State Highlights: Measles Warnings Issued In 3 States Due To Sickened Travelers; California Grapples With Cuts For Mental Health Services

Detroit Free Press: Measles: Passengers Expose Fellow Travelers At 3 Airports To Virus
Visitors to airports in Detroit; Newark, N.J.; and Memphis may have been exposed to measles after cases were confirmed in two international travelers, health officials in two states said Tuesday. But people who received the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine twice as children are considered protected for life, federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said. Others who have not been vaccinated or had only one shot could come down with the disease, which can be life threatening. (3/15)

The Washington Post: Measles Warning Issued After Disease Travels From Overseas
Anyone in those airport locations in that time frame who experiences high fever, red eyes, coughing, a runny nose or light sensitivity followed by a bumpy rash should contact their primary-care doctor, the agency said. Symptoms manifest 10 to 12 days after infection but could be spread to other people before that. (Horton, 3/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: Despite Wounds From Fire, Sonoma County Facing Millions In Mental Health Cuts
They help some of the most vulnerable people in Sonoma County, those grappling with severe mental illnesses who can’t afford to pay for help. Now, their funding is in jeopardy at a terrible time. Sonoma County officials are considering millions of dollars in emergency budget cuts to more than 40 nonprofit groups that provide counseling, suicide prevention, supportive housing and addiction intervention — even as the region faces a mental health crisis after October’s Wine Country firestorm. (Johnson, 3/15)

The Star Tribune: Minn. Republicans Introduce Legislation To Fight Elder Abuse In Senior Homes 
Minnesota Republicans introduced legislation on Thursday intended to repair the state’s broken system for investigating allegations of elder abuse, while lashing out at the Dayton administration for failing to act sooner as thousands of maltreatment allegations went uninvestigated. The legislation would streamline the state’s abuse reporting process, create new civil penalties for facilities that mislead consumers, and lift the layers of secrecy that often surround state investigations of maltreatment in senior homes. The bill would also enshrine in state law the rights of Minnesota families to use cameras in the rooms of their loved ones — further empowering consumers and potentially ending years of confusion over the use of electronic surveillance in senior homes. (Serres, 3/15)

Health News Florida/News Service of Florida: State Seeks To Block Nursing Home Records Request
The Florida Department of Health this week asked a circuit judge to dismiss a public-records lawsuit filed by a Broward County nursing home where residents died after Hurricane Irma. The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills filed the case last month in Leon County circuit court, alleging that the department had improperly refused to provide copies of death certificates for people across the state from Sept. 9 through Sept. 16 --- a week-long period that included Hurricane Irma and its immediate aftermath. (3/15)

Georgia Health News: Cancer Hospital Bill Defeated In Panel Vote
A hotly disputed bill to ease restrictions on Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s facility in Newnan was defeated in a House committee vote Thursday. The Health and Human Services Committee voted 13-8 against Senate Bill 31, which would have relaxed the state’s limits on bed capacity and the percentage of Georgia patients served by the CTCA hospital. The committee’s brief discussion before the vote was much milder in tone than Wednesday’s emotionally charged hearing, which featured a testy exchange between the panel’s chair, Rep. Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta), and a Georgia Hospital Association official. (Miller, 3/15)

Health News Florida: Bill Ends HCA's Bid For A Trauma Center In St. Petersburg
A bill approved by the Florida Legislature would end HCA’s bid to open a trauma center at Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg. Under the legislation, HCA will receive trauma center designations for two hospitals in Miami-Dade County and one in Clay County. But the bill blocked Northside's proposal, which was fighting its way through the court system after HCA applied last year. (Ochoa, 3/15)

The Washington Post: A 13-Year-Old Died After A Sinus Infection Spread To His Brain, Relatives Say
The video showed 13-year-old Marquel Brumley bundled up in a hooded coat, sluggish and slumped in his seat. He was holding somebody's hand, then loosened his grip and let go. “Get well brother,” read a caption on the video, which his sister posted on Facebook last week. (Bever, 3/15)

Boston Globe: In ICUs, A Furry Friend To Comfort Patients
Amid the monitor alarms and life-and-death conversations on the intensive care unit, Tucker, a very mellow Labrador retriever, rolled onto his back at the nurses’ station. Delighted staff surrounded the dog, cooing and scratching his stomach until he was whisked off for his most important job: Comforting patients like James Cawley. (Kowalczyk, 3/15)

Sacramento Bee: He Caught A Rare, Crippling Virus At A State Park. His Dad Fears A Cover-Up
Citrus Heights resident Curtis Fry wants answers. After eight months of waiting, he doesn’t understand why Cal/OSHA can’t provide them. Fry’s 22-year-old son, Spencer Fry, contracted the deadly hantavirus in July 2017 while working at Bodie State Historic Park and living in state-provided housing. An avid runner and hiker, Spencer suffered permanent hearing loss in his left ear and partial leg paralysis as a result. Fry said he wants state investigators to report how he was exposed and hold State Parks accountable, but he fears investigators will water down criticism because Spencer submitted a form saying he intended to sue. (Anderson, 3/16)

Health News Florida/News Service of Florida: Anti-Smoking Group Battles Ballot Proposal
Florida’s smoking rates may have dropped, but the need continues for an anti-smoking campaign --- making ill-advised a proposed constitutional amendment that would divert money from advertising to cancer research, a group of health advocates warned Wednesday. The American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association and The American Lung Association have come together under the “Protect Tobacco Free Florida” moniker to try to beat back a proposal being considered by the state Constitution Revision Commission. (3/15)

Modern Healthcare: Wellington Management Offloads Entire CHS Stake
Wellington Management has sold the entirety of its stake in Community Health Systems. The Boston-based mutual fund owned a 7.12% stake in the Franklin, Tenn.-based hospital chain—nearly 19 million shares—at the end of 2017. As of Thursday, the fund's ownership stake was 0%, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The development follows news that CHS has hired a team of financial advisers to help the chain restructure $4.8 billion in long-term debt maturing in 2019 and 2020. The chain's stock price dropped 11% over a two-day period after reports of the hire surfaced. CHS' total long-term debt stands at nearly $14 billion.  (Bannow, 3/15)

The Associated Press: San Francisco Embraces Amsterdam-Style Marijuana Lounges
[T]here’s nothing like the Barbary Coast lounge almost anywhere in the United States, a conundrum confronting many marijuana enthusiasts who find it increasingly easy to buy pot but harder to find legal places to smoke it. Only California permits marijuana smoking at marijuana retailers with specially designed lounges. But it also allows cities to ban those kids of shops. (Elias, 3/15)