State Highlights: Maryland Cites ‘Dickensian’ Abuse Conditions In Suit Against For-Profit Group Homes; Researchers Grapple With Problems Of Diagnosing Rat Lungworm Disease In Hawaii

ProPublica: Maryland Sues Notorious For-Profit Group Homes. The Company Was The Subject Of ProPublica Investigation.
Alleging “Dickensian” conditions, Maryland’s Attorney General has sued a group home provider that has long faced allegations in multiple states of abusing children with severe developmental disabilities and behavioral challenges. The for-profit company, which in recent years changed its name from AdvoServ to Bellwether Behavioral Health, ran group homes in Delaware that took in residents from Maryland. Maryland removed the last of its children from the homes in October 2016, after inspections found filthy conditions and a teenage girl from Maryland died after being restrained. (Vogell, 7/12)

The New York Times: In Hawaii, Rat Lungworm Disease Infects People But Eludes Researchers
A tropical parasite transmitted through rats and snails has caught the attention of health officials in Hawaii. But few scientists have studied the infection once it makes its way into humans, and researchers can’t say for certain whether the disease is becoming more widespread. The parasite, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, typically resides in a rat’s pulmonary arteries and is commonly known as “rat lungworm.” (Sheikh, 7/12)

USA Today: Man Dies After Being Infected By Flesh-Eating Bacteria In Florida
A Tennessee man died this week after becoming infected by a bacteria, vibrio vulnificus, during a trip to the Florida Panhandle, his daughter said. In a Facebook post, Cheryl Bennett Wiygul said her father became infected with the bacteria after a day of splashing around in the water off of Destin. He seemed happy and talkative, she said. "About 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning, 12 hours after we were in the water, he woke up with a fever, chills and some cramping. ...  They got to the hospital in Memphis around 8 p.m.," Wiygul said in the post. "They took him back immediately. As they were helping him get changed into his hospital gown they saw this terribly swollen black spot on his back that was not there before." (Hardiman, 7/14)

The Washington Post: Virginia Gun Violence: Pregnant Woman Is Shot In Richmond After Failed Gun Control Debate
Outrage was still rising Tuesday when Levar Stoney received the text message from his police chief. The mayor of Richmond had spent the morning speaking to crowds outside the state Capitol ahead of a special legislative session on gun control. He’d invoked the victims of a May 31 mass shooting in Virginia Beach and urged lawmakers to pass “common sense” gun laws. “There is an opportunity to do right,” he’d said. “That day is today.” (Miller, 7/14)

The CT Mirror: Anthem, ConnectiCare Seek Premium Increases For 2020 Policies
Insurers that sell policies on Connecticut’s Affordable Care Act exchange, Access Heath CT, are seeking premium increases for their 2020 policies, basing their requests largely on a new federal tax that will be imposed next year. Anthem Health Plans filed a rate request earlier this month for an average 15.2 percent increase for the health plans it sells to individuals both on and off the exchange. Those policies cover about 27,300 people, Anthem said. (Radelat, 7/12)

Sacramento Bee: Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Whistleblower Protection Bill For Health Care Workers. 
In 2016, Teresa Brooke was fired from Aurora Santa Rosa Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Sonoma County, for reporting a “full-blown patient riot” and multiple instances of patient self-harm and sexual assault that she witnessed at the hospital. Because Brooke was Aurora’s chief nursing officer, she had an ethical obligation to file that complaint, her attorney, Xinying Valerian, said in a report. ...That’s why on Thursday the California Nurses Association applauded California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to sign Senate Bill 322, which will protect whistleblowers at health care facilities from discrimination and retaliation. (Ghisolfi, 7/12)

North Carolina Health News: WIC Benefits Help Improve Child, Maternal Nutrition, But Fewer Families Are Accessing It
Fewer women and children in North Carolina are taking part in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a federal program designed to ensure low-income women, babies and children get needed nutrients in their diet. The slide is worrisome, given that the WIC program has long only captured a portion of those who are eligible. (Ovaska-Few, 7/15)

The Washington Post: Should There Be Diaper-Changing Stations In Men’s Bathrooms? With Proposed New Law, D.C. Wades Into National Debate. 
Having a kid changed a lot of things — including how Jeremy León enters restaurants. Today, when he steps through the door with 3-year-old daughter Naya, Jeremy León immediately switches to “my logical mind.” He scans the scene, locates the restroom and sets out to answer the all-important question: Will there be a diaper-changing table in the men’s bathroom? More often than not in the D.C. area, the answer is no, leaving León — a stay-at-home dad who is married to a man — at a loss. (Natanson, 7/14)

NH Times Union: DHMC Opening Neurocritical Care Unit
Starting Tuesday, patients suffering from critical head trauma or serious neurological conditions will be able to get specialized treatment at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center’s new unit. The hospital is opening a Neurocritical Care Unit, which will implement technology and specialized care to treat injuries and diseases that affect the brain. The unit staff will be able to monitor brain activity 24 hours a day. (Fisher, 7/14)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: About 30,000 Missouri American Water Customers Have Lead Service Lines. Why Will Replacing Them Take More Than A Decade?
Out of the Missouri American Water Co.’s 450,000 customers, an estimated 28,000 — or approximately 6% — own lead service lines, which pipe water into homes from water mains. The percentage used to be slightly higher, but since 2017, the investor-owned water utility — which serves much of St. Louis County along with other pockets of the state — has swapped in about 2,000 replacements. It’s part of an effort to gradually remove lead service lines — and the health risk posed by lead exposure, which is particularly dangerous to children — over the next decade and beyond. (Gray, 7/14)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Trump Effort On Kidney Disease Could Have Big Impact In Georgia
Advocates were thrilled when President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that would, among other things, promote organ donations and reshape kidney care. They said the disease has gone ignored too long. The question remains how much concrete change the administration’s actions this week represent, and how much they will move the needle going forward on public kidney health. (Hart, 7/12)

WBUR: Seattle Faces Backlash After Easing Up On Punishing Crimes Involving Mental Illness
Seattle is grappling with a crisis of what is sometimes called "visible homelessness" — people who live in the street and struggle with mental illness or drug addiction. It's a population that often commits small crimes, such as disorderly conduct or shoplifting to pay for drugs. And public frustration is growing.Some accuse a reform-oriented local criminal justice system of becoming too tolerant. (Kaste, 7/12)

The Washington Post: Vision To Learn: Kids Get Free Eye Exams, Glasses From Nonprofit
Ja’karri Green can’t see mosquitoes when they land on his arm, and sometimes he has trouble reading his Japanese comic books. So it was no surprise when the optometrist who came to his Boys & Girls Club camp last week told him he needed to wear glasses. “So my seeing is bad?” Ja’karri, 11, asked the doctor, Marianne Mai. “Not bad at all!” Mai told him. “You just need a little help.” (Iati, 7/14)

Modern Healthcare: 85,000 Kaiser Permanente Workers Threaten To Strike
More than 85,000 Kaiser Permanente workers are preparing to strike as contract negotiations broke off without an agreement, the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions announced Friday. The workers, who are from multiple unions in California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii and the District of Columbia, said they will call the strike unless Kaiser bargains in good faith and ultimately mends the worker-management partnership; ensures safe staffing and appropriate use of technology; and provides wages and benefits that can support families. The union is also calling for more financial transparency. (Kacik, 7/12)

The Associated Press: Mental Hospital Patient Died In Dogpile; No Charges Filed
A patient at a state mental hospital in South Carolina died earlier this year after being at the bottom of a dogpile of several employees — something specifically prohibited in their training. Three of the 13 employees involved in the death of 35-year-old William Avant in January had not been through training on physically restraining patients, according to The State newspaper . His death hadn't been reported prior to Sunday. (7/14)

The Oregonian: ‘Clone Tick’ Swarms, New To U.S., Are Killing Cattle By Draining Their Blood, Chasing After Humans
Worried about a Cascadia subduction-zone earthquake? Worried about nuclear war? Worried about climate change? Phhffft! Those potential calamities are nothing. If you want to really have nightmares, read on to find out what’s happening to cows in North Carolina -- and what it could mean for humans. (Perry, 7/12)

Cincinnati Enquirer: Measles: Ohio Reports First Case Of Year, In Stark County
State Health Director Dr. Amy Acton said Friday the person who got sick with measles had recently traveled to a state with confirmed measles cases. The case is the first confirmed instances of measles in two years. The last outbreak of the illness in Ohio was in 2014, with 382 confirmed cases. (Saker, 7/12)

Carroll County Times: Mobile Clinic To Reach Underserved Areas Of Carroll County
A traveling clinic on wheels is in the works to provide health services to areas of Carroll County that lack providers. The Carroll County Health Department announced Thursday the receipt of grant funding that will allow it to purchase a van and hire a driver to provide behavioral health services and possibly more. Data from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office shows the Manchester-Hampstead area, Taneytown, Sykesville, and Mount Airy are “hot spots” for overdoses, local behavioral health authority Sue Doyle told the county commissioners. (Keller, 7/13)

The Associated Press: 2 Dead, Dozens Ill From Outbreak At Virginia Retirement Home
Virginia health department officials say two people have died and 20 more have been hospitalized by a respiratory virus outbreak at a large retirement community. The Fairfax County Health Department said Friday that 55 of the 263 residents at the Greenspring Retirement Community in Springfield, Virginia, have fallen ill during the outbreak. Over the past two weeks, the ill residents displayed symptoms such as coughs, fevers, and pneumonia. (7/12)

San Jose Mercury News: Humboldt County Has State’s 2nd-Highest Homicide Rate. Why?
Community accountability and engagement. Family support. Mental health treatment. Stricter enforcement. Substance abuse treatment and prevention. Thorough prosecution of crimes linked with violence. These are the range of answers local law enforcement personnel offered in response to the problem of violent crime in Humboldt County as revealed in startling new data released by the state Department of Justice. (Peach, 7/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: Miscarriage Leave, A Benefit No One Wants To Use, On The Rise 
California law entitles expecting employees to time off for disabilities related to a pregnancy, which can include miscarriage. The health care provider can recommend up to four months of leave, though the employer may require that sick days be used to cover part of the time. A few companies are going a step farther.Lattice offers five paid days of miscarriage leave, separate from sick days and bereavement leave. (Russell, 7/12)

Health News Florida: Florida Hospitals Eye New Transplant Programs
It’s been less than two weeks since Florida jettisoned some long-standing regulations for hospitals, but several facilities across the state are already gearing up to expand medically complex services, such as transplants. For the last two years, five hospitals have shown an interest in offering new high-end services, but they were unable to do so because of the state’s “certificate-of-need” requirements. (Sexton, 7/12)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohio’s Prisons Agency To Step Up County Jail Inspections Following Cuyahoga County Jail Problems 
In the wake of several deaths and other troubles at the Cuyahoga County Jail, Gov. Mike DeWine is looking to improve state inspections of county jails around Ohio. Speaking before the Ohio Jail Advisory Board in Columbus on Friday, the governor talked about plans to conduct unannounced jail inspections, hire more inspection staff, and require jail officials to report deaths and other data to the state. (Pelzer, 7/12)

The Associated Press: Elevated Levels Of PFAS Chemicals Found Near Delaware Base
Delaware officials say high levels of a worrisome class of manmade chemicals have been detected in four private wells near Dover Air Force Base. Officials said in a news release Sunday that they had been notified about the elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalykyl substances, or PFAS, by the U.S. Air Force and Dover Air Force Base. (7/14)

The Oregonian: Family Of Portland Man Who Died Jogging On I-5 Sues Hospital For $3 Million, Claims Doctors Brushed Off His Mental Crisis
The parents of a 20-year-old Portland man have filed a $3 million lawsuit against a Eugene hospital, saying he was suffering a severe psychotic episode when he was struck and killed by a car while jogging on the lanes of Interstate 5 two days after doctors released him from their care. In a lawsuit filed Thursday, the parents of Evan Davenport fault medical staff at PeaceHealth’s Sacred Heart Medical Center University District for allegedly overlooking the mental crisis they say Davenport was suddenly experiencing. (Green, 7/13)

The Associated Press: 9 More Women File Lawsuits Against UCLA Gynecologist
Nine more women have alleged in two lawsuits they were sexually assaulted by a former gynecologist who worked for the University of California, Los Angeles. The lawsuits state the women were assaulted by Dr. James Heaps during examinations between 1989 and 2017. The women allege the inappropriate touching sometimes without gloves was not for any legitimate medical purpose and solely for Heaps' sexual gratification. (7/12)

West Virginia Public Broadcasting: Officials Say It Will Take Years For Medical Cannabis Sales To Start In West Virginia
Despite legislation from 2017 that allowed cannabis to be legal for medical use on July 1 of this year, West Virginia officials say they’re still years away from the first sale. That’s — at least in part — because of a hangup with finding a banking solution to get around federal law. State health officials say they also have to implement permitting and licensing for patients and those who want to start businesses within the industry. (Mistich, 7/12)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Sununu Signs Law To Help People Void Some Marijuana Possession Convictions 
Gov. Chris Sununu has signed a bill into law that provides a procedure for the annulment of arrests or convictions for possession of three-quarters or less of an ounce of marijuana. The measure is for those offenses that occurred before Sept. 16, 2017, which is the effective date for marijuana decriminalization in New Hampshire, making possession of 3/4 or less a violation. (Tuohy, 7/12)