State Highlights: Tainted Water Causes Problems In Calif., Ore., While Wis. Copes With Lead-Poisoning Cases

Media outlets report on news from California, Oregon, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Kansas and Puerto Rico.

Sacramento Bee: Unsafe Drinking Water Is Creating A Crisis In California

An estimated 360,000 Californians are served by water systems with unsafe drinking water, according to a McClatchy analysis of data compiled by the State Water Resources Control Board. In many communities, people drink, shower, cook and wash dishes with water containing excessive amounts of pollutants, including arsenic, nitrates and uranium. (Kasler, Reese and Sabalow, 6/1)

The Associated Press: Oregon Looks Into Price Gouging As City Faces Tainted Water

The National Guard will hand out free water to residents who can’t drink tap water contaminated by an algae bloom in the Salem, Oregon, area, and state law enforcement authorities are looking into claims of price gouging after officials extended an emergency drinking water advisory. Gov. Kate Brown’s office said Thursday the water will be distributed to people at 10 locations in the state’s capital and Stayton because of toxins created by a bloom at Detroit Lake, a municipal reservoir. (James, 6/1)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: City Closing Many Lead Poisoning Cases While Children Still Sick

The draft report by the state Department of Health Services looked at 108 lead-poisoning cases reported to the city's troubled Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program between 2012 and 2017. It found more than 90% of the cases were closed before the amount of lead in kids' blood had dropped to levels deemed safe by the state. (Bice and Spicuzza, 5/31)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: City Of Milwaukee Faces Problems With Programs For Lead-Poisoned Kids

Once deemed a national model, the City of Milwaukee's program to prevent childhood lead poisoning has come under fire in the past six months. What is not clear is just how extensive the problems are in the program overseen by the city Health Department, even after the resignation of former Health Commissioner Bevan Baker earlier this year. (Spicuzza and Bice, 5/31)

Los Angeles Times: Homelessness Dips In L.A. And Countywide, But More People Are Living On The Streets For The First Time

After three years of precipitous increases, homelessness dipped slightly this year, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported Thursday, providing a hopeful sign that new money flowing into housing and services is having an effect. But in releasing results of the 2018 count, officials also warned that the number of people falling into homelessness for the first time increased, holding back the potential gains. And the report noted that three out of four homeless people in the county live on the street, a figure unchanged from last year. (Smith, Holland and Smith, 5/31)

Reuters: Special Report: In Louisiana Jail, Deaths Mount As Mental Health Pleas Unheeded

The East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, a squat brick building with low-slung ceilings and walls sometimes smeared with feces, is the face of a paradigm shift: penitentiaries as mental health care providers. Across the United States thousands of jails are sheltering a wave of inmates accused of crimes and serving time while suffering from illnesses ranging from depression to schizophrenia. (Fares and Levinson, 5/31)

KCUR: Colyer To Sign Order To Create State Alzheimer's Plan

Gov. Jeff Colyer is scheduled to sign an executive order on Friday night that will lead to the development of a state dementia plan. Kansas is the only state without a plan. Advocates have been in contact with Colyer since July about forming a task force and putting a plan together. (Eckels, 5/31)

Kaiser Health News: Listen: As Puerto Rico Struggles To Rebuild Health System, Changes In Medicaid Loom

KHN reporter Carmen Heredia Rodriguez joins in a discussion on WNYC’s “The Takeaway” about health care issues following widespread destruction by Hurricane Maria on the island. (5/31)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Louisiana 911 Operators To Offer CPR Instructions Over The Phone

Louisiana 911 operators will now be trained on how to provide over the phone instructions on how to perform CPR. The legislation which was signed Thursday (May 31) by Gov. John Bel Edwards was supported by the American Heart Association as a way to help the dispatcher and caller work as a team and improve the chance of survival for the victim until rescuers arrive. (Clark, 5/31)

Los Angeles Times: Rick Caruso Is Named Chair Of USC's Trustees, Vows Swift Investigation Of Gynecologist Scandal

The University of Southern California’s board of trustees has elected mall magnate Rick Caruso to be the new chair of the board, giving fresh leadership as the university navigates a widening scandal involving a longtime campus gynecologist. The move marks the latest effort by USC to address the case, which has sparked a criminal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and dozens of civil lawsuits. More than 400 people have contacted a hotline that the university established for patients to make reports about their experience with Dr. George Tyndall. (Hamilton, Ryan and Curwen, 5/31)

Los Angeles Times: UCLA Doctor Stripped Of License, Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Former County-USC Hospital Colleagues

A UCLA cardiologist has been temporarily stripped of his medical license after state regulators described him as a “sexual predator” who assaulted three female colleagues when he was working and training at L.A. County-USC Medical Center. (Parvini and Hamilton, 5/31)

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription