State Highlights: Health Officials Will Scour Communities Near Louisiana Plant For Cancer Cases; Missouri Revamps System For Reporting Elder Abuse After Severe Flaws Found

ProPublica: Health Officials In 'Cancer Alley' Will Study If Living Near A Controversial Chemical Plant Causes Cancer
Louisiana health officials plan to knock on every door within 2.5 kilometers of the controversial Denka Performance Elastomer plant in St. John the Baptist Parish in hopes of determining exactly how many people in the neighborhood have developed cancer. Neighbors say the inquiry, first announced in late August, is long overdue. The Denka plant is the only one in the country that emits chloroprene, which was classified as a likely carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2010. (Russell, 11/25)

KCUR: Missouri Adds More Ways To Report Elder Abuse After 1000s Of Calls Went Unanswered 
Missouri’s reporting system for adult abuse and neglect is undergoing significant changes after an investigation by the state’s attorney general. The investigation ended Monday, Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office told KCUR. It recommended seven changes, including a new online reporting system in order to address the thousands of unanswered calls to the state’s hotline, as well as redirecting callers who are simply looking for information about local resources — not calling to report abuse. (Okeson-Haberman, 11/25)

Politico: New Jersey Takes Step Toward Banning ‘Gay Panic’ Murder Defense
New Jersey could soon bar a legal defense tactic in murder cases known as “gay panic,“ under a bill the state Assembly approved on Monday without opposition or debate. The defense has been used to attempt to downgrade charges against defendants who argued that they killed because they were provoked by the disclosure of the victim’s gender identity or sexual orientation. (Friedman, 11/25)

The Associated Press: Tech Service Provider For Nursing Homes A Ransomware Victim
A Milwaukee-based company that provides technology services to more than 100 nursing homes nationwide is the victim of a ransomware attack, and hackers are demanding $14 million before they’ll restore the company’s access to its hijacked servers. Virtual Care Provider Inc. informed its clients about the attack in a letter Nov. 18, which was a day after the attack was discovered. In it, the company said it was working to determine if any client data had been compromised. (11/25)

Iowa Public Radio: Planned Parenthood Launches Online Tool For Abortion Services
Iowans will now have a new online tool to find the nearest clinic that offers abortions. Planned Parenthood launched the new online database, called the "Abortion Care Finder." In addition to help locate clinics, it also provides information about abortion options based on state regulations and requirements and how far along they are in their pregnancy. (Krebs, 11/25)

NH Times Union: Parents' Protest Postpones Vaccine Grant Vote
In response to a rush of emails and texts and with almost two dozen parents protesting outside, the Executive Council yielded to public pressure, postponing consideration of a $1.5 million federal grant supporting the state’s voluntary immunization program. Families were opposed to what they called a “vaccine registry,” maintaining that it would violate personal privacy and could put the state on the road to mandating vaccines for all children in the future. (Landrigan, 11/25)

California Healthline: California’s Working Mothers Get Stronger Support For Workplace Lactation
Katie Woody’s firstborn, Oliver, struggled from birth to latch onto her breast, so she had little choice but to pump her milk and feed it to him from a bottle. After a three-month maternity leave, Woody returned to her job as a sous-chef for a meal delivery service in Los Angeles, expecting to have access to the sole office in the rented building to pump her breast milk — an agreement she had made with the building manager. But a male shift supervisor who occupied the office would not let her use it. (Krans, 11/25)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Census Hopes Programming Ups African American Count
The U.S. Census Bureau will rely on a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, a hiring spree and partnerships to tackle a stubborn problem ahead of the 2020 census: getting a complete count of African-Americans. There is a lot at stake with the once-a-decade count for Georgia, where nearly a third of the population is black. (Redmon, 11/25)

The Advocate: With Increased HIV Testing, Baton Rouge Sees Significant Drop In New AIDS Diagnosis Rates
Baton Rouge has shed its status as No. 1 in the country for its rate of new AIDS diagnoses, in part, due to a significant uptick over the last three years in the number of HIV-tests provided at area hospitals. The increase in testing has made it easier to identify people living with HIV and direct them towards medical care and public health resources before the virus progresses into AIDS. (Paterson, 11/25)

Politico Pro: Liberal California Looks To Get Tougher On Homelessness
California has had enough with its homeless problem. The liberal stronghold is losing patience with the sprawling homeless encampments, the growing ranks of people with mental illnesses and substance abuse on the streets, and the deteriorating quality of life that comes with it — human waste, trash and open-air drug dealing. (Colliver, 11/26)

The Advocate: Lafayette General To Renovate, Reopen Downtown Health Care Clinic Early Next Year
Lafayette General Health will reopen the old Lafayette Community Health Care Clinic beginning early next year. Officials with Lafayette General Health and the Lafayette General Foundation announced during the hospital's annual Health Care Heroes gala that proceeds would go toward funding the $1 million renovation of the building at 1317 Jefferson St. More than $500,000 has already been raised for the project. (Boudreaux, 11/25)

Boston Globe: More Deadly Mosquito Trouble May Be Ahead, Federal Officials Warn
Federal public health officials are sounding the alarm about Eastern equine encephalitis, saying this year’s outbreaks in multiple states, including one that killed three people in Massachusetts, may be a warning sign of future trouble from the deadly disease and other insect-borne viruses. (Finucane, 11/25)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Road To Recovery Offers Rides — And More — To Cancer Patients
As many as 30 percent of all patients skip doctor appointments, and a key reason, especially for the elderly, is trouble getting to them, according to reports by SCI Solutions, a health care technology firm, and the American Hospital Association. When it comes to cancer, those missed appointments can have a real impact on outcome, doctors say. (Oliviero, 11/26)