Health

The Northeast represents the region with the highest percentage of its population aged 65 and older at 14.1 percent, according to new 2010 U.S. Census data released Wednesday. Connecticut also makes the top five states possessing the largest percent of the total population aged 85 and older. The Northeast’s elderly population is the highest percentage […]

All Griffin Hospital employees have complied with a new policy requiring them to get flu shots, the Derby Hospital announced Wednesday. Between Sept. 27 and Nov. 1, 1,275 full and part-time employees got the flu vaccine, which was provided free. Volunteers, students and physicians were also required to get vaccinated. The hospital allowed exemptions for […]

Thirty-one people in the last six years have died while being arrested in Connecticut, of which two-thirds were killed by law enforcement, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Justice. Other deaths in the state are attributed to suicide, intoxication and natural causes. Nationwide, the culprit of arrest-related deaths are similar to Connecticut’s […]

Just one out of every five children under four years old in the state are properly screened to identify their special education needs and even fewer actually get early education services, reports a national report card by a disability advocacy group. Of the 16,000 children three years old and younger at risk of having developmental […]

Close to 2,100 employees at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center got flu vaccines in recent weeks following a new hospital policy that requires all employees to get vaccinated. Five employees failed to get vaccinated before the deadline and will be terminated, according to the hospital. In all, more than 2,900 employees, community physicians, contractors and volunteers […]

Current recipients of SNAP–Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps–can apply for replacement benefits if they lost food because of a storm-related power outage. Recipients must have lost food costing more than 15 percent of their October SNAP benefit amount. To report a loss, call 2-1-1 or visit www.211ct.org before midnight Saturday. The […]

Quinnipiac University’s medical school will be named after Dr. Frank Netter, a surgeon and prolific medical illustrator whose work has long been used in medical education, the school announced this week. The Frank H. Netter, M.D., School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University is scheduled to open in the fall of 2013. The naming is the […]

Five foundations are teaming up to examine patient views of health care, surveying Connecticut residents to get a sense of how good health care is in the state, whether residents have ready access to high-quality care, and how insurance impacts the quality of care residents receive. The research will be based on similar national surveys […]

Interested in running the state’s health care exchange but behind on the application? You’re in luck. The Connecticut Health Care Exchange has extended the deadline for candidates to apply to be CEO of the quasi-public agency, which is charged with developing a marketplace for buying health insurance as part of federal health reform. Applications had […]

Cancer patients and caregivers affected by this weekend’s snow storm and power outages can get information on resources for food, shelter, transportation and medical assistance by calling the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345. Cancer information specialists, including oncology nurses, are available to answer calls 24 hours a day, every day. Zana Baruch, the cancer society’s […]

The state’s Medicaid program is going through a number of changes. One of the simpler ones involves its name. Currently, the majority of Medicaid clients are part of the HUSKY health program, which covers low-income children and their parents or guardians. HUSKY also covers children and teens whose families earn too much to qualify for […]

With much of the state without power, hospitals are warning people to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Many of the ways people try to keep warm without electricity–furnaces, stoves and fireplaces–produce carbon monoxide. The Connecticut Poison Control Center has received 50 calls asking about carbon monoxide in the past two days, and Hartford Hospital has seen […]