�������ýҕ�l

Saying that a police response is often an improper solution to mental health crises, Biden administration officials announced Monday financial support for expansion of mobile crisis intervention teams in Oregon. This Pacific Northwest state, which has pioneered the use of unarmed intervention teams, became the first to receive the infusion of aid under President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan. (Selsky, 9/13)

Health officials Monday confirmed California’s first death from monkeypox, but there are encouraging signs that the outbreak appears to be slowing. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a statement that an investigation along with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined monkeypox was responsible for the death of a Los Angeles County resident who was “severely immunocompromised and had been hospitalized.” (Woolfolk, 9/12)

About 5,000 claims over contaminated water at North Carolina Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune have been filed in the first month since new legislation removed roadblocks for the cases, according to the U.S. Navy, setting up the potential for one of the largest mass litigations in U.S. history. The claims, filed with the Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy’s Tort Claims Unit in Norfolk, Virginia, are the first step for Marines and their family members to seek compensation for injuries sustained from contaminated drinking water on the base between 1953 and 1987 under a new process laid out in the PACT Act, a veterans’ healthcare and benefits bill signed by President Joe Biden on Aug. 10. (Jones, 9/12)

Firefighting is an occupation that comes with inherent risks. It turns out, though, that some of the equipment used to keep firefighters safe also puts them at risk. (Atwater, 9/13)

Wildfires gripping the Pacific Northwest are making the air far less breathable across the U.S. West, as windy weather transports hazardous particles and haze over multiple state lines. First responders were working on 16 large fires throughout the Pacific Northwest on Monday. (Udasin, 9/12)

The Washington state Department of Corrections was fined more than $84,000 for reportedly failing to follow safety rules meant to stop the spread of disease at its Aberdeen prison. The state Department of Labor and Industries said Friday it cited and fined the agency, The Olympian reported. (9/13)

Personal information for about 1,700 Medicaid recipients in Tennessee may have been disclosed during an update to a computer system, officials said. The update may have led to a limited number of people from one household to be able to view some information about individuals in another household that included some of the same people, a statement from TennCare said. The breach happened when a new application listed the name of a person who was already in another household, the statement said. (9/13)

University of Massachusetts Lowell recently took action to highlight its commitment to promoting health and wellness. The university adopted the Okanagan Charter, a document in which post-secondary schools pledge to embed health promotion in all aspects of campus life and culture, and to help lead efforts to further it locally and globally. (Laidler, 9/13)

In 2019, more than 20,000 Native American community members in Nevada lacked complete indoor plumbing, a condition known as “plumbing poverty.” That’s according to a new study by researchers at the Desert Research Institute and the Guinn Center for Policy Priorities. (Roedel, 9/12)