Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Highlights: Wisconsin Outbreak Of Deadly Blood Infections Gains Urgency; Synthetic Pot Causing Police Alarm In Washington
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Deadly Infection Outbreak In Wisconsin Gaining Urgency
Calling it the largest outbreak of its kind and stressing the urgency of finding the source, the CDC has identified two more suspected cases of deadly blood infections and sent additional investigators to Wisconsin. (Rutledge, 3/8)
The Seattle Times: Drivers Are Blacking Out On Synthetic Pot, Alarming Police, Health Experts
The speeding car ran a red light, flew over the intersection and struck Scott Braymer on the sidewalk near Pike Place Market a week before Christmas in 2010. He came to with 12 broken bones and a gash across his scalp that would need 17 staples to close. The driver told police he had smoked spice, a form of synthetic marijuana, 15 minutes before the crash and blacked out. He later pleaded guilty to vehicular assault, reckless driving and reckless endangerment. (Thompson, 3/9)
The Cleveland Plain Dealer: Pediatricians Urged To Screen For Poverty
In the fall, the nation's largest pediatricians' group urged its members to ask their patients if they regularly had enough to eat or ever went hungry. Now, the same group, the American Academy of Pediatrics, is asking its 64,000 members to pose another question during doctor visits: "Do you have difficulty making ends meet at the end of the month?" (Zeltner, 3/9)
Reuters: U.S. Women Push Back Against Stigma, Cost Of Mensturation
Sixteen-year-old Emma Joy and her younger sister Quinn recently spent an evening stuffing bags with a full year's supply of tampons or sanitary pads for women who often miss work or school because they cannot afford menstrual products. The South Orange, New Jersey, residents got the idea for their charity, Girls Helping Girls Period, when Emma learned that federal assistance programs for the indigent do not cover menstruation products, leaving many low-income and homeless women to cope with their cycles on their own. (Goldberg, 3/9)
Kaiser Health News: Housing Project Takes On Seniors' Health
Hui-Zhen Li doesn't speak English, but here she can speak freely. She's standing amid more than 150 Chinese seniors, all perched on metal folding chairs or slouching in wheelchairs, packed wall to wall in the main lobby of the Hotel Oakland. ... The gathering at this low-income housing project in downtown Oakland, California, is called Neighbors Helping Neighbors. It's part of an ambitious plan to help elderly residents, many of them Asian immigrants, take control of their health — in part by joining at least one of 14 groups intended to enhance their physical and mental well-being. This particular meeting focuses on improving memory and warding off dementia. Other groups range from healthy eating to karaoke singing. (Gorn, 3/9)
