Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mississippi Moves Jury Trials To Auditorium; Michigan Extends Emergency
Jury trials in southwest Mississippi are set to return later this month for the first time since March. Adams County Circuit Court Judge Debra Blackwell said they will be moved to the Natchez City Auditorium starting the third week of August. (8/9)
In news from Michigan —
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday extended Michigan's state of emergency through Sept. 4, amid continued high daily case numbers, ongoing pushback from Republican lawmakers and an accelerated petition drive to sharply curtail her emergency powers. (Egan, 8/7)
Families eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or food stamps, will continue receiving additional benefits through August, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday. The additional benefits that had been set to end in July will impact about 350,000 Michigan families who are receiving the increased monthly benefits. Eligible participants should expect the additional benefits to be on their Bridge Cards by Aug. 30, according to a news release. (Rahman, 8/7)
In nursing home news —
A 16th resident at Canyon Creek Memory Care has died after an outbreak of COVID-19 at the facility that has infected both the staff and those under their care. The senior care facility has tallied dozens of positive cases since early July, and its residents make up more than half of all the deaths in Yellowstone County due to complications from contracting the novel coronavirus. (Hamby, 8/8)
Late Thursday afternoon, a state agency announced a change that many advocates and family members of nursing home residents had hoped for: Visitors would again be allowed at some nursing homes and assisted living facilities. (Foxhall, 8/7)
Shirley Doyen was exhausted. The Christalain nursing home, which she ran with her brother in an affluent neighborhood in Brussels, was buckling from Covid-19. Eight residents had died in three weeks. Some staff members had only gowns and goggles from Halloween doctor costumes for protection. Nor was help coming. Ms. Doyen had begged hospitals to collect her infected residents. They refused. Sometimes she was told to administer morphine and let death come. Once she was told to pray. Then, in the early morning of April 10, it all got worse. (Stevis-Gridneff, Apuzzo and Pronczuk, 8/8)
