Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: States Push To Curb Vaccination Exemptions; In N.C., Mental Health Patients Still Face Long Waits For Care
Stateline: To Combat Disease, States Make It Harder To Skip Vaccines
Even a small number of unvaccinated people can undermine the immunity of the larger population, which is leading public health officials and vaccine advocates to push for changes. Some want to educate parents about the risks of forgoing vaccines and fight what they say is misinformation about the risks posed by the vaccines. Others have pushed lawmakers to eliminate exemptions from state vaccine requirements and sought to make it more difficult for families to qualify for the exemptions that remain. (Breitenbach, 5/25)
North Carolina Health News: ED Wait Times Not Budging For Mental Health Patients
While the situation reached a crisis point at the beginning of the month, data show that even with efforts by the state Department of Health and Human Services and willingness from Gov. Pat McCrory and lawmakers in Raleigh, wait times for care in North Carolina’s public psychiatric hospitals has remained stubbornly high. Through the end of March, waits to get into Broughton, Central Regional and Cherry hospitals have averaged 92.8 hours – just under four days. (Hoban, 5/24)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Changing the Conversation Around Mental Health in N.H.
State leaders recently joined the medical and mental health community to launch "Change Direction NH," part of a national initiative to raise awareness of mental health disorders and eliminate the stigma around these issues. ... Still, challenges remain, including access to treatment. (5/24)
Health News Florida: Five Medical Groups Create New Health Alliance In Tampa Area
Five medical groups are joining forces to form the Tampa Bay Health Alliance to increase access to high quality, efficient health care. (Ochoa, 5/24)
California Healthline: California’s Glaring Shortage Of School Nurses
California falls significantly short of a new recommendation by an influential group of pediatricians calling for every school in the United States to have at least one nurse on site. Fifty-seven percent of California’s public school districts, with 1.2 million students, do not employ nurses, according to research from Sacramento State University’s School of Nursing. (Ibarra, 5/25)
Detroit Free Press: Gov. Rick Snyder's Legal Tab $6,500 Per Day
Bills for an outside legal firm to represent Gov. Rick Snyder in civil lawsuits related to the Flint drinking water crisis are costing taxpayers close to $6,500 a day, and Snyder spent almost the entire $400,000 allocated for the legal contract in February and March alone, records show. (Egan, 5/25)
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Progressive Opens Urgent Care Clinic At Aurora Sinai Medical Center
Progressive Community Health Centers has opened its urgent care clinic at the Aurora Sinai Medical Center and will open its primary care clinic on the downtown Milwaukee campus on June 1. (Boulton, 5/24)
The Associated Press: Judge Tosses Rite Aid Complaint In HIV Drug Disclosure Suit
A [Delaware] judge says Rite Aid cannot blame a man who learned of his son’s HIV infection when the pharmacy told him about his son’s prescriptions. Michael Spence is suing the retailer for negligence and invasion of privacy after his father went to pick up a prescription for his mother. A clerk told him his son had two prescriptions available. Spence had not told his parents he was HIV-positive. But the father researched the drugs and learned they were HIV medicines. (Chase, 5/24)
The Des Moines Register: Marshalltown Hospital Could Become A For-Profit Business
Marshalltown’s struggling hospital could soon become just the second for-profit community hospital in Iowa. The hospital, whose name recently changed to Central Iowa Healthcare, would be managed by a Texas company under a tentative deal announced Tuesday. (Leys, 5/24)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Water Worries Tap Frustration Near Former Bases
In total, 16 public wells have been closed. In the three townships, 342 private wells have been tested with 116 found to have unacceptable levels of the perfluorinated compounds, according to the EPA. The chemicals have been linked to cancer and reproductive issues. People with affected private wells have been given bottled water and are being hooked up to public-water supplies. (McDaniel, 5/25)
The Columbus Dispatch: Lawmakers Set To Vote On Historic Medical Marijuana Bill Today
A historic bill giving Ohioans with certain medical conditions the right to use medical marijuana could receive approval today by lawmakers and be sent to Gov. John Kasich for his signature. (Johnson, 5/25)
