November 2017 Group Watch: News & Views from the State House
Governor approval ratings staying high and our state’s hospital infection rates being ranked low mark some good news for November.
- Governor Ivey’s Approval Holds Steady: Governor Kay Ivey’s approval rating is holding high and steady as she finishes out her sixth month since taking office. A new poll shows that 62 percent of those polled said they approved of the job she is doing as governor. Her disapproval rating dropped 1 percentage point from 13 percent to 12 percent. Ivey’s popularity has her in the top 5 governors in terms their approval rating, moving up two spots since the last poll from sixth to fourth. Only the governors of Arkansas, Maryland and Massachusetts have higher approval ratings.
- State Developing Master Plan for Prisons: The Alabama Department of Corrections (DOC) plans to hire a project management team to develop a master plan to build and renovate state prisons. The DOC expects to have the project management team in place by mid-December. The agency issued a request for qualification (RFQ) to identify companies that can do the work. Preference will be given Alabama companies. The goals of the project are construction of new men’s prison facilities, renovation of existing facilities and renovation of existing healthcare facilities for prisoners or construction of new ones.
- AL Hospitals’ Infection Rates Low: Alabama hospitals performed better that the national average in four key measures of the rates of patient infections, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. The state’s acting state health officer Dr. Scott Harris announced the results from an annual report on infections patients acquire in hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities. Since 2011, Alabama hospitals have reported in four categories: catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections and surgical site infections from colon surgeries and abdominal hysterectomies. Prevention of healthcare-associated infections is important because they delay a patient’s recovery or cause death.
- Rep. Richard Lindsey Retiring: State Representative Richard Linsey announced he will not run for another term in the House of Representatives, where he has served since 1983. During his tenure in the House, Lindsey served for 10 years as chair of the House Education Budget Committee. Lindsey said he has enjoyed serving the people of his district, and his colleagues say he will be missed.
