Mississippi has the highest childhood vaccination rate in the country. That may be about to change.
Mississippi parents can opt out of vaccinating their children for school on account of religious beliefs, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Halil Sul Ozerden on Monday issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit, filed last year by parents who said they’ve decided not to vaccinate their children because of religious beliefs, as […]
Health Department increases medical marijuana staffing as law change calls for quicker patient application turnaround
A change to the Medical Cannabis law that requires patient applications for medical marijuana cards be processed more quickly is likely to be a challenge for state employees – at least for now. After months of dealing with an onslaught of patient and business applications that resulted in long wait times and confusion among licensees, […]
Q&A: Jackson’s Springboard to Opportunities director on what the nonprofit learned from putting cash into low-income mothers’ hands
Sarah Stripp is the managing director of Jackson-based nonprofit Springboard to Opportunities, which supports low-income Mississippians. During the water crisis, when families couldn’t rely on clean water from their own pipes, Stripp’s organization was giving households $150 a month to buy bottled water. The group is best known for its guaranteed income program, Magnolia Mother’s […]
State Health Department says UMMC is qualified to host Mississippi’s next burn center. Its application raises doubts.
The Mississippi State Department of Health says that the University of Mississippi Medical Center can potentially host a state burn center. Whether it actually has the qualifications to do so, however, is unclear. Mississippi’s only accredited burn center, housed at Merit Health Center in south Jackson, closed in October amid pandemic-related issues and staffing challenges. […]
Days after being named Mississippi’s first rural emergency hospital, Holly Springs hospital’s designation is under review
Mere days after being approved as the state’s first rural emergency hospital, the federal government has placed the designation for Alliance Healthcare System in Holly Springs under review. Now, it’s not clear how the hospital will move forward if the designation is revoked — the conversion to rural emergency hospital is intended to be a lifeline […]
Mississippi Medicaid spent a tiny fraction of its budget on gender-affirming care before lawmakers banned it
The Mississippi Division of Medicaid spent months working to determine how much it paid in claims associated with gender identity disorder or gender dysphoria following an anonymous legislative request, according to emails obtained through a public records request. The answer: A maximum of $58,900.82 in taxpayer money over the last five years from the agency’s […]
Emergency order: Doctors must test for syphilis in Mississippi pregnancies
Mississippi now requires physicians to test patients for syphilis during pregnancy as a response to the alarming rate in the state of children being born with the infection, according to a recently issued emergency order. Mississippi was one of six states that did not require syphilis screenings by law. Meanwhile, the state in six years […]
Feds reviewing designation of Holly Springs hospital, but have not rescinded rural ER status, CEO says
After granting the Holly Springs hospital a special designation aimed at helping small, rural hospitals stay afloat, the federal government is now “reviewing” Alliance Healthcare System’s status as such, the hospital CEO says. The hang-up is the hospital’s proximity to Memphis, Tenn., about 50 miles away from Holly Springs. Mississippi Today previously reported that the […]
Delta hospital, once projected to close within 6 months, will stay open until next year
State money and a large line of credit has bought one of Mississippi’s most at-risk hospitals a little more time. Until recently, Greenwood Leflore Hospital was at risk of closing within six months, according to interim CEO Gary Marchand. However, after a change in Mississippi Hospital Access Program (MHAP) payments and the passage of a statewide […]
At Baby U, Delta parents find a support network that goes beyond parenting lessons
Destiny Miles of Clarksdale felt more alone than ever. She was pregnant. She had just ended a toxic relationship with the baby’s father. And she felt lost about the idea of parenting. “At the beginning of my pregnancy, I was very depressed,” said Miles, 22. “Knowing I had to be a single mom, it took a […]