State Highlights: North Carolina Children’s Hospital Set To Resume Heart Surgeries After High Death Rates; California Anti-Vaccine Protesters Co-Opt Civil Rights Mantle

The New York Times: Troubled Children’s Hospital May Resume Heart Surgeries
A North Carolina children’s hospital that stopped performing complex heart surgeries in recent months after high death rates were disclosed may now resume the procedures, according to an advisory board that was examining the hospital’s practices. The board noted “significant investment and progress” had been made at North Carolina Children’s Hospital while suggesting areas for improvement, including increasing the number of surgeries performed, a factor associated with better outcomes. (Gabler, 9/17)

Politico: 'We Shall Overcome': California Anti-Vaccine Activists Claim Civil Rights Mantle
A chorus of mostly white women sang the gospel song “We Shall Overcome” in the California State Capitol, an anthem of the civil rights movement. Mothers rallied outside the governor's office and marched through Capitol corridors chanting “No segregation, no discrimination, yes on education for all!" Some wore T-shirts that read “Freedom Keepers." But this wasn't about racial equality. In the nation's most diverse state, protesters opposed to childhood vaccine mandates — many from affluent coastal areas — had co-opted the civil rights mantle from the 1960s, insisting that their plight is comparable to what African Americans have suffered from segregationist policies. (Mays, 9/18)

Reveal: Elderly Often Face Neglect In California Care Homes That Exploit Workers
An investigation by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting found that some operators of senior board-and-care homes that violate labor laws and steal workers’ wages – previously exposed by Reveal – often also endanger or neglect their residents, sometimes with dire consequences. Reveal analyzed thousands of licensing records and hundreds of U.S. Department of Labor cases in California and conducted two dozen interviews with workers, residents and their family members. (Gollan, 9/17)

Boston Globe: ‘It’s The Worst It’s Ever Been’: After Police Crackdown, Unease Grows In The South End
That question has divided this stretch of the South End since police raids, dubbed “Operation Clean Sweep” Aug. 1 and 2, led to the arrest of 34 people and the dispersal of many who congregate here, close to addiction treatment services. The homeless, those struggling with drug use or mental illness, and service providers who work with them say the police crackdown has uprooted an already vulnerable population. But others who live and work in the neighborhood wonder why law enforcement isn’t doing more to curb the rampant drug use, or when City Hall will find a solution to the issues, rather than slapping on another bandage. (Pan, 9/17)

Iowa Public Radio: As Iowa Begins Mental Health Training In Schools, Some Ask If It's Enough
Schools are often on the forefront in spotting mental health issues in children. But historically educators have received little training in this area. In Iowa, legislators have set aside $2 million to expand mental health training in schools. But when nearly a quarter of kids are estimated to have a psychiatric disorder, some people want the state to do more. (Krebs, 9/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: Suit By Transgender Man Initially Refused Surgery Reinstated By Appeals Court
A state appeals court reinstated a transgender patient’s suit against the Catholic hospital chain Dignity Health on Tuesday for refusing to perform transgender surgery, and then allegedly relenting and referring the patient to another hospital only after the story hit the local airwaves. Evan Minton’s claims, if proven, would show that “he was subjected to discrimination” based on gender identity, at least for the three days between the hospital’s rejection and his surgery, said the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco. (Egelko, 9/17)

CalMatters: Disaster Days: How Megafires, Guns And Other 21st Century Crises Are Disrupting CA Schools
Each year, millions of Californians send their children to public K-12 classrooms, assuming that, from around Labor Day to early summer, there will be one given: A school day on a district’s calendar will mean a day of instruction in school. But that fixed point is changing, according to a CalMatters analysis of public school closures. From massive wildfires to mass shooting threats to dilapidated classrooms, the 21st century is disrupting class at a level that is unprecedented for California’s 6.2 million students. Last year, the state’s public schools closed their doors and sent kids home in what appear to be record numbers, mainly as a result of sweeping natural disasters. It was the third significant spike in four years. (Cano, 9/16)

Columbus Dispatch: Did Ohio Go Around Drugmaker Restrictions On Executions Despite Warnings?
State officials went ahead with executions in recent years even after manufacturers threatened to cut off the supply of their drugs to millions of Ohioans who rely on the state for needed medications, records obtained by The Dispatch show. Going back to at least 2015, drugmakers warned Ohio officials not to use their products in executions. Gov. Mike DeWine and his administration have said some have gone so far as to threaten not to supply Ohio medicine for any use, including in state veterans homes, psychiatric hospitals and prison infirmaries — and for the nearly 3 million residents receiving Medicaid benefits. (Schladen, 9/18)

Boston Globe: Southcoast Health, Blue Cross At Odds Over Payment Rates
Southcoast Health and the state’s largest health insurer are engaged in a contract dispute about how much the hospital system should be paid, threatening to disrupt care for thousands of patients. Southcoast’s chief executive, Keith A. Hovan, took the disagreement public over the weekend, penning a local newspaper opinion piece that accused Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts of putting revenues before patients. (Dayal McCluskey, 9/17)

San Francisco Chronicle: Protesters Shut Down Commission Meeting As Fight Over SF Mental Health Policies Intensifies
Loud protesters shut down a San Francisco Health Commission meeting Tuesday over the city’s decision to stop admitting patients into a long-term care facility for the mentally ill, and instead turn many of the beds into a temporary respite facility. The protest — which involved about 80 people, including facility staff and patients — came one week after the Department of Public Health told The Chronicle that it decided to stop admitting patients to the Adult Residential Facility on San Francisco General Hospital’s campus due to staff negligence and errors. (Thadani, 9/17)

St. Louis Post Dispatch: ‘Cure Violence’ Program Shouldn’t Be Only Approach To Curbing Violent Crime, Mental Health Official Says
The “Cure Violence” crisis intervention program planned by city leaders should be just one of a wide range of approaches to try to stem violent crime, a city Mental Health Board official told aldermen Tuesday. “I don’t think that one program by itself will address the issues that we have in the city,” said Serena Muhammad, director of strategic initiatives for the tax-supported mental health agency. (Schlinkmann, 9/17)

Georgia Health News: No Delay: Nonprofit Hospitals Must Disclose Financial Data Soon
Georgia’s nonprofit hospitals will still have to disclose extensive financial data by Oct. 1, even though state regulations on this new requirement won’t be finished by then, state officials say. A disclosure law, passed by the General Assembly early this year, requires reporting of executive compensation and the financial holdings of hospitals, among other information. (Miller, 9/17)

MPR: 'FACT' Teams Aim To Keep People With Mental Illness Out Of Jail
When someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, often the only alternatives are jail or an emergency room. Neither of those alternatives is particularly helpful, and sometimes they can make a person’s condition worse. Nationwide, cities and counties are searching for cheaper and more therapeutic options.Some are turning to Forensic Assertive Community Treatment, or FACT, teams — a way to provide a range of support services designed to keep people with serious mental illness out of the hospital and out of the criminal justice system. (Roth, 9/18)

California Healthline: Voices: How Should California Address The Needs Of Its Aging Population?
Demographers, gerontologists and government officials are counting down to 2030.That’s the year America’s youngest baby boomers will reach retirement age. The country already is feeling the effects of an aging population, but its most populous state is bracing for a hard hit as retirement collides with increasing poverty and the high cost of living. (Almendrala and Ibarra, 9/17)

Belleville News-Democrat: Here’s How Much St. Clair County Plans To Tax For Recreational Cannabis Sales
With recreational cannabis sales set to become legal in Illinois in 2020, St. Clair County officials are setting tax rates and eyeing where the new revenue might go. The board voted to set tax rates on recreational sales at a special meeting of the county board Monday night with all attending board members voting in favor of the ordinance. (Mansouri, 9/17)