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Oregon is a drinker’s paradise. The state boasts more craft distilleries than Kentucky and is second only to California in the number of wineries. Some call Portland “beervana” for its bevy of breweries. But Oregon also has among the highest prevalence of problem drinking in the country. Last year, 2,153 residents died of causes attributed to alcohol, according to the Oregon Health Authority — more than twice the number of people killed by methamphetamines, heroin and fentanyl combined. (9/11)

AB 2236 would expand what procedures an optometrist can perform in California with additional training. It’s one of 571 bills currently on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. The governor has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto those bills, which also includes a doctor transparency measure that had previously struggled to gain traction the last two years. More on that bill later. (Gutierrez, 9/9)

Bay Area hospitals treated dozens of people for heat-related ailments this week, during what may have been the worst hot spell ever in Northern California, but the true public health impact is unknown because there are few coordinated efforts to track illnesses and injuries caused by weather events, health experts said. (Allday, 9/9)

California has dramatically curbed its use of antipsychotic medication to control emotionally troubled foster children, according to a new study, raising hopes of a changing culture in the years since a Bay Area News Group investigation exposed the rampant use of those powerful drugs. (Loudenback and Fitzgerald, 9/11)

Mayor Muriel Bowser has declared a public health emergency in response to Texas continuing to bus migrants to the nation’s capital. (Neukam, 9/9)

On a recent Thursday morning, John Hodges walked one of his older patients out the door. “God bless you for being here, John,” the patient said, shaking the nurse practitioner’s hand on his way out. (Lozano, 9/12)

An appeals court judge chided Florida health officials for not following up on promises to grant additional medical marijuana licenses as required by state law, saying potential applicants are “understandably frustrated” and offering a legal playbook for entrepreneurs who have been shut out of the cannabis market for years. (Kam, 9/9)

State higher-education officials are slated to discuss how universities plan to spend $40 million aimed at bolstering the number of “high-quality” nursing graduates in Florida. (9/9)

Unions representing hundreds of thousands of New Jersey public workers urged the state to recoup controversial payments to its health insurance provider and delay a vote planned for next week on whether to increase their premium costs. (Tozzi, 9/9)

Thousands of families in Oklahoma remain on the waiting list for access to disability services for their loved ones, according to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. Prior to finding the adult day center location in Edmond, the Rooks family was one of many facing the dilemma that occurs when a developmentally disabled child becomes an adult. (WIlliams, 9/11)