I-Team Blotter
Kaiser Report: CT Medicare Costs Sixth Highest In Nation
Little Progress Made On Health Disparities, New Report Shows
Settlement: Depakote Maker Injects $6 Million Into State Coffers
Nursing Homes Fined For Patient Death, Failure To Administer Drugs
Two Connecticut Doctors Lose Licenses in New York State
Over 500 Docs And Nurses Providing Care In Medical Homes
Medical Board Reprimands Doctor, Physician Assistant
Smaller Hospitals Struggle With Deficits
Nursing Homes Fined For Choking Death, Weight Loss
Breast Cancer Gene Patent Case Heads Back To Appeals Court
Medical Board Revokes Doctor’s License
Theresa Sullivan Barger reports
Three CT Nursing Homes Make 2012 ‘Honor Roll’
Yale, St. Raphael’s Detail Plans For Merger
Three Nursing Homes Face Fines For Patient Injuries
Medical Board Fines, Restricts Doc’s Surgical License
About Us
Mission Statement:
The non-profit Connecticut Health Investigative Team [C-HIT] is dedicated to producing original, responsible, in-depth journalism on issues of health and safety, in Connecticut and the surrounding region.
Who We Are:
A team of award-winning journalists, based in Connecticut, who have come together to provide the public with informative stories about health, safety and medical issues. C-HIT is a web-based news service that serves three main purposes:
•To fill a void in health, safety and medical coverage by producing a steady stream of news stories, many of them investigative, that focus on systemic problems within the healthcare system that affect real people – ie, the quality of care in hospitals, nursing homes, schools and other facilities; regulatory actions by government agencies; mental health treatment issues involving children and adults; and healthcare reform, including coverage of the insurance industry, the impact on consumers and the elderly.
•To provide regular coverage of healthcare issues faced by veterans, especially those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. C-HIT journalists have extensive experience in covering veterans’ health issues.
•To provide citizens with an independent, continually updated and user-friendly database that empowers consumers to access information from regulatory agencies and other sources on healthcare facilities and providers.
Our Team:
C-HIT is a project of the nationally known Online Journalism Project, a non-profit media venture based in New Haven, founded in 2005. C-HIT has received start-up funding from the Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation and from the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, and is aggressively seeking funding from other foundation and private sponsors. C-HIT initially will be focused on Connecticut, but could be expanded to other states.
C-HIT is overseen by a team of veteran Connecticut journalists, including: C-HIT Editor Lynne DeLucia, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former assistant managing editor of the Hartford Courant with more than 35 years’ experience in Connecticut journalism; and Senior Writer Lisa Chedekel, a former reporter for The Courant and winner of numerous journalism awards, including a 1999 Pulitzer Prize and a 2007 George Polk Award. The reporting team includes a pool of experienced freelance journalists.
Our Partners:
C-HIT works with students in the journalism program at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT, on research for stories, while providing the next generation of journalists with practical reporting experience. C-HIT also runs summer investigative reporting workshops for high school students.
The leaders of the Online Journalism Project are working with C-HIT to incorporate the new content into existing Project platforms. C-HIT will partner with media outlets to distribute content in Connecticut and New England.
C-HIT is a member of the Investigative News Network, a coalition of non-profit journalism organizations that produce non-partisan investigative news.
For more information contact Lynne DeLucia, C-HIT editor .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Our Advisory Board
Marie K. Shanahan’s interest in the possibilities of interactive media led her away from an early career as a print journalist to the digital side of news. After five years as a newspaper reporter, she spent the next decade as a digital news producer and online editor at The Hartford Courant. Her online roles involved expanding the presentation of all facets of news content on the Courant’s websites, training the newsroom in best practices of online journalism and building audiences with social networking tools. In July 2010, Shanahan joined AOL/Patch.com as a Regional Editor. In August 2011, she was appointed to the journalism faculty at the University of Connecticut. Her research focuses on the intersection of journalism, technology and free speech/anonymous online speech, as well as online media ethics and emerging digital newsgathering and storytelling techniques. Shanahan holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and history from UConn and a master’s degree in Interactive Communications from Quinnipiac University.
Susan Whetstone has been the interim President-Executive Director of the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) since January 6, 2011. She joined CHFA in April of 2009 as its Chief Administrative Officer with responsibility for organizational and operational improvements, strategic planning, information technology and human resources. Prior to joining CHFA, Susan served for nine years as the Chief Administrative Officer for the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington. Susan has held a variety of positions in public service administration with the City of New Haven over the past 25 years including Chief Administrative Officer for the City from 1989-1990 and 1997-2000. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Yale-New Haven Hospital and Start Community Bank in New Haven. She has previously served on the boards of The Community Foundation of Greater New Haven, the New Haven Board of Education, the New Haven Board of Fire Commissioners, Concepts for Adaptive Learning, Women’s Health Services, the Yale Public Interest Law Initiative and the Child and Health Development Institute of Connecticut.
Beth Derby of Old Saybrook, CT, is a registered nurse and healthcare consultant with many years of experience as an executive, primarily in ambulatory surgery, dealing with regulatory issues, human resources, and day-to-day operations. She has extensive experience in data management and healthcare regulation.
Paul Sullivan, a Gulf War veteran, is executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, a non-profit, non-partisan veterans’ advocacy group. The group is dedicated to making sure that Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans get the care they deserve, while also exposing the true financial and human costs of the current conflicts. Sullivan formerly worked for the VA and has assisted numerous journalists in pursuing stories about health problems and other challenges faced by veterans.
William Dyson of New Haven was elected to the Connecticut State House of Representatives in 1977 and was a member of the Black and Hispanic Caucus. Dyson served for 16 years as the co-chairman of the budget-writing appropriations committee. During his tenure, he sponsored legislation on health care, welfare and criminal justice reforms. He left the legislature in January 2009. Dyson is a retired New Haven teacher and counselor.
Isabel Morais, MD, is an ob-gyn physician and surgeon at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School. Previously, she practiced in Connecticut and was affiliated with Yale-New Haven Hospital. She received her medical degree from NYU and did her residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She has worked in urban clinic settings and served on hospital committees and community boards. She has vast expertise in women’s health issues and community healthcare needs.
Toni M. Fatone, Esq. is a leader in Connecticut’s long-term healthcare field, having served as the Executive Vice-President of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities (CAHCF) from 1995-2009. Her responsibilities included government relations, chief liaison to federal and state agencies, and serving as the organization’s chief spokesperson. She now is President of TMF Consulting Services, LLC, and continues her work in the LTC arena in Connecticut and Washington, DC. She is currently working on a member services project with the American Healthcare Association. She has served on numerous professional long-term health care task forces and committees at both the state and federal levels. In 2008 she was honored by the American Healthcare Association and National Center for Assisted living with their prestigious Joe Warner Patient Advocacy Award for her work in educating members of Congress about the needs of long term care residents and her efforts to advance quality in long term care.