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The Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Waiver is an intensive mental health service program for families who cannot afford long-term psychiatric inpatient care or who would rather see their child receive treatment in their own community. The program, which serves about 2,200 children, is currently in desperate need of additional funding as providers leave the program due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates. The waitlist for this mental health service is nearly 900 families on a given day. (Simpson, 2/7)

Â鶹ŮÓÅ Health News: Some Incarcerated Youths Will Get Health Care After Release Under New Law

Valentino Valdez was given his birth certificate, his Social Security card, a T-shirt, and khaki pants when he was released from a Texas prison in 2019 at age 21. But he didn’t have health insurance, mental health medications, or access to a doctor, he said. Three years later, he landed in an inpatient hospital after expressing suicidal thoughts. After more than a decade cycling through juvenile detention, foster care placements, and state prisons, Valdez realizes now that treatment for his mental health conditions would have made life on his own much easier. (Rayasam, 2/7)

Kristina and Nick Bruno were overjoyed when a 2023 Florida bill passed, meant to help support the treatment for their medically fragile child, only to be unable to access the funding two years later. The law (SB 391), which passed in 2023, allows parents and caregivers of children with chronic and complex medical needs to be paid a salary to care for that child. However, it is almost impossible for a parent to be enrolled without losing their Medicaid eligibility, linked to the new income. (McCormack, 2/6)

A Maryland Department of Health email obtained by The Baltimore Sun sent to workers at state-owned psychiatric facility Spring Grove Hospital Center  says testing and treatment for the bacteria could take weeks to complete. (Bazos, 2/6)

Dr. Daniel Kortsch is a pretty popular guy these days in the hallways of Denver Health, the hospital where he works in primary care. Colleagues come up to him for spontaneous hugs. He’s received at least one box of chocolates. The reason for this affection has to do with Kortsch’s other job at the hospital — as chief medical information officer, sort of a guru at the intersection of technology and patient care. (Ingold, 2/7)

Officials from the College of Central Florida and the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership celebrated the grand opening of the AdventHealth Center for Nursing on Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Ocala campus. The two-story, $20 million building will serve as a learning environment for more than 300 students enrolled in registered nursing and bachelor's degree programs. (Bennett, 2/6)