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The latest front in the battle over doctor-assisted suicide is unfolding in Colorado, where voters will consider a ballot measure next month that would permit physicians to aid terminally ill patients in dying. Proposition 106 would allow adults who have six months or less to live, and are mentally competent, to take medication prescribed by a doctor to end their lives. (Frosch, 10/16)

While Connecticut has made inroads in developing a system to address trauma in school-aged children, experts say there are still significant gaps in services for younger children who have been exposed to domestic violence, abuse, parental drug use, homelessness or other potentially traumatic experiences – things that can have lasting consequences for a person’s mental and physical health. Now, there’s an effort underway to address that gap. The Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut, a Farmington-based nonprofit, is leading an initiative to train child care providers and others who work with young children to recognize signs of trauma – and to expand the availability of services to help. (Levin Becker, 10/17)

The task force created to draft recommendations for regulating the relationship between doctors and nurse practitioners brainstormed a few suggestions Thursday in a meeting that made more progress than previous ones. Much of the meeting focused on credentialing and whether advanced practice nurses are engaged in the practice of medicine as defined by state law, and if that is allowable under their training. The tenor of the four-and-a-half-hour meeting was at times confrontational and divided down professional lines — but less so than the two previous meetings. (Fletcher, 10/14)

Addressing the HIV increase among young people, the National Institutes of Health has awarded up to $24 million for a research network, including Emory University and other universities, to target new services for adolescents and young adults (individuals ranging in age from 13 to 24). Emory, along with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will provide one of three research hubs. A primary focus of researchers will be developing technologies – including mobile apps – that better serve young people with HIV or at risk of the virus, says Dr. Patrick Sullivan, an HIV expert at Emory. (Miller, 10/16)

MetroHealth is one of 14 centers nationwide receiving the funding from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research. Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center received a National Institute grant of $2.2 million. The grant designates MetroHealth and the other centers a "Spinal Cord Injury Model System" and brings support to their projects, research, vocation and other means of making progress toward the needs and treatment of individuals with spinal cord injuries. (Washington, 10/14)

There’s no question that hospice has helped millions of terminally ill people be as comfortable as possible so they can focus on living their last days with family. But as the number of patients and providers and the amount of taxpayer money spent on hospice care has grown steadily in recent years, government agencies and advocates have been sounding the alarm about the potential for fraud. Several reports by the Office of Inspector General, including one released last month, found that some hospice providers, doctors and staff members have aggressively recruited patients, including some who don’t quality for services. (Pyle, 10/17)

With medical marijuana already a reality in Florida, voters will decide in November whether to vastly expand the types of patients who are eligible for the treatment. It's the second time Floridians will weigh in on a medical-marijuana constitutional amendment, with the first proposal narrowly failing in 2014 to capture the 60 percent approval required for passage. But the evolving politics of pot, an already-established marijuana industry and increased voter turnout for the presidential election improve the odds of passage in 2016. (10/14)