State Highlights: Texas Is Most Dangerous State To Be Pregnant; Aid-In-Dying Bill Advances In D.C.

Dallas Morning News: Is It More Dangerous To Be Pregnant In Texas Than Any Other State? 
While pregnancy is becoming safer across the world, it’s becoming more dangerous in the United States. Maternal mortality dropped in 157 countries between 2000 and 2013 but went up 27 percent in the U.S. over a similar time period. The U.S. ranks lower than Kazakhstan, Kuwait and Libya when it comes to keeping pregnant women alive...Bleeding to death, heart attack and infection were some of the most common causes of death, according to a study published last year. A researcher at Texas Tech looked at the records of 557 Texas women who died during or shortly after pregnancy. (Yasmin, 10/5)

The Washington Post: ‘An Act Of Kindness’: Medical Aid-In-Dying Legislation Advances In The District
A D.C. Council panel on Wednesday advanced a bill allowing physicians to prescribe fatal medication to help terminally ill residents legally end their lives, setting the stage for a fight over the emotionally charged issue in the nation’s capital. The legislation squeaked out of the Committee on Health and Human Services on a 3-to-2 vote after an intense lobbying effort from patients pleading for an option to avoid prolonged suffering and from religious leaders and medical professionals who object to the prospect of hastening death. (Nirappil, 10/5)

The CT Mirror: Anthem And Yale Medicine Reach Contract Deal 
Yale Medicine and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield reached a new contract agreement Wednesday, averting the possibility that the large New Haven medical practice would leave the network of the state’s largest insurer later this week. The two sides agreed not to release terms of the agreement, according to Anthem, but both described it as including provisions intended to reduce the cost of care while improving care coordination for patients. A statement from Anthem described the deal as including “new approaches to managing cost and quality,” with more proactive management of Yale Medicine’s patients. (Levin Becker, 10/5)

Health News Florida: Hurricane Matthew Causes Delay In Sarasota County Hospital Case 
The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday postponed arguments until February in a constitutional battle about a 2003 state law that directed Sarasota County to reimburse private hospitals for indigent care... The Supreme Court rescheduled the hearing for Feb. 8. Sarasota Doctors Hospital, Inc., Englewood Community Hospital Inc., and the former Venice Regional Medical Center, now known as Venice Regional Bayfront Health, went to the Supreme Court after the 2nd District Court of Appeal last year ruled that part of the 2003 law was unconstitutional. (10/5)

Nashville Tennessean: Ardent To Buy Texas Hospital Operator
Ardent Health Services has agreed to buy LHP Hospital Group, a Texas-based hospital operator, in a deal that positions the company to take on more hospitals. The scale that comes with adding five hospitals to its existing 14-hospital fleet is central to Ardent's growth plan, said David Vandewater, CEO. LHP owns majority stakes in the hospitals alongside either not-for-profit operators or physicians — partnerships that Vandewater said are advantageous to improving quality and efficiency. (Fletcher, 10/5)

The Baltimore Sun: Hospitals Embrace Family Programming As Medical Benefits Emerge 
When it comes to life-threatening illnesses in children, many families are learning there is more to treatment than pills. There are prepared meals and outings, opportunities to paint a picture and even a fresh set of clothes. There once was little consideration given to patients' and their families' quality of life during extended hospital stays or therapies, especially when the medical situation was grave. But that thinking is changing among those giving and those receiving care. (Cohn, 10/5)

Denver Post: Former Director Of Pueblo Center Where Disabled Were Abused Now Oversees Adult Services In Grand Junction
The former director of a Pueblo center where residents with severe disabilities were abused is now in charge of adult services at one of Colorado’s 20 community boards that manage benefit money for the disabled, a move that has angered numerous parents...Valita Speedie oversaw the Pueblo Regional Center for several years, including 2014-15, when a female resident performed a sexual act on a staff member for a soda and when several male residents had words such as “kill” and “die” scratched into their skin, most likely with a fingernail, according to a recently released federal report. Speedie, who resigned last year during an investigation, now is vice president of adult programs at Strive, the community-centered board that serves people with disabilities in the Grand Junction area. (Brown, 10/5)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: NewCourtland Gets $11M In Tax Credits For Frankford Senior Site
A NewCourtland Senior Services has received $11 million in New Markets Tax Credits to build a 15,000 square foot facility in the former St. Bartholomew Catholic School in Frankford to provide medical services, adult day care, and other services for low-income seniors, according to Corporation for Supportive Housing, a New York community development organization that provided the credits. The facility will be used for NewCourtland's Living Independently for Elders (LIFE) program, which is for seniors who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid and have health problems that would make them eligible to be in a nursing home. (Brubaker, 10/5)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Pa., N.J. Investigating Cause Of Bacterial Infections
The Pennsylvania and New Jersey Health Departments have announced ongoing investigations into a possible link between a bacterial infection and a type of prefilled syringe that is used to flush intravenous lines with saline solution to keep them sterile. Over the last several months, federal agencies have been tracking reports by several states of clusters of Burkholderia cepacia in health-care facilities. (Sapatkin, 10/5)

Sacramento Bee: Parents, City Reach $15 Million Settlement In Girl’s Death At Camp Sacramento 
Natalie Giorgi’s parents say a powerful message lives in their daughter’s sudden death three years ago from an allergic reaction to peanuts at a signature Sacramento-run campground. Food allergies are real, and they can kill. On the day the Giorgis’ attorneys announced that the city reached a $15 million wrongful-death settlement with the family in the 13-year-old girl’s death at Camp Sacramento in July 2013, parents Joanne and Louis Giorgi vowed Natalie’s death would not be in vain, while chastened city officials promised changes within the next 12 months to ensure the safety of future campers. (Smith, 10/5)

Arizona Republic: Banner Health's Summer Data Hack Triggers 10 Civil Lawsuits
Banner Health's admission this summer that a large-scale cyberattack may have compromised the records of 3.7 million people has been followed by a flurry of civil lawsuits from a doctor and patients who allege harm from the data breach. Plaintiffs have filed 10 civil lawsuits in Maricopa County Superior Court or U.S. District Court in Phoenix naming Banner Health as a defendant since the Phoenix-based health system disclosed the data breach Aug. 3. (Alltucker, 10/5)

Columbus Dispatch: ‘Sweetheart Swindler’ Hired By Company As In-Home Caregiver, Suit Says
A northeastern Ohio company hired Tonya Weiss — also known as the “Sweetheart Swindler’’ for ripping off lonely seniors in Ohio and Florida — to provide in-home care for elderly clients. She was hired just a few months after her release from prison, according to a lawsuit filed by an 83-year-old Painesville woman who alleges that she is Weiss’ latest victim. (Pyle, 10/6)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Aurora Expanding ER Technology
Aurora Health Care said Wednesday it will add technology developed by Brookfield start-up EmOpti Inc. to the emergency rooms at two more of its hospitals. The technology is designed to reduce emergency room wait times and leads to patients being treated more quickly. The technology, which the health care provider tested at Aurora Sinai Medical Center in early 2016, reduced emergency room initial wait times by 75%, said Mike Rodgers, director of strategic innovation at Aurora. (Gallagher, 10/5)

The Augusta Chronicle: Stem Cell Trial Aims To Provide New Therapy For Stroke Patients
Dr. David Hess, chairman of the Department of Neurology at AU, will head up a Phase III international clinical trial for stroke patients using the MultiStem cell therapy to treat ischemic stroke, the company Athersys said. Unlike the previous Phase II study, which extended the treatment window out to 48 hours after the stroke, the study will focus on 18-36 hours, which Hess believes is the best time window. Athersys is conducting a similar clinical trial in Japan in conjunction with the company Healios. (Corwin, 10/5)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Summit County Public Health Receives $2.9 Million Grant For Lead Hazard Control Program 
Summit County Public Health, in partnership with the Summit County Department of Community and Economic Development, successfully removed lead from 140 homes with the previous lead control grant awarded in 2013. The current grant award is to provide remediation to 160 eligible Summit County households. (Becka, 10/5)