In Alexandria, Va., the rate of antidepressant use is the highest in the country, with a full 40 percent of residents receiving prescriptions. Cape Cod, Mass., tops the country in the use of stimulants, with 16 percent of the population filling at least one prescription, compared to a mean of 2.6 percent nationally. Gainsville, Fla., has the highest utilization rate of antipsychotics – 4.6 percent of residents, well above the national mean of .8 percent. Usage rates of the three classes of mental health medications vary widely across the U.S., with Connecticut in the middle, according to a new study by the Yale School of Management. Continue Reading →
Connecticut Lags In Kids’ Mental Health Screening; Reforms Considered
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Selenia Velez remembers the near-daily phone calls from the pre-school, alerting her that her 2-year-old son had acted out aggressively and needed to be picked up immediately. The calls went on for months, as Velez, 27, of Hartford, and her husband bounced between the pre-school and their son’s pediatrician, who recommended that they take him to a psychiatrist for an evaluation. But the psychiatrist was booked and held them at bay, as Velez watched her son’s behavior deteriorate. “We just felt hopeless,” the mother of four recalls of her oldest son, now 7. “It was one of the most heartbreaking things you can go through as a mother. I was scared of him – I just didn’t know what was going on – and no one had answers.”
High Use Of Antipsychotics In Nursing Homes Stirs Concerns, Reforms
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The Westside Care Center in Manchester is ranked among the best nursing homes in Connecticut, receiving a ‘five-star’ rating for overall quality under a federal rating system. At the same time, Westside has the state’s highest percentage of residents who receive antipsychotic drugs, even though they do not have a psychosis or related condition that regulators say warrants their use. Federal data shows 68 percent of Westside long-stay residents were receiving the drugs – more than double the state’s average of 26 percent, which already ranks in the top-third of states nationally. A C-HIT review of federal nursing home data from December found that Westside is not alone: High antipsychotic use, considered dangerous and unnecessary in many cases, does not impact quality ratings of nursing homes, and is often unknown to consumers selecting a home. In three-dozen Connecticut homes, at least a third of long-stay residents are on antipsychotics – yet nearly half of those homes have excellent overall ratings, of 4 to 5 stars. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Fines & Sanctions, I-Team In-Depth, Ann Spenard, antipsychotic drugs, Avalon Health Care Center, Center for Medicare Advocacy, Centers For Medicare and Medicare Services, Connecticut Department of Health
State Hospitals Face 2nd Highest Rate Of Federal Penalties Nationwide
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Connecticut fared second-worst in the country in the percentage of hospitals hit with federal penalties for selected quality-of-care measures and in the overall rate of loss of Medicare reimbursements associated with those penalties, new federal data shows. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Fines & Sanctions, I-Team In-Depth, Affordable Care Act, Brigeport Hospital, Connecticut Hospital Association, Danbury Hospital, Dr. Jesse Wagner, Dr. Mary Reich Cooper
Surgical Errors Climb, Bed Sores Decline In State’s Hospitals
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Reports of wrong-site surgeries increased 62 percent in the past year in Connecticut hospitals, while the number of patient deaths or disabilities resulting from surgery or falls also rose, a new state report shows. At the same time, reports of patients suffering from serious pressure ulcers declined, as a number of hospitals made progress in preventing the painful bed sores. Continue Reading →
Filed under: I-Team In-Depth, Adverse Event Report, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, Connecticut Department of Public Health, Danbury Hospital, Dr. Mary Reich Cooper, Greenwich Hospital, Hartford Hospital
Childhood Hunger Rises Even In Wealthy, Rural Towns
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What do some of the wealthiest communities along Connecticut’s “Gold Coast” in Fairfield County have in common with the poorest towns in rural Windham County? Both counties include a growing number of families relying on federally funded free and reduced-price school meals to feed their children during tough economic times. Hunger among school-age children in Connecticut is on the rise and experts do not expect the trend to change soon given the state’s 9 percent unemployment rate and sluggish economy. Continue Reading →
