Connecticut Health Investigative Team | In-depth Journalism on Issues of Health and Safety

Hypertension: Disparities Widen For Black Women

By: Magaly Olivero | March 2, 2014

Hypertension rates among women in all eight Connecticut counties increased from 2001 to 2009, with disparities widening for African American women compared to whites and Hispanics, according to a C-HIT analysis of data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

In fact, nearly one out of every two African American women living in Connecticut suffers from hypertension, a life-threatening condition that can lead to heart attack, stroke and kidney disease, research shows.

Restraints, Seclusions Target Students With Autism, New Report Shows

By: Lisa Chedekel | February 9, 2014

Children with autism were the most frequently subjected to restraint or seclusion in Connecticut schools in the 2012-13 school year, according to a new state report that tallied more than 33,000 incidents of physical restraint or seclusion in public schools and private special education programs.

The report from the state Department of Education shows that autism was the primary disability among special education students subject to “emergency” restraint or seclusion, with 40.4 percent of all such incidents involving a child with autism. Autism also accounted for nearly half of all cases in which children were put in seclusion as part of their individualized education plans, or IEPs.

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Over-The-Counter Drugs: A Prescription For Confusion

By: Rochelle Sharpe | February 2, 2014

At Able Care Pharmacy & Medical Supplies in Enfield, Ashraf Moustafa often tries to avert disasters involving drugs displayed on his store’s shelves.

Moustafa, the pharmacy manager, recently spoke to an elderly woman seeking ways to treat dark blue patches on her arms. Instead of suggesting any remedies, he asked the woman what medicines she was taking and discovered that she was dangerously mixing over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs with aspirin and the prescription blood thinner, Plavix. He sent the woman to the hospital, fearing that she was suffering from internal bleeding.

“People have the impression that if a drug is approved for over-the-counter use, then it must be much safer than prescription medicine,” Moustafa says. “That’s when trouble happens.”

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Cost To Reach CT’s Uninsured: $156 Million

By: Barbara Nagy | January 5, 2014

What does it take to build a health insurance exchange that works?

An early start. A detailed plan. A staff and contractors who know what they’re doing. Lots of public outreach.

And in Connecticut, $156.3 million.

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State’s Child Care Oversight: Minimal Monitoring, Lax Enforcement

By: Lisa Chedekel | December 22, 2013

On its website, the Tumble Bugs Day School in Norwalk boasts a “highly experienced, nurturing” staff who serve infants and toddlers in a “stimulating setting.”

But a review of state Department of Public Health records shows the child care center has had numerous complaints and citations in recent years for lapses in supervision that have injured and traumatized young children.

In 2010, the center failed to notify parents when a balancing board fell on a toddler. The same year, DPH cited the center for failing to take action against a staff member who restrained a toddler on a cot by “holding down his head and body” and then falsely reported that a scratch on the boy’s face was an accident.

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Undocumented Immigrants To Strain Safety-Net Hospitals

By: Magaly Olivero | December 9, 2013

Undocumented immigrants are expected to make up a larger share of Connecticut’s uninsured population next year, putting new financial pressures on safety-net hospitals that provide emergency care to everyone, state and national health experts predict.

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By: Magaly Olivero | March 2, 2014

Filed under: I-Team In-Depth, Autism, Autism Speaks, Behaven Schol, Connecticut Center for Child Development, Connecticut Department of Education, CREC, Darien

Filed under: I-Team In-Depth, Able Care Pharmacy & Medical Supplies, acetaminophen, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Ashraf Moustafa, Beverly Schaefer, Connecticut Pharmacy Association, Consumer Healthcare Products

Filed under: I-Team In-Depth, Access Health CT, Deloitte Consulting, Ellen Andrews, Global Strategies Group, Groman Actuarial, Janet Davenport, KardasLarson

Filed under: Fines & Sanctions, I-Team In-Depth, Bill Gerrish, Child Care Aware of America, child care center, Colleen Moran, Colorful World Child Day Care, Cookie Club

Filed under: Disparities, I-Team In-Depth, Affordable Care Act, Andrea Rynn, Bridgeport Hospital, Dr. Rocco Orlando III, Greenwich Hospital, Leticia Colon