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Doctors in the Kansas City area are seeing an increase in syphilis, a dangerous sexually transmitted disease that has been growing more prevalent across Kansas and Missouri in recent years. And the medicine used to treat it is now in short supply. (Phillips, 8/2)

A team of Orlando doctors has found an interesting trend: a rise in leprosy cases in Florida with most new cases concentrated in the Central Florida area. Central Florida accounted for 81 percent of leprosy cases reported in Florida and almost one-fifth of nationally reported cases in 2022. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week published the doctors' research letter detailing their data. Dr. Charles Dunn, who reported the findings with a team of doctors, says this shouldn’t cause alarm or panic. Leprosy is not highly contagious and it’s easily treated. (Prieur, 8/2)

A home care company in New York City removed minority workers from jobs at the request of patients, federal officials said. The company, Four Seasons Licensed Home Health Care Agency, “routinely” assigned its staff based on patients’ “racial preferences,” according to a July 31 news release from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announcing a lawsuit. (Rascius, 8/2)

Children in mental health crisis can now go to one of the state’s four urgent crisis centers to get help rather than risking an hours-long wait in the emergency room for care, officials said Wednesday. Wednesday marked the grand opening of The Village for Families and Children‘s urgent crisis center in Hartford. The centers are designed as walk-in, outpatient clinics for kids who are having behavioral health crises such as thoughts of suicide or self-harm, depression, anxiety or out-of-control behavior, among other mental health issues. (Monk, 8/2)

Marijuana users dropped $87.43 million on cannabis in Maryland during a strong first month of recreational sales, according to state officials, spending an average of about $2.8 million on the substance each day in July. (Shepherd, 8/2)

Stoneos instead of Oreos? Doweedos instead of Doritos? State lawmakers, law enforcement officers and federal agencies are taking steps to get these familiar-looking edibles and other delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products out of the hands of middle school and high school students. With a combination of kid-friendly packaging and no age restrictions for purchasing the products, they say it’s far too easy for children to grab a package of Stoneos or Doweedos and get high off of legal cannabis that often is in wrappers similar to those used for cookies, chips and other popular after-school snacks. (Thomae, 8/3)

The number of deaths among Denver’s homeless population so far in 2023 has spiked more than 50% compared with the number recorded at this time last year. If the upward trend continues, deaths among people who are unhoused could reach an all-time high, with accidental overdoses continuing to drive the surge, according to data from Denver’s Office of the Medical Examiner. (Prentzel, 8/2)

A patient escaped from one of Maryland’s state-run psychiatric hospitals Tuesday evening by exiting through a shot-out window and fleeing in a waiting getaway car, according to local police. An unidentified person approached the Eastern Shore Hospital Center, fired several gunshots into a glass window and kicked in the broken window frame, Cambridge Police Chief Justin Todd said in a news release Wednesday morning. That allowed the patient to escape, and the two drove away in a black vehicle, police said. (8/2)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: ‘Conscience’ Bills Let Medical Providers Opt Out Of Providing A Wide Range Of Care 

A new Montana law will provide sweeping legal protections to health care practitioners who refuse to prescribe marijuana or participate in procedures and treatments such as abortion, medically assisted death, gender-affirming care, or others that run afoul of their ethical, moral, or religious beliefs or principles. The law, which goes into effect in October, will gut patients’ ability to take legal action if they believe they didn’t receive proper care due to a conscientious objection by a provider or an institution, such as a hospital. (Graf, 8/3)

In recent months, discourse about queer people has dominated many state legislatures and school board meetings. Since the passage of bills in Missouri limiting access to gender-affirming care, many conversations in mainstream media have been about queer people and don’t center queer people themselves. Founded in 2019, the St. Louis Queer Support Helpline serves as a resource for LGBTQIA+ people. The goal of the helpline is to facilitate healing spaces and provide holistic support for queer St. Louisans to thrive. (Norfleet, 8/2)

One of Louisiana’s few doctors specializing in pediatric heart conditions is leaving the state after the Legislature passed a variety of bills aimed at restricting rights for LGBTQ people. Dr. Jake Kleinmahon works at Ochsner Hospital for Children in New Orleans as the medical director of the hospital’s pediatric heart transplant, heart failure and ventricular assist device programs. He is just one of three doctors in the state with that specialization, he told WDSU, an NBC affiliate in New Orleans. (Yurcaba, 8/3)

The Mazzoni Center, Philadelphia’s largest LGBTQ health agency, has named Stacey Trooskin its new executive medical officer. Trooskin, an infectious-disease physician, most recently was chief medical officer at Philadelphia FIGHT, a community health nonprofit that operates in the Gayborhood. She will lead Mazzoni’s medical and behavioral health programs, including distribution of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, HIV testing and case management, gender-affirming care, and primary care. (Gutman, 8/1)