Connecticut Health News: - Courant.com

Connecticut Hospital Submits Bid To Purchase Rhode Island Hospital

Thu, 31 May 2012 13:36:23 GMT

WESTERLY, R.I. — Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, Conn. has submitted a $69 million bid to purchase Westerly Hospital.

Heart Transplant Patient's First Words: 'I Want To Make My Donor Proud'

By WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Wed, 30 May 2012 22:30:00 GMT

Hours after surgeons gave him a new heart, Colby Salerno woke up and spoke to his parents and sisters, who surrounded his bed.

A New Heart At Last For Patient Who Blogged About The Wait

By WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Wed, 30 May 2012 01:30:00 GMT

Sister Of Bristol Teen Who Died Of Injuries During A Basketball Game Believes Her Brother Was The Donor

Colby Salerno, who has been blogging from Hartford Hospital about his need for a new heart, received one Tuesday.

New UConn Health Center Chief Looks Ahead

By WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Mon, 28 May 2012 22:16:15 GMT

Drug Discovery, Tackling State Health Disparities Among Torti's Goals

— Dr. Frank Torti, the University of Connecticut Health Center's new vice president of health affairs, says that personalized medicine could be the next big thing in health care and that he expects the university to play a major role in it.

Reports Of Bullying Up In State Schools; But Definition Varies Greatly

By DENISE BUFFA, dbuffa@courant.com — Sat, 26 May 2012 01:52:30 GMT

Whenever there's publicity about bullying, Jo Ann Freiberg's phone rings off the hook in Hartford.

More Training Urged After Choking Deaths In Nursing Homes

By JOSH KOVNER, jkovner@courant.com — Fri, 25 May 2012 17:34:59 GMT

The panel that investigates deaths of developmentally disabled people in state care has recommended additional training for nursing-home staff members in the wake of the latest choking death of a convalescent-home resident.

Federal Agents Search Dental Offices, Charge Two in $20 Million Medicaid Fraud Case

By EDMUND H. MAHONY, DAVID OWENS and HILDA MUÑOZ, dowens@courant.com — Fri, 25 May 2012 01:20:00 GMT

Federal agents seized medical business records Thursday in connection with an investigation of an unlicensed Rhode Island dentist suspected of using a chain of Connecticut clinics to steal $20 million or more in government dental insurance benefits for poor people.

UConn Grad Develops Land Mine Detector

BY WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:40:16 GMT

The United Nations estimates that as many as 110 million active land mines are buried in the ground in 68 countries around the globe.

Hartford Hospital, Backus Sign Partnership Agreement

BY WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:24:00 GMT

Final Plan Should Be Done By July, Then Regulatory Approval Needed

Saying that it will give people greater access to health care in the eastern part of the state, officials from Hartford Healthcare and Backus Corp. signed an agreement Thursday to create a partnership.

Six Waterbury Hospital ER Doctors Resign

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:32:29 GMT

Six emergency room doctors at Waterbury Hospital have resigned following the hospital's decision to outsource staffing in the ER beginning this fall.

Woman Sues Yale-New Haven Hospital Over Fall Off Operating Table

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:36:00 GMT

A woman is suing a Connecticut hospital, saying she was severely injured when she fell off an operating table after surgery.

Listening To Loud Music Linked With Pot use, Unsafe Sex, Study Says

By Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times/For the Booster Shots blog — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:56:00 GMT

Warning: Music may be hazardous to your health.

Fundraiser For Angelman Syndrome Research Saturday

BY WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Fri, 18 May 2012 21:23:47 GMT

Families of children with Angelman Syndrome will join University of Connecticut researchers Saturday for a walk to raise money the rare and often misdiagnosed disease.

State's Doctors At Odds Over Medical Marijuana: Compassionate Solution Or A Reckless Leap?

BY WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:48:00 GMT

Years of debate and fine-tuning in the state legislature over allowing medical marijuana still have not settled all the questions Connecticut doctors have about medical marijuana. Is it, as some contend, a humane solution for patients who can't get relief from other medicines, or a reckless move toward something that hasn't been fully tested scientifically?

Navy Doctors Train On High-Tech Mannequins

BY WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:11:00 GMT

Three U.S. Navydoctors gathered around a mannequin at Hartford Hospital Tuesday, asking it questions about the pain in its arm.

Lasers Take Aim At Brain Tumors

BY WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:47:00 GMT

Yale-New Haven Surgeons 'Cook' Cancer Cells In High-Tech Procedure

After little more than two hours of preparation, Simone DiGiacomo was ready to have a tumor that was lodged 3 inches deep in her brain cooked by a laser.

Children's Hospital Patients Covered By Anthem Get Extension On Transitional Care

BY WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:08:01 GMT

Contract Expired On April 15

The 30-day transitional care period for patients covered by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield at Connecticut Children's Medical Center, which was set to end Wednesday, has been extended to May 31.

DPH Recommends Ending Charter Oak Health Center's Probation After TB Problem

BY WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Fri, 11 May 2012 23:41:00 GMT

Health Center Risked Loss Of Federal Payments

The state Department of Public Health has recommended to a federal agency that it not cut Charter Oak Health Center's Medicare and Medicaid payments.

Connecticut Paves New Path In Treating Traumatized Children

By JOSH KOVNER, jkovner@courant.com — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:34:23 GMT

Maria lived for about seven years with two burdens that nearly drowned her emotionally – the repeated sexual assault of her two young daughters over a period of years by a male friend of her mother's, and her belated discovery of the abuse.

Hospitals Step Up Efforts To Prevent Infections

BY WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Thu, 10 May 2012 22:14:17 GMT

Once Considered Unavoidable, They Now Are Seen As Largely Preventable

Less than a decade ago, it was considered a given that a certain number of hospital patients would acquire infections during their hospital stay and that there wasn't much that could be done to prevent it. That's been changing.

Little Progress Made On Health Disparities, New Report Shows

By LISA CHEDEKEL, Conn. Health I-Team Writer — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:39:56 GMT

Health disparities between blacks and whites in categories including maternal deaths and advanced-stage breast cancer diagnoses are worsening, while only a handful of disparities related to race, ethnicity or income showed significant improvement between 2002 and 2008, a new federal report shows.

Study: Significant Gaps In Contraception Understanding Among Young Adults

BY WILLIAM WEIR, bweir@courant.com — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:41:39 GMT

Nearly half of men age 18 to 29 and about a quarter of women in the same age group showed significant gaps in knowledge about contraception, according to a new study.

18 Hospital Executives Earn More Than $1 Million

By BARBARA NAGY, Conn. Health I-Team Writer — Wed, 09 May 2012 01:06:48 GMT

The health care system may be ailing, but newly compiled data show that compensation for top executives at Connecticut hospitals remains healthy.

Eighteen Hospital Executives In The State Earn More Than $1 Million

By BARBARA NAGY, Conn. Health I-Team Writer — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:39:00 GMT

The health care system may be ailing, but newly compiled data show that compensation for top executives at Connecticut hospitals remains healthy.

Rocky Hill Settles Disabilities Discrimination Complaint About Summer Camp

By EDMUND H. MAHONY, emahony@courant.com — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:37:08 GMT

Town Hesitated On Admission Of Diabetic Boy Because He Needed To Use Insulin Pump

The town of Rocky Hill has settled a disabilities complaint with the parents of a diabetic boy who the town did not immediately admit to its summer camp program because the child was required to use an insulin pump.