Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 132
This week saw the Legislature pass the first four bills of the year. LB 376 would create a brand registration for the state Liquor Control Commission to accurately identify and track alcoholic products imported into Nebraska. LB 296 would both (a) create a framework for pet insurance and (b) require that the reimbursement rate for any telehealth service shall, at a minimum, be the same as a comparable in-person health care service in order to ensure there is no disincentive to health care...
The Low Income Household Water Assistance Program is available to help lower-income households with water utility services - drinking water or wastewate - costs including deposits, reconnect fees, standard charges, standard fees and taxes included in a Nebraska household’s water utility services bill. The Department of Health and Human Services wants to ensure that all who are eligible, have the opportunity to apply for the LIHWAP assistance program. To qualify for LIHWAP, a household must: • Have income at or below 150% of the federal pov...
The Legislature has completed Day 50 of this 90-day legislative session and is in the middle of debate on bills that have been designated as a priority by senators, committees and the speaker. This past week, the Legislature gave initial first-round approval to LB 574 which would adopt the Let Them Grow Act and prohibit the performance of gender-altering procedures on minors. This legislation has been the focus of discussions and filibusters in the past few weeks as opponents of the bill raised...
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Division of Behavioral Health and the Nebraska Pharmacists Association continues to get lifesaving Narcan out to Nebraska residents in order to be prepared in the event of an opioid overdose. Since March 1, Narcan is available at no charge, at Kubat Pharmacy/Hilltop Drug, located at 108 W. 11th in Neligh. "Our partnership with Kubat Pharmacy and DHHS will allow anyone who is in a position to help someone who is experiencing an opioid overdose to access Narcan nasal spray at no cost, without...
We are now past the one-third mark of this 90-day legislative session but still have a great deal of work to do. The various standing committees are busy holding public hearings on the 820 bills and 22 substantive resolutions that were introduced in January. We have around four more weeks of hearings yet to go. Thus far, two of my bills have been presented before committees. The week began with Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican delivering the State of the Judiciary address...
This week saw the Legislature resume floor debate and consider several gubernatorial appointments and reappointments. The following people were confirmed this week: Jim Macy as director of the department of environment and energy, John Bolduc as the superintendent of the state patrol, John Hilgert as director of the department of veterans affairs, Jason Jackson as director of the department of administrative services and Sherry Vinton as director of the department of agriculture. Additionally, I...
This week saw the Legislature conclude the second and final week of all-day committee hearings. The schedule will return to a traditional format, where floor debate is in the mornings and committee hearings in the afternoon. The question of whether Nebraska should legalize medical marijuana will again be considered by the Legislature. Sen.Wishart introduced LB 588, the Medicinal Cannabis Act, which would provide a regulatory framework to establish access to cannabis specifically for medical...
Nebraska’s Division of Behavioral Health, a part of the Department of Health and Human Services, urges parents and other adults to have real and in-depth conversations with their children during Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. DHHS is one of the providers of funds to The Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence. “The next generation of Nebraskans are the future of our community,” said Tony Green, the interim director of the division of behavioral health. “It is vital to communicate and have real conversations with young i...
This week saw the Legislature begin the first of two weeks of all-day committee hearings. Traditionally, senators would meet as a body in the morning and split into different committees in the afternoons. However, Speaker Arch wanted to try to front-load the session with hearings so there will be more time for debate later in the session. Therefore, senators will not have an opportunity for floor debate until the week of Feb. 13. Two of my bills are scheduled for a public hearing later this...
The Nebraska Department of Revenue, Property Assessment Division recently issued a reminder to property owners that the Nebraska Homestead Exemption Application, Form 458, must be filed with the county assessor after Feb. 1, and on or before June 30. The homestead exemption provides relief from property taxes by exempting all or a portion of the taxable value of the residence. The State of Nebraska reimburses counties and other governmental subdivisions for the property taxes lost due to homestead exemptions. In Nebraska, a homestead exemption...
The North Central District Health Department board of health faced several questions from some of its own membership, Friday, when the group met in O'Neill. Concerns about the structure of the board of health and powers granted to an unidentified executive committee, legal representation, the district's computer system policies and lack of complete inventory, were expressed. James Ward, a Cherry County Commissioner serving on NCDHD's board, asked what action was taken, and when, to form an...
The Department of Health and Human Services Division of Children and Family Services has been made aware of a scam targeting Nebraskans that involves Social Services Block Grant funds. The scam involves a scammer calling a person claiming that they won a Social Services Block Grant award yet must pay a transaction fee to receive the award. The Administration for Children and Families outlined the details of this scam in this public notice to states and territories. According to the ACF Office...
Jasmine Gutschow felt nauseous when she woke up a few days before Thanksgiving last year. She brushed it off as typical pregnancy symptoms. She told her fiance he should head into work – the baby, not due for six more weeks, wouldn't be coming anytime soon. Three hours later, after her contractions started, after they sped for the hospital, after their 2003 Chevy Tahoe broke down, after her contractions quickened to every two minutes and Gutschow's fiance frantically dialed 911, it had become c...
ASHIA AUBREY Buffett Early Childhood Institute It’s the first day of kindergarten— kids get dropped off at school, where they meet other children for the first time, encounter new teachers, and experience a brand new schedule and structure—all in a setting that is likely unfamiliar to them. This transition can be a whirlwind for children, families and educators. “The Nebraska Transition to Kindergarten Toolkit and Resource Guide” was created to support the process between preschool and kindergarten. It’s a new guide for families, school dist...
The Allied Health Department at Northeast Community College in Norfolk has announced a free, one-session workshop for emergency medical service technicians to be held in Orchard in early May. The workshop on Documentation/HIPAA will be held Monday, May 4, from 7 to 10 p.m., at the Orchard Fire Hall. There is no need to pre-register. EMS workshops are funded, in whole or in part, with funds provided through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Office of Emergency Health System. For additional information, call the Allied Health...
The public hearing on LB 1023 was held Thursday, Feb. 10 before the Natural Resources Committee. It reflects the work of the Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability Special Committee and proposes to adopt the Lake Development Act and the Water Recreation Enhancement Act. I was appointed to serve on the STAR WARS Committee, stemming from the passage of LB 406, last year. In addition to recommendations to construct a 3,600-acre lake in or near Sarpy County and...
Chris Gorman of Lincoln and his family rushed his mother, Lynda Gorman, to the emergency room while visiting her in North Platte in early January. Her hemoglobin levels were dangerously low and she needed a blood transfusion. Doctors recommended that she receive two units of blood, but they were only able obtain one unit, due to a shortage. The North Platte resident remained hospitalized for 11 days before being stable enough to be seen by a specialist in Lincoln, who diagnosed her with...
HASTINGS – With two nurses out sick in early December, charge nurse Osa Brooks found herself scrambling to care for 28 patients. With only one floor nurse available, employees from other units were called in to work the floor or give medications. “It was really scary because I had 10 patients that I was responsible for, and I had another nurse giving medications for me,” Brooks said. Brooks said the chaos scared her because of the chance that she could have missed something, causing her patie...
SUBMITTED ARTICLE Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Eyesight is often taken for granted and living without it can be a challenge for many. More than three million Americans and more than 60 million people worldwide have glaucoma, which is often referred to as "the sneak thief of sight" because there are often no symptoms of its presence. However, once vision is lost, it's permanent; as much as 40% of vision can be lost without a person noticing, which experts estimate is the case...
North Central District Health Department has been made aware of 132 new COVID-19 cases in the district since last reporting period on Sept. 20. Due to Executive Order 21- 14, Disclosure of Health Information to Facilitate Hospital Planning, NCDHD is now able to share county-based data again. The dashboard is viewable at https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/heidi.hostert/viz/shared/D56D7PM8N. Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services has its own dashboard as well and can be found at: https://datanexus-dhhs.ne.gov/vie...
Avera Public Transportation contracts with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to provide rides for approved non-emergency medical appointments to those eligible for Medicaid. Drivers take patients, who live approximately 75 miles from O'Neill, to health care destinations, including appointments in Norfolk, Yankton, Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, Kearney,Sioux Falls and Sioux City, as well as others. Medicaid-eligible riders need to contact their insurance providers for more...
The Allied Health Department at Northeast Community College in Norfolk has announced a free, one-session workshop for emergency medical service technicians, in Orchard later this month. The workshop, EVOC, will be held Sat. June 19, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Orchard Fire Hall. The workshop is funded, in whole or in part, with funds provided through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Office of Emergency Health System. For additional information, call the Allied Health Department, Northeast Community College, at...
The Orchard High School Alumni Association is making plans for the annual banquet. The 2021 all-school reunion will be held Saturday, May 29. An open house, for anyone wishing to take a final tour of the building, will run from 3 to 5 p.m. Class pictures will begin at 5 and roll call and seating will begin at 6, followed by the banquet and business meeting. The banquet committee will follow guidelines as set forth by the Nebraska Department. of Health and Human Services. Those guidelines may change at anytime, depending on the status of the...
The Appropriations Committee advanced their finalized recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2021-22 and 2022-23 biennial budget to the full Legislature. First-round debate took place this past week and all bills were advanced unanimously except LB383, dealing with capital construction. Under the $9.7 billion biennial budget proposal, the two-year average estimated revenue growth is 3.0%, whereas the two-year average growth in spending is just 1.6%. The committee was able to control the growth of spending due to a higher federal match for...
The Department of Health and Human Services has communicated to local health departments, health care providers and pharmacies across the state to pause administering the Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) vaccine, following Centers for Disease Control and Food and Drug Administration recommendations. On Thursday, April 8, DHHS, the Douglas County Health Department and Nebraska Medicine consulted with CDC and FDA about a rare and severe type of blood clot diagnosed in a Nebraska resident. As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson &...
