Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Gov. Invites Minn. Nurses, Allina To Negotiate At His House; An Ohio City Continues To Battle Health Disparities
Pioneer Press: Dayton Invites Allina, Nurses To His House To Negotiate
Gov. Mark Dayton has invited Allina hospital officials and Minnesota nurses to continue contract negotiations at his house Monday morning. Dayton and Lt. Gov. Tina Smith invited negotiators for Allina Health and the Minnesota Nurses Association to come by at 11 a.m. Monday, according to a news release. Nearly 5,000 nurses at five Allina hospitals in the Twin Cities have been on strike since Labor Day, hoping to persuade the company to maintain their health benefits and address safety concerns. (Belcamino, 10/9)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Battle Against Health Disparities Continues
The most frequent health issues in Cincinnati among minorities are heart disease, diabetes, obesity, hypertension and HIV/AIDS. These groups often times do not seek proper health care for a number of reasons, including: Preventive care is a low priority; they are uninsured or underinsured; they have limited access to multicultural or quality medical professionals; they distrust the medical establishment; or they simply are unaware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle. By providing access to initial health screenings and long-term care, the First Ladies for Health initiative is working to prevent members of our community from falling victim to these disparities. (Dena Cranley and Barbara Lynch, 10/7)
Texas Tribune: Texas May Owe Abortion Providers' Lawyers $4.5 Million
The Center for Reproductive Rights late Friday filed its request for that amount in attorney’s fees and other expenses incurred in the lawsuit challenging House Bill 2, which required all Texas facilities performing abortions to meet hospital-like standards and forced doctors at those clinics to have admitting privileges at a hospital less than 30 miles away. In a lawsuit brought by the New York-based organization on behalf of Texas abortion providers, the Supreme Court overturned those provisions on a 5-3 vote. Because the abortion providers were the prevailing party in the federal lawsuit, the court has allowed the Center for Reproductive Rights and other attorneys who worked on the case to ask to recover costs for the lawsuit. (Ura, 10/8)
Los Angeles Times: Massive L.A. Coroner Backlog Comes At A Price For Loved Ones Of Those Lost
It was a sweltering day in Pomona in August 2015 when Katie Dix collapsed during a rave at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. She went into cardiac arrest and died at a nearby hospital. Dix’s family expected that an autopsy and lab tests would take a few weeks, but as months went by they grew frustrated and angry. Her relatives would call repeatedly, only to be told: “Next month.” “It was excruciating for her parents,” said Lee Sherman, the family’s attorney. “It is horrible enough to deal with your child’s death — the reports, the speculation. They just wanted answers.” (Winton and Sewell, 10/9)
Dallas Morning News: Mysterious Polio-Like Virus Has Sickened At Least 11 In Texas In 2016
A spike in the number of cases of a mysterious polio-like illness has led to a new alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of August, at least 50 people in 24 states were confirmed to have acute flaccid myelitis, a viral infection that attacks the body’s nervous system and has led to paralysis and death. The federal agency posted an update earlier this week. In July, the Texas Department of State Health Services issued a warning to health providers after seven incidents were reported by the end of June. (Rice, 10/8)
Times Union: Albany Planned Parenthood To Offer Transgender Patients Medical Care
Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson, a separate Schenectady-based affiliate, has seen the demand in its Saratoga Springs Health Center since providing services for the transgender community over the last year and a half, said spokeswoman Emma Corbett. Transgender patients, including Stoffer, have been willing to travel many miles to the clinic due to a lack of trust in services elsewhere. The health center has provided services to 50 transgender individuals this year. (Hughes, 10/9)
The Augusta Chronicle: Augusta Cancer Therapy Trial Draws Children From Across Nation
There are very few pediatric immunotherapy clinical trials – a search of ClinicalTrials.Gov turns up 10 active clinical trials, including the one in Augusta. Part of it is the numbers game – there will be an estimated 10,380 cases of cancer this year in children 14 and younger vs. nearly 1.7 million in adults, according to the American Cancer Society. (Corwin, 10/9)
Columbus Dispatch: This Year's First Human Case Of West Nile Virus In Columbus Reported
The year's first case of West Nile virus in Columbus was reported this morning in a 71-year-old man who has been hospitalized. No additional information about him was available. The Columbus case is the second in Franklin County. The county case was reported on Sept. 9 and was in a 54-year-old man, who has since recovered. (Rinehart, 10/7)
Cincinnati Enquirer: VA Issues With Med Schools Go Beyond Cincinnati
Cincinnati’s situation, while unusual, is not unique. Investigations by the VA's inspector general and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have revealed difficulties in the VA's relationship with medical schools and teaching hospitals, which often have different goals than the VA. The problems between the VA and the medical schools are turning up in numerous ways. (Saker, 10/7)
The San Diego Union-Tribune: SD Parkinson's Association Fights For Survival
A financial collapse is threatening the survival of the Parkinson's Association in San Diego, which has spent the past 27 years helping thousands of people cope with the life-altering disease. Its cash reserves depleted, the organization laid off its final four employees last week, culminating a downsizing effort that started last year. Today its executive director is working as a volunteer, and the nonprofit is struggling to pay its $5,000 monthly rent for an office devoid of workers. (Sisson, 10/6)
Miami Herald: UM Hosts Breast Cancer Conference For Latina Women
Hispanic women 40 and older in the United States had the lowest rate of getting a mammogram over the past two years, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2013, the most recent data available, the mammography rate was 62 percent for Hispanic women versus 67 percent for Asians, 66 percent for non-Hispanic blacks and whites and 63 percent for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Healthcare experts tackled this disparity at a University of Miami symposium, “Women´s Cancers in the Americas: Strategies for Synergy,” on Wednesday. (Hsieh, 10/7)
