Becker's Hospital Review: California System To Trim Services, Lay Off 107
Coniva-based Emanate Health will lay off a total of 107 employees, according to multiple WARN notices obtained by Becker's. Sixty-three of the layoffs will draw from per diem, part-time and full-time positions across the nonprofit health system, according to an Oct. 15 statement shared with Becker's. The remaining 44 layoffs will come from the permanent closure of Emanate Health Home Care and Emanate Health Imaging, effective Dec. 9. (Ashley, 10/15)

Capital & Main: On The Verge Of A Strike, Kaiser Therapists Say It’s About Time
When it was announced in October of 2023, Kaiser Permanente’s massive settlement with California regulators over its inadequate mental health care services to its patients briefly raised hopes among Kaiser workers. They saw the settlement, which included a record $50 million fine and a required plan of correction, as an opportunity for the health giant to lead on mental and behavioral health care. A year later, those hopes have been dashed. Kaiser’s leadership has yet to even agree with the state on the action plan to improve its services. And now thousands of mental health care professionals in Southern California are on the brink of a strike. (Kreidler, 10/11)

Becker's Hospital Review: UCSF Health Opens 2 Outpatient Facilities
San Francisco-based UCSF Health opened new retail pharmacies at its Mission Bay and Parnassus, Calif., campuses, offering comprehensive and accessible health services. The UCSF Mission Bay pharmacy opened Oct. 1, and the UCSF Health Parnassus pharmacy location is set to open Oct. 29, according to an Oct. 14 news release from the health system. Both facilities are open to the public, offering pickup, mail-order and home delivery fulfillment services. (Murphy, 10/15)

Becker's Hospital Review: 'Big Bang Theory' Producer's Gift To Support Children's Hospital Training Program
Supported by one of the largest donations it has ever received, Children's Hospital Los Angeles will open an educational institute to train pediatric health professionals. (Kuchno, 10/15)

Becker's Hospital Review: AMA Recognizes 62 Health Systems For Commitment To Physician Well-Being
As part of its Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program, the American Medical Association has honored 62 health systems for their commitment to physician well-being. The health systems are being recognized for their efforts in addressing the systemic causes of burnout for the more than 140,000 physicians they represent, according to an Oct. 15 news release from the AMA. (Gregerson, 10/15)

Becker's Hospital Review: A Growing Push To Change Medical Education: 5 Notes
Some medical schools are updating their curriculum to provide greater depth to disease education. A rise in AI, patient demands and increased awareness of health equity and social determinants of health have pushed organizations to evaluate physicians' preparedness as they enter the field. The spotlight has fallen on a few areas, including nutrition and substance use disorder, that could use more in-depth training. These needs are fueling a push to update how medical schools train physicians for the future of healthcare. (Taylor, 10/15)

CBS News: As IV Shortage Continues After Hurricane, U.S. Invokes Wartime Power To Speed Recovery
The Biden administration says it has invoked the wartime powers of the Defense Production Act to speed rebuilding of a major American factory of intravenous fluids that was wrecked by Hurricane Helene last month. Damage to the plant in North Carolina has worsened a nationwide shortage of IV fluids, and hospitals say they are still postponing some surgeries and other procedures as a result. (Tin, 10/15)

Chief Healthcare Executive: Why Hospitals Are Likely To See IV Fluid Shortage For Some Time
Tom Cotter, the executive director of Healthcare Ready, a nonprofit group that works to ensure the availability of medical supplies in emergencies, says hospitals will likely need to continue to manage stores of IV fluids carefully for some time. Federal officials are working to help obtain more IV fluids, but Cotter tells Chief Healthcare Executive® that it’s going to take a while before health systems see some relief. Even if more supplies come from abroad, they won’t arrive overnight. (Southwick, 10/16)

Becker's Hospital Review: 20 Tips For Hospitals Amid IV, Peritoneal Dialysis Solution Shortage
After Hurricane Helene struck Baxter's site in North Cove facility in Marion, N.C. — the nation's main manufacturer of intravenous and peritoneal dialysis solutions — several healthcare organizations have shared conservation and drug shortage mitigation tips. The site has been temporarily closed since Sept. 29. Baxter said it plans to resume operations at the plant by end of year but is unsure when supply will rebound to normal levels, according to an Oct. 14 post on its website. (Twenter, 10/15)

Modern Healthcare: Walgreens' VillageMD, Other Care Delivery Ventures Lose $14B
Walgreens is still waiting for its healthcare services bet to pay off as the overall business loses billions of dollars. Walgreens nearly doubled its U.S. healthcare services operating losses to $526 million in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2024 ended Aug. 31, according to financial results released Tuesday. That brings full-year losses in the segment to $14.2 billion, compared with a loss of $1.7 billion in 2023. (Hudson, 10/15)

Axios: How Walgreens Plans To Retool The Future Of Its Pharmacies
Walgreens is dramatically shrinking its retail footprint and revamping its front-of-store product mix in a bid to fend off competition from online and other rivals who've upended the pharmacy business. The moves announced on Tuesday reflect big chain pharmacies' challenge to revive their core businesses amid sluggish demand, workforce crunches and shrinking prescription payments. (Reed, 10/16)

CNN: Why Your Drug Store Is Closing
CVS is closing 900 stores. Rite-Aid is closing 500. Walgreens announced Tuesday it plans to close 1,200 stores, meaning 1 in 7 will disappear. What is going on with America’s drug stores? (Nathaniel Meyersohn, 10/16)

CBS News: UC Davis Health Has New Clinic For Treatment-Resistant Depression
A UC Davis clinic is offering hope to those who are struggling with depression. Dr. Katharine Marder, a psychiatrist with UC Davis Health, works in the clinic for treatment-resistant depression. That is depression that hasn't gotten better with traditional treatments. It affects one in three people with depression. "What we do know is people with treatment-resistant depression do tend to have more severe depression," Marder said. "They tend to be sick for longer. They tend to have more disability and higher risk of suicide." (Garcia, 10/15)

CBS News: Experimental SF Program Uses Meals To Help Dementia Patients Unlock Memories
The idea for this new experimental program is simple: use food to bring forgotten stories back to life. ... Studies have already shown that music can unlock memories from the past. Dr. Adrienne Green, the CEO of the San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living is betting the same thing can happen with food. "They're just coming back to life in ways that we don't see every day," she said. During a dinner party, residents got to share their dishes with the group and read a story they wrote with the help from specialists. (Gibson, 10/15)

CNN: Adolescents Treated For Obesity With GLP-1 Drugs Had Lower Risk Of Suicidal Thoughts, Study Finds 
A review of the medical records of thousands of adolescents treated for obesity found that kids who received the GLP-1 medications semaglutide or liraglutide were less likely to have suicidal thoughts or attempts than those treated with behavioral interventions. The study of about 7,000 children between ages 12 and 18, published this week in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, showed that the medicines were associated with a 33% lower risk over a year. (Tirrell, 10/15)

Reuters: Meta Must Face US State Lawsuits Over Teen Social Media Addiction 
Facebook parent company Meta must face lawsuits by U.S. states accusing it of fueling mental health problems among teens by making its Facebook and Instagram platforms addictive, a federal judge in California ruled on Tuesday. Oakland-based U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected Meta's bid to toss the claims made by the states in two separate lawsuits filed last year, one involving more than 30 states including California and New York and the other brought by Florida. (Pierson, 10/15)

Axios: Firstborn And Only Children Likelier To Have Anxiety
Firstborn and only children are likelier to develop anxiety and depression by the time they reach age 8 than children who are born second or later, according to a new review of almost 182,500 cases. (Bettelheim, 10/16)

LAist: LA County Voters Consider New Higher Sales Tax For Homeless Service And Ask: Where Has The Money Gone So Far?
Measure A on the November ballot asks Los Angeles County voters to increase a local sales tax that funds homelessness efforts. The proposal has left many wondering: What happened to the billions of dollars L.A. taxpayers have already put toward addressing homelessness? L.A. County officials and policy experts say the existing sales tax approved by voters in 2017 has succeeded at providing housing and services to tens of thousands of people. They also admit it hasn’t been enough to thin the ranks of the more than 75,000 Angelenos living in cars, shelters and tent encampments. (Wagner, 10/16)

Los Angeles Times: Los Angeles Has A $22-Billion Homelessness Problem
City of Los Angeles officials are finally confronting a question that has seemed too big to answer: How much would it actually cost to get every person living on the street today indoors and make sure that no one languished there for years again? The answer, in a report now circulating through City Hall, is a whopper: $21.7 billion over a decade. And since less than $7 billion of that sum is budgeted, local, state and federal governments would have to pony up three times what they’re planning. (Dillon and Smith, 10/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: The Number Of Tents In S.F. Dropped. Here’s The Data By Neighborhood
For the third time this year, Mayor London Breed is celebrating that San Francisco has reached the lowest number of homeless tents on record. City employees and contractors on Oct. 2 counted 242 tents and structures across the city — about half the number tallied in November of 2023 and nearly 80 less than just three months prior, according to data collected quarterly by a partnership made up of multiple city agencies. The number of vehicles that people are sleeping in dropped from 613 in November 2023 to 458 earlier this month. (Angst, 10/16)

Modern Healthcare: How Biden Transformed Medicare Advantage
The clock is running out on one of the most consequential eras for Medicare Advantage since its inception nearly three decades ago. President Joe Biden’s single term in office has featured some of the most high-velocity policymaking on Medicare Advantage — both in quantity and potency — since George W. Bush's presidency. The Biden administration has overseen dozens of changes to the financing and the rules governing the private sector alternative to fee-for-service Medicare. (Early, 10/16)

Modern Healthcare: CMS' 2030 Value-Based Care Goal At 'Inflection Point'
The Biden administration's goal to move all Medicare beneficiaries into accountable care arrangements by 2030 may be just within reach, but is at a turning point. The most immediate question that could determine the initiative's future is whether Congress extends a bonus program meant to help providers transition away from fee-for-service reimbursement and toward value-based payment before it expires this winter. (McAuliff, 10/15)

Axios: Independent Pharmacies May Skip Low-Cost Medicare Drugs
More than half of independent pharmacies are considering not stocking the first 10 drugs that were subject to Medicare price negotiations over concerns they'll have to absorb upfront costs. If the drug stores decide it's not worth it to carry these drugs, seniors could have a harder time benefiting from the first round of reduced drug prices that take effect in 2026 — especially as more chain pharmacies close. (Goldman, 10/16)

Military Times: Pentagon Changes Discharges For 800-Plus Vets Kicked Out For Being Gay
About 820 veterans previously kicked out of the military for their sexual orientation will have their dismissals upgraded to honorable discharges following a year-long review of their service records. The upgrades were announced Tuesday morning by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who said the effort was undertaken “to redress the harms done by ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and other policies on these former service members.” ... The changes mean that those veterans for the first time will be able to access certain VA education, health and financial benefits, a potential windfall for them and their families. (Shane III, 10/15)

USA Today: California Students Will Learn About Periods, Menopause
California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved the Know Your Period Act in late September, making the Golden State among the first places to require menstrual health education. The new law, which goes into effect in January, is modeled after the first menstrual health education requirement in schools in Washington, D.C., last year, said Edgar Guerra, a spokesperson for Democrat California Assemblymember Lori Wilson, who authored the bill. (Jimenez, 10/16)

Sacramento Bee: Proposed Gun Control Regulations Move Forward In Sacramento
More strict firearm regulations are advancing through City Council chambers. The ordinances, with some inspired by laws passed through the city of San Jose, range from requiring gun liability insurance to a yearly $25 gun harm reduction fee. The council’s Law and Legislation committee unanimously passed the regulations Tuesday. The ordinances will be considered next by the full City Council. (Hall, 10/15)

USA Today: Farm Recalls Enoki Mushrooms Citing Possible Listeria Contamination
A mushroom farm has recalled packages of enoki mushrooms due to possible listeria contamination, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced. The manufacturer, Enoki King Mushroom Farm of Ventura, California, made its own announcement that same day. The recall includes lot 4877 of the farm’s 5.3-ounce packages of Enoki Mushroom. The recalled mushrooms were sold from California and New York, as well as through produce distributors or wholesalers to retail locations all around the country, the FDA said. (Martin, 10/15)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Napa County Orders Health Care Workers To Wear Masks Through March 
With the prevalence of viral respiratory diseases expected to rise in the coming months, the Napa County Health and Human Services Agency has ordered that masks be worn at local health care facilities beginning Nov. 1. (Booth, 10/15)

The Boston Globe: What Causes Long COVID? For Nearly Half Of Cases, New Research Suggests An Answer.
Scientists and doctors have suspected for years that one cause of the mysterious condition known as long COVID may be reservoirs of the virus that remain hidden in the bodies of its victims long after their acute infections have passed. Earlier this month, a research team led by Boston-area scientists unveiled a study suggesting that this is true for almost half of those suffering from the condition. (Piore, 10/15)

USA Today: Latest On COVID-19: XEC And KP.3.1.1 Variants, Symptoms, Cases, Data
KP.3.1.1 is still the dominant COVID-19 variant in the United States as it accounts for nearly 60% of positive cases, but the XEC variant is not far behind, recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows. "CDC is monitoring the XEC variant," Rosa Norman, a CDC spokesperson told USA TODAY. "XEC is the proposed name of a recombinant, or hybrid, of the closely related Omicron lineages KS.1.1 and KP.3.3." (Forbes, 10/15)

Reuters: GSK Sues Moderna For US Patent Infringement Over COVID, RSV Vaccines 
British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline sued Moderna in U.S. federal court in Delaware on Tuesday, accusing it of violating GSK patent rights in messenger RNA technology with its blockbuster COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax and RSV shot mResvia. According to the two lawsuits, Moderna's lipid nanoparticles for transporting fragile mRNA into the human body infringe several GSK patents covering similar innovations. (Brittain, 10/15)

Stat: Bird Flu Pandemic Risk Divides Experts. Is It Time To Panic Yet?
If you’re aware of the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in U.S. dairy cattle — you may have seen some headlines or read something on social media — perhaps you are wondering what the fuss is about. Yes, there have been nearly a couple dozen human cases, but all have had mild symptoms. The virus does not decimate herds in the way it does poultry flocks; most — though not all — of the infected cows come through the illness OK. If, however, you are more familiar with the history of this form of bird flu, you might be getting anxious. (Branswell, 10/16)

Military.com: Two Veterans Will Argue To Supreme Court That VA Disability Claims Aren't Getting 'Benefit Of Doubt'
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday in a case that challenges the Department of Veterans Affairs' handling of benefits applications and appeals, a question that could affect thousands of previously decided or current claims. In the case Bufkin v. McDonough, the plaintiffs challenged decisions by the VA and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims denying benefits for health conditions. They argue that the Veterans Board of Appeals, and later, the appeals court, failed to apply a "benefit-of-the-doubt" rule that should have resulted in disability compensation awards. (Kime, 10/15)

The New York Times: Supreme Court Leans Toward Truck Driver Fired Over Drug Test 
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday over whether a truck driver fired for failing a drug test after using a “wellness product” which was falsely advertised to be free of THC may sue the manufacturer under a federal racketeering law. A majority of the justices seemed ready to side with the driver, Douglas Horn, on the narrow question before them: whether he could satisfy the law’s requirement that he had been injured in his “business or property.” But that is not the only hurdle Mr. Horn must clear to win under the law, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. (Liptak, 10/15)