- Health Care Industry
Cedars-Sinai Chosen as Official Medical Partner for the LA28 Olympics: Cedars-Sinai Health System will be the official medical provider for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. The health system will provide medical clinics and services at the games. Read more from Becker’s Hospital Review.
Becker's Hospital Review: New Tool Leads to 1,080% Surge in Nurse Workplace Violence Reporting
Making it easier to report workplace violence with quick-scan codes on walls and badges increased reporting by 1,080% in two months, according to a new study. The study, published in the September issue of The Journal of Emergency Nursing, analyzed workplace violence reports from nurses at an unnamed academic medical center. The researchers found the center averaged about two workplace violence reports a month, despite overall increased incidents of workplace violence. (Taylor, 9/19)
The Colorado Sun: Do Hispanic Women Represent Just 2% of All Doctors in the U.S.?
The percentage of Latina doctors in the U.S. has held at 2% for several years, even as Latinas accounted for 17% of all women here. Nearly 19% of the U.S. population overall is Latino, and advocates for Hispanic health say the population of doctors who are Latinos is severely underrepresented. Just 6% of Latino men work as doctors. (George, 9/20)
NBC News: U.S. Ranked Last in Health Care Among Ten High-Income Countries, Report Reveals
The health system in the U.S. is failing, a startling new report finds. The U.S. ranks as the worst performer among 10 developed nations in critical areas of health care, including preventing deaths, access (mainly because of high cost) and guaranteeing quality treatment for everyone, regardless of gender, income or geographic location, according to the report, published Thursday by The Commonwealth Fund, an independent research group. (Lovelace Jr., 9/19)
Becker's Hospital Review: UC Davis Launches Blood Draw Clinic for Neurodevelopmental Patients
UC Davis Health opened a special blood draw clinic for children with autism, Down syndrome and neurodevelopmental conditions. The PATH Glassrock Blood Draw Clinic is open one day a week by appointment. Phlebotomists and specialists from the Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department provide personalized support to patients. The facility is open to children under 17 years old with neurodevelopmental conditions or those who would need support for medical anxiety. (Taylor, 9/18)
- Mental Health
KFF Health News: California Bill Seeks to Address Staff Shortages and Strengthen Mental Health Courts with Scholarships
A seemingly innocuous proposal to offer scholarships for mental health workers in California’s new court-ordered treatment program has sparked debate over whether the state should prioritize that program or tackle a wider labor shortage in behavioral health services. Nine counties have begun rolling out the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Act, which Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed into law in 2022 to get people with untreated schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, many of them incarcerated or homeless, into treatment. (Castle Work, 9/20)
Modern Healthcare: Insurers Face Challenges in Meeting Mental Health Parity Compliance
Health insurance companies and employers will soon be directing more time, money and resources to comply with mental health parity mandates. But questions remain about what regulators expect of health plans and whether new federal rules effectively tackle the issue. About one in five U.S. adults has at least one behavioral health condition and many struggle to find and afford treatment, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (Berryman, 9/18)
- Children’s Health Care
Stat: House Panel Approves Bill for Pediatric Rare Diseases
A House committee on Wednesday passed a bill to renew a program aimed at aiding development of drugs for rare diseases in children, putting it in a better position to be added to government funding legislation. The pediatric rare disease priority review voucher program is set to end on Sept. 30. The legislation would extend the program until Sept. 30, 2029. (Wilkerson and Mast, 9/18)
Stat: Pediatricians' Obesity Guidelines Misinterpret Eating Disorder Research
To address soaring rates of childhood obesity, the American Academy of Pediatrics last year endorsed tactics it once considered risky. “Watchful waiting” had been standard practice, in part from concern that a doctor’s focus on weight could inadvertently plant the seed for stigma or eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. The influential academy now said pediatricians should pursue “early treatment at the highest level of intensity appropriate for and available to the child.” (Raphael, 9/16)
The Washington Post: Increased Consumption of Sugary Beverages Among Young People
Despite concern about sugary drinks and health, global consumption of the sweetened beverages by young people has increased by 23 percent, according to recent research. Researchers from four countries looked at data from global surveys of 1.4 million children and adolescents, ages 3 to 19, conducted from 1990 to 2018 and found that the rise in consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks occurred at the same time as an increase in obesity among young people. (McMahan, 9/14)
Axios: Lawsuits Pose Risks to Infant Formula for Premature Babies
The fragility of the infant formula market is being tested again — this time by legal fights over safety labeling. Two and a half years after supply chain issues and a recall led to a nationwide formula shortage, the only two manufacturers of premature infant formula are threatening to exit amid a flurry of lawsuits from families whose infants got sick or died after taking one of these formulas. (Reed, 9/19)
NBC News: Data Shows Spike in Virus Linked to Paralyzing Illness in Children Across the U.S.
A respiratory virus that sometimes paralyzes children is spreading across the U.S., raising concerns about another possible rise in polio-like illnesses. Wastewater samples have detected a significant escalation in an enterovirus called D68, which, in rare cases, has been linked to acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM. The illness affects the nervous system and causes severe weakness in the arms and legs. This most often occurs in young children. (Edwards, 9/17)
- Schools
NPR: Exclusive: Watchdog Reports Black Girls Experience More Frequent and Severe School Discipline
Black girls face more discipline and more severe punishments in public schools than girls from other racial backgrounds, according to a groundbreaking new report set for release Thursday by a congressional watchdog. The report, shared exclusively with NPR, took nearly a year-and-a-half to complete and comes after several Democratic congressional members requested the study. ... The findings offer a first of its kind snapshot of the disciplinary disparities that Black girls face in public schools across the U.S. — often for similar behaviors. (Grisales, 9/19)
- Women’s Health
California Aims to Reduce Maternal Mortality by 50%: California’s surgeon general has unveiled an initiative to reduce maternal mortality and set a goal of halving the rate of deaths related to pregnancy and birth by December 2026. Read more from the Los Angeles Times and CalMatters.
CalMatters: California Hospitals Closing Maternity Wards at a Faster Rate than the National Average
Since CalMatters reported a year ago on the spread of maternity care deserts, Californians have continued to lose access to labor and delivery services. This year, four hospitals have shut down their maternity wards, with another four slated to close by November. That’s nearly on par with the 10 maternity ward closures in 2023. In total, according to CalMatters’ analysis of state records, 56 hospitals have stopped delivering babies since 2012 — that’s 16% of all general acute care hospitals in the state. (Hwang, Yee and Ibarra, 9/16)
- Disparities
NBC News: Black Women More Likely to Die from All Types of Breast Cancer Compared to White Women
Black women are more likely than white women to die from even the most treatable types of breast cancer, a study published Tuesday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found. The findings, experts say, underscore that it’s racial disparities, not biology, driving the biggest differences in death rates between Black and white women. While Black women and white women are diagnosed with breast cancer at similar rates, Black women are 40% more likely to die from the disease. (Sullivan, 9/17)
- Foster Care
Los Angeles Times: Many California Foster Children at Risk of Displacement as Insurer Exits Market
Monique Lewis has figured out a few tricks to lure her foster child to school. Some days, it’s McDonald’s frappuccinos. But on days the 13-year-old girl still struggles to get out of bed, a counselor from Aviva Family and Children’s Services is available to help out. ... The girl, whom The Times is not identifying because she is a minor, is one of thousands of California foster children who may soon have to move to a new home amid a statewide insurance crisis. (Ellis, 9/18)
- Dental Care
Los Angeles Times: California's Dental Care System Continues to Fail Medi-Cal Kids
Eight years after an independent state watchdog agency harshly criticized the state for failing to provide dental care to low-income children, California has failed to remedy the problem or fully implement the commission’s recommendations, according to a follow-up review published last week. The Little Hoover Commission found that less than half of the children in Medi-Cal received an annual dental visit in 2022 — 3% higher than when the initial report was released in 2016, which implored the state to do more to ensure that children have access to needed care. (Gold, 9/17)