Technical Glitch In Indiana Briefly Affected Service Of VA Crisis Line
An issue at a phone carrier's Indiana facility impacted the Veterans Crisis Line for several hours Tuesday, making it difficult for some callers to get through. In other news, a first-of-its-kind initiative will launch across four states in the fall to tackle the youth mental health crisis.
Military.com:
Veterans Crisis Line Experiences Brief Outage Due To Phone Carrier Technical Issues
Some callers to the Veterans Crisis Line faced difficulties Tuesday reaching the Department of Veterans Affairs directly through the service's "Press 1" option, an issue VA officials said was resolved within hours. The VA placed alerts across its websites and social media early Tuesday evening after learning of problems with the service, which officials said were the result of an "external issue" outside the crisis line's control and were specific to a technical glitch at a phone carrier's facility in Indiana. (Kime, 6/5)
NBC News:
First-Of-Its-Kind Youth Mental Health Corps Trains Young People To Help Their Peers
The Youth Mental Health Corps is a first-of-its-kind initiative that will launch this fall, initially in four states, to address the country’s youth mental health crisis. This innovative program will recruit young volunteers to work in assisting other youngsters who are struggling with mental health issues. The volunteers who sign up will receive training and also a state-specific credential in the behavioral health field. Corps members will work for a year (or two, if they choose) with schools, community organizations or nonprofits, aiming to connect other young people to mental health support. They will also receive a living stipend for their work. (Reyes, 6/5)
Houston Chronicle:
Harris County May Seek New Company For 911 Diversion Program
Harris County officials on Tuesday began making new plans to extend a program that sends social workers instead of sheriff’s deputies to some non-violent 911 calls, an effort that was cast in doubt last week due to questions about the contractor running the program. (McGuinness, 6/4)
Axios:
Medicaid Expands Mental Health Clinic Funding
A Medicaid experiment supporting comprehensive and crisis mental health care at community clinics is expanding to 10 new states. Why it matters: The initiative provides sustainable funding to help clinics that serve low-income patients provide mental health and substance use treatment. (Goldman, 6/6)
On the gun violence epidemic —
KFF Health News:
White House Enlists Doctors And Hospitals To Combat Gun Violence
The White House is calling on hospital executives, doctors, and other health care leaders to take bolder steps to prevent gun violence by gathering more data about gunshot injuries and routinely counseling patients about safe use of firearms. Biden administration officials are hosting back-to-back events Thursday and Friday at the White House for about 160 health care officials, calling gun violence a “public health crisis” that requires them to act. (Young, 6/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Ghost Gun Sales Banned In California Under Settlement
Three manufacturers of “ghost guns,” the self-built, largely untraceable firearms used in an increasing number of deadly shootings, have agreed to stop making or selling those guns in California and will pay the state $675,000 in civil penalties, officials announced Wednesday. ... Ghost guns, which have no serial numbers and are sold in parts that can be quickly assembled, have accounted for 25% to 50% of the firearms found at California crime scenes in recent years. (Egelko, 6/5)
The Washington Post:
Children Shooting Themselves Maryland Raises Worries Over Ghost Guns
A 4-year-old and 7-year-old were playing an innocent game of hide-and-seek Sunday evening in Maryland, when the younger child found not someone, but something: a loaded 9mm handgun. She pulled the weapon, a ghost gun, out from beneath the bed she was hiding under and shot herself in the arm, authorities said. The incident was one of two in recent days in which police say a child in the D.C. region came upon such a weapon and shot themselves. The cases highlight two alarming public safety trends nationwide that worry gun safety experts and police: the soaring pervasiveness of homemade, untraceable weapons known as ghost guns and the increase in unintentional shootings by children. (Morse and Hilton, 6/5)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
Los Angeles Times:
California Refunding $52 Million To U.S. Government For Migrant Care
California needs to repay more than $52 million to the federal government after improperly claiming reimbursement from the Medicaid program for some immigrant patients, according to a recently released report from federal inspectors. The findings, released by the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, come as California has been staring down a $44.9-billion deficit. (Alpert Reyes, 6/5)
Reuters:
Ohio Can't Enforce Law Barring Chiropractors From Contacting Crash Victims, Court Rules
Ohio cannot enforce a law barring chiropractors and some other healthcare practitioners from soliciting business from victims of car crashes and other crimes within 30 days of their injury, a state appeals court has ruled. The May 23 ruling from the Cleveland-based 8th District Court of Appeals, published Wednesday by the Ohio court system's public information office, held that the 2019 law was improperly tucked into a budget bill after failing to pass on its own. (Pierson, 6/5)
CBS News:
Swimming Safety Urged As Dozens Of Florida Children Drown In 2024
State officials Wednesday urged Floridians to emphasize safety while swimming this summer, as dozens of children have drowned in 2024. "So far this year, 46 children have tragically lost their lives due to drowning," Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez said during a press event. "Drowning is preventable, and it is also the No. 1 cause of unintentional death of children ages 1 to 4," she added. (6/5)
Health News Florida, WUSF:
A Nurse-Run Clinic At Port Tampa Bay Touts Itself As The First Of Its Kind
The USF College of Nursing Port of Tampa Seafarers Center Clinic opened last month to serve maritime workers, including international workers aboard cargo and cruise ships. A new clinic at Port Tampa Bay is being touted as the first nurse-managed clinic in the world at a port. The University of South Florida's College of Nursing will provide primary health services to Port Tampa Bay’s maritime community, as well as international workers aboard cargo and cruise ships. (Miller, 6/4)
