Seattle Children’s faces widening array of lawsuits over fatal mold infections – Seattle times

On Wednesday, attorneys pursuing a class-action lawsuit against Children’s on behalf of the families of patients who have been sickened from the mold sought to add Beth Hutt to the case.

The lawsuit, filed in December in King County Superior Court on behalf of four children or their estates, seeks class-action status for patients who were sickened by Aspergillus at Children’s between 2005 and 2017. – SeattleTimes.

After A Measles Scare, Seattle Cracks Down On Vaccine Compliance – New York Times.

After A Measles Scare, Seattle Cracks Down On Vaccine Compliance
After a measles outbreak sickened dozens of unvaccinated children in southwestern Washington State last year, school health administrators around the state went into crisis mode, intent on confronting the relatively low vaccination rates in the region.

First, they got an assist from the State Legislature, which passed a law in May tightening exemption rules for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

Then school districts — including Seattle’s — sent letters asking thousands of families who did not have compliant vaccine records to get them in order. – NYT.

Washington parents now work alongside teens in mental health recovery – Crosscut

‘It affects the entire family’: Washington parents now work alongside teens in mental health recovery

. . . Parents and guardians are celebrating House Bill 1874, which went into effect in July. Until the new law, parents often were shut out of their teenager’s care and treatment plans and couldn’t push a teen toward necessary outpatient or inpatient care without their consent. . . . Under the new law, teens can still admit themselves for inpatient treatment, but now there is also parent-initiated treatment. . . . – Crosscut.

Across the entire state, WA voters rank homelessness as the No. 1 issue lawmakers must address – Crosscut

. . . Homelessness is at the forefront of voters’ minds across Washington state, according to a new poll, with nearly one-third of those surveyed saying the issue should be the top priority for the state Legislature this year. — Crosscut. 

Scooters are sending more people to the hospital; Seattle still doesn’t have them -KUOW

In the Puget Sound region, you can ride an electric scooter in Tacoma, Everett, Bothell, and Redmond, but not in Seattle … yet. Electric scooters are sending more people to the hospital across the country, according to new research in the Journal of the American Medical Association. . . . Injury incidents went up by 222% — from 6 to 19 per 100,000 people. Hospitalizations increased by more than 365%. — KUOW.