Reuters: US 911 Emergency Call Line Outage Resolved In Some Areas
Emergency services on the 911 telephone call line were restored late on Wednesday in parts of the United States, officials said, following a widespread outage across all of South Dakota and in parts of Nebraska, Nevada and Texas. Officials in South Dakota, Nevada and Las Vegas said 911 services had been restored, but without identifying the cause of the failure. (V, 4/18)

KENS 5 CBS News: Texas One Of Many States Experiencing 911 Outages
The Del Rio Police Department said an unspecified "major cellular carrier" was to blame. Authorities in the South Texas border city emphasized in a Facebook post that the "issue is with the carrier and not the City of Del Rio systems," urging the public to call 911 with a landline or through a functioning carrier if they have an emergency.  (Lynch, 4/17)

In related news about emergency calls —

CBS News: House Republicans Urge Passage Of $120 Million In Emergency Aid For Ambulance Services In Minnesota
Emergency medical services providers say they need a lifeline from the state legislature this session to the tune of $120 million to keep answering calls for help, especially in rural parts of Minnesota. But a final deal at the capitol could fall short. DFL leaders in the majority and Gov. Tim Walz in their top-line supplemental spending agreement earmarked $16 million instead. (Cummings, 4/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Arizona Republicans Block Another Push To Repeal Abortion Ban 
Republicans in the Arizona state House blocked two attempts Wednesday to repeal the state’s 160-year-old near total ban on abortion, despite pressure on the GOP—including from former President Donald Trump—to change course on the hot-button issue. But later in the day, two Senate Republicans joined with Democrats—enough to create a majority—to move forward on their version of a repeal. A final vote on the bill could be weeks away. If the Senate does ultimately vote to repeal the ban, the measure would go back to the House, where it would still face a difficult path. (Collins, 4/17)

AP: Democrats Clear Path To Bring Proposed Repeal Of Arizona’s Near-Total Abortion Ban To A Vote
Democrats in the Arizona Senate cleared a path to bring a proposed repeal of the state’s near-total ban on abortions to a vote after the state’s highest court concluded the law can be enforced and the state House blocked efforts to undo the long-dormant statute. Although no vote was taken on the repeal itself, Republican Sens. T.J. Shope and Shawnna Bolick sided with 14 Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday in changing rules to let a repeal proposal advance after the deadline for hearing bills had passed. Proponents say the Senate could vote on the repeal as early as May 1. (Billeaud, 4/17)

Axios: How Arizona's 1864 Abortion Ban Stayed On The Books
The near-total abortion ban set to take effect in the coming months was crafted before Arizona was a state — and generations of lawmakers have worked to keep it alive ever since. (Boehm, 4/17)

Newsweek: Donald Trump Scores Win On Abortion
More Americans believe abortion restrictions should be decided by the states rather than the federal government, according to polling conducted exclusively for Newsweek. The results suggest more Americans are coming to share former President Donald Trump's view on the issue. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, announced last week that he believes abortion limits should be left to the states, declining to endorse a national ban after months of speculation and warning that extreme stances on the issue could lead to Republican losses in November's election. (Rahman, 4/18)

The Hill: Nebraska Sen. Ricketts Donates $500K To Anti-Abortion Ballot Campaign
The conservative effort to put an abortion ban on the ballot in Nebraska has been bankrolled entirely to date by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.). Ricketts donated $500,000 in cash on March 26 to the group Protect Women and Children, according to its campaign finance report filed with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. The group reported no other donations. (Weixel, 4/17)

The Washington Post: How Biden’s Abortion Stance Has Shifted Over The Years 
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago, abortion has become a top campaign issue. Since then, President Biden has vociferously defended the right to choose an abortion and attacked former president Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, for eroding reproductive rights. It might come as a surprise that Biden once opposed abortion and believed that Roe was wrongly decided. Here is how Biden’s stance on abortion has evolved over the decades. (Wang and Guild, 4/17)

ABC News: Evidence Of Racial Disparities In Health Care Reported In Every US State: New Report
Racial and ethnic disparities in health care are evident in every state, even those with robust health systems, according to a new analysis from the Commonwealth Fund. In the analysis from the organization, which is aimed at promoting equitable health care, researchers found health system performance is markedly worse for many people of color compared to white people. (4/18)

Stat: States With Best Health Outcomes Still Have Large Racial Disparities 
“Health equity does not exist in any state in the U.S.,” said David Radley, a co-author of the report and senior scientist at the Commonwealth Fund. Analyses of health system performance that average all groups together, he said, mask the gaps that exist within each state. The report also made clear that the health disparities experienced by different racial and ethnic groups were not universal but differed by state: Some, like North Carolina, had better outcomes than other states for Indigenous people, but worse outcomes than other states for Hispanic people. (McFarling, 4/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: Asian And White Californians Have The Best Health Care Access: Study
In California, the gap between Asian Americans, the group with the highest health system score, and American Indians, the group with the lowest score, is especially stark — and wider than in other Western states, the analysis found. “The gap in California is particularly large,” said the report’s co-author Arnav Shah, a senior research associate at the Commonwealth Fund, which tracks health industry trends. (Ho, 4/17)

In related news —

Minnesota Public Radio: Mayo Clinic Study Asks Black And Brown Youth About Racism In Health Care 
The American Academy of Pediatrics says racism can negatively impact the health of children and adolescents, and the doctor’s office is one of the places where kids may experience racial bias. A team of Minnesota doctors asked Black and brown kids aged 11 to 18 about their experience in a recent study. Then, the researchers talked to their parents. (Bright and Elder, 4/17)

NPR: New Study Shows More Botched Executions For Black Prisoners
Studies of the death penalty have long shown racial inequality in its application, but a new report has found the disparity extends inside the death chamber itself. In an analysis of the more than 1,400 lethal injection executions conducted in the U.S. since 1982, researchers for the nonprofit Reprieve reported that states made significantly more mistakes during the executions of Black people than they did with prisoners of other races. (Eisner, 4/18)

The Washington Post: Majority Latino City Endures Years Of Toxic Water In Health ‘Crisis’
Rosana Monge clutched her husband’s death certificate and an envelope of his medical records as she approached the microphone and faced members of the water utility board on a recent Monday in this city in southeast New Mexico. “I have proof here of arsenic tests — positive on him, that were done by the Veterans Administration,” she testified about her husband, whose 2023 records show he had been diagnosed with “exposure to arsenic” before his death in February at age 79. “What I’m asking is for a health assessment of the community.” (Foster-Frau, 4/18)

Axios: Trust In Health Institutions Declines As More Rely On Own Judgment
Declining confidence in major institutions is driving more people to trust their own ability to assess health information or turn to friends for guidance, indicates a new global Edelman Trust Barometer survey provided exclusively to Axios. (Owens, 4/18)

The Texas Tribune: Proposed Medicaid Changes Could Shake Up Coverage For 1.8 Million Texans
Texas health officials are poised to drop the state’s three largest nonprofit children’s health plans from multibillion-dollar Medicaid and children’s health insurance contracts — threatening the future of plans run by legacy children’s hospitals in Fort Worth and South Texas and shaking up health care coverage for low-income families throughout the state. (Harper, 4/18)

News Service of Florida: Trial Date Set In The Challenge To Florida's Medicaid 'Redetermination' Process 
A federal judge has scheduled a trial May 13 in a lawsuit over people being dropped from Florida’s Medicaid program after the end of a federal public health emergency that was declared in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jacksonville-based U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard issued an order last week scheduling the trial, according to a court docket. (4/18)

The CT Mirror: CT Canceled Only One Audit Of Self-Reported Medicaid Overpayments
When Helen Zervas was notified in January 2020 that her optometry practice was going to be audited by Connecticut officials, the Bristol eye doctor responded by hiring an attorney and voluntarily repaying nearly $600,000 to the state. In doing so, Zervas, the owner of Family Eye Care, joined a list of more than 45 doctors, pharmacies and other medical providers that willingly returned money to Connecticut in recent years after notifying the state that they had overcharged the Medicaid insurance program. (Brown and Altimari, 4/18)

Forbes: Elevance Health Reports $2.2 Billion Profit Despite Drop In Medicaid Enrollment
Elevance Health reported a first quarter profit of $2.2 billion as strong growth in sales of commercial health insurance and healthcare services offset a big decrease in Medicaid enrollment. Elevance, which sells government and commercial health insurance including Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states, Wednesday reported first quarter net income jumped 12.2% to $2.2 billion compared to $2 billion in the year-ago quarter. (Japsen, 4/18)

On Medicare —

Modern Healthcare: Aetna Lawsuit Could Upend Medicare Advantage Benefits 
A legal fight between four Pennsylvania health systems and Aetna could upend how Medicare Advantage insurers manage costs for supplemental benefits. Bridges Health Partners, a clinically integrated network in western Pennsylvania, filed a lawsuit in state court Wednesday alleging CVS Health subsidiary Aetna broke contract terms by categorizing extra benefits such as gym memberships and CVS gift cards as medical expenses. (Tepper, 4/18)

KFF Health News: Medicare’s Push To Improve Chronic Care Attracts Businesses, But Not Many Doctors
Carrie Lester looks forward to the phone call every Thursday from her doctors’ medical assistant, who asks how she’s doing and if she needs prescription refills. The assistant counsels her on dealing with anxiety and her other health issues. Lester credits the chats for keeping her out of the hospital and reducing the need for clinic visits to manage chronic conditions including depression, fibromyalgia, and hypertension. (Galewitz and Hacker, 4/18)

Modern Healthcare: Hospital Prices For Emergency Care Varied 16-Fold In 2023: JAMA
Prices for initiating care at hospital trauma centers vary wildly across hospitals, sometimes leading to patients with insurance paying more than those without coverage, according to a new study. Prices associated with readying doctors and other personnel for trauma cases varied 16-fold in 2023 across 761 hospitals studied, according to a peer-reviewed research letter published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Kacik, 4/17)

Stat: These Tech Startups Are Betting On Hospital Price Transparency Rules
Federal rules forcing hospitals and insurers to post rates for medical procedures have taken effect, but the data’s so messy that a crop of new startups is rushing in to make a business out of parsing it for whoever is willing to pay. (Ravindranath, 4/17)

Hospital closings and openings —

The South Alabamian: Alabama Hospital Up For Auction 4 Years After Opening
The Thomasville Regional Medical Center faces foreclosure and could be sold at auction on May 9, unless a deal to transfer it to new owners goes through, according to court filings and Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day. The facility has been clouded with financial issues since opening in 2020. Earlier this month, attorneys for the mortgagee North Avenue Capital LLC of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., filed a foreclosure notice with a Clarke County court for nearly $40 million owed on the property. (Gray, 4/18)

The Mercury News: Santa Clara County Asks State To Intervene Over Closure Of Regional Medical Center’s Trauma Center 
Santa Clara County officials, doctors and community members are imploring the state to intervene in HCA Healthcare’s decision to close Regional Medical Center’s trauma center and other life saving programs later this year — a move they say will lead to more deaths and worse outcomes for patients. ... The closure will leave residents in the eastern part of the county without a Comprehensive Stroke Center and San Jose will have fewer trauma centers than any other comparably sized city in the nation, according to county officials. (Hase, 4/17)

The Colorado Sun: A Colorado Psychiatric Hospital Is At Risk Of Closing Within 30 Days
A psychiatric hospital providing mental health and addiction services to people across 23,000 square miles in western Colorado could shut down within weeks if it can’t find the funding it needs to stay open. (Flowers, 4/18)

Bloomberg: PE-Owned Health Care Saw Bankruptcy Surge As Playbook Failed
Private equity-owned businesses accounted for a high number of bankruptcies in the health-care sector last year, and another wave of distress looms, according to a new report from an advocacy group that monitors the sector. PE-backed firms accounted for at least 17, or about a fifth, of the 80 bankruptcies of health-care companies last year, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project said in a report due to be released Wednesday. It called 2023 a “record year” for large health-care bankruptcies. (Coleman-Lochner, 4/17)

Becker's Hospital Review: $90M Indiana Hospital Opens To Patients
Indianapolis-based Eskenazi Health opened its nearly $90 million Eskenazi Health Thomas and Arlene Grande campus in Indianapolis to patients on April 17. Services like financial counseling, chiropractic care, podiatry, imaging, physical therapy and rehabilitation, lifestyle medicine, and pharmacy are offered at the 95,000-square-foot-facility, according to an April 17 news release. (Ashley, 4/17)

The Boston Globe: More Beds Approved At MGH
State regulators on Wednesday approved a request from Massachusetts General Hospital to add nearly 100 new beds to its massive downtown construction project, the hospital said. In a statement, Mass. General said the Massachusetts Public Health Council unanimously approved a “net increase of 94 licensed inpatient beds” at the hospital. The State House News Service previously reported on the approval. (Andersen and Serres, 4/17)

On staffing and workloads —

Becker's Hospital Review: PeaceHealth Nurses Authorize 2nd Strike
Members of the Oregon Nurses Association at Springfield, Ore.-based PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Care Services have voted to authorize an open-ended strike. The union represents more than 90 nurses at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Care Services, according to an ONA news release shared with Becker's. PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Home Care Services is part of PeaceHealth, a Vancouver, Wash.-based nonprofit Catholic health system serving communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. (Gooch, 4/17)

Modern Healthcare: Nursing Home Staff Mandate Draws Concerns At Senate Hearing
Nursing home workers and educators pushed back on the administration's staffing mandate at a Senate Aging Committee hearing Tuesday, as the industry waits for the final rule to drop. In September, CMS proposed staffing ratio requirements for long-term care facilities, which would require them to provide 0.55 hours of care from a registered nurse per resident per day and 2.45 hours of care from a nurse aide per resident per day. (DeSilva, 4/17)

The CT Mirror: CT Hospital, Nursing Home Complaint Backlog Stretches Back Years
The state Department of Public Health is wading through a backlog of 2,400 unaddressed complaints from nursing home residents, their families or others, and another 1,300 complaints related to incidents at hospitals, some which are now five years old, agency data shows. (Carlesso and Altimari, 4/17)

The Baltimore Sun: Report Lists Reasons For Maryland's Long ER Wait Times
Thomas Eagle’s heart rate was hovering around 39 beats per minute when his wife, Anna Palmisano, drove him to the emergency department at Johns Hopkins Suburban Hospital in October 2022. He had COVID-19 and, while he lifted weights and exercised regularly, he was also 75 years old. Palmisano was worried. But after five hours passed and Eagle still hadn’t seen a doctor, they left the Bethesda hospital. They couldn’t wait any longer, they decided. (Roberts, 4/18)

USA Today: Drug Shortages In 2024 Reach Record High, From Wegovy To Chemotherapy
Drug shortages have reached a record high in the first three months of 2024. In the first quarter of the year, 323 drugs were running low, surpassing the 2014 high of 320, according to data provided by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the University of Utah Drug Information Service. Since 2001, the groups have tracked shortages using voluntary reports from practitioners and patients that are confirmed by drug makers. (Robledo, 4/17)

NPR: Prior Authorizations Make Growth Hormone Shortage Worse 
Dr. Jennifer Miller has been an author of dozens of studies about rare endocrine diseases over the last two decades. Hundreds of patients fly to Gainesville, Fla., from all over the U.S. to see her for treatment. But now, her office is inundated with faxes, emails, texts and phone calls that have little to do with her life's work. ... A shortage of growth hormone — as well as how insurance companies are handling the problem — has consumed nearly every spare minute she has had for the last six months. (Lupkin, 4/17)

CNN: ‘Kids Need To Breathe Just Like Adults Do:’ $35 Price Caps Don’t Apply To Asthma Meds Young Children Need, Doctors Say 
Kerry Pearl remembers the pharmacist holding up the medicine her 4-year-old son needed to help him breathe. “He was literally holding it, looking at me like: ‘I can’t give you this,’ ” she recalls. “My poor kid is at home not sleeping through the night and waking up coughing, and you’re holding the answer and the insurance company kind of holds the keys here.” (Tirrell, 4/17)

Reuters: FDA Classifies Recall Of Boston Scientific Device As 'Most Serious' 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday classified a recall of Boston Scientific's device used to block blood flow during excessive bleeding or hemorrhaging as "most serious". An investigation showed that Boston's device, Obsidio Embolic, when used with a specific technique posed a higher risk of bowel ischemia during procedures to stop gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, the agency said. (4/17)

KFF Health News: The Path To A Better Tuberculosis Vaccine Runs Through Montana
A team of Montana researchers is playing a key role in the development of a more effective vaccine against tuberculosis, an infectious disease that has killed more people than any other. The BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) vaccine, created in 1921, remains the sole TB vaccine. While it is 40% to 80% effective in young children, its efficacy is very low in adolescents and adults, leading to a worldwide push to create a more powerful vaccine. (Robbins, 4/18)

Stat: Data Privacy Needed For Your Brain, Neurorights Foundation Says
Consumer neurotechnology is booming. You can buy a funky-looking headband for $500 on the internet if you want your own personal EEG to track your brain data. But before you click purchase, you might want to check out the device’s privacy policy. (Broderick, 4/17)

The New York Times: Colorado Bill Aims To Protect Consumer Brain Data
Consumers have grown accustomed to the prospect that their personal data, such as email addresses, social contacts, browsing history and genetic ancestry, are being collected and often resold by the apps and the digital services they use. With the advent of consumer neurotechnologies, the data being collected is becoming ever more intimate. One headband serves as a personal meditation coach by monitoring the user’s brain activity. Another purports to help treat anxiety and symptoms of depression. Another reads and interprets brain signals while the user scrolls through dating apps, presumably to provide better matches. (“‘Listen to your heart’ is not enough,” the manufacturer says on its website.) (Moens, 4/17)

Modern Healthcare: What The Epic-Particle Health Dispute Means For Data Sharing
A dispute between electronic health record giant Epic Systems and a startup gives a glimpse at the larger data-sharing challenges healthcare faces. The dispute between Epic and Particle Health, a startup that helps providers and health tech companies aggregate and share data, exposes how a lack of trust has hampered larger interoperability efforts. (Perna, 4/17)

Stat: Microsoft's Role In Setting AI Standards, While Selling Tech, Raises Questions
For a company moving as quickly as possible to build artificial intelligence into everything — including health care — Microsoft spends a lot of time talking about how to regulate it. (Ross and Trang, 4/18)

Also —

CBS News: California Can Share Your Baby's DNA Sample Without Permission, But New Bill Could Force State To Publicly Reveal Who They're Giving It To
Genealogy companies like Ancestry.com and 23andMe have to get your permission before they store, use, or share your DNA, under the Genetic Information Privacy Act. However, the California Department of Public Health doesn't have to. In fact, the agency has been storing DNA samples from every baby born in California since the 1980s. Researchers can purchase those samples for state-approved studies and law enforcement can access them with a court order. (Watts, 4/17)

The Wall Street Journal: 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki Plans To Take Company Private
Anne Wojcicki is seeking to take her DNA-testing company 23andMe private after three years in public markets that saw the once-hot company’s valuation collapse from a high of $6 billion. Her intentions were revealed in a public filing late Wednesday, which stated that she is working with advisers to help craft a potential deal and intends to speak with potential partners and financing sources. The filing said she would oppose any other buyer taking over the company. (Winkler, 4/17)

Minnesota Now: What Do Guns And Cigarettes Have In Common? Some Doctors Ask About Firearm Safety
In wellness visits, primary care doctors have a few minutes with patients to check in about various issues related to their health, including smoking, drinking, medications and exercise. Some physicians have added gun safety to the list. The move stems from the perspective, shared by the Minnesota Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups, that gun violence is a public health crisis. (Wurzer and Elder, 4/15)

NPR: Guns Are Killing More U.S. Children. Shooting Survivors Can Face Lifelong Challenges
Aaron Hunter was 13 when he woke up in the hospital after being shot in the head while playing with friends. The shooting happened June 22, 2023 in Sarasota, Florida. The bullet entered just above his right ear and lodged halfway into his brain. He doesn't recall the shooting, or even remember being around a gun, he said. "All I remember is I was picking mangoes with a friend, and then I went to another friend's house, and then I remember waking up in the hospital." (Colombini, 4/18)

CNN: Cancer Rates Are Rising Among Young People. What Steps Should They Take To Reduce Their Risk? 
In a disturbing worldwide trend, new cancer cases among young people have been increasing sharply. Early-onset cancers, defined as cancer cases diagnosed in people under 50, increased globally by a staggering 79%. (Hetter, 4/18)

Bloomberg: Smoking Bans And ‘Smoke-Free’ Vapes: The Debate Over Tobacco’s Future
As rates of smoking decline worldwide, and some countries even try to ban it, tobacco companies have found other ways to make money by satisfying people’s hankering for nicotine, the addictive stimulant found in tobacco. Sales of “smoke-free” nicotine products are eating into those of cigarettes and other combustibles. Yet health officials are divided as to whether they should condone these products. While less deadly than cigarettes, they can hook users just as easily and may also have harmful effects. (Ekblom, 4/17)

CNN: Weight-Related Bullying Risk Goes Up The More Time Teens Spend On Social Media, Study Shows 
There are a lot of risks when it comes to adolescents using screens — and a new multinational study shows weight-related bullying may be among them. The more time adolescents spend on screens and social media, the greater the likelihood that they will be bullied about their weight, according to the study. (Holcombe, 4/17)

Military.com: Air Force Identifies Seemingly Higher Rate Of Rare Brain Cancer Among Children At New Mexico Base 
A new Air Force study has found what appears to be a higher rate of a rare brain and spinal cord cancer among children of service members stationed at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. The nearly two-year study examined pediatric brain cancers at the base after concerns about a possible cancer cluster were raised in 2022. The Air Force found three cases of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, and the closely related diffuse midline glioma, or DMG -- rare, aggressive and possibly fatal tumors -- among children with parents stationed at Cannon over a 10-year period. (Novelly, 4/17)

USA Today: Fluoride Being Removed From Water Systems In More U.S. Communities
Fluoride, the tooth health-boosting mineral that conjures images of dentists' offices for many, has been a standard additive to municipal water sources since the 1940s. ... The Flouride Action Network, an anti-fluoride group, has tracked the ongoing battle in U.S. communities. As of 2023, the network says, more than 240 communities in the world have rejected the use of fluoridated water since 2010, more than 170 of which are in the U.S. (Walrath-Holdridge, 4/17)

CBS News: Michigan Health Department Warning Residents Not To Drink Raw Milk. Here's Why
Michigan health experts are warning residents about the risks of consuming raw milk as the highly pathogenic avian influenza continues to affect dairy herds in the state. The virus can spread to humans through the consumption of unpasteurized milk products. "Anyone can get sick from drinking raw milk, but children under age 5, adults over age 65 and those with weakened immune systems are more at risk for getting sick," said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive. (Powers, 4/17)

Mental health news from California, Florida, and Minnesota —

Los Angeles Times: Proposed Budget Would Deny Help To Many Autistic Californians 
The state moved in 2021 to phase in higher reimbursement rates for the services provided to the developmentally disabled. This year, however, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed to delay the final increase to help reduce the state’s budget deficit. Advocates and families say such a delay would only leave essential services further out of families’ reach. (Garcia, 4/17)

WUSF: Tampa Police, Crisis Center Of Tampa Bay Partner To Handle Calls On Mental Health
The 988 Suicide and Crisis hotline was launched in 2022 to provide people in a mental health crisis with another hotline to call other than 911. Starting this summer, staff from the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay will work in Tampa's police dispatch center to further refine 911 calls that don't need police involvement. Police Deputy Chief Calvin Johnson says when officers have to respond to mental health crisis calls, it can be very difficult for them. (Lebron, 4/16)

Minnesota Public Radio: Student Mental Health Needs, ‘Unsustainable’ Jobs Overwhelm Minnesota School Principals
Principals have an outsized impact on their schools. Research shows effective school leaders have a big impact on student achievement, teacher retention and other outcomes important for kids. Many, though, are overwhelmed. A newly released University of Minnesota report on Minnesota K-12 school principals found school leaders struggling for traction on instructional leadership and community engagement as they deal with their single greatest challenge, student mental health. (Shockman, 4/18)

More health news from across the U.S. —

Modern Healthcare: Food-Is-Medicine Clinical Trial Launches In Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta makes a fitting setting for an ambitious research project testing the premise that promoting access to fresh, nutritious food can improve health for people with chronic disease. It was there -- in Mound Bayou -- where the godfather of the food is medicine movement, the late public health advocate Dr. Jack Geiger, co-founded the historic Delta Health Center in 1967, one of the first community health centers to open under President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. (Hartnett, 4/17)

The New York Times: California Women’s Prison With Sex Abuse Culture Will Close 
For years, the women housed at the low-security federal prison in Northern California said they were victims of sexual assault at the hands of staff. There were harrowing accounts of rape, sexual touching and voyeurism at the Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin. Some inmates said they were forced to strip naked, while others recounted being made to serve as lookouts while staff members brutalized their cellmates. The abuse was so persistent, one investigation found, that prison employees called the facility “the rape club.” (Knight, 4/15)

The Boston Globe: Lawrence And Methuen Revive Public Health Cooperation
Lawrence and Methuen have, for now, salvaged a partnership to provide public health services to their residents after a rift nearly cost both cities almost $2 million in state grant money. Just a few weeks ago, Lawrence and Methuen were on the cusp of a messy breakup after Methuen officials complained Lawrence had not met standards needed to maintain a functional collaboration. To repair the relationship, Lawrence officials have agreed to fill some key public health positions and reform its public health service. (Laughlin, 4/17)

CIDRAP: Even After Successful TB Treatment, Evidence Found Of Lasting Lung Damage
During this month's annual European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID Global) conference in Spain, UK researchers will present evidence that patients successfully treated for tuberculosis (TB) have lasting lung damage, including smaller lungs with narrower airways and slower air flow. (Soucheray, 4/15)

CIDRAP: Household Study Shows Dogs, Cats Share Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria With Their Owners
The results of new research to be presented later this month at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Global Congress suggest companion animals could play a role in the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria. ... In five households in Portugal and two in the United Kingdom, whole-genome sequencing showed that both the pet and the owner were carrying the same strain of ESBL/AmpC-producing Enterobacterales. (Dall, 4/15)

CIDRAP: Analysis Spotlights Sperm Defects In Month After COVID Infection, But Not At 90 Days 
In the 30 days after COVID-19 infection, total sperm count, sperm concentration, total sperm motility (movement), and progressive motility were significantly reduced in a cohort of Chinese men, with the most severe effects in those with moderate to high fever, researchers from Sichuan Provincial Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital report in Scientific Reports. (Van Beusekom, 4/15)

CIDRAP: Minority Healthcare Workers Experienced COVID Testing Delays In First 2 Years Of Pandemic 
Black and non-Hispanic healthcare professionals (HCPs) of other races and those without graduate degrees were more likely than their White peers and clinical HCPs with graduate degrees to experience delayed COVID-19 testing in the first 2 years of the pandemic, finds a multicenter, test-negative case-control study. (Van Beusekom, 4/11)

CNN: The Next Pandemic Threat Demands Action Now
With growing evidence of potential mammal-to-mammal spread just weeks after the new bird flu was detected in cows, many of us in the biosecurity and pandemic preparedness community believe that leaders in capitals around the globe should be working to get ahead of this new public health threat in case the H5N1 flu virus gains the ability to spread among humans. (Jaime M. Yassif, 4/17)

Stat: Medicaid Should Cover Donor Breast Milk For Vulnerable Infants 
Each day, more than 1,000 babies are born prematurely in America. Born before 37 weeks and often weighing less than five pounds, these infants are at greater risk for a suite of serious health problems, including life-threatening infections, chronic lung disease, blindness, and death. (Sionika Thayagabalu and Dominick Lemas, 4/18)

Los Angeles Times: The Decline In American Life Expectancy Harms More Than Our Health
American life expectancy started dropping even before the pandemic. It’s a critical barometer of our nation’s health and a sign that all is not well in the U.S. Much of the increase in preventable, premature death is attributable to drug overdose, which increased five-fold over the last couple decades. But this malaise is far broader, driven largely by growing chronic illness. (Celine Gounder and Craig Spencer, 4/16)

Dallas Morning News: Increasing Black Representation In The Fight Against Alzheimer’s
For most Americans, the name Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller doesn’t ring a bell. Yet, over 70 years ago, this pioneering African American psychiatrist delivered a groundbreaking review of Alzheimer’s disease. Today, the shadow of his underappreciated work looms large, a stark reminder of the ongoing fight for equity in scientific research, particularly in a disease that disproportionately affects Black communities. (Sid O'Bryant, 4/17)

The New York Times: Lumina’s Cavity Vaccine And A New Era Of D.I.Y. Medicine 
“Cavities are a communicable disease, and if you’re among the 90 percent of Americans who’s ever had one, you probably got them from your mother.” (David Wallace-Wells, 4/17)

Stat: Site-Neutral Payments Would Reduce Costs For Patients And Payers
As two former secretaries of Health and Human Services, we are all too familiar with the struggle of finding narrow openings for bipartisanship. Despite our different approaches, we believe that addressing health care costs is a truly bipartisan issue. To be serious about creating access for people to the best possible care, that care must be affordable for patients and taxpayers. One issue that is particularly ripe for bipartisan compromise is site-neutral payments. (Alex Azar and Kathleen G. Sebelius, 4/18)