State Highlights: Mass. Budget Cuts Leading To Long Waiting List For Home Care; N.H. Hospitals Band Together For Financial Health
Outlets report on health news from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Ohio, California, Colorado, Florida, Washington, Iowa and Illinois.
Boston Globe:
Home Care Waiting List For Elders Prompts Lawmakers’ Concern
For thousands of frail, older Massachusetts residents, home care visits offer a lifeline — and a way to remain in their houses even amid illness and disability. But that lifeline could be jeopardized by state budget cuts, according to elder advocates who say that as many as 200 residents a month could be added to waiting lists for services from Sept. 1 through June. They are urging legislators to act quickly, saying the state received federal money for elder home care and that money is just sitting in a trust fund. (Lazar, 9/10)
New Hampshire Times Union:
Hospitals Band Together To Stay Healthy
When Catholic Medical Center was looking to partner with Huggins Hospital, CMC executives held separate secret talks with executives from another hospital simultaneously, unbeknownst to the other. What emerged was a three-hospital affiliation agreement announced this summer aimed at sharing services and saving the patients and hospitals money. (Cousineau, 9/10)
The Star Tribune:
After Months Of Talks, Allina Nurses So Close, Yet Far From Deal
Bleary-eyed from 22 hours of contract talks, leaders for Allina Health and its union hospital nurses appeared to be just one big issue away from agreement when they halted negotiations at 6 a.m. on Sept. 3. Forty-eight hours later the nurses hit the picket lines. Now, as the strike enters its second week, the question is: Will they still be that close when they return to bargaining after having slept, restrategized and traded bitter accusations for days? (Olson, 9/12)
Cincinnati Enquirer:
Cincy-Area Lawmaker: Make House Members Use VA For Health Care
Rep. Warren Davidson wants members of Congress to get their health care from Veterans Affairs’ facilities, and he plans to introduce legislation this week that would force lawmakers and their staff to make that switch. Davidson, who represents Butler County, said the bill would motivate members of Congress to improve care at the VA’s vast network of clinics and hospitals — quickly and dramatically. (Shesgreen, 9/10)
Marketplace:
Niche In Elder Care: Assisted Living For LGBT Seniors
With the nation’s senior population expected to double in the next 20 years, there’s a growing need for senior services. One niche: the millions of LGBT baby boomers who came from an era when equal rights were only a dream. A new community in Palm Springs is a sign of the changing times. (Napoli, 9/12)
Fox News:
Leprosy Suspected In 2 California Kids: How Could They Contract It?
This week, officials in Riverside Country (which is near Los Angeles) said they are investigating the suspected cases of leprosy, now usually called Hansen's disease, at an elementary school in the area. Nursing staff at the school first notified officials about the possible infections on Sept. 2, but it will take several weeks to confirm them, according to the Los Angeles Times. Cases of Hansen's disease in the United States are rare, but they do occur, with about 100 to 200 cases typically reported each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Rettner, 9/12)
Kaiser Health News:
Colorado Gun Shops Work Together To Prevent Suicides
It’s ladies night at the Centennial Gun Club in a suburb of Denver. More than 80 women are here for safety instruction and target practice. Tonight the club is offering more than shooting, though. The women rotate through the firing range, and in another large room, they hear a sobering presentation from emergency room doctor Emmy Betz. She’s part of a collaboration between gun shops and public health leaders in the state to help prevent suicide. (Daley, 9/12)
Orlando Sentinel:
Orlando Health Rebrands 5 Centers
Orlando Health has rebranded its five outpatient Boston Diagnostic Imaging centers to Orlando Health Imaging Centers. The health system and Medical Center Radiology Group created a company and purchased the five outpatient centers in December 2014. The centers are in Ocoee, Altamonte Springs, downtown Orlando and Sanford. The downtown clinic temporarily lost its certification in August 2015, after federal officials raised questions about the quality of their mammograms. (Miller, 9/10)
Minnesota Public Radio:
MN Officials Confirm 5 Legionnaires' Disease Cases In Hopkins
State health officials have confirmed five cases of Legionnaires' disease in people who live or work in Hopkins and are investigating the source of the outbreak. Of those who became ill between Aug. 4 and Sept. 1, three are currently hospitalized, and two others were hospitalized and have recovered, the Minnesota Department of Health said Friday. The patients are all over the age of 50. Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia usually caused by infection, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (9/9)
Seattle Times:
‘Last Resort:’ A Rare Intestine Transplant At UW Medical Center
The procedure marks the first adult intestine transplant performed at UWMC, and one of just eight ever in the Northwest region that includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska, federal data show. But it also demonstrates the maturation of the UW’s intestinal rehabilitation program, started by Reyes four years ago to treat patients like Oberts whose guts were failing. (Aleccia, 9/10)
Des Moines Register:
Work Persists At Cherokee Mental Health Institute
More than a year after two of Iowa’s four mental health institutes were shut down, the institute in Cherokee is operating similarly to how it had been in recent years. Apprehension had run through Cherokee in 2009, when state officials explored closing one or more of the state’s four mental health institutes. The loss of the northwest Iowa campus would have delivered a $24 million hit to the local economy. (Hayworth, 9/11)
Chicago Tribune:
Human Case Of West Nile Virus Reported In Ingleside
The Lake County Health Department reported Friday that the county's first confirmed human case of West Nile virus affected an Ingleside resident late last month. In a news released issued Friday morning, health department officials said the patient was hospitalized in late August and discharged in early September. (9/9)
Orlando Sentinel:
Teen Who Survived Brain-Eating Amoeba Ready To Go Back To School
It's been a month since Sebastian DeLeon, an adventurous camp counselor in South Florida, went from being a regular teen to the boy who miraculously survived a deadly brain-eating amoeba. The 16-year-old is doing well and eager to get on with his life, he said on Friday from his South Florida home during a video call that was broadcast at the second annual Amoeba Summit at Florida Hospital. (Miller, 9/10)