State Highlights: Water Fountains In Detroit Public Schools Have Been Dry Since August; More Than 20 Ohio State Officials Knew About Concerns Over Doctor, Accusers Allege

The New York Times: Not Far From Flint, Contamination Has Left Detroit School Taps Dry
For a year now, Marcel Clark, a Detroit police officer and father of three, has been filling a 50-gallon drum each week with purified water for his family to drink. Ever since he heard about the water contamination crisis in Flint, Mich., an hour’s drive away, he hasn’t trusted the aging copper and steel pipes in his house. He’s been talking to contractors about replacing them, and hopes to get the work done in the next few months. (Nir, 11/15)

The Associated Press: Accusers: 20-Plus Ohio State Staff Knew Concerns Over Doctor
Alumni who say they're victims of sexual misconduct by an Ohio State University team doctor allege more than 20 school officials and staff, including two athletic directors, knew of concerns about how the physician treated young men but didn't stop him. The list of such employees grew Tuesday as 29 plaintiffs were added to one of the two pending lawsuits alleging Ohio State didn't deal appropriately with the now-deceased doctor, Richard Strauss. (11/14)

The Associated Press: Case Reveals Shame, Trauma Of Male Sex Trafficking Victims
Like many victims of a Connecticut sex trafficking ring that preyed on troubled young men and teenage boys for more than 20 years, Samuel Marino never told his family or police about being coerced into having sexual relations with much older men. Marino ended up carjacking vehicles from two different women in 2009 and leading police on a chase that left him dead at just 26 years old. (11/15)

The Associated Press: Report: Health Department Wasted $170K On Gifts, Travel
An investigative report by the Baltimore city Office of the Inspector General says the city’s health department wasted $170,000 on unused promotional goods, excessive manager travel, snacks and staff gifts. The Baltimore Sun reports the report released Wednesday focuses on the department’s Office of Chronic Disease Prevention, which fights illnesses such as lead poisoning and asthma. The report says the department raised the money by fining landlords for lead paint violations and charging attorneys for records in lead lawsuits. (11/15)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: High Demand For Shingles Vaccine Creates Shortages In New Orleans
A popular new vaccine against shingles is in such high demand that healthcare providers across the U.S. are having trouble keeping it in stock. The vaccine, Shingrix, was approved last year to prevent shingles for adults ages 50 and older. Shingles is a painful condition that causes a rash that can be severely itchy and debilitating, sometimes leaving nerve damage that causes pain for months or even years. People over 50 who had the chicken pox are 99 percent more likely to develop shingles, which occurs when the chickenpox virus is reactivated. People who are vaccinated reduce their risk of getting shingles by 50 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Clark, 11/14)

Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Hepatitis A Outbreak Claims Its First Casualty
Tennessee's growing hepatitis A outbreak has caused its first fatality and more deaths are possible as the virus continues to spread throughout Nashville and surrounding counties, state officials announced Wednesday. Elizabeth Hart, a spokeswoman for Tennessee Department of Health, said the fatality occurred in East Tennessee but that she could not release any other information about the victim. The Hepatitis A outbreak has now spread to 449 cases statewide, including 134 cases in Nashville and another 201 in the surrounding 12 counties. Another 40 cases have been documented in Chattanooga, which is the state’s second most impacted city, according to state data. Local officials have listed the Nashville count as even higher — 150 cases as of Wednesday. (Kelman, 11/14)

KQED: Rising Heat Is Making Workers Sick, Even Indoors
Excessive heat is already a health risk for millions of Californians at work, and it’s only getting worse. Over the last 30 years, warming nights and longer heat waves have become more frequent in the state. Four of the last five years were the hottest on record; 2018 could soon make it five out of six. This July and August, in Southern California, several daily and overnight temperature records toppled. One day this summer, the temperature hit 98 degrees at the coast. As [Jose] Rodriguez worked inside containers, a sensor measuring temperature and humidity found that the heat index – what it felt like to his body – was 115 degrees. (Peterson, 11/14)

Health News Florida: Department Of Health Gets Win In Trauma Case
A state appeals court Tuesday sided with the Florida Department of Health in a long-running dispute about proposed rules for determining whether trauma centers should be allowed to open --- though a law passed this year largely made the issue moot. A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal overturned a 2017 decision by Administrative Law Judge Garnett Chisenhall, who tossed out the proposed rules. (11/14)

Dallas Morning News: Listeria Concerns Prompt Recall Of Ready-To-Eat Chicken Salad Sold In Texas
A Houston company that makes ready-to-eat chicken salad is recalling nearly 7,000 pounds of products that could be contaminated with listeria. Ron's Home Style Foods produced and packaged the chicken salad on Oct. 22 but the problem wasn't discovered until a Nov. 13 inspection, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service. The chicken salad was shipped to institutional and retail locations in Texas under two brand names. (O'Donnell, 11/14)

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center Announces Affiliation With Cincinnati's Mercy Health
Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center has announced an affiliation agreement with Cincinnati-based Mercy Health, part of Bon Secours Mercy Health, aimed at tackling Ohio’s most-critical health issues. David McQuaid, chief executive officer for the Ohio State Health System, announced the new Healthy State Alliance at the Wexner Medical Center’s board meeting Wednesday. (Smola, 11/14)

Health News Florida: UCF, Nemours Team Up To Educate Youngest Patients
A new partnership between Nemours Children’s Hospital and the University of Central Florida is aimed at bringing the classroom to hospitalized children. Sixty children take classes through PedsAcademy, which brings math and science instruction to their bedside so they’re not behind when they return to school. (Prieur, 11/14)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Cleveland Clinic, UH, MetroHealth Staff Docs Prohibited From Recommending Medical Marijuana
There are over 300 doctors throughout Ohio the state has cleared to recommend the drug, and more are being approved each month. Many of them are in private practice since many large health care systems don’t want doctors they directly employ to seek certificates from Ohio to recommend medical marijuana, said Columbus oncology, palliative care and hospice physician Jerry Mitchell at an Ohio medical marijuana meeting last week. (Hancock, 11/14)

St. Louis Public Radio: Jackson County Will Stop Prosecuting Most Pot Cases After Missouri Passes Medical Marijuana
A week after voters approved a measure to legalize medical marijuana in Missouri, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office announced today that it will stop processing some marijuana possession cases. Amendment 2, which legalizes medical marijuana with a 4 percent sales tax for veterans programs and job training, passed with 66 percent approval from Missouri voters and even more support from those in Jackson County. Two other medical marijuana proposals were on the state ballot but failed. (Calacal, 11/13)