Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Wastewater In Michigan, Pennsylvania To Be Tested For Polio: CDC
The Washington Post: CDC Expands Wastewater Testing For Polio To Michigan And Pennsylvania
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expanding efforts to test wastewater to detect the polio virus in Philadelphia and the Detroit area, targeting communities at highest risk for the life-threatening and potentially disabling illness, officials said Wednesday. (Sun, 11/30)
From Ohio —
Columbus Dispatch: Measles Outbreak In Columbus, Ohio Increases To 46 Cases
The number of cases in a measles outbreak in Columbus has nearly doubled over the past two weeks, with exposures being reported in three places across the city, according to public health officials. (Walker, 11/30)
Columbus Dispatch: Virtual Reality Used To Train Medics In Mass-Casualty Events
An emergency-squad medic enters a subway station to find a number of people injured by a bomb explosion, but the scene isn't real. The medic is. The scene is instead created by digital virtual reality, and is being used as a tool to help train emergency-medical personnel in incidents with mass casualties. (Comstock, 11/30)
From North Carolina —
North Carolina Health News: DHHS Challenging Disability Services Order
Four weeks after a state superior court judge issued a far-reaching ruling ordering North Carolina to deliver services in home settings to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, the state is appealing the decision. (Blythe, 12/1)
North Carolina Health News: A Widow's Plea Leads To Possible Dental Reform
More than two years have passed since Hemant “Henry” Patel, a beloved and respected cardiologist, died in a New Hanover County hospital after a dental implant procedure spiraled out of his oral surgeon’s control. (Blythe, 12/1)
From Georgia —
KHN: Her Apartment Might Have Put Her Son’s Health At Risk. But ‘I Have Nowhere Else To Go.’
When Louana Joseph’s son had a seizure because of an upper respiratory infection in July, she abandoned the apartment her family had called home for nearly three years. She suspected the gray and brown splotches spreading through the apartment were mold and had caused her son’s illness. Mold can trigger and exacerbate lung diseases such as asthma and has been linked to upper respiratory tract conditions. But leaving the two-bedroom Atlanta apartment meant giving up a home that rented for less than $1,000 a month, a price that is increasingly hard to find even in the nation’s poorest neighborhoods. (Rayasam and Clasen-Kelly, 12/1)
