- Florida: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) has confirmed that her office did not appeal a ruling that struck down a 2011 state law that critics had dubbed "Docs vs. Glocks," which would have stopped physicians from asking patients about their guns. Specifically, the law had sought to keep doctors from including gun ownership information in a patient's medical record if the doctors knew the information was not "relevant" to the patient's medical care, safety, or safety of other people. It also said doctors shouldn't ask patients about their or their family members' gun ownership unless the doctors believed in "good faith" that such information was relevant to medical care or safety. The 11th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in February struck down the law, and the state had 90 days to appeal (Kam, "Political Pulse," Orlando Sentinel, 6/12; Ash, WFSU, 6/12).
- Maryland: Within a week of having lifesaving heart transplant surgery earlier this year, a Maryland teenager was dancing in his hospital bed—with his nurses and doctors dancing along, too. Amari Hall, 15, was born with a congenital heart defect and had three corrective heart surgeries by age two. He learned last year that he needed a transplant and was admitted to the University of Maryland Medical Center in December 2016. Six days after receiving the transplant, Amari was back to his "cheery self," his aunt, Charawn Hunter, said. "We put the music on and he started dancing" (Schmidt, CNN, 6/12).
- Minnesota: Mayo Clinic, based in Rochester, on Monday said it wants to improve efficiency by moving most of its hospital services from its medical center in Albert Lea to its hospital in Austin. Most inpatient hospital services will be consolidated at the Austin campus, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Albert Lea will house inpatient behavioral health care and outpatient services and continue to operate its ED. The transition will take place over several years (Snowbeck, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 6/13).
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