Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Nursing Home 'Horror'; Time To Talk About Mental Illness, Not Blame The Victim
The Washington Post: The Inexplicable Horror Of The Deaths Of Eight Elderly People In Florida
“Unfathomable." "Inexcusable." Those were the words used respectively by Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) to describe the deaths of eight elderly people found in a sweltering nursing home in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma last week. Those descriptions, while accurate, nonetheless fail to capture the full, inexplicable horror of the deaths. That people who were so vulnerable and needed special care were instead treated as an afterthought is insupportable. (9/17)
The Charlotte Observer: We Need To Talk About Mental Health
As we reflect on lessons learned one year after Keith Lamont Scott’s death and the subsequent community uprising, it’s time to start asking how we can provide more help to treat mental illness – which may be an underlying factor in crime, violence and misunderstanding. Research has shown that up to one half of people killed by law enforcement officers suffered from a disability, typically those with a mental illness or, in the case of Keith Lamont Scott, a traumatic brain injury. Yet stories in the public narrative often ignore the disability component or blame the victim. (John Cleghorn, Ophelia Garmon-Brown and Brandon Risher, 9/15)
San Jose Mercury News: Homelessness, Health Care Crises Overlap At VMC
Housing provides immediate stability and independence, and this stabilizing force can lead to vastly improved health outcomes. Traditionally, housing programs for the homeless – particularly those run by the government – have required that patients “get clean” before they can earn housing. But that view has been changing. (Nuriel Moghavem, 9/15)
The Des Moines Register: Trump Administration's Cut Could Increase Teen Pregnancies In Iowa
A thistle to the Trump administration for abruptly curtailing funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs, including one in western Iowa. Federal officials said they decided to suspend more than $200 million in annual grants to organizations because it is not a good use of taxpayer money and there is “very weak evidence” the programs are effective. (9/17)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Want A 'Free' Christmas? Stop Smoking Now
When I was a smoker I always put off quitting by convincing myself I'd do it "later." One of my favorite ways to do this was by bargaining with myself during the summer months that I'd quit as a New Year's resolution. (Scott Stevens, 9/17)
Chicago Tribune: If The Soda Tax Were Out Of Sight, Would It Be Out Of Mind?
Are you aware of the nearly 11-cents-an-ounce potent beverage tax paid by customers in Chicago? The tax dwarfs the new penny-an-ounce sweetened beverage tax that now has so many Cook County residents in an uproar, but I’m guessing you’re fairly oblivious to it. (Eric Zorn, 9/15)
Los Angeles Times: Refusing To Build Public Toilets Doesn't Make Homeless People Go Away. It Creates A Public Health Crisis
Faced with an appalling shortage of public toilets in the Skid Row area, Los Angeles city officials promised in July to put up 10 more toilets by mid-September. Time’s up, but the toilets are not — at least not yet. City officials say they will unveil within a month a mobile “hygiene center” in the midst of Skid Row on a city-owned parking lot, offering toilets, hand-washing stations, showers, and half a dozen stacked washers and dryers for laundry. There will be security personnel as well as formerly homeless people working at the site, along with outreach workers who can steer people to housing and services. So, if downtown homeless people can hold it for a month, they’ll get 10 toilets and more. (9/16)
