�Թϲ�����

One woman suffered a cardiac emergency and died waiting for staff to summon properly trained help. Another died after nursing home staff failed to prevent her from developing pressure sores. And a third perished from bowel complications. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey cited the grim details Tuesday, along with repeated instances of neglect, in settlements with five nursing homes that required them to pay fines and upgrade their staff training. (Lazar, 5/3)

The legislature gave final passage Tuesday to three wide ranging measures that would expand access to and boost resources for children’s mental health, with some lawmakers calling it the defining issue of Connecticut’s 2022 legislative session. The Senate approved House Bill 5001, a proposal that focuses on services in the medical sector and in the community. The House passed Senate Bill 1, which features resources for schools, and Senate Bill 2, which concentrates on early childhood interventions. All three now head to the governor’s desk for his signature. (Carlesso, 5/3)

Children 12 years old and younger whose guardians meet the qualifying income limit will be eligible for Medicaid coverage regardless of their immigration status beginning Jan 1. Included in the state budget that was adopted by the House and Senate Tuesday was an expansion of the Medicaid program, known as HUSKY in Connecticut. Last year, lawmakers opened the program to children 8 and younger — regardless of immigration status — who come from households earning up to 201% of the federal poverty level (for a family of four, that’s $55,778). Kids from households earning between 201% and 325% of the federal poverty level also qualify but are subject to an asset test. (Carlesso, 5/3)

A new study by LawnStarter compared 180 U.S. cities to see which are the best — and worst — at supporting new mothers. Two North Texas cities rank near the bottom of the list, it found. Grand Prairie ranked third worst, and Mesquite was fifth worst. Others fared only a bit better. Garland ranked 15th worst and Arlington 19th worst. In fact, no North Texas cities made the top 50 places for new mothers. Frisco topped the list locally at No. 63. McKinney came in at No. 71 and Plano at No. 99. Irving landed at No. 133. (Bahari, 5/3)

A widow’s push to change the sedation rules for North Carolina dentists has struck a nerve in the dental profession. The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners has been considering a proposed rule change that among other things would require dentists and oral surgeons to have a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) or an anesthesiologist in the room any time a patient is put under deep sedation. Bobby White, chief executive officer of the board, said recently that such a prospect not only had inspired rigorous debate, it also prompted a robust response during the comment period that is part of the process for any proposed rule change. (Blythe, 5/4)

When Jillian Robinson brought her 10-month-old son to Advocate Christ Medical Center because of a strange mark on his ear, doctors thought it was a bruise and assumed, that because she was Black, she had abused him, Robinson alleges in a lawsuit filed late last month. The mark on Robinson’s son’s ear turned out to be a likely birthmark — not a bruise, according to the lawsuit, which was filed April 20 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Yet doctors at Advocate Christ in Oak Lawn involved the Department of Children and Family Services shortly after meeting Robinson last year, before they knew, for sure, what the mark was, the lawsuit alleges. They then performed medically unnecessary tests on her son, such as a head CT and bone scan to “support their presumption of child abuse after making a DCFS report,” the lawsuit alleges. (Schencker, 5/3)

The test came back positive: Heather Hamilton had the gene for Huntington’s disease, a degenerative brain disorder with no known cure. It was all but certain to shave a couple decades off her life. Hamilton, 47 years old, absorbed the tidal wave of the news. Then she and her husband, Sean Smith, 51, started making plans. Everything had changed. In the long term, it was bad. But the short term? Maybe the short term could be really good. “It was that feeling of, well, our retirement isn’t gonna look like what most people’s retirement will look like,” Hamilton said, “so let’s do the things we want to do now, even if it’s a ton of work.” (Hudnall, 5/4)

Earlier this year, code enforcement officials at the city of Los Angeles cleared the Chesapeake Apartments in South L.A. after a required inspection that was supposed to ensure its rental units were habitable. The complex has 425 apartments and takes up multiple city blocks. But the city’s clean bill of health belied the numerous problems with mold, sewage leaks, faulty smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and other issues that tenants say have plagued the massive complex for years. Beyond that, a 2020 investigation in LAist found Chesapeake Apartments’ owner has been accused by tenants and multiple government agencies of allowing similar conditions across a more than $1-billion real estate empire that’s centered in Southern California. (Dillon, 5/3)

The recent death of a National Guard soldier who drowned trying to save migrants in the Rio Grande has led to increased scrutiny of the Texas Military Department’s policy discouraging service members assigned to Operation Lone Star, Gov. Greg Abbott’s border mission, from engaging in water rescues. Hours after The Texas Tribune and Military Times reported that troops along the river — including Spc. Bishop Evans, who died last month trying to rescue a migrant — lacked flotation devices and rescue training, the agency’s leader Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Suelzer told lawmakers that troops are advised not to jump in the water to avoid risks. (Barragan, 5/3)