Assisted living communities and other long-term care facilities in Texas now must make public the number of residents in whom a communicable disease has been diagnosed after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill into law on Monday.
Senate Bill 930, authored by Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) and sponsored by Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) and Rep. Mayes Middleton (R-Wallisville), establishes that certain details about the spread of communicable diseases in assisted living communities, continuing care retirement communities and nursing homes is not considered protected health information.
The information includes facility names and locations as well as the number of residents infected, and it is now subject to disclosure by state and local health agencies under the Texas Public Information Act.
Eliminating the Chiles fund “goes back to making sure we have ample reserves,” says House Appropriations Chairman Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City.
The endowment, currently valued at about $958.4 million, was created in 1999 to provide support for health care programs and biomedical research. The bill will fold it into a budget reserve.
Florida lawmakers have agreed to shut down an endowment fund named after former Gov. Lawton Chiles as part of final budget-related negotiations in the closing days of the 2021 legislative session.
The House and Senate have also agreed to require nursing homes to file financial statements with the state.
Both decisions were made Wednesday in a final meeting between Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, and House Appropriations Chairman Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City. They signed off on so-called “conforming” bills that authorize changes in state law that go along with a new state budget that will be voted on Friday.
Northeast Wisconsin vaccine clinics are not seeing enough dosage supply to meet the demand
Northeast Wisconsin vaccine clinics say they aren t receiving enough supply to meet the demand. According to the Wisconsin Hospital Association, the state is only taking in around 70,000 doses a week.
and last updated 2021-01-29 19:30:16-05
WAUSHARA COUNTY, Wis. (NBC26) There are nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites aged 65 and older who are now eligible to receive the Covid vaccine.
And the phones at local clinics are ringing nonstop. Everybody wants to be vaccinated now, Wisconsin Health Care Association President and CEO Rick Abrams said. The sheer numbers of what s involved here aren t gonna enable that to happen.