State Highlights: Report On Child Deaths After Heart Surgeries At North Carolina Hospital Prompts Investigation; Paradise Looks For New, Flexible Health Care Vision Following Wildfires

The New York Times: North Carolina To Investigate After Concerns Raised At Children’s Hospital
North Carolina’s secretary of health on Friday called for an investigation into a hospital where doctors had suspected children with complex heart conditions had been dying at higher than expected rates after undergoing heart surgery. Dr. Mandy Cohen, the secretary, said in a statement that a team from the state’s division of health service regulation would work with federal regulators to conduct a “thorough investigation” into events that occurred in 2016 and 2017 at North Carolina Children’s Hospital, part of the University of North Carolina medical center in Chapel Hill. (Gabler, 5/31)

Politico: Rebuilding Paradise: Finding Health Care After Total Destruction
This Northern California town, decimated by wildfires, is trying to rebuild a health care system in a place that no longer exists for a future that’s impossible to predict. Paradise is little more than a large charred debris removal site — and it lost its hospital, several clinics, its nursing homes, its doctors in the fire last year. Without health care, Paradise, a remote town 90 miles from Sacramento nestled into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, has no chance of coming back. (Colliver, 6/2)

The Associated Press: Michigan Doctor Faces Trial Over Misdiagnosing Epilepsy
Mariah Martinez was 9 years old when she got bad news about her chronic headaches: A doctor said she had epilepsy. Over the next four years, the suburban Detroit girl took anti-seizure medicine that made her feel sluggish and was occasionally hooked to a machine that recorded her brain waves. She was told to avoid activities that would rouse her heart, making her the target of teasing by other kids at school. (6/2)

Pioneer Press: Minnesota Settles Lawsuit With Medical Information Company That Exposed Private Data Of 8,000 Patients 
Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Thursday that Medical Informatics Engineering Inc., or MIE, had settled a lawsuit brought by Minnesota and 15 other states for failing to protect patients’ private data. It was the first multiple-state lawsuit under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA law, according to Ellison. ...The data breach dates to between May 7 and May 26 of 2015, Ellison said. Information including names, telephone numbers, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers, lab results, insurance information, medical conditions, and other data were stolen during the breach. (Magan, 5/31)

Modern Healthcare: CommonSpirit Reports $100 Million Operating Loss
Two months into the merger that formed CommonSpirit Health, rising expenses and slumping revenue led to a $100 million operating loss in the quarter that ended March 31. The Chicago-based health system created through the Feb. 1 merger of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health reported the loss in the third quarter of its fiscal 2019. It represented a noteworthy swing from the system's operating gain of $144 million in the prior-year period. The earlier period was derived by combining the results of the two separate systems. CommonSpirit's operating margin fell from 2% to -1.4% in that time as expense growth far outpaced a slight decline in revenue. (Bannow, 5/31)

The Star Tribune: Minnesota's Largest Public Health Care Firms See Another Record Growth Year
Minnesota’s biggest health care companies got even bigger last year as the sector’s never-ending growth story continues. UnitedHealth Group bolstered its position as Minnesota’s largest company in 2018 by growing its health insurance and health care services businesses, while also adding to operations in South America. Reported revenue grew by 12.5% to a whopping $226.2 billion. (Snowbeck, 6/1)

The Associated Press: 7 Patients At New Ohio Hospital Diagnosed With Legionnaires'
Ohio’s health authority on Friday ordered a newly opened hospital outside Columbus to immediately flush and disinfect its water lines and take other steps to protect the public’s health after seven patients were diagnosed with potentially fatal Legionnaires’ disease. The Ohio Department of Health said in a statement that the first Mount Carmel Grove City patient diagnosed with Legionnaires’, a severe form of pneumonia, was admitted to the 200-bed hospital April 29, the day after it opened. The statement described state Health Director Amy Acton’s adjudication order as a rare event. (6/1)

Arizona Republic: Arizona Doctor's Plea: Don't Destroy Bankrupt Hospitals' Medical Records
The former chief medical officer of two bankrupt Arizona hospitals is begging a judge not to allow thousands of patient records to be destroyed soon. Dr. Timothy Johns is the latest to question why patients had to wait months after Florence Hospital at Anthem and Gilbert Hospital closed to receive their medical records and why other patients will be out of luck if they don't request copies by June 23. (Sanders, 6/1)

Detroit Free Press: Michigan AG 'Looking Into' Macomb County Guardianship Dispute
After a contentious Macomb County case raised concerns about the state's adult guardianship system, the Michigan Attorney General's Office says it is "looking into" the matter, and two Michigan chief judges say they'll be working with the attorney general's Elder Abuse Task Force. In a joint statement, Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget M. McCormack and Macomb Circuit and Probate Courts Chief Judge James M. Biernat Jr. said that after a guardianship ruling made by Macomb Probate Judge Kathryn George was called into question, the Michigan Supreme Court will be working with Attorney General Dana Nessel.  (Siacon, 5/31)

KCUR: Missouri Food Coalitions Digging Up Deep Roots Of Food Insecurity 
If every American followed the USDA's dietary recommendations—two and a half cups of vegetables and two cups of fruit—demand would far exceed supply. "It's difficult to grow fruits and vegetables, which are considered specialty crops under federal law, and which receive far fewer supports," says Beth Low-Smith, vice president of policy for KC Healthy Kids and director of the Greater KC Food Policy Coalition. Beth Low-Smith, vice president of policy for KC Healthy Kids and director of the Greater KC Food Policy Coalition. A federal farm bill that's renewed every five years encourages production of commodity crops like corn and soy. (Kniggendorg, 6/1)

Arizona Republic: 2 Cases Of Hepatitis A Confirmed At Arizona Prisons
Two inmates at Arizona state prisons have been diagnosed with highly contagious hepatitis A, officials said. Shortly after the two inmates' arrival in early May, Arizona Department of Corrections was notified by the Department of Health Services that the inmates tested positive for hepatitis A after lab work that was taken during the ADC intake process, ADC spokesman Andrew Wilder said. (Carpenter and Castle, 5/31)

Arizona Republic: ASU Youth Experiences Study Gives Insight On Sex, Labor Exploitation
One in every three. That's the stark reality an Arizona State University study suggests about the scope of sex and labor trafficking among homeless young adults in Arizona. For the past five years, the ASU Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research has conducted the Youth Experiences Survey, or YES, to gather data about human exploitation among homeless and runaway young adults ages 18 to 25. (Oldham, 6/1)

North Carolina Health News: Dental Therapy Might Not Be What You Think, But Is It For North Carolina?
Dental therapists are all about settling more people into dentist chairs, and they do it by providing some of the same care as dentists, especially in rural areas with oral health care provider shortages. ...In 2009, Minnesota became the first state to authorize licenses for dental therapy. The first licenses were issued in 2011. As of April, 10 states allow dental therapists. In Minnesota, where there are just over 3,400 dentists and 93 dental therapists, the dental therapy program grew from concerns about care shortages in some areas and an effort to send mid-level providers to those places. (Blythe, 6/3)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 95,000 Pounds Of Johnsonville Sausages Are Recalled
Johnsonville Sausage is recalling 95,393 pounds of ready-to-eat sausages that may be contaminated with hard green plastic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Friday. The recall is for 14-ounce packages of Johnsonville Jalapeño Cheddar Smoked Sausage with a best by date of June 9, 2019. (Langhorne, 5/31)