Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Asheville, NC, Finally Has Clean Water To Drink, Nearly 2 Months After Helene
More than 100,000 residents in western North Carolina were allowed to drink and bathe using water from their home faucets on Monday, nearly two months after Hurricane Helene destroyed much of the local water system. Clay Chandler, a spokesman for the city of Asheville’s Water Resources Department, said at a briefing Monday that water tests “were all clear” and a boil-water notice was lifted. Flooding from Helene tore through the city’s water system in late September, destroying so much infrastructure that officials at the time said repairs could take weeks. (11/18)
The Biden administration on Monday sent Congress a roughly $100 billion emergency funding request to rebuild communities hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton, along with a slew of other disasters nationwide. Top lawmakers plan to spend the next few weeks finalizing a bipartisan bill that fulfills at least some of that request, with a goal of final passage sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since Congress also faces a government shutdown deadline on Dec. 20, it’s possible disaster aid gets tied into a spending patch or broader funding package. (Scholtes, 11/18)
鶹Ů Health News: Nationwide IV Fluid Shortage Could Change How Hospitals Manage Patient Hydration
Hospitals around the country are conserving critical intravenous fluid supplies to cope with a shortage that may last months. Some hospital administrators say they are changing how they think about IV fluid hydration altogether. Hurricane Helene, which hit North Carolina in September, wrecked a Baxter International facility that produces 60% of the IV fluids used in the U.S., according to the American Hospital Association. (Fortiér, 11/19)
In other health news from across the U.S. —
About one in eight children in America's most populous city experienced homelessness last school year, according to a report released on Monday. Student homelessness, which tracks with worsening federal homelessness trends, is nationally linked to higher rates of chronic absenteeism and drop outs. (Rubin, 11/18)
Colorado regulators are making final tweaks to a pioneering program overseeing licensed facilitators and manufacturers who will launch the state into the rarified realm of psychedelic-assisted therapies next year. (Blevins, 11/19)
The University of South Florida’s Byrd Alzheimer’s Center & Research Institute received a $6.5 million estate gift this week from a recently deceased benefactor who had regularly made smaller donations since 2002. The facility will be able to use the money in whatever way “best serves our needs in priority areas,” said Gopal Thinakaran, the institute's CEO. (Miller, 11/18)
