Dire Straits: A new report from Moody’s says that nonprofit hospitals have been squeezed by a drop in elective surgeries and by state Medicaid cuts, and stand to be pressured even further by Medicare cuts stemming from the health-care overhaul law and future deficit-reduction efforts, the WSJ reports . A review of 401 hospitals financial results from 2010 finds only 4% revenue growth, the lowest since Moody’s started tracking these stats 20 years ago, with 20% running a loss on an operating basis. Most of the hospitals had margins of 5% or less. Working on Settlements: Johnson & Johnson said in a regulatory filing that it has a tentative agreement to resolve misdemeanor criminal charges over its marketing of the antipsychotic Risperdal, though certain issues are still not finalized, Bloomberg News reports . J&J is also trying to settle civil probes into the marketing of Risperdal and another drug, Invega, BN says. None of this is expected to have a material financial effect, J&J said in the filing. A company spokeswoman didn’t immediately provide a comment to BN. Considering Salmonella: A USDA inspection last year found

salmonella-tainted turkey at a Cargill plant in Arkansas, while federal tests this year at the retail level also found contaminated turkey made at the same plant, the WSJ reports . While an expert says the USDA should have told Cargill earlier about the contaminated store samples, the agency is also constrained by standards that don’t treat salmonella as a hazardous adulterant unless it is directly linked to death or disease, the paper says. The salmonella outbreak linked to the ground turkey has now sickened 77 people, killing one . A New Must-Learn: Mandatory sex ed is on its way for NYC public middle- and high-schoolers, part of a larger effort to help black and Latino youths, the New York Times reports . Parents will be able to decide whether their kids receive information on birth control. The Bloomberg administration says the focus will be on pushing off sexual activity until teens are older, but that providing information on safe sex for the teens who are sexually active is also necessary. Image: iStockphoto

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A.M. Vitals: Slow Economy, Government Cuts Squeeze Nonprofit Hospitals