Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Texas Activists Want To Put Stop To Day Cares Rejecting Unvaccinated Kids; Bronx School Shuttering Some Bathrooms To Try To Curb Vaping
Texas Tribune: Anti-Vaccine Texas Families May Take Their Fight To Day Cares Next
The next vaccine fight could be coming to a day care near you. Texans for Vaccine Choice, a group focused on anti-vaccine policy, says it has received hundreds of calls and emails from parents of children without vaccines who were rejected by private child care facilities. Now, the group has put a call out for those families to tell their stories. The plan: Collect as many responses as possible and present them to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission in an attempt to end those denials. (Evans, 11/13)
The Wall Street Journal: Bronx Science High School To Close Some Bathrooms To Combat Vape Use Among Students
In an attempt to stop students from vaping in bathrooms, the prestigious Bronx High School of Science will shut some of them down, starting Tuesday. Many schools across the country are struggling to reverse a surge in teenagers using e-cigarettes, which experts say can potentially lead to nicotine addiction. Bronx Science officials said in an email to parents Friday that patrolling bathrooms didn’t curb the problem of students hiding in them to vape, especially in the far corners of the building. As of Tuesday, six bathrooms in “low traffic areas’’ will be closed, and the ones left open will be subject to random checks by staff. (Brody, 11/12)
NH Times Union: Dartmouth-Hitchcock To Share Part Of $9M Cancer Research Grant
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is part of a $9 million funding grant to research new ways to improve cancer care. The grant, coming through the National Cancer Institute and in association with the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot Initiative, is funding a total of six research centers throughout the United States, including Dartmouth-Hitchcock. The research at Dartmouth-Hitchcock is looking at ways for cancer surgeons to work with patients to improve their outcomes after surgery and decrease time in the hospital. (Fisher, 11/12)
The Associated Press: Feds: Priest Lied About Cancer In Scam To Raise Money
Federal investigators said they have probable cause to believe a Mississippi priest fraudulently received donations by falsely telling people he had cancer and that his diocese knew that and concealed it. The allegations came in an affidavit written by a Department of Homeland Security special agent that was attached to an application for a search warrant that targeted the offices of the Catholic Diocese of Jackson. The application was dated Nov. 6 and unsealed Friday. (11/12)
Kansas City Star: Group Busted By KC Health Officials Feeds Homeless Again
One week after Kansas City health officials busted up several picnics for the homeless, the cooks and their meals returned Sunday afternoon. This time, the volunteers with Free Hot Soup KC were ready if health officials returned with their trash bags and bleach, said Nellie McCool of Merriam. “Everybody was ready to stand up for themselves,” she said. “We’re prepared to face the law.” (Robertson, 11/12)
The New York Times: New Public Spaces Are Supposed To Be For All. The Reality Is More Complicated.
Office workers sip coffee beside men sleeping in chairs pulled together. Tourists park their shopping bags where people shoot up heroin, or drink until they pass out. Panhandlers go table to table seeking handouts. Piles of trash, used needles and worse (human feces) have drawn complaints. This is a scene from the heart of Manhattan, where a painstaking effort to ban cars and carve a public plaza out of one of New York City’s most famous streets — with birch trees, cafe-style tables and original artwork — have collided with stark socioeconomic realities. (Hu, 11/13)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: St. Louis Archdiocese Will Open Its First Rural Health Clinic In Washington County
The Archdiocese of St. Louis plans to open its first health clinic early next year in Old Mines, Mo., in Washington County, in an effort to improve rural health care. The free clinic will offer primary care, chronic disease management, mental health care and social services — including housing and employment resources — for people without health insurance. The clinic is expected to host about 2,000 medical visits a month. (Bernhard, 11/12)
Austin Statesman: Should Austin ISD Teach Gender Identity And Sexual Orientation?
For the first time, Austin school district students as early as third grade could begin receiving lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity. They also could learn about HIV and methods of transmission and prevention. And, while changes to sex education in kindergarten through second grades aren’t scheduled yet, lesson topics that could be introduced in coming years include teaching proper words for body parts, such as “penis,” “nipples” and “vulva.” (Taboada, 11/8)
Columbus Dispatch: Patients Can Now Get Custom-Made Knee Replacements
Suffering with painful osteoarthritis, Linda Bilardello was nine weeks away from a trip to Africa when she underwent total knee-replacement surgery in May. The trip had been planned for more than a year, and she didn’t want to be impeded. She wasn’t. (Viviano, 11/12)
New Hampshire Public Radio: Debit Cards To Replace Paper Vouchers For Moms Using WIC
The government benefits program for women and children, known as WIC, is getting an upgrade in New Hampshire. WIC provides benefits to about 12,000 low-income New Hampshire residents to help cover the cost of healthy groceries. Until recently, mothers using WIC redeemed their benefits with a paper voucher, but by the end of 2018 all participants in the state will redeem their benefits with a WIC debit card. (Gibson, 11/12)
