State Highlights: N.H. Health Budget Would Give Nurses A Raise; Texas Lawmaker Moves To Outlaw Guns At State Mental Hospitals

New Hampshire Union Leader: DHHS Budget Calls For $10M In Raises For Nurses 
A 15 percent raise for nurses working in the Department of Health and Human Services will cost the state $10 million over the next two years, but is necessary to attract and retain health care professionals in an increasingly competitive market, according to Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeffrey Meyers. The head of the state’s biggest agency presented a $1.4 billion two-year spending plan for fiscal years 2018-2019 to House budget-writers on Tuesday. He said increased pay for nurses and other providers is a top priority. (Solomon, 2/21)

Austin Statesman: Legislator Seeks To Keep Guns Out Of State Psychiatric Hospitals
One year after state psychiatric hospitals began letting people carry guns on campus, a Republican legislator is pushing a bill that reverses course. House Bill 14, filed by Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, outlaws firearms at Texas’ 10 state-run mental health hospitals, which care for people with depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other illnesses. (Ball, 2/21)

Health News Florida: Flu Widespread In Florida, With Extra Bug 
Influenza season is at its peak nationwide, and Florida is no exception. That's obvious on the map at the Centers for Disease Control website. Warren McDougle, epidemiology manager for the Hillsborough County Health Department, says the flu shot apparently did a good job of covering the predominant strain, A (H3). But unfortunately, there's another mean virus going around, according to anecdotal reports. (Gentry, 2/21)

Register-Guard: Oregon Plan Would Provide Insurance To Unauthorized Kids 
Now, both women are advocating for a new state law — dubbed "Cover All Kids" by supporters — that would extend government-funded health insurance in Oregon to many unauthorized immigrants under the age of 19. The proposal would give government-funded health insurance to an estimated 17,600 unauthorized immigrants, at a cost of $55 million in the biennium that starts July 1. Critics blast the concept and the price tag, especially given state government's cash crisis.But supporters say it's a humane and sensible idea. (Hubbard, 2/21)

The Wall Street Journal: Bidder Says Los Angeles-Area Hospital Didn’t Need To Close
A health-care firm that offered to buy Gardens Regional Hospital and Medical Center Inc., a Los Angeles-area hospital that cared for low-income residents before shutting down, told a bankruptcy judge that its purchase efforts were unfairly ignored. In court papers, Le Summit Healthcare LLC officials told Bankruptcy Judge Ernest Robles that they are still willing to operate the nonprofit hospital while they obtain the new licensing and permits to restart its operations. They say Gardens Regional Hospital’s lawyers closed the 137-bed hospital unnecessarily. (Stech, 2/21)

St. Louis Public Radio: Homer G. Phillips Hospital: ‘They Were Not Going To Be Treated As Second-Class Citizens’ 
In the first half of the 20th century, segregation touched virtually every part of American life. Black residents of St. Louis weren't just barred from schools, lunch counters and drinking fountains reserved for whites. Even hospitals could refuse to admit black patients. But the hospitals that were built to serve African-American patients hold a special place in medical history. The facilities employed and trained thousands of black doctors and nurses. In St. Louis, Homer G. Phillips Hospital quickly became a trusted household name. Today marks the 80th anniversary of its dedication ceremony on Feb. 22, 1937. (Bouscaren, 2/22)

The Star Tribune: Minnesota Medical Professionals Work To Close Health Gaps For LGBT Patients 
[Deb] Thorp, medical director of the Park Nicollet Gender Services Clinic in Minneapolis, is taking part in a rare national conference next week to address health disparities among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. She and other researchers say the LGBT community is more vulnerable to some diseases, and has poorer access to, and a lower quality of, health care compared with the general population — in part because of fear. (Shah, 2/21)

The Star Tribune: Minnesota Parents Lobby For Kids At 'Dyslexia Day' At State Capitol 
On Tuesday, the advocacy group’s annual rally spread across the Capitol rotunda, where several hundred parents and children called attention to a hidden disability that affects as many as one in 10 children. Dyslexia wasn’t even recognized as a specific learning disability by the Minnesota Department of Education until 2015. Children who spoke at Tuesday’s rally said they wished schools understood more. (Hopfensperger, 2/21)

St. Louis Public Radio: Chemical Companies To Pay $15 Million To Clean Up Sauget Superfund Site 
Four chemical companies could have to pay $14.8 million to clean up a federal Superfund site in Sauget. The settlement, which needs court approval, would address groundwater contamination, cap some of the waste and install a well monitoring system. Industrial waste has been dumped in six sites within the Sauget Area 1 Superfund from the 1930s until the 1980s. The Environmental Protection Agency has been investigating the site since the early 1980s. (Chen, 2/21)