Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Report: ICE Failing To Provide Adequate Healthcare At California Detention Center
CalMatters: A Doctor Evaluated California’s Largest ICE Detention Center
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is failing to provide adequate healthcare at a new detention center in California City, according to a report from an independent monitor at the facility, where detainees complained of missing medications and months-long delays to cancer treatment. The findings appear in a report by Dr. Muthusamy Anandkumar, a court-appointed monitor of the California City Immigration Processing Center, which is about 75 miles east of Bakersfield and run by the private prison company CoreCivic. The federal government purchased the facility earlier this month but CoreCivic continues to operate it. (Duara, 7/29)
Military.com: VA Hospital Among First To Offer New Implant For Overactive Bladders
A veterans' hospital has launched a new treatment to help veterans who have overactive bladders and urinary incontinence. VA Augusta Health Care System has become the first hospital in Georgia and the second VA Medical Center in the nation to offer the Altaviva implant, a device that changes how the brain and bladder communicate. (Plummer, 7/30)
On substance use and mental health —
The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore's Response Efforts Continue A Year After Mass Overdose
Baltimore City plans to expand its street-based overdose response efforts and provide more information about how millions of dollars from its Opioid Restitution Fund are being spent. (Pryce, 7/29)
AP: Father Of Apalachee High School Shooter To Be Sentenced For Second-Degree Murder
A man who gave his son the gun used to kill two students and two teachers at Appalachee High School in Georgia is set to be sentenced Thursday after he was convicted of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Colin Gray’s sentencing comes just days after his 16-year-old son, Colt Gray, pleaded guilty to murder and other charges and was sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole for the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at the school about 45 miles (73 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta. (Brumback, 7/30)
The Marshall Project: Missouri Executes Prisoners At High Rate Among Death Penalty States
For more than two decades, Vincent McFadden has been sitting on Missouri’s death row. He’s watched a steady stream of his friends get marched off to their executions — and he’s waiting for his own as he fights in court to spare his life. (Moore, 7/29)
More news from around the nation —
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Heat Deaths Reach 38, Surpassing Last Year’s Total
Maryland has recorded 38 heat-related deaths so far this summer, already surpassing last year’s total of 36, according to data from the Maryland Department of Health. It is the highest number since 2012, when the state recorded 46 heat-related deaths, largely tied to a windstorm event. (Pilsbury, 7/29)
North Carolina Health News: North Carolina’s Drought Hammers Farmers, Worsens Food Insecurity
As North Carolina weathers one of its worst droughts in more than 18 years, farmers are seeing the results in withering yields of corn, fruits and other crops. This has affected their bottom line, to be sure, but the effects are more widespread. Hunger relief programs that rely on local produce can’t buy as much at the slightly higher prices that small farmers are having to charge to stay afloat. (Lopez, 7/30)
Post-Tribune: NWI Survey Aims To Create Report Card For Disabled And Senior Citizens
Everybody Counts will be launching a survey and community forums to create a Northwest Indiana report card for accessibility for people with disabilities and senior citizens. Indiana state officials are in the process of writing a plan for what people with disabilities and senior citizens need for independent living, said Teresa Torres, the director of Everybody Counts. (Kukulka, 7/29)
