Latest news with #Mayhew
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Missouri special session may provide new life for $500 million budget bill
A fire Dec. 17 engulfed Scenic River Industries Inc., a sheltered workshop in Salem. The future of the workshop is uncertain after lawmakers did not pass a $2.5 million appropriation to help with rebuilding (photo submitted). On the night of Dec. 17, a devastating fire swept through the Scenic River Industries sheltered workshop in Salem, throwing about 30 people out of work and upsetting recycling efforts in the area. A temporary replacement was donated about a month later to the organization, which provides taxpayer-supported employment to people with developmental disabilities. But its capacity was severely reduced and its future was in serious doubt. The building owned by the Dent County Disabilities Board was insured, but not enough to rebuild to modern standards, said Shawn Bolerjack, board chairman. And while the board receives about $280,000 a year from its tax levy, it can't afford to divert money from its other services. But Bolerjack was comforted when he learned help was on the way in the form of state funding. Freshman state Rep. John Hewkin, a Republican from Cuba, and veteran state Rep. Don Mayhew, a Republican from Crocker, worked to add $2.5 million to the capital improvements budget, and the money was still in the bill when the Senate approved it the morning of May 9. But that afternoon, Republican leaders in the Missouri House refused to bring it up for a final vote, and the money was lost. 'We were surprised and disappointed to hear that they killed the bill,' Bolerjack said in an interview with The Independent. In all, more than 60 projects added by lawmakers, in addition to more than 20 sought by Gov. Mike Kehoe, will not be funded. The list of projects included money for eight hospitals around the state, a new nuclear reactor at the University of Missouri to make cancer treatments and a new mental health hospital in Kansas City. Outrage over the surprise move doomed a stadium funding plan Kehoe presented to lawmakers the next week and soured relations between the House and Senate in the session's waning days. But for people counting on the funding to make these local projects work, the news was devastating. Two hospitals that saw promised state money disappear, including one in Salem, were counting on the funds to keep the doors open. Hewkin and Mayhew secured $6.8 million toward a $20 million project for roof and heating system repairs, as well as other deferred maintenance, at Salem Memorial District Hospital. Without the money, Hewkin and Mayhew said the hospital will likely close. 'I've been poor,' Hewkin said. 'You do the best you can do with what you have, and so when you do that for so long, things eventually get to a point where it's got to be fixed, whether we have the money or not. Salem Hospital finally just got to the point where something was going to have to be done with those kinds of systems.' Phelps Health System, which operates out of Rolla, pledged $6.5 million to the project, Mayhew said, as part of an affiliation plan announced last year. Without the state money, Mayhew said, the affiliation plan will probably be scrapped. 'They can probably stay open for a while,' he said, 'but it's a downward spiral.' The other hospital in danger of closing is Pemiscot Memorial Hospital in Hayti, which was in line for $1.2 million in the capital improvements budget to buy a new electronic medical records system, hospital board chair Jonna Green said. 'This money would not have simply lined our bank account,' Green said. 'It would have enabled us to bill more efficiently while also reducing the chance of human error. We originally understood there was another $700,000 that was initially proposed to assist with operations, but it never made it into (the appropriation bill). We could have used it, but we were happy to receive the $1.2 million…until we didn't.' Both hospitals are losing money on inpatient services, according to data compiled by Saving Rural Hospitals. Pemiscot Memorial was in the black on its full range of operations, which include pharmacy services and long-term care, while Salem Memorial was not. A new records system will mean fewer billing errors and fewer employee hours dedicated to accounting systems, Green said. The loss of the money 'won't cause us to close, but it would in the long term,' Green said. 'We can't keep operating as we are now.' Most of the time, the adjournment of the regular legislative session would mean waiting a year for another chance to influence the appropriation process. But Kehoe has already said he will call lawmakers back on a bill to spend state tax money on new and improved stadiums for the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs. For those with projects in the construction funding bill, Kehoe held out the prospect of a lifeline that could get them the money this year. 'I've heard and listened to quite a few senators and representatives from both sides of the aisle on that very same issue, and I understand what their concerns are,' Kehoe said. 'And I think it's fair to say everything is on the table of what that special session might look like.' For his area, Bolerjack said, the appropriation bill is more important than incentives for sports teams. 'We're hoping Gov. Kehoe will call a special session because there are too many important capital improvement projects in this bill to keep it waiting, including the sheltered workshop in Dent County,' he said. The path for a stadium plan could be greased by the appropriations. Kehoe revealed his proposal to divert state tax money to stadium bond payments just two days before lawmakers went home. It won 108 votes in the Missouri House but died in a bipartisan Senate filibuster. But Kehoe shouldn't take the House for granted in the special session, Mayhew said. 'The governor still has a pretty tall job of selling it, regardless of what the House vote came out as,' said Mayhew, who was absent during the stadium vote. 'It's a pretty hard sell in my area for a stadium and or for any money related to a stadium.' Another chance to get the projects funded would be a sweetener that helps get the stadium plan passed, Hewkin said. 'In my heart, I feel that there's a possibility that we haven't visited this for the last time, and that we still have a chance,' he said. 'It's my hope that maybe we'll be able to get (appropriations) also in that special session.' In the Senate, Kehoe will have to navigate both those with objections to state support for any professional sports team and those who blocked his bill because the House did not vote on the capital spending bill. And, to add another layer of difficulty, the Senate adjourned in acrimony when Republican leaders invoked the rule to shut off debate, unused since 2020, to repeal a voter-approved paid sick leave law and put an abortion ban on a statewide ballot. One of the biggest boosters of the Chiefs and Royals, Democratic state Sen. Barbara Washington of Kansas City, said when the session ended that she could not support a stadium funding bill if the capital improvements bill is not part of a special session. 'Those things are more important to me and to my colleagues than the Chiefs,' Washington said. State Sen. Lincoln Hough, a Springfield Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he's not inclined to revisit the stadium proposal in a special session without a construction budget bill. 'I'm not saying the Chiefs aren't important. I've been a pretty big proponent of saying we need to do what we need to do to keep them,' Hough said. 'But unless it's all included, there's no point in it and we better have some assurances on the front end that the House isn't going to do what the House did last time.' During the filibuster, Hough said he was spurred to opposition in part after House Republican leaders said they spiked the appropriation bill because the overall budget spent too much, then enthusiastically backed a stadium proposal that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.. 'I don't think there's any point in calling a special session on anything, given the way this place is working or not working,' Hough said. According to Missouri Hospital Association data, there are 12 rural hospitals in the state that have closed since 2014, with the Center for Health Care Policy and Payment reform showing nine more at immediate risk of shutting down. The loss of each rural hospital means miles of extra driving for life-saving emergency care after injuries or medical events like heart attack or stroke. If Pemiscot Memorial closes, the closest Missouri hospital is a 45-minute drive away in Sikeston, Green said. 'We have Petersburg and Blytheville (in Arkansas), who are, say, 30 miles away,' Green said. 'But the problem with that is, they don't really like to take Missouri Medicaid and out-of-state patients.' Bolerjack said he is concerned about the possibility Salem Memorial will close. 'The hospital is a critical access hospital for our community and communities nearby,' he said. 'It would definitely hurt us.' The Salem hospital is an important resource when someone has an emergency while visiting tourist sites such as the Ozark Scenic Riverways, Mayhew said. There is a helipad at Akers Ferry Access, and a ground transport can be done in under 30 minutes. 'Without Salem Hospital, you're probably a two hour ride in an ambulance,' Mayhew said. The six other hospital projects cost a total of $12 million. They are in Clinton, Butler, Milan, Memphis, St. Joseph and Louisiana. The bill had major state projects that were important for Kehoe as well. There was $50 million to support the University of Missouri's project to build a new research reactor and $55 million for a new livestock display and stalling barn at the Missouri State Fairgrounds. But it's the small items that members were ready to showcase as examples of their ability to get things done in Jefferson City that mean the most to individual lawmakers. 'Anytime there's cuts and things like that, sometimes it's your ox that gets gored,' Hewkin said. 'Most people don't mind cuts, as long as it's not their program.' Hewkin said he has learned a lesson regardless of how the special session goes. While the items included in the construction budget died, 248 more legislative earmarks, costing $418 million of general revenue and $550 million overall, found a home in the $53.1 billion in spending that was approved. So while he lost the money for Scenic River Industries, state Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O'Laughlin secured a $2 million grant for Handi-Shop Inc., the sheltered workshop serving Mexico in Audrain County. That money was inserted into the Department of Education operating budget, which also includes $32 million for operating grants to the almost 90 Missouri sheltered workshops. There is $45 million in direct grants to hospitals and health care centers in the Department of Social Services budget. 'I'm hoping in my heart that there's a chance that we still get a chance to get some of that done this year in a special session,' Hewkin said. 'But if not, then next year, I'll be standing at the appropriations door very early and asking to get my appropriation in there so we can take care of those people.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Otago Daily Times
09-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Obituary: John Mayhew, doctor
All Black Doctor John Mayhew. Doctors who work with sports teams are seldom well known, but Dr John Mayhew (ONZM) was an exception. Both as the All Blacks team medic for almost two decades and later as doctor for the Warriors, he became a familiar face standing alongside stricken sports stars. Dr Mayhew served as the All Blacks' team doctor from 1988-2004, attending 131 tests and more than 200 matches, including four World Cup campaigns. His most high-profile player who required medical advice was the late Jonah Lomu. The winger was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome in 1995 and Dr Mayhew was one of the few people aware of Lomu's chronic health issues from the very start. Dr Mayhew became a close family friend and served as a pallbearer at Lomu's funeral in 2015. Dr Mayhew was involved in several player welfare initiatives, including New Zealand Rugby's recent Brain Health and Concussion research project. He died on April 9, aged 69. — APL/agencies
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trade war with China threatens to raise Florida hospital costs
President Donald Trump may have put the handbrake on some proposed tariffs but the ongoing trade war with China could hike the cost of health care, according to the group that lobbies for Florida hospitals. China produces 90% of the ibuprofen used in over-the counter pain medication for the United States and is the largest producer of antibiotics worldwide, said Florida Hospital Association President and CEO Mary Mayhew. Even a conservative 5% increase in the cost of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies would result in a $500 million rise in health care costs across Florida, she said. The Trump administration recently announced it was raising tariffs on Chinese products to 145%. That's too much, too quickly, said Mayhew, who said she fears the sudden imposition of high tariffs will cause supply shortages similar to those that hindered hospitals at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 95% of imported surgical gloves and gowns in 2020 were Chinese in origin, according to an analysis by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. So far, pharmaceuticals have been excluded from tariffs. Considering that Trump has said he wants to bring their production back to the United States, that exclusion could be temporary. 'We know what happens when those supply chains are disrupted — like they were with masks and gowns and gloves,' Mayhew said. 'It's almost unfathomable to imagine what would happen with a disruption related to medicine." The Trump administration's policies make sense to boost national security and to safeguard the nation's supply of medical supplies and equipment, Mayhew said. The nation's dependence on China for medications was also highlighted as a problem by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in the months leading up to the coronavirus pandemic. But U.S. suppliers need more time to ramp up domestic production, Mayhew said. 'You can't just flip a switch and replace that international dependency with domestic production overnight,' she said. The pandemic was an object lesson in how quickly costs can rise for hospitals, Mayhew said. Medical supplies went up in price while the cost of labor, especially contract nursing soared by as much as 45%. Further increases due to tariffs or an escalation of the trade war would likely force hospitals and clinics to look at services that, because they have low reimbursement rates from insurance companies, are often subsidized by other areas of care, Mayhew said. Those include mental health care, primary care physician services, inpatient psychiatric care, and labor and delivery units. 'Unfortunately, for any hospital, or any business for that matter, when you are losing money, and you are trying to maintain your ability to provide care, you inevitably will look at those services that are hemorrhaging red ink,' she said. Local hospital officials, including HCA Florida, which operates 16 hospitals in the region, said they are waiting to see the impacts of the tariffs and costs. Officials at Tampa General Hospital said the are monitoring inventory and existing contracts with suppliers. 'Oftentimes, external factors such as the market, inflation and workforce shortages impact system costs,' said spokesperson Beth Hardy in an email. 'Tampa General is continuously working to create efficiencies and identify savings to maintain access to affordable and high-quality care.' BayCare officials said that broad categories of equipment and supplies that could be affected include personal protective gear like masks, gloves and gowns, lab supplies, pharmaceuticals, syringes, imaging contrast, ventilators, imaging equipment and surgical instruments. To achieve savings from bulk ordering and manage supplies, the nonprofit operates a a 258,000-square-foot distribution center where about 100 team members fill more than 12,000 orders per day from BayCare's 16 hospitals and its numerous clinics and doctor's offices across the Tampa Bay region. 'BayCare will continue monitoring the situation closely as we work with vendor partners to understand potential impacts and consider alternative sources to mitigate the effects of tariffs,' said spokesperson Lisa Razler in an email.
BBC News
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
East Anglia's Black Shuck hellhound to feature on Royal Mail stamps
A demon dog said to have once terrorised churchgoers is to be illustrated on a new set of Mail has unveiled eight designs featuring mythical creatures and figures from UK of the stamps features the Black Shuck, a hound that was said to have stalked around Suffolk and Norfolk in the 16th Mayhew, a committee member of the Black Shuck Festival held in the Suffolk town of Bungay, said he was "over the moon" the hound had been included. "It's great that's it being elevated to the same status as the Loch Ness Monster," he said."It's really exciting to think that more and more people are going to get to know about Black Shuck and the different variations."Royal Mail has included Scotland's Loch Ness Monster, Cornish Piskies, Northern Ireland's heroic tale of Fionn mac Cumhail and other folklore Mayhew said Black Shuck was not commonly known unless you were interested in folklore or were from East Anglia. He explained the legend began in Bungay on 4 August 1577 when Black Shuck, sometimes known as the Black Dog of Bungay, burst into St Mary's Church and killed some of the then ran off to another nearby church at Blythburgh and carried out similar acts."It was recorded soon after it happened, written down by Abraham Fleming, a vicar," Mr Mayhew continued."It's [still] seen throughout the region, particularly in Bungay - you'll see little images in the town of black dogs everywhere."Black Shuck was said to have terrorised other parts of the region too including Norfolk and Lincolnshire."I think Arthur Conan Doyle stayed somewhere in north Norfolk, heard the legend, and was probably inspired by it for his Hound of the Baskerville book," Mr Mayhew continued."So there are other connections to this legend."The stamps are available to pre-order and will go on general sale from 27 March. "I'll be buying lots of the stamps, I might paint my walls with them," Mr Mayhew joked. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Independent
12-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Labour MPs face claims of ‘self-interest' over political donations by unions
Labour MPs face accusations of 'self-interest' in their efforts to change the law on trade unions' political donations. Trade unions can assist political parties and candidates through their opt-in political funds, with some of the largest organisations including Unite, Unison and GMB making contributions to Labour campaigns. The Employment Rights Bill would change the law so that trade unions can automatically sign their members up to a political fund, unless they choose to opt out. Conservative MP Jerome Mayhew accused the Government of introducing a 'circular Bill of self interest'. The MP for Broadland and Fakenham told the Commons: 'What are the unions paying for? 'Whatever it is, they've been handsomely repaid in the drafting on this Bill.' No Labour MPs in the Commons chamber raised their hands when Mr Mayhew invited them to 'put their hands up if they have not received any cash from the unions'. Mr Mayhew claimed Labour had received more than £31 million from trade unions between 2019 and 2024 and later asked: 'Why do we need this clause? 'What is the problem that the Labour Party is trying to fix? 'Is £31 million just not enough? 'What this clause encourages is that union members when they're signing up, their unions will take advantage of their distraction and they're not focused on this, and they will fall into what is effectively a subscription trap.' Mr Mayhew quoted from a Government press release from November, when Department for Business and Trade ministers promised 'measures to crack down on 'subscription traps'' where 'consumers are frequently misled into signing up for a subscription'. Sarah Russell, Labour MP for Congleton, intervened in his speech and said: 'There is a massive difference between major corporations which want to take money out of people's bank accounts every month and trade unions who want to represent people as effectively as possible in the workplace.' Mr Mayhew replied: 'Where you are taking advantage of people's inattention, which this clause expressly sets out, then you are taking advantage of people for financial gain. 'The difference is, the people who gain in this instance are the members opposite.' He went on to say that Labour MPs Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington) and Katrina Murray (Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch) had each received several thousands of pounds from trade unions, according to their registers of interest, before Laurence Turner intervened. Mr Turner, Labour MP for Birmingham Northfield, said 'trade union donations have been declared' by MPs in the chamber, but added: 'Donations from employers that have a direct, private interest in particular sectors that we have debated in this place have not.' The Conservative MP replied that Mr Turner had employed a 'classic distraction technique'. He continued: 'This is a Bill that's addressing the unions, it's union membership, and this is a clause that directly moves money from unsuspecting union joiners directly to the Labour Party.' Mr Lavery had earlier told the Commons the Bill 'turns the tide on decades of anti-trade union laws'. Business minister Justin Madders, who introduced the Bill, had said: 'There are many people eager to speak in the debate today which will ensure workplace rights are fit for a modern economy, empower working people and contribute to economic growth. 'I urge members to support this Bill and the amendments we are moving today, which will show that we are pro-business, pro-worker, pro-family, and pro-growth.'
