State Highlights: Legionnaires’ Outbreak Causes A Fatality In The Bronx; Why A Calif. Hospital Merger Fell Through
Health care stories are reported from New York, California, New Hampshire, Alabama and Texas.
The Wall Street Journal:
New Legionnaires’ Outbreak In The Bronx Claims A Life
One of the people sickened in a new outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the city has died, health officials said Wednesday. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released few details about the person, saying only that the patient was between the ages of 40 and 49 and had “severe underlying health conditions.” (Gay, 9/30)
California Healthline:
Why California Put The Brakes On A Hospital Merger -- And What It Means
There's a story being written in metro areas around the country, over and over again. In Atlanta: Hospitals' merger goes through. In Detroit: Hospitals' merger goes through. But in California this spring, something different happened: A merger fell through. And that case -- the failed sale of Daughters of Charity to Prime Healthcare, and all the acrimony that's come after it -- is an interesting case study in regulatory power. (Diamond, 9/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
Mayor’s Initiative Could Boost Immigrant Health-Care Access
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is expected on Thursday to introduce a multimillion-dollar initiative to improve health-care access for some of the city’s low-income, uninsured immigrant population by connecting them to primary and preventive health-care services. The initiative, called Direct Access, isn’t an insurance program, but it aims to create a kind of universal health care using existing providers already paid for by city, state or federal funds. Patients would have a primary-care doctor and a so-called medical home where care would be coordinated. (West, 10/1)
The Associated Press:
NY Law Clinic Appeals Veterans' Discharges, Denied Benefits
The new legal aid clinic for military veterans at Syracuse University College of Law has taken on dozens of appeals of denied benefits and less than honorable discharges. The free clinic began handling cases this year, established by two graduates, both now in the military, to meet the large unmet need they saw. (10/1)
Modern Healthcare:
Is New York's Duals Demonstration On Verge Of Collapse?
New York state's experiment to better coordinate care for low-income and disabled residents who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare is losing hundreds of enrolled beneficiaries. As many as 124,000 were eligible for New York's initiative, called the Fully Integrated Duals Advantage, when it launched Jan. 1 of this year. But as of Sept. 1, only 7,280 had enrolled. (Dickson, 9/30)
New Hampshire Public Radio:
N.H. Revises Licensing Requirements For Drug Treatment Centers
The N.H. Department of Health and Human Services is making changes to its licensing requirements for inpatient drug and alcohol treatment centers in order to address a statewide shortage of beds. The revision came after Gov. Maggie Hassan and head of the department, Nick Toumpas, requested that the requirements be reviewed in August.Under the change, treatment providers will now be able to house two adults in rooms that are 120 square feet rather than the 160 square footage in the current rules. Currently 21 states have the 120-foot standard or lower. (Sutherland, 9/30)
ProPublica:
How Some Alabama Hospitals Quietly Drug Test New Mothers — Without Their Consent
In Alabama, a positive drug test can have dire repercussions for pregnant women and new mothers. Their newborns can be taken from them. They can lose custody of their other children. They can face lengthy sentences in the most notorious women’s prison in the United States and thousands of dollars in fees and fines. Yet the hospitals that administer those drug tests — and turn the results over to authorities — are exceedingly reluctant to disclose their policies to the public. In many cases, they test mothers and babies without explicit consent and without warning about the potential consequences, ProPublica and AL.com have found. (Martin and Yurkanin, 9/30)
Los Angeles Times:
Effects Of Trauma Could Constitute Disability, Judge Rules In Compton Unified Case
Students who have experienced trauma could be eligible for some of the same protections as students with disabilities based on the effects of that trauma, according to a ruling by a federal judge Tuesday. But the degrees, types and effects of trauma that would trigger such protections have yet to be determined. (Resmovits, 10/1)
Kaiser Health News:
Kids With Ebola? Texas Children’s Hospital Is Ready If It Happens In U.S.
One year ago, on Sept. 30, 2014, the CDC confirmed that Thomas Eric Duncan had Ebola. He was the first person diagnosed with the deadly virus on American soil. During his stay at Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, two nurses also contracted Ebola. Duncan died, but the nurses survived, as did a handful of Americans who fell ill in West Africa but were transported back to the U.S. for care. (Feibel, 10/1)
Kaiser Health News:
How One Minority Community In California Is Fighting ‘Environmental Injustice’
Miguel Dominguez didn’t know what to make of the notices he started receiving from the state toxic substances department a couple of years ago. They warned about Exide Technologies, a company he’d barely heard of. Then a community activist knocked on the door. He explained that Exide’s battery recycling plant – just minutes from Dominguez’s home — had been polluting the air and soil with lead and other toxic chemicals for decades. (Gorman, 10/1)