Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Washington Governor Vows To Forgo Title X Funding If New Rule Goes Into Effect; Quality Of Care For Connecticut Inmates Criticized At Hearing
Modern Healthcare: Washington Vows To Reject Title X Funds Under Trump's Rules
Washington's Democratic governor pledged Monday that if the Trump administration sticks with its proposed Title X family planning rules that include a ban on Planned Parenthood, the state will forgo its share of the nearly $290 billion that the federal government pays out. The statement by Gov. Jay Inslee could mean a loss of nearly $4 million each year in grants to family planning clinics should HHS finalize its proposed Title X rule without changes, and other Democratic governors plan to make similar pledges over the next few days. (Luthi, 7/30)
The CT Mirror: Legislators Grill UConn Health, DOC About Inmate Health Care
Concerns about the medical care provided to inmates in Connecticut’s prisons emerged during a six-hour hearing Monday as family members of inmates testified about substandard care and the system’s former medical director told lawmakers that requests for specialized treatment were routinely denied. (Rigg, 7/30)
Boston Globe: Retailers Give New Tobacco Law Mixed Reviews
Tobacco retailers have mixed reviews for a new law that raises the legal age for purchasing tobacco in Massachusetts to 21. The law standardizes the minimum age across the state, where more than 170 municipalities, including Boston and Worcester, had already raised the age above 18. (Halper, 7/31)
The Associated Press: Ex-Nurse Convicted Of Manslaughter In Diabetic Inmate Death
A former Mississippi jail nurse has been convicted of manslaughter in the death of a diabetic inmate who went a week without insulin. The Sun Herald reports a Warren County judge sentenced Carmon Sue Brannan on Monday to 15 years in prison. Brannon testified she thought 28-year-old William Joel Dixon of Lucedale was undergoing drug withdrawal the week before his death in 2014 in the George County jail. (7/30)
New Hampshire Union Tribune: Elliot Hospital Invests $1.5M In Psychiatric Evaluation Unit
Elliot Hospital is spending $1.5 million to offer more beds and a better setting for emergency room patients in need of psychiatric care. Elliot on Monday unveiled a new psychiatric evaluation program unit in the emergency room that will provide six beds — two more than in the existing unit. It opens Aug. 6. (Cousineau, 7/30)
New Hampshire Union Tribune: Endowment For Health Awards Nearly $1M In Grants For NH Projects
The Endowment for Health, the state’s largest health foundation, recently awarded nearly $1 million in grants to support a wide range of projects. The $996,964 in funds is “aimed at strengthening the voices of families and youth, as well as greater access to community-service information,” according to a news release. The Endowment’s focus includes work on health equity, children’s behavioral health, early childhood, elder health and health policy. (Feely, 7/30)
Iowa Public Radio: Iowa Board Of Medicine Director Abruptly Retires Following Suspension, Reinstatement
The executive director of Iowa’s medical regulatory board has abruptly retired, saying he was treated unfairly by state officials. The Iowa Board of Medicine put executive director Mark Bowden on administrative leave about a month ago, and voted to reinstate him Friday. (Sostaric, 7/30)
San Jose Mercury News: Lawsuit Accuses Cupertino Nursing Home Of Understaffing To Increase Profit
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Cupertino Healthcare & Wellness Center and more than a dozen other skilled nursing homes accused of deliberately running an understaffed business to make a bigger profit. The 24-hour skilled nursing home and rehab facility on Voss Avenue is one of four Bay Area businesses named in the suit; the other three are in Hayward, Novato and San Rafael. (Sarwari, 7/30)
The Oregonian: Portland's Main Psychiatric ER Bars Most New Patients During State Investigation
The Unity Center for Behavioral Health, Portland's 1 ½-year-old psychiatric emergency room, is no longer accepting most new patients while it works to address problems raised by a state investigation into employee and patient safety. In a move that could cause backups at hospital emergency rooms, the 100-bed center has told ambulances and area hospitals to no longer bring or refer patients to Unity. The facility will still accept walk-in patients only for now, said Legacy Health spokesman Brian Terrett. (Harbarger, 7/30)
St. Louis Public Radio: Public-Housing Residents No Longer Allowed To Smoke In Facilities
All public housing in Missouri is now smoke-free. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the policy change in November 2016, mandating the facilities prohibit smoking by July 30 of this year. (Lewis-Thompson, 7/30)
The Star Tribune: Startup Pushing Software System For Changing Health Behaviors
Clinics buy subscriptions to the software service from Praestan Health, which draws on more than 20 behavior change models to create a personalized "change path" for individual patients. When crafting plans for individuals, the software is designed to pull data from electronic health record systems in clinics as well as detailed online screening tools that patients fill out online, said Dr. L. Read Sulik, the company's founder and chief medical officer. (Snowbeck, 7/30)
Boston Globe: Study: Death Rate For The Homeless On Boston’s Streets Is 10 Times Higher Than Average
Homeless people living on the street in Boston had a death rate nearly three times higher than those living in shelters and almost 10 times higher than the general Massachusetts population, a new study has found. The study, published Monday online in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, looked at 445 unsheltered homeless adults who were “sleeping rough” in 2000 and followed what happened to them over 10 years. One hundred and thirty-four of them died. (Finucane, 7/30)
