By Cara Rosner The state has ordered a Litchfield rest home to hire an independent consultant after finding various violations, including alcohol use and suspected marijuana use among residents. In a consent order signed Sept….
By Jodie Mozdzer Gil The rates of asthma-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations dropped in many Connecticut communities, the latest data from the state Department of Public Health show. Overall, 58 percent of communities saw…
By Jenifer Frank Nearly 1,500 children under the age of 6 tested positive for lead poisoning in 2014, according to the latest numbers from the state Department of Public Health. Overall, the number of lead-poisoned…
By Karen Weintraub Clattering carts, overly bright lights and frequent disruptions make hospitals a tough place to get a good night’s sleep.But now, hospitals across Connecticut are launching efforts to help patients sleep longer and…
By Kate Farrish State health officials have fined five nursing homes at least $1,500 each in connection with residents who were abused or injured and one who died in July after being outside in sweltering…
By Kate Farrish Five Connecticut facilities have won national quality awards and a West Hartford nursing home is the only one of three homes in the U.S. to receive the highest level of recognition from…
By Lisa Chedekel Four nurses, all of them affiliated with a Derby pain clinic, were responsible for nearly all of the state’s 2014 Medicare spending on the powerful opioid painkiller Subsys, which is at the…
By Kate Farrish The state Board of Examiners for Nursing today disciplined five nurses for misconduct, including four whose cases involved drugs or alcohol. After a hearing today, the board revoked the license of Danielle…
By Sujata Srinivasan Michael Baudin of Manchester retired eight years ago after a career in auto repair, but now the 76-year-old is back working part time as a driver so he can afford prescription medications….
By Cara Rosner State health officials fined two nursing homes following incidents in which residents were injured and suffered complications after doctors’ orders were not followed. Apple Rehabilitation of Middletown was fined $1,635 by the…
By Cara Rosner Connecticut has a high prevalence of Medicare beneficiaries living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias, often placing an enormous financial strain on caregivers who are spending thousands of dollars a year on…
By Lisa Chedekel Dozens of Connecticut doctors accepted six-figure payments from drug and medical device manufacturers in 2015 for consulting, speaking, meals and travel, with six of the 10 highest-paid physicians affiliated with academic institutions,…
By Kate Farrish Three nursing homes have been fined more than $1,500 each by the state Department of Public Health in connection with residents who fell, broke bones or received the wrong medication. On June…
By Kate Farrish The state Board of Examiners for Nursing disciplined seven nurses Wednesday and reinstated the licenses of two nurses who had histories of drug abuse. The board reinstated the license of Sara Kaiser of…
By Cara Rosner A growing number of adults—about 52 million—suffer from arthritis, and data show women are more likely than men to develop it. In 2014, 26.5 percent of women reported having doctor-diagnosed arthritis, compared…
By Cara Rosner The state has fined an Avon nursing home where a resident died and a Bristol home where staff did not document how 10 residents suffered a total of 47 injuries.In all, four…
By Peggy McCarthy Bianca Cruz’s Navy career started with a job she loved on a ship in Japan, but after she was sexually assaulted by a sailor, her military life spiraled downward, ending with a…
By Cara Rosner In hospitals across Connecticut and nationwide, workarounds to compensate for medication shortages are daily routines for treating patients – and health experts say it’s not about to change any time soon. Some…
By Lisa Chedekel Connecticut still ranks high among states in the use of antipsychotic drugs for elderly nursing home residents, but its rate of use has dropped 33 percent since 2011 – a bigger decline…
By Lisa Chedekel Connecticut’s shift next month from weekly to “real-time” reporting of prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances is an effective way to help stem opioid-related deaths, a new study suggests. Researchers from…