Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: 'Patient Dumping' Controversy Prompts New Calif. Law Targeting Hospital Discharge Policies; Texas Caseworkers Struggling With Burnout
Sacramento Bee: Homeless Patients Were Left On The Streets By Hospitals. This Law Could End ‘Dumping’
Spurred by news stories about hospitals “dumping” poor people onto the streets, a new law will soon require health care providers to develop specific policies for safely discharging homeless patients. Beginning in July, hospitals must document in writing that shelters have beds for homeless patients before sending them to the facilities. (Hubert, 10/9)
Texas Tribune: Texas Caseworkers Caring For Vulnerable Adults Feel Forgotten By Legislators
The agency — which is part of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services — is experiencing high caseworker turnover and caseloads as these staffers work through the emotional toll of supporting and providing services for older and disabled Texans. Caseworkers are also unhappy about workers at Child Protective Services — which is also part of the department — getting significant raises after high-profile scrutiny from media and state leaders. As legislators head back to Austin for the 2019 legislative session in January, it’s unclear how much attention the agency focused on protecting vulnerable adults will receive. (Evans, 10/9)
The Washington Post: Johns Hopkins Names Building To Honor Henrietta Lacks And Her ‘Immortal’ Cells
Johns Hopkins University announced it will name a new research building on campus in honor of Henrietta Lacks, whose “immortal cells” led to the development of the polio vaccine, studies of leukemia and AIDS, chemotherapy and in vitro fertilization research as well as the effects of zero gravity in space. “This building will be a place that stands as an enduring and powerful testament to a woman who not only was the beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother to generations of the Lacks family, but the genesis of generations of miraculous discoveries that have changed the landscape of modern medicine and that have benefited, in truth, the much larger family of humanity,” Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels said Saturday during the university’s ninth annual Henrietta Lacks Memorial lecture series. (Brown, 10/8)
New Hampshire Union Leader: State To Receive $2.7M Grant For Child Abuse Project
The state has been approved for a five-year, $2.7 million federal grant to help young families, especially those at highest risk for child abuse. The funds will be targeted to programs in Manchester, Laconia, Belmont, Franklin and Tilton. The grant will fund the Community Collaborations to Strengthen and Preserve Families (CCSPF) project, which will be led by the Division for Children, Youth and Families and the Division of Public Health Services. (Leader, 10/8)
ProPublica: Texas Panel Faults Lab Chemist In Bryan Case For “Overstated Findings” And Inadequate DNA Analysis
An influential state commission issued a highly critical assessment on Friday of a second key player in the murder conviction of Joe Bryan, saying a Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab chemist had “overstated findings, exceeded her expertise and engaged in speculation” when she testified in 1989. In a report issued at its quarterly meeting, the Texas Forensic Science Commission also found that the now-retired chemist, Patricia Retzlaff, failed to do thorough analysis of key DNA evidence in 2012, after a judge allowed such testing. (Colloff, 10/8)
Seattle Times: At Harborview, Where 175 Limb Amputations Are Performed Yearly, A Support Group Offers Help
At Harborview, 175 limb amputations are performed yearly. About 60 percent are due to diabetes, peripheral vascular disease and flesh-eating bacterial infections, according to Susan Gregg, the director of media relations for UW Medicine, which oversees Harborview. Of the remainder, the majority are due to trauma incidents, most often motorcycle and car crashes. Other causes include burns, work-related injuries, and boating and recreational-vehicle crashes. Only one in 10 involves an upper extremity. (Clarridge, 10/8)
Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Employment: Are You A Nurse? UC Health Has 300 Openings
UC Health is on the hunt to fill about 300 nursing jobs at its facilities across the Cincinnati region, including the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, West Chester Hospital and the Daniel Drake rehabilitation facility. Recruitment events are scheduled this month to find people to care “for patients with the most complex illnesses and injuries,” said Beverly Bokovitz, chief nursing officer at UC Medical Center. (Saker, 10/8)
The Star Tribune: HealthPartners Gets $7.9 Million Grant For Health Co-Ops And Care Centers In Uganda, 3 Other Countries
HealthPartners has received a $7.9 million federal grant to extend and expand a project that builds health insurance cooperatives in African nations where access to medical care is limited. The Bloomington-based insurer and health care provider has been providing assistance in Uganda since 1997 and will now expand that work into three additional countries. (Howatt, 10/8)
The Star Tribune: 'Teledentristry' Expands Preventive Care To More Minnesota Families
In an effort to serve more low-income and uninsured families, Minnesota’s dental industry is returning to a high-tech solution known as teledentistry, which allows dental hygienists to provide preventive care at low cost while supervised electronically by dentists at a different location. For the 25 percent of Minnesotans without dental insurance, even basic preventive care may be too expensive, and among the 1.1 million enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program, many cannot find a dentist who takes government insurance. (Howatt, 10/8)
Stateline: Pre-Existing Conditions Are A Thing In Pet Insurance Too
California’s pet insurance regulations, which experts peg as the strictest in the country, owe their existence to a dearly departed golden retriever named Bodie. It was Bodie’s death more than a decade ago from blood cancer, and his owner’s subsequent tussle with a pet insurance company for reimbursement of medical expenses, that led to the legislation requiring California’s pet insurance rules today. But outside of the Golden State, pet insurance is governed by a loose, state-by-state set of regulations that vary widely, experts say. (Povich, 10/8)
Health News Florida: Judge Chastises State Over Marijuana Licenses
In a harshly worded order scolding state officials for treating the Constitution “like a recommendation,” a Tallahassee judge Friday gave the Department of Health two weeks to begin registering new medical-marijuana operators or risk being found in contempt. Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson, siding with Tampa-based Florigrown LLC, rebuked Gov. Rick Scott, the Scott administration and the Republican-dominated Legislature for failing to properly carry out a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana. (Kam, 10/8)
San Francisco Chronicle: Cannabis Confusion: Trendy CBD Is In Legal Limbo. Here’s What You Need To Know.
Today, CBD, whether it’s derived from heady cannabis or its sober botanical twin, hemp, is being touted as a super-cannabinoid, both a wellness agent and a natural therapeutic medicine that’s predicted to be a $22 billion industry by 2020, sold online and in convenience stores and cannabis dispensaries near you. An increasing body of scientific research encompasses more than 60 ways CBD affects humans. (Murrieta, 10/8)
