Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Virginia Governor Plans Public Talks On Gun Control; Abuse Occurred To 20% Of Medicare Patients During ER Transports In Eight States, Report Finds
The Associated Press: After Mass Shooting, Virginia Gov To Host Gun Control Talks
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is announcing a series of public talks his administration will host in the run up to a July 9 special session on gun laws. Northam’s office said Thursday that Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran and Secretary of Health and Human Resources Daniel Carey are hosting the roundtable discussions around the state. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine will join some of the events. (6/14)
Health News Florida: Medicare Report Points To Neglect And Abuse
An estimated 20 percent of Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes who were transported to hospital emergency rooms in 2016 and treated for a variety of high-risk conditions had been potentially abused or neglected, a report released Wednesday by the federal government shows. The report also shows that nursing homes failed to report many of the incidents to state health care agencies as required by federal law. (Sexton, 6/13)
The Washington Post: UMMS Report: Lawmakers Condemn Self-Dealing
Maryland lawmakers called Thursday for accountability regarding management failures at the University of Maryland Medical System and questioned why four board members who relinquished their duties after a self-dealing scandal was exposed in March were invited this week to rejoin the board. An outside review released Wednesday largely blamed former chief executive Robert A. Chrencik for hiring companies linked to board members to provide services to the system, ranging from computer software to ambulance transport to thousands of children’s books written and published by then-Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh (D). (Chason, 6/13)
Sacramento Bee/ProPublica: There Has Been An Explosion Of Homicides In California’s County Jails. Here’s Why.
Deadly violence has surged in county jails across California since the state began sending thousands of inmates to local lockups instead of prisons, the result of a dramatic criminal justice transformation that left many sheriffs ill-equipped to handle a new and dangerous population. Since 2011, when the U.S. Supreme Court ordered California to overhaul its overcrowded prisons, inmate-on-inmate homicides have risen 46% in county jails statewide compared with the seven years before, a McClatchy and ProPublica analysis of California Department of Justice data and autopsy records shows. (Pohl and Gabrielson, 6/13)
The Washington Post: 911 Upgrade Could Cost Californians Despite Budget Surplus
A $214.8 billion budget approved Thursday by California lawmakers would upgrade the state’s aging 911 system following the most devastating wildfire season in state history and help middle class families pay their monthly health insurance premiums. To fund those changes, however, lawmakers want to impose a new monthly fee on phone bills and tax people who refuse to buy private health insurance, even though the state has a projected $21.5 billion surplus, the largest in at least 20 years. (Beam, 6/13)
The New York Times: Shuffled Among Homeless Shelters, And Not Told Why
Patrice Joseph believed she was singled out when she complained about cigarette smoke and plumbing problems at the homeless shelter where she and her teenage son and daughter lived in Jamaica, Queens. Within days last month, the family was moved to a shelter in the Bronx. Ms. Joseph, who had two jobs, said she lost a position at a Queens pharmaceutical manufacturing company because she was often late for work or absent. (Stewart, 6/13)
Modern Healthcare: Kaiser Permanente Sues Queen's Health System Over Contract Dispute
Kaiser Permanente is turning to the courts to try to resolve a contract dispute with Queen's Health System, alleging that it is unduly putting Kaiser members in the middle of the fight. Kaiser, an integrated healthcare system based in Oakland, Calif. that covers individuals at Queen's four hospitals in Hawaii, disputed Queen's alleged assertion that it would bill Kaiser members who receive emergency care at Queen's if Kaiser does not pay all the billed charges, according to a lawsuit Kaiser filed in federal court Wednesday. (Kacik, 6/13)
Arizona Republic: Behavior Of Hacienda Nurse Accused Of Rape Changed Months Before Birth
Nathan Sutherland's co-workers at Hacienda de los Angeles health care facility in Phoenix realized something was different in the months leading up to his arrest on suspicion of raping and impregnating an incapacitated patient. During police interviews, they told investigators the nurse was once happy and energetic. Sutherland referred to them as his "family." Others thought he was a bit too friendly, recalling the time when he would touch female colleagues' shoulders and call them beautiful. But something seemed to change in the fall of 2018, according to the Phoenix police report provided to The Arizona Republic on Thursday in response to a public-records request. (Burkitt, 6/13)
North Carolina Health News: In State Health Report Cards, North Carolina Falls Below Average
North Carolina has continued to perform below average in a national ranking of state health systems, moving from 35th in 2018 to 34th this year. On June 12, the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit health policy research foundation, released its annual report comparing state health systems based on 47 measures including health care access, cost, use and disparities. (Duong, 6/13)
Sacramento Bee: CA Senior Citizens Could Overburden State As Baby Boomers Age
The Golden State is about to get a lot older. By 2030, the 60-and-over population will be 40 percent larger than it is now, according to the California Department of Aging. Seniors will be a larger share of the population than kids under the age of 18 by 2036, the state projects. (Jasper and Reese, 6/14)
The Washington Post: Smithsonian Is Trying To Help Disabled People Get Jobs — One Young Intern At A Time
As a child, Mionna Smith’s dream was to work with animals when she grew up. Today, the 19-year-old from Fort Stanton in southeast Washington has an administrative role at the Smithsonian Institution’s office of finance and accounting, sorting mail, restocking supply caddies and scanning invoices — no furry creatures in sight. “I didn’t want to be in an office job,” she said. And yet, when she found out in April that the Smithsonian was offering her a role as an office automation clerk, she was so happy she doubled over with joy at her desk. Her mother, thrilled, cried when Mionna shared the news with her. (Smith, 6/13)
MPR: Nurses Authorize Strike At Twin Cities Children's Hospitals
Nurses at Children's Minnesota in St. Paul and Minneapolis have rejected a contract offer from the health system and authorized their union leaders to call a strike. The vote doesn't mean a strike in imminent, but the strike authorization means union leaders could call a strike any time without going back to the rank-and-file.However, before walking out the nurses would have to wait out a 10-day notice period. (Zdechlik, 6/14)
Arizona Republic: University Of Arizona Medical Student Granted Check From Arizona Lottery
The Arizona Lottery awarded one lucky medical student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix a $25,000 scholarship Thursday. Dario Alvarez, a fourth-year student studying to be a pediatrician, was surprised with a room full of people, balloons, cheerleaders and most importantly a large check, when he walked through the classroom door for a “meeting.” (Carpenter, 6/13)
The Associated Press: Columbine Survivor, Addiction Speaker Died Of Drug Overdose
A Colorado coroner has determined a Columbine massacre survivor and addiction recovery advocate died of a drug overdose. The Denver Post reports the Routt County Coroner’s Office says an autopsy determined the death last month of 37-year-old Austin Eubanks resulted from a heroin overdose. Officials say Eubanks was found by his father May 18 in his Steamboat Springs home. (6/13)
St. Louis Public Radio: Flooding May Have Polluted More Than 140,000 Residential Wells In Missouri
Recent flooding could have contaminated more than 140,000 private wells in Missouri, according to an estimate by the National Ground Water Association. However, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services only has about 130,000 registered in its database, said Jeff Wenzel, chief of the department’s environmental epidemiology bureau. Floodwaters can spread pathogenic bacteria, like E. coli and chemicals used in home gardening and agriculture. (Chen, 6/13)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Woman Left Blind After Fall At Cuyahoga County Jail, Poor Medical Treatment, Lawsuit Says
A Cuyahoga County Jail inmate is now legally blind in one eye after she slipped on a puddle of water inside the jail and received poor medical treatment, according to a lawsuit filed on Thursday. Tammy Decosta’s attorney, Michael O’Shea, filed the lawsuit in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court late Wednesday. (Ferrise, 6/13)
The Associated Press: Utility Will Remove Coal Ash From Pits Near Tennessee River
The nation’s largest public utility on Thursday agreed to dig up and remove about 12 million cubic yards (9.2 million cubic meters) of coal ash from unlined pits at a Tennessee coal-burning power plant. Prompted by two environmental groups, the state sued the Tennessee Valley Authority in 2015 over pollution from coal ash dumps at the Gallatin Fossil Plant. According to court filings, pollutants leach from the ash into the groundwater and then enter the Cumberland River, a source of drinking water for Nashville. (Loller, 6/13)
The Associated Press: Outbreak Of Legionnaire's Blamed On Hot Water System
An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at a newly opened hospital outside Columbus has been traced to its hot water system. The health department said at least 16 patients admitted to the 210-bed Mount Carmel Grove City hospital after its opening April 28 have been diagnosed with Legionnaires'. The disease is a severe form of pneumonia that's caused by inhaling tiny water droplets containing the legionella bacteria. One of the patients, a 75-year-old woman, died. (6/13)
Arizona Republic: Arizona's CBD And Hemp Industry Is Starting To Bud
Phoenix resident Genevieve Hendricks is experimenting with CBD products to manage her chronic back pain.Hendricks has been a customer of Kaya Hemp Co. since it launched as an e-commerce site in January and went to its newly opened brick-and-mortar location at 6102 N. 16th Street on June 7. (Murdock, 6/13)
