Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Students Sexually Abused By Team Doctor Owed Monetary Resolution, Ohio State Claims; Thousands of Calif. Teens Held For Minor Offenses, Report Says
The Associated Press: Ohio State Vows ‘Monetary Resolution’ For Doctor’s Victims
Ohio State University is committed to a “monetary resolution” for men sexually abused decades ago by team doctor Richard Strauss, school leaders said Thursday, though no settlement has been reached in lawsuits alleging school officials ignored complaints and failed to stop him. The university has acknowledged its failure to prevent and investigate the abuse and has repeatedly apologized publicly. But prior to comments Thursday by the chairman of the board of trustees, it hadn’t made any commitments to compensation for those abused by the now-dead physician. (11/21)
The San Francisco Chronicle: California’s Juvenile Halls Are Supposed To Hold Just The Worst Young Offenders. The Truth Is A Different Story
Marie shivered beneath a thin blanket on her first night in juvenile hall, her only view an occasional glimpse of a guard checking on her through the window in her cell door. Her crime was minor: refusing to obey police officers who came into her bedroom to question her about skipping school. Three weeks earlier, the 16-year-old girl had been caught shoplifting a bottle of cognac. (Palomino and Tucker, 11/21)
The Associated Press: Suspected Norovirus Outbreak Closes 46 Colorado Schools
Thousands of students in Colorado were out of school Thursday because of a suspected outbreak of norovirus. All 46 schools in the district serving Grand Junction and the surrounding area were closed and won’t reopen until after the Thanksgiving break so custodians can disinfect surfaces. (11/21)
The New York Times: Virus Outbreak Closes Colorado Schools For More Than 20,000 Students
“We are taking this highly unusual action because this virus is extremely contagious and spreading quickly across our schools,” Tanya Marvin, the district’s nursing coordinator, said in the superintendent’s statement. The school district, stretching from the Utah border to Palisade, Colo., is the 14th largest in the state. (Padilla, 11/21)
The Washington Post: Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh Pleads Guilty To Fraud And Tax-Evasion Conspiracies Over Her Children's Books
Former Baltimore mayor Catherine E. Pugh pleaded guilty Thursday to fraud-and-tax-evasion conspiracies to illegally hide profits from sales of her children’s books to enhance her political and personal fortunes. Pugh’s acknowledgment of guilt came during a court hearing in downtown Baltimore, the city the disgraced 69-year-old once led. Her appearance followed the unsealing by federal prosecutors a day earlier of an indictment against Pugh following a three-year investigation into sales of the “Healthy Holly” book series that began when she was a state senator representing Baltimore in Annapolis. (Hermann and Bui and Marimow, 11/21)
Health News Florida: Judge Blocks Release Of Health Plan Information
A Leon County circuit judge has issued a permanent injunction to shield from public disclosure information that a Medicaid managed-care plan submitted to state regulators. Judge John Cooper this month approved a request by UnitedHealthcare of Florida to prevent the Office of Insurance Regulation from releasing certain information as part of a public-records request. Cooper agreed with the managed-care plan that the information included protected trade secrets. (11/21)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sixteenth Street Community Health To Open Behavioral Health Clinic
Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers is buying the building at 1635 W. National Ave. that now is the headquarters of Badger Mutual Insurance and plans to open a clinic that will provide behavioral health care and alcohol and substance abuse services. The expansion will be partly funded by a $3.7 million gift from Froedtert Health and is the second announced by the community health center in recent weeks. (Boulton, 11/21)
Health News Florida: Nonprofit Helps Low-Income Floridians Make Their Homes Safer For Asthmatic Children
A nonprofit program funded in part by local government entities helps low-income Floridians make modifications to their homes to improve health and safety. Part of the program focuses on making homes safer for children with severe allergies and asthma, like 5-year-old Tampa resident Mario Garcia. (Miller, 11/21)
Wyoming Public Radio: Report Highlights Corners Of The Mountain West Lacking Running Water
A report out this week shows a significant number of Americans don't have access to basic services like running water. And many of the places that lack plumbing are in the Mountain West. “Small pockets of communities without complete plumbing exist in every state,” write the researchers, who also say the gap isn’t driven by people who choose to live off-the-grid, but instead by a lack of basic infrastructure. (Bichell, 11/21)
The Associated Press: Parents Look For Answers After Autistic Son Chokes At School
A Maryland couple whose autistic teenager died after choking on a latex glove say they have concerns about the way the public school system handles students with special needs. The Capital Gazette reports 17-year-old Bowen Levy died on Nov. 10, five days after he choked on a glove at Central Special School, which serves children with disabilities in Anne Arundel County. (11/21)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bridges Nursing Home In Milwaukee Will Close, Cutting 71 Jobs
A Milwaukee nursing home notified state officials Thursday that it will close, adding to a growing number of nursing home closures in Wisconsin. The latest to announce it is shutting down is The Bridges of Milwaukee Rehab and Care Center, 6800 N. 76th St. The closing is expected to eliminate 71 full-time jobs, the facility said in its notification. The job cuts will begin on Jan. 20. (Romell, 11/21)
The CT Mirror: As Feds Eye Treatment Of Juveniles At Manson Youth Institution, Its Adult Population Falls
The number of young adults at Manson Youth Institution fell by 42% between March and November of this year after the Department of Correction closed two units at the Cheshire facility and transferred those inmates to other prisons. On March 1, there were 401 people between the ages of 18 and 21 incarcerated at Manson. The next month, there were 288. That number declined even further by Nov. 1, when there were only 233 young adults at the high-security penitentiary, an almost 42% decrease from March. (Lyons, 11/22)
NPR: 'Street Medicine' Clinic Brings Health Care To Atlanta's Homeless
Herman Ware sits at a small, wobbly table inside a large van that's been converted into a mobile health clinic. The van is parked on a trash-strewn, dead-end street in downtown Atlanta where homeless residents congregate. Ware is here for a seasonal flu shot. "It might sting," he says, thinking back on past shots. Ware grimaces slightly as the nurse injects his upper arm. (Whitehead, 11/21)
The New York Times: As Rents Outrun Pay, California Families Live On A Knife’s Edge
When Priscilla Fregoso and her family moved into their apartment in Van Nuys, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, three years ago, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. They had bounced from home to home in Long Beach and Orange County and then in Pacoima, long known as a diverse working-class area of the Valley. But when their rent there increased by $220 a month, they found themselves living in their car. (Cowan and Gebeloff, 11/21)
