Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Homeless Activists Call For L.A. Mayor To Step Down: 'He Can't Handle The Crisis'; Connecticut Raises Legal Age To Purchase Tobacco, Vaping Pens to 21
Los Angeles Times: Activists Target Mayor Eric Garcetti With A Recall Campaign, Citing Homelessness Crisis
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is being targeted for removal from office over his handling of the homelessness crisis. On Wednesday, Alexandra Datig, a political commentator who is leading the effort, told reporters at a news conference outside City Hall that the mayor was served with a notice of intent for recall — the first step of a long-shot attempt. (Smith, 6/19)
The CT Mirror: Lamont Signs Bill Upping Tobacco Purchase Age To 21
Starting in October, Connecticut residents must be 21 to purchase tobacco or vaping products. Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill Tuesday raising the legal age to buy cigarettes, cigars, vaping pens and other tobacco paraphernalia from 18 to 21. (Carlesso, 6/19)
Des Moines Register: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds Says 'a Lot Of Factors' Led To Agency Director Exit
Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday that many factors led her to ask the director of Iowa's largest state agency to step down, although she declined repeatedly to say whether her request was tied to disciplinary action. "It was a lot of factors that went into that decision. Just a lot of factors," Reynolds told reporters at the Capitol. A reporter had asked her if Jerry Foxhoven's exit from the Iowa Department of Human Services was related to human resources issues, including disciplinary action. (Rodriguez and Akin, 6/19)
Nashville Tennessean: PainMD Clinics Abandoned Patient's Medical Records In Storage Units
PainMD, a Nashville-area pain management company that recently shuttered clinics and stranded patients without medicine, disclosed in a court filing this week they've lost access to countless patient medical records that are stuck in storage units spread across Tennessee, Virginia and South Carolina. PainMD said it can no longer reach the records because, as the company has been crumbled into bankruptcy while accused of widespread fraud, all the employees with access the storage units have left. (Kelman, 6/19)
Columbus Dispatch: Black Ohio Legislators Want Board Created To Study Childbirth-Related Deaths
Black mothers are more likely to die in childbirth or within a year of giving birth, but state Rep. Erica Crawley contends that putting those women into broad race categories can confuse the conversation about disparities in health care. The Columbus Democrat wants a pregnancy-associated mortality review board that — if the proposal is kept in the final version of the state budget — would be established under state law to “disaggregate” more granular race data in order to help officials study the medical and social factors that contribute to mothers dying in pregnancy. (Rouan, 6/19)
The New York Times: Final Push To Legalize Pot Fails In New York
New York’s plan to legalize marijuana this year collapsed on Wednesday, dashing hopes for a potential billion-dollar industry that supporters said would create jobs in minority communities and end decades of racially disproportionate policing. Democratic lawmakers had been in a headlong race to finalize an agreement before the end of the legislative session this week. But persistent disagreement about how to regulate the industry, as well as hesitation from moderate lawmakers, proved insurmountable. (Wang, 6/19)
Chicago Tribune: Rush Hospital Permanently Closing Kids’ Inpatient Mental Health Unit
Rush University Medical Center will no longer offer inpatient mental health care for children, making it the latest Chicago hospital to cut back on overnight stays for kids. The West Side hospital had 15 beds for child and adolescent behavioral health. It temporarily closed that unit in March, along with two adult inpatient mental health units, after the state found deficiencies in how the hospital protected its psychiatric patients from harming themselves through hanging or strangulation. The units were supposed to reopen following renovations to correct the issues and the state’s approval, but Rush has decided the pediatric unit will not reopen. (Schencker, 6/19)
Arizona Republic: Police Shooting: U.S. Army Vet's Final Hours Before He Is Fatally Shot
Balladares enrolled in the Army when he was only 19, in the years following 9/11. He served as special forces and was trained as a sniper. He spent the next decade going back and forth between two separate worlds of the Army and home. Coming back home was almost as hard as leaving. (Burkitt, 6/19)
Columbus Dispatch: Ohio's Population Ages Fast As Services Try To Keep Up
By 2030, the U.S. Census Bureau predicts, people over the age of 65 will outnumber children under the age of 18 for the first time in the nation’s history. It’s already happening in Ohio.According to census population estimates released Thursday, 13 of Ohio’s 88 counties already had more people of retirement age in 2018 than they had children. (Caruso, 6/20)
Pioneer Press: Minnesota Nurses, Allina Hospitals Reach Agreement On New Contract
Allina Health has reached a deal with its nurses’ union that provides raises each of its 3 years. The tentative agreement was announced Wednesday morning by the Minnesota Nurses Association. The contract would provide annual raises of 3 percent, 3 percent and 2.25 percent. It must still be ratified by the union membership. A contract vote has been scheduled for June 27 by the union. The Minnesota Nurses Association had stressed safety issues early and said the new deal addresses workplace violence. (Chaudhry, 6/19)
MPR: Nurses Land Pay Raises, New Injury Protections
In a departure from contentious contract negotiations in the past, the Minnesota Nurses Association has reached tentative contract agreements with five Twin Cities hospital systems, including four more announced Tuesday and Wednesday. In 2016, Allina Health nurses spent 47 days on strike in a failed attempt to keep their union-only health insurance coverage. (Enger, 6/19)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Emory Healthcare Innovation Center Adds Major Partners
Four major medical companies plan to announce Thursday that they have joined an innovation program at Emory Healthcare aimed at lowering health costs and improving patient care. The companies will develop and refine new systems, from health information technology to mobile diagnostic tools, at Emory facilities across the metro area. (Trubey, 6/20)
Sacramento Bee: Syphilis PSA Poster By Sacramento County Joked About Online
Sacramento County Public Health tweeted the image almost a month ago, in May. It’s a clever enough concept for a public service announcement, but it didn’t appear to get any attention at the time – not a single retweet. But a few weeks later, many local social media users can’t help but laugh about the poor model in the stock photo, who’s now inextricably linked to the STD. (McGough, 6/19)
Seattle Times: Judge Orders Madigan To Pay $12.3 Million In Operating-Room Fire That Disfigured Child
Madigan Army Medical Center has been hit with a $12.3 million verdict after the Army admitted it was negligent and responsible for a 2015 operating room fire that severely disfigured a 13-month-old child undergoing a routine, minor surgical procedure. The child’s face was engulfed in a fireball when a surgeon activated an electrocautery device — a sort of electric scalpel — while an anesthesiologist administered concentrated oxygen through a face mask, leaving the boy with severe burns on one side of his face and his nose, according to court documents. (Carter, 6/19)
Kansas City Star: Nurse Charged With Raping Patient At Independence Hospital
A nurse has been charged with raping a patient last weekend at Centerpoint Medical Center, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced in a news release. The nurse, identified in charging documents as Chukwuemeka U. Emmanuel, a 35-year-old Overland Park resident, is charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with first-degree rape. (Schwers, 6/19)
