planning services. As family planning clinics across the country fight to keep their doors open because of a loss of federal Title X funding, the Annapolis center is the first in a series of renovations and expansions Planned Parenthood will make at centers across the state. (Price, 1/14)

Modern Healthcare: Advanced Practice RN Autonomy Bill Wins FTC Support
The Federal Trade Commission encouraged Kansas' and Ohio's legislatures on Monday to pass bills that would allow advanced practice registered nurses to treat patients without physician oversight. Both of the bills look to remove the requirement that advanced practice RNs need to have doctors sign off on prescriptions before prescribing them to patients. In its letters, the FTC pointed to research indicating that advanced practice RNs are as safe and effective as independent doctors and that autonomous advanced practice RNs and doctors have comparable prescribing patterns and ultimately patient outcomes. (Kacik, 1/13)

Boston Globe: At Major San Francisco Conference, It’s Mass General Brigham, Not Partners
Barely six weeks after Partners HealthCare announced that it was changing its name to Mass General Brigham in an expensive rebranding, top executives of Massachusetts’s largest health care system debuted the new moniker at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Addressing hundreds of health care industry employees and investors in an overflowing ballroom on the 32nd floor of the Westin St. Francis Hotel, Dr. Anne Klibanski, the new chief executive of the company, said she has received many questions about the change. (Saltzman, 1/13)

MPR: In Rural Minnesota, A Scarcity Of Beds For People In Crisis
The shortage of mental health care in rural areas means patients in need of inpatient psychiatric care are often waiting days to be transferred to beds far from home. It’s a situation that’s challenging for patients, families and health care providers, one with no obvious solution. (Roth, 1/13)

Health News Florida: Florida Health Officials Continue To Encourage Flu Vaccinations
The first week of flu season in Florida this year was a tough one. Health officials documented more cases than they saw during the 2017-2018 season, which was one of the worst on record. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, nationwide, for the 2019-2020 season so far, there have been at least 6.4 million cases of influenza, more than 55,000 associated hospitalizations and approximately 2,900 related deaths. (Miller, 1/13)

Dallas Morning News: Bishop Lynch Student’s Death Blamed On Flu Complication
The students and staff of Bishop Lynch High School are grieving after a 16-year-old student who had the flu died suddenly last week. Dallas County health officials are working to confirm Teresa “Reese” Termulo’s death was related to the flu after the Catholic school in Far East Dallas said she had died Friday from a complication of the illness. Six confirmed flu-related fatalities — all of them adults — have been reported to the county this season. Officials are also investigating whether a 10-year-old boy’s death in Coppell was the result of the disease. ...Teresa’s father, Cesar Termulo, told mourners at a prayer service Saturday that as a pediatrician, he has cared for many children suffering from the flu. “I tell them about how dangerous it could be that you could die from it,” he said. “But yet, it’s just a shock that it happened to my own daughter, and it happened so fast.” (Branham and Smith, 1/13)

The Baltimore Sun: After Corruption Scandal, Baltimore City Council Committee Will Consider Government Reform Measures 
Less than two months after Baltimore’s former mayor pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion charges, the City Council is pushing forward on a slate of government reform measures that include giving itself the power to oust a mayor for misconduct. Council members introduced a number of charter amendments in the wake of the wide-ranging “Healthy Holly” scandal, in which former Democratic Mayor Catherine Pugh sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of self-published children’s books to companies that did business with the city. Pugh pleaded guilty to federal fraud and tax charges and is awaiting sentencing. (Richman, 1/13)

St. Louis Public Radio: Missouri Lawmakers To Crack Down On Seclusion Rooms, Restraint In School
For the second year, legislation aiming to limit the use of seclusion rooms and restraint in Missouri schools has been filed. But this year, with Republican support in the GOP-dominated Legislature and more media attention, the chances of it passing appear more promising, backers say. (Driscoll, 1/13)

Iowa Public Radio: Volunteer Pilots Provide "LifeLine" For Patients In Need
Traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles to seek medical attention is just one of many potential barriers to receiving care. One Midwestern organization is working to break down that barrier, and they're doing it at no cost to the patients in need. On this hour of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe talks with Lindsey Kerr, the Executive Director of LifeLine Pilots, an Illinois-based organization that provides free flights to patients in need of out-of-town medical care. (Nebbe, Harrop and Digiacomo, 1/13)

The Associated Press: Lawsuit Over Teen's Diagnosis, Treatment Heads To Trial 
A lawsuit filed by the family of a Connecticut teen who was placed into state custody after a dispute over her diagnosis and put in psychiatric unit is scheduled to start Tuesday. The suit was brought by the parents of Justina Pelletier against Boston Children's Hospital and those who treated their daughter, The Boston Globe reported Monday. (1/13)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Homicide Drop: Mayor, Chief Credit Collaboration
Five years ago, homicides in Milwaukee spiked to levels not seen since the 1990s. Now, the city has closed out its second year in a row with fewer than 100 homicides — and officials are focused on maintaining that progress. (Luthern, 1/13)