State Highlights: Wis. Health System Consolidation Threatens Jobs; Ga. Official Stands Firm On Nursing Board Replacement

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ascension Wisconsin Silent On Jobs
Ascension Wisconsin, now the state’s second-largest health care system, is remaining silent on the number of jobs that could be eliminated as it begins consolidating Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare’s operations in southeastern Wisconsin with those of Columbia St. Mary’s and Ministry Health Care.Since the transfer of Wheaton Franciscan’s health care operations in the state closed in February, Ascension has organized its operations into northern and southern regions and appointed presidents for each region.Combining the operations of Wheaton and Columbia St. Mary’s in southeastern Wisconsin is almost certain to result in some administrative jobs in areas such as accounting, finance and human resources being eliminated. (Boulton, 8/4)

Georgia Health News: Ga. Secretary Of State Defends Policy Toward Nurses, Board
Despite a wave of criticism from nurses, Brian Kemp remains unapologetic on his decision to replace the head of the state’s nursing board. “I made this decision to move our agency forward,’’ Kemp said. Though he recently postponed the change, it is still on, and he says it will bring good results.The Georgia secretary of state told GHN last week in an interview that he’s not going to reverse his move to replace Jim Cleghorn with the head of the state’s cosmetology board. (Miller, 8/4)

The Telegraph: New Residency Program Coming To Macon Hospital
More aspiring physicians will spend their residency years in Middle Georgia thanks to a new program at Coliseum Medical Centers announced Thursday. By 2020, the program — an academic partnership with Mercer University — will have 100 residents, which will be in addition to about 130 existing slots at the Medical Center, Navicent Health. “This comes close to doubling the number of residencies available here in Middle Georgia,” Mercer President Bill Underwood said. (Timmerman, 8/4)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Cooper Hospital Wins Right To Keep Providing Camden Ambulance Service
A three-judge panel on Thursday upheld the constitutionality of a law that enabled Cooper University Health Care to provide paramedic and ambulance service in Camden, overturning a lower-court ruling. Cooper's paramedics and emergency medical technicians will continue to serve the city as they have since January, under a law signed by Gov. Christie in July 2015. (Avril, 8/5)

Des Moines Register: March On Capitol To Raise Awareness About Mental Health
As of Thursday, more than 700 people were signed up on the event's Facebook page to attend, and the information has been shared more than 4,000 times. This is the first of many efforts to start a conversation about mental illness throughout the state, Harper said. The men have been working with the National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Des Moines chapter to learn about what they can do to help the thousands of Iowans dealing with mental illness. (Gstalter, 8/4)

North Carolina Health News: State Lends An Ear To Vulnerable Adults, Seniors 
When neglect or abuse puts an older person in North Carolina in harm’s way, the duty to assess this type of report goes to the staff at each county’s adult protective services division. A home visit can produce results ranging from the provision of a home-health worker to a person being placed under county-appointed guardianship.In an aging North Carolina, the numbers of people in guardianship is on the increase — up 20 percent annually in Wake County. (Goldsmith, 8/4)

Pioneer Press: Group Home Residents Suing For Right To Live Independently
The Olmstead Plan — named after a landmark 1999 U.S. Supreme Court case Olmstead vs. L.C. — is the state’s current plan to ensure Minnesotans with disabilities are living and working in the most integrated setting possible. The settlement terms of a 2011 lawsuit against DHS required the state to formulate the plan, which was released in 2013, approved in 2015 and updated in June of this year...The lawsuit says that the Olmstead Plan is inadequate. (Cooney, 8/4)

The Texas Tribune: Harris County Sued Over Disabled Voting Access
Harris County, which includes Houston, has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act because many of its polling places are inaccessible to voters with disabilities, a new lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice alleges. Many polling places in Harris County, which were surveyed by the justice department during elections in 2013 and 2016, have architectural barriers — such as steep ramps and narrow doors — that make them inaccessible to voters who use wheelchairs, according to the lawsuit. The county also failed to accommodate the needs of voters who are blind or have vision impairments, the federal government argues. (Walters, 8/4)

Austin Statesman: Survey: Vaping Now More Popular Than Smoking Among Texas Teenagers
The use of electronic cigarettes among Texas middle and high school students is growing at an alarming rate, and vaping now outpaces their use of traditional cigarettes, according to data from a state survey of secondary students. About 1 in 4 students have used e-cigarettes, the survey shows. Alcohol remains the substance most used among Texas teens, with 67 percent reporting they have consumed alcohol, and in 2013, more than one-third reported they had at least one drink in the last 30 days. (Taboada, 8/4)

St. Louis Public Radio: St. Louis Non-Profit Provides Nutrition Counseling And Meals For Those With HIV/AIDS, Cancer 
In the midst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, a group of friends in St. Louis started cooking meals in the kitchen of a church. These meals were distributed to seven people they knew who were living with the disease. That small group of friends quickly grew into a non-profit organization called Food Outreach. Today, 28 years after it was founded, Food Outreach provides nutritional counseling and meals to low-income individuals with HIV/AIDS or cancer. (Oswalt, 8/4)

The News and Observer: Kannapolis Woman Says Independent Living Was Bad Fit For Sick Brother
James Clark had digestive and breathing problems that required repeated hospitalizations and had frequent panic attacks that sometimes lasted for hours. In 2014, he moved out of an assisted living facility and into an apartment under a state program that helps people with mental illnesses live independently – despite indications from a psychological exam that he was not a good candidate. (Bonner, 8/4)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pa. Names First Director Of Medical Marijuana Office
Pennsylvania has hired a public administrator with a private-sector background as the first director of its fledgling Office of Medical Marijuana, health secretary Karen Murphy said Thursday. John J. Collins, an assistant administrator in the state Division of HIV Disease, will be paid $76,519 a year to steer the implementation of Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program. That process is slated to be complete by early 2018, about two years after Gov. Wolf signed a law to legalize some forms of the therapy. (Smeltz, 8/4)

The Tennessean: Gallatin Rehab Facility Sold To N.J. Company
A New Jersey-based rehabilitation and healthcare company has purchased Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing. CareRite Centers LLC purchased the business formerly known as Gallatin Health Care from the family of previous owner Dixie Taylor-Huff on July 1. The 207-bed skilled and intermediate care and nursing facility at 438 N. Water Ave. has approximately 300 employees and specializes in short and long-term rehabilitation. Taylor-Huff died in 2012. (Cross, 8/4)