Town Centers Gain Recognition, Walkability Highlighted

Connecticut’s official state tourism site is touting the virtues of visiting six “walkable town centers” in the state, noting that the state “has many town centers where a nice ramble takes you to shops, restaurants, galleries, museums and even a park bench or two.” The number 1 location in the state, according to the website, is West Hartford Center.  Also highlighted are New Canaan, New Haven’s Chapel Street, Chester, Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, and Litchfield.

Each of the six locations is highlighted on the site with information on attractions, events, restaurants, accommodations and shopping.

Of West Hartford Center, the state website says “the intersection of Farmington Avenue and South Main Street in West Hartford can lead you to many shopping or dining pleasures, and eventually to the adjacent Blue Back Square.”

New Canaan is described as “this classic commuter town,” which “has an appealing downtown and many restaurants, especially in the triangle formed by Main, Locust and Forest Streets.  Lots of places to shop, too.”

Describing Chapel Street in New Haven, the website suggests “you can truly spend an entire day (and night) without getting off Chapel Street.”  Chester, the website notes, has “small-town charm you’re looking for,” including “tasteful little shops and an interesting variety of restaurants.”

When the website Redfin compiled their latest list of most walkable cities, Hartford made the list.  With a walk score of 71, transit score of 54 and bike score of 53, the site noted the state’s Capital City as having an average walk score, good public transportation and “somewhat bikable.”  The most walkable neighborhoods named were Downtown, South Green and Frog Hollow, and the review of the city indicated that “most errands can be accomplished on foot in Hartford.”

New Haven received a walk score of 68 and a bike score of 66.  Both New Haven and Hartford (more recently) have launched bike exchange programs within the past year.  Bridgeport also received a walk score of 68, along with a bike score of 50.  Stamford earned a walk score of 54, bike score of 39 and transit score of 38.  Waterbury’s walk score was 49; bike score was 25.  Danbury’s walk score was 38.

The walk scores for cities across the country were grouped from 90-100 (walker’s paradise), 70-89 (very walkable), 50-69 (somewhat walkable), 25-49 (car dependent), to 0-24 (very car dependent).

The top bike friendly cities are Minneapolis, Portland, Chicago, Denver and San Francisco.  The most transit friendly are New York, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia.  The most walkable are New York, San Francisco, Boston, Miami and Philadelphia.

Struggles Continue for Thousands Who Relocated from Puerto Rico to Connecticut in Storm Aftermath

About 13,000 residents of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who arrived in Connecticut in the aftermath of the hurricanes Maria and Irma continue to struggle with obtaining basic needs including adequate housing, food, medical care and jobs, according to a survey commissioned by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. The vast majority of those who have come to Connecticut, over 70 percent, have extremely low incomes (under $30,000), adding a heavy responsibility on an already over-extended and resource-limited Puerto Rican community in Connecticut, given the extreme levels of need that are present in the community, even before the storms, the Foundation pointed out.

Approximately 1,300 people participated in the survey, which utilized online and in-person questionnaires in English and Spanish and field research.  It was conducted by the University of Connecticut’s El Instituto: Institute for Latina/o Caribbean and Latin American Studies and the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College. The objective was to understand the long-term impact of displacement on Puerto Rican households in the Greater Hartford region.

“The Hartford region has one of the highest concentrations of people of Puerto Rican origin outside Puerto Rico and last year’s hurricanes brought thousands more to the region, many of whom will likely stay,” said Scott Gaul, the Hartford Foundation’s director of Research and Evaluation. “The hurricanes were an unprecedented event, but we can anticipate similar crises will happen again. The survey is one tool to help the Hartford region understand the needs of evacuees and the potential long-term impacts of displacement.”

The survey found that while some households surveyed had initially relied on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for funding basic needs, the majority of those affected relied on Greater Hartford’s nonprofit organizations, school districts and family members for support.

During the 2018 Legislative Session, the Connecticut General Assembly  approved $4.4 million in education and housing assistance for displace residents, including $1.5 million in aid to the departments of education, housing and social services.

More than half of respondents (56%) mentioned that it was very likely (36%) or somewhat likely (22%) that kin would relocate from the Caribbean to Connecticut, with most of those relatives and friends staying with respondents.  Those living in Hartford’s outer ring suburbs were relatively less likely (72%) to have kin in the Caribbean than those living in Hartford or its immediate suburbs. And they expect nearly 1,500 additional people to arrive from Puerto Rico in the wake of the hurricane.

In addition, those responding to the survey indicated that they expected displaced kin to remain in Connecticut into the medium and long terms. Nearly a third of respondents (32%) reported that kin would stay in Connecticut for a few months, and a quarter (26%) would remain for a few years.

The survey also found:

• The most pressing need for respondents hosting displaced Puerto Ricans is lodging, with fully one-third indicating that housing was one the biggest needs they face.
• Nearly three-fifths of respondents indicated housing was displaced person’s first order need, followed by 16 percent who mentioned it in second order.
• Food was a first order need for one-fifth of survey respondents’ displaced friends and relatives and second order need for 35 percent.

Survey respondents identified housing issues and insufficient food as the most critical needs they are facing in Connecticut, along with healthcare, in the after aftermath of the crisis. These are needs not only of those who are in the state already, but of those who are very likely to arrive in the short term,” wrote Professors Charles R. Venator-Santiago, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and El Instituto and Carlos Vargas Ramos, Center for Puerto Rican Studies.

"These needs are adding a heavy responsibility on an already over-extended and resource-limited Puerto Rican community in Connecticut, given the extreme levels of need that are present in the community and pre-dated the crisis created by hurricanes Irma and Maria," the report stated.

Results from the survey are aimed at helping to inform long-term planning and action by funders, nonprofits, municipalities and schools.  The Foundation intends to work with community organizations and leaders in the region to disseminate and act on survey results.

The report indicated that preliminary estimates by the government of Puerto Rico indicate that approximately 70,000 residential properties were totally destroyed, with an additional 300,000 partially damaged residences. As of February 2018, 1.1 million households had applied for disaster aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Connecticut Children's, Yale New Haven Ranked Among Best in Neonatology

Two of the nation’s top 50 hospitals for neonatology are in Connecticut.  Connecticut Children’s Medical Center ranked #25 and Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital ranked #36 in the latest analysis by US News & World Report, which publishes hospital rankings in various medical specialties. Atop the rankings in the pediatric specialty were Children’s National Medical Center (Washington, DC), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Boston Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital (Cleveland), UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital of San Francisco and Oakland, New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley-Komansky Children’s Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital-Washington University, and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital – Michigan Medicine (Ann Arbor).

Fifty pediatric centers were ranked for care of fragile newborns. Breast milk at discharge, patient volume, infection rates in the NICU and other data collected from a detailed U.S. News clinical survey of children's hospitals, produced 85 percent of each hospital's score. The other 15 percent reflects nominations from pediatric specialists and subspecialists who responded to surveys in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and recommended the hospital for serious cases in their specialty.

Yale’s highest ranking among nearly a dozen pediatric specialties was in Pediatric Diabetes & Endocrinology, where it ranked eighth.  Connecticut Children’s is ranked in four specialties, including Pediatric Urology (#30), Pediatric diabetes & Endocrinology (#37), and Pediatric Cardiology & Heart Surgery (#49).  Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital is nationally ranked in nine specialties. (U.S. News includes Yale New Haven Hospital and Connecticut Children's Medical Center in evaluating the performance of Yale New Haven Children's Hospital in Pediatric Cardiology & Heart Surgery and Pediatric Urology.)

Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital admits approximately 125 patients a day. With 208 licensed beds, the hospital has neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, a 24-hour pediatric emergency room and a children's surgery center, according to US News.

Connecticut Children’s reports it has established the largest newborn delivery services network in the state of Connecticut based on the number of hospitals for whom it provides neonatology care.  In addition to Connecticut Children’s two NICUs located in Hartford and Farmington, Connecticut, the Medical Center also provides newborn delivery services at nine hospitals, including five additional NICUs. Hospital partners include Hartford HealthCare (4 hospitals), Western Connecticut Health Network (2 hospitals, as of this month), Ascension (St. Vincent’s Medical Center), Eastern Connecticut Health Network (Manchester Hospital), and Day Kimball Healthcare.

“We’re excited to bring our expertise to more babies in Connecticut,” said Jim Moore, MD, Division Chief for Neonatology at Connecticut Children’s. “My goal is for Connecticut Children’s to develop a truly comprehensive, regionalized, clinically integrated network for newborn care across the state.”

Connecticut Children’s drives innovation across its newborn delivery service locations by sharing best practices and protocols across the network, and ensuring that family centered rounding is done for every patient, according to hospital officials. It also practices “family centered care” - moving patients to the right location for the care they need, but then returning them to their home hospital when they no longer need that higher level of care, officials point out.

“The recognition from U.S. News & World Report is a testament to our dedicated physicians, nurses and staff who care for the sickest children while working tirelessly on advancing research and clinical outcomes at the Medical Center,” said Jim Shmerling, President & CEO at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. “We continue to expand our care network, making it easier than ever for our patient families to access the care they need, when they need it and most importantly where they need it; close to home.”

Bridgeport, New Haven Among Nation's 50 Most Stressful Cities, Analysis Says

Stress?  Look no further than Bridgeport and New Haven.  Both cities were ranked in the top 50 Most Stressed Cities in America, a new ranking produced by the financial website WalletHub. Bridgeport ranked 33^rd and New Haven 41^st, based on analysis that considered stress in four areas:  the workplace, finances, family, and health and safety as contributing factors.

The most stressed cities in America, according to the analysis, were Detroit, Newark, Cleveland, Birmingham, Toledo, Baltimore, Wilmington, Milwaukee Gulfport and St. Louis.  Among New England cities, Bridgeport led the list, followed by Worcester (37), New Haven, Boston (52), and Providence (57). 

Bridgeport ranked 17^th in the workplace stress category and 23^rd in financial stress; 103^rd in family-related stress. Bridgeport also had among the lowest average weekly work hours, tied for 176^th among the 182 cities included in the rankings.  New Haven ranked 168th in that category.

New Haven was 37^th in health and safety related stress; in the mid-50’s in the other categories.

WalletHub evaluated the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state, using the four dimensions including 37 relevant metrics.  Those metrics included job security, traffic congestion, unemployment rate, average commute time and income growth in the work stress category.  Financial stress included evaluation of annual household income, foreclosure rate, food insecurity, housing affordability and debt per median earnings.

The family stress category included the separation and divorce rate, number of single parent households, child care costs and other factors.  The ten factors considered as part of the Health & Safety stress category included mental health, smoking, obesity, inadequate sleep, crime rate and hate-crime incidents.

Greensboro, North Carolina, residents spend the fewest annual hours in traffic congestion per auto commuter, 4, which is 25.5 times fewer than in Los Angeles, the city where residents spend the most at 102, according to the data.  Bridgeport and New Haven tied for 36th in the traffic congestion rankings.

Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, INRIX, Chmura Economics & Analytics, Indeed, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Renwood RealtyTrac, County Health Ranking, Zillow, Administrative Office of the United States Courts, TransUnion, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Council for Community and Economic Research, Gallup-Healthways, Numbeo, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Sharecare.

Will CT Legislature Reverse Representation Trend in "Year of the Woman"?

The number of women in the Connecticut legislature has dropped with each legislative election throughout this decade, dropping the state from 8^th to 21^st in the nation in the percentage of women in the legislature. The 2018 election year has been widely declared the year of the woman in politics, a reaction to the MeToo movement and related issues that have risen to the top of many political agendas.  It appears that Connecticut ballots may have a record number of women candidates in November, depending upon the outcome of the August 14 primaries in some legislative districts.

If it turns out that a record number of women are elected to the state’s 187 General Assembly seats (36 in the Senate, 151 in the House) in November, it would reverse a trend a decade in the making.

This year, the state legislature saw 42 women serving in the House (21 Democrats and 21 Republicans) and 9 women in the Senate (7 Democrats and 2 Republicans).  The total of 51 seats held by women, 27.3 percent of the 187 seats, placed Connecticut as one of 19 states between 25 and 34 percent.

Leading the nation were Arizona (40%), Vermont (40%), Nevada (38.1%), Colorado (38%), Washington (37.4%), and Illinois (35.6%).   Women make up 25.4 percent of all state legislators nationwide.

In 2010, there were 60 women in the Connecticut legislature, 52 in the House and 8 in the Senate.  Connecticut ranked 8^th among state legislatures in the percentage of women, at 32.1 percent.

Connecticut’s place among the states continued to drop through the decade, from 8^th in 2010 to 9^th in 2012, 13^th in 2014, 16^th in 2016 and 21^st in 2018.

Power of Nature to Help Cities and Local Residents Being Revealed in Bridgeport

What would happen if ways to integrate nature into a major urban community were pursued?  In Connecticut, the largest city is Bridgeport, and the Connecticut chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has been undertaking an effort to find out. Nature offers a lot of benefits to communities, TNC points out. “Trees provide shade and help clean the air. Gardens absorb and filter water, which reduces flooding and runoff into nearby rivers. Healthy dunes and wetlands protect coastlines from storms.”  In addition, the organization points out, “nature can also transform the way people experience their neighborhood.”

With 70 percent of the world’s population predicted to live in cities by 2050, heat and air pollution constitute a major public health concern, TNC points out, underscoring the importance of the organization’s initiatives to plant trees in urban areas across the country, among a series of related undertakings.

“People are at the core of our efforts to identify how neighborhoods are addressing daunting challenges in this formerly industrialized city,” said Drew Goldsman, Urban Conservation Program Manager. “We want to partner with communities to implement natural solutions in Bridgeport that help both people and nature.”

Their Eco-Urban Assessment looked at areas in Bridgeport that have poor air quality, high risk of flooding, and limited access to nearby green spaces and layered it with data on income level, impervious surfaces and asthma rates. The team was able to pinpoint neighborhoods where trees, green stormwater systems and open spaces will make the biggest difference for people and nature.  Air quality and flood risk topped the list of most acute needs.

In collaboration with local partners, the Conservancy is supporting a neighborhood-led greening effort known as ‘Green Connections’ in Bridgeport’s East Side neighborhood. Creating a plan for ways natural resources can shape the future of the community while making immediate changes to the landscape —through tree plantings and green stormwater infrastructure projects— is one of the initiative’s main goals, along with empowering volunteer stewards living in the community to take ownership of these natural areas. All of this helps create safe spaces for the community to gather, provides cooler and cleaner air, and improves wildlife habitat in the city.

According to the Nature Conservancy, Bridgeport currently has a 19% tree canopy cover, for example.  If all open spaces, vacant lots and parking lots could be planted, the city would have a 62% tree canopy cover.  The ramifications would be substantial, impacting various health and quality of life factors.

“Healthier people, cooler temperatures in the summer, cleaner air, reduced flooding, more urban habitat, parks and forests, less sewage overflow, a clean Pequannock River a more resilient coastline and green jobs” are cited as potential benefits.

The national publication Governing pointed out last year that “Streets cover about a third of the land in cities, and they account for half of the impervious surfaces in cities. Impervious surfaces don’t allow water to soak through them, which means they can alter the natural flow of rainwater. City streets collect, channel, pollute and sometimes even speed along water as it heads to the sewers.”

Goldsman indicates that currently efforts are focusing on the city of Bridgeport, but the Eco-Urban Assessment model is available to urban communities that want a deeper understanding of where nature can bring solutions to some of the most pressing urban issues.

“With the Eco-Urban Assessment model, we’re able to help municipalities identify the places and ways we can work together to use nature to improve residents’ quality of life and build more sustainable communities,” said Dr. Frogard Ryan, Connecticut state director for The Nature Conservancy. “From the beginning, we wanted this to be a community-led and TNC-supported program. Residents help us identify areas of other focus that aren’t highlighted by the model and be sure our study reflects what people experience day-to-day.”

New Haven is Among Safest Cities in U.S. for Cycling, Analysis Shows

New Haven is one of the nation’s ten safest cities for cyclists, according to a new analysis.  In a ranking dominated by communities in California, with six of the top ten, New Haven was not only the lone Connecticut city to earn a spot among the top ten, it was the only city in the Northeast to do so.  The ranking saw Davis and Berkeley California named the safest cities for bicyclists, followed by Boulder, Colorado; Eugene, Oregon; Palo Alto, Chico, and Mountain View, California; Fort Collins, Colorado; Santa Barbara, California, and New Haven.  Minneapolis ranked number 12.

Five other Connecticut cities made their way into the top 100 nationally:  Hartford at number 55; Norwalk at number 82; Bridgeport at number 85; New Britain at number 91 and Waterbury, which was ranked at number 92.  Lower down the list were Stamford, ranked number 221 and Danbury,  which came in at number 229.

New Haven debuted Connecticut’s first protected bike lanes a year ago, according to published reports, from City Hall to Long Wharf, and city officials have said  “New Haven encourages alternative transportation options in the city so there is a variety of existing supported infrastructure available, including off-street shared use paths, on-street bicycle lanes, a contra-flow bike lane, bike boxes at intersections, on-street bike corrals, bike racks on sidewalks, bike racks on parking meters and bike racks on buses.”

"New Haven likely fared well due to their bike laws, a high percentage of spending per capita on bike lanes and their low percentage of fatal crashes," said Laura Schmitz, Safety Writer with Your Local Security. "The city of New Haven should be proud of their efforts to make their city safer for cyclists!"

The city also launched a bike sharing program this year, in February, and celebrated National Bike to Work Day in May with a program encouraging bike riding.  In addition, Yale University is a Gold-level Bicycle Friendly University, as awarded by the League of American Bicyclists, and the city has developed on-line bike route maps.

The safest city in Massachusetts, Somerville, ranked number 58.  Providence was the safest in Rhode Island, but ranked number 482 on the national list.  Syracuse was determined to be the safest in New York State, ranking number 537.

The rankings were issued by yourlocalsecurity.com, an ADT Authorized Premier Provider.  To determine the safest and least safe US cities for bikers, metrics and data were used from Census.gov, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, People for Bikes, and The League of American Bicyclists to find the percentage of bike commuters, number of fatal crashes, amount of bike lanes, and what bike laws are in place or in the works in each city.

At the bottom of the list, the ten most dangerous cities included Los Angeles, New York, Houston, and five cities in Iowa.  Cities were included if these sources had data for them. Cities included had populations of 20,000 or more.

State Funds Continue to Support Transit-Oriented Development; $8.5 Million in New Grants to 5 Municipalities

Five Connecticut communities – Danbury, Hartford, Stamford, Torrington and West Hartford - will share approximately $8.5 million in funding under the second phase of the state’s 2017 Responsible Growth and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Grants. They are the latest in a series of competitive state grants to be awarded in recent years to support the development and implementation of TOD initiatives around the state. The competitive grant program “supports transit-oriented development and responsible growth in the state and is targeted at boosting economic activity and creating jobs,” according to state officials. Administered by the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) the grants rely on a combination of funding from the Responsible Growth Incentive Fund and the Transit-Oriented Development and Pre-development Fund.

A year ago, OPM released a request for applications for the current grant program, and the State Bond Commission approved a total of $15 million to be used – comprised of $5 million from the Responsible Growth Incentive Fund and $10 million from the Transit-Oriented Development and Pre-development Fund. Following that, OPM – with input from other state agencies – reviewed, rated, and ranked each of the proposals.

In this round of funding, Danbury’s Downtown Streetscape Project is receiving $2 million to prepare design drawings and construct sidewalk and streetscape infrastructure improvements along key downtown pedestrian routes within the vicinity of the Danbury train station. Improvements include the new construction or replacement of sidewalks, intersection improvements, landscaping, removal and installation of street trees, ornamental lighting, and pedestrian access improvements as detailed in the city’s Downtown TOD Planning Study.

Stamford’s Springdale TOD Implementation project is receiving $1,994,188 to prepare design and engineering drawings and construct improvements around the Springdale train station consistent with the recommendations of the Glenbrook/Springdale TOD Feasibility Study. Improvements include safer bicycle and pedestrian access to the village center and rail station, realignment and modification of the station’s main entrance at Clearview Avenue, and other improvements to landscaping, lighting, and general accessibility in and around the station area.

In Torrington, the East Main Street (Route 202) Sidewalk Implementation will receive $1,997,700 to construct new sidewalks, and repair/replace existing sidewalks along portions of East Main St (Route 202) between Torrington Heights Road and the Big Lots Plaza. The city will use a portion of the funding to evaluate existing conditions at nine signalized intersections within the project boundary, and at more complex sections of roadway which lack sidewalks, to determine if additional pedestrian improvements are feasible.

Hartford’s Main Street Complete Streets Vision Plan and Innovation District Activation will receive $450,000 to develop a Complete Streets Vision Plan for a section of Main Street from State House Square to the vicinity of South Green in order to identify improvements to bike and pedestrian amenities, and prepare complete construction documents for future buildout. In addition to bike and pedestrian amenities, the final plan is to identify potential improvements to transit services, new streetscaping, a new cycle track, and other linkages to improve bike and pedestrian connections within the project area.

A portion of Hartford’s funding will also be used to implement the Innovation District Activation Program, to provide grants to new and existing businesses within the project area to support capital and other investments such as façade improvements, building infrastructure, marketing, business planning, public events, and other business/community support services with the objective of creating vibrant employment and residential hubs.

West Hartford’s New Park Avenue Complete Streets Implementation will receive a grant of $2,000,000 to construct complete streets infrastructure improvements along New Park Avenue from New Britain Avenue to Oakwood Avenue, consistent with the recommendations of the 2017 New Park Avenue Transit Area Complete Streets Study. Improvements include a road diet with center turn lane, landscaped medians and protected bike lanes, new street trees, lighting, wayfinding signage and other amenities, and a pocket park at the gateway to the Trout Brook Trail.

“Transportation isn’t just about cars, trains, and buses – it’s about building vibrant communities and continuing to make Connecticut a more attractive place to live, visit and do business,” Gov. Malloy said in announcing the grants. The awards “will build upon the smart, targeted investments we have made in recent years, which have already led to significant growth in transit-oriented development across the state.”

The first round of grants under the current initiative were released in December 2017, with eleven projects to receive $15 million.  Communities selected to receive funds were Berlin, Clinton, East Windsor, Madison, New Britain, Norwalk, Stratford, Wallingford, Winchester, Windsor Locks, and the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments.

In 2016, state officials announced that twenty projects in towns and cities across Connecticut would receive a total of nearly $11 million to transit-oriented development and responsible growth, targeted at boosting economic activity and creating jobs. At the time, Gov. Malloy said “Our focus is on not only improving overall quality of life for residents in these areas, but also encouraging economic development by making our towns and cities more accessible."

Communities selected were Berlin, Branford, Canton, Clinton, Danbury, Hartford, Madison, New Canaan, New Haven, Old Saybrook, Torrington/Winsted, Waterbury, Westport, Windsor, and Windsor Locks.  Also receiving funds were the Capitol Region Council of Governments, Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, and Northwest Hills Council of Governments.

Previously, 11 state grants between $75,000 and $150,000 were provided in 2015 to “prospective planning projects that best support transit oriented development.”  Receiving the state grants were Berlin, Bethel, Bridgeport, Enfield, Meriden, Milford, New Britain, New Haven, Stratford, Wallingford and West Hartford.

Aetna, CVS Health Earn Place Among 50 Civic-Minded Companies

Hartford-based Aetna and Rhode Island-based CVS Health, with their merger plans currently under review at the state and federal levels, have both been named to The Civic 50 for 2018, reflecting their community-minded programs and policies.  They are among the public and private companies with U.S. operations and revenues of $1 billion or more, selected based on four dimensions of their U.S. community engagement program.  Both companies also reached the list of 50 in 2017. The Civic 50 survey, produced annually since 2011 for Points of Light, has provided “a national standard for superior corporate citizenship and showcased how companies can use their time, skills and other resources to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business,” according to Points of Light.

The survey analysis is administered for the Points of Light Foundation by True Impact, a company specializing in helping organizations maximize and measure their social and business value, and analyzed by VeraWorks. The survey instrument consists of quantitative and multiple-choice questions that inform the Civic 50 scoring process. It is the only survey and ranking system that exclusively measures corporate involvement in communities.

Among findings highlighted in the latest annual report:

• Civic 50 companies are evolving from being supporters to engaging as stewards of social causes. Instead of confining themselves to writing checks or piggybacking off of nonprofit work, Civic 50 companies are involving themselves in all aspects of social causes which they champion. In 2018, 70 percent of Civic 50 companies took national leadership positions on four or more public education or policy efforts, an increase from 62 percent in 2017.
• Civic 50 honorees continue to exemplify one of the core tenets of corporate citizenship: "doing well by doing good". The 2018 honorees demonstrate that integrating community engagement initiatives into business strategy can support business interests. The 2018 honorees are using community engagement to drive key business functions, including employee engagement (86 percent), marketing/PR (78 percent), diversity and inclusion (74 percent), skill development (74 percent) and stakeholder relations (56 percent)
• Leading innovations for purpose at work, Civic 50 honorees have found community engagement as a meaningful and valuable investment to inspire employee changemakers and create a strong culture of giving back. 68 percent of Civic 50 companies include community engagement as a formal component of employees' performance reviews, an increase from 62 percent in 2017.
• Civic 50 companies understand the importance of impact: to ensure the sustainability and success of their community engagement initiatives, Civic 50 companies are using measurement practices to not only measure quantifiable outputs, but social outcomes. Civic 50 companies are making sure to measure social outcomes as part of regularly implemented data collection. In 2018, 68 percent of Civic 50 companies collected and analyzed data on organizational grants and 42 percent did so for volunteerism.

Among the other companies included in the Civic 50 are KeyBank, Marriott International, Wells Fargo, UPS, Prudential Financial, and Comcast NBC Universal.

In its Corporate Social Responsibility Report, Aetna noted that as the company “pursues its goal of building healthier communities, we view social responsibility as a critical driver of success and an integral part of how we conduct our business.”

The report notes that “three quarters of Aetna employees are women, a third are people of color, 11 percent self-identify as LGBT and nearly 5 percent self-identify as having a disability.  Additionally, millennials comprise 31 percent of Aetna’s employees, which was a key driver of our new program to provide up to $10,000 to qualified recent college graduates to help them repay education loans.”

CVS Health, in the company’s social responsibility report, shares that their work “is rooted in our company’s values:  innovation, collaboration, caring, integrity and accountability.”  Three pillars – Health in Action, Planet in Balance and Leader in Growth – make up the company’s Prescription for a Better World, which provide the framework for the CVS Health strategy in corporate responsibility.

The four-dimension criteria used in assessing companies include:

• Investment: How extensively and strategically does the company apply its resources to community engagement in the United States, including employee time and skills, cash, in-kind giving and leadership?
• Integration: How does the company integrate their U.S. community engagement programs into key business functions, including employee engagement, marketing/PR, diversity and inclusion, recruiting, stakeholder relations and skill-development?
• Institutionalization: How does the company support community engagement in the United States through organizational policies, systems and incentives?
• Impact: How does the company measure the social and business impact of their U.S. community engagement program?

Points of Light is the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service.  It grew from the vision of 1,000 points of light shared by founder President George H. W. Bush in his 1989 inaugural address. The Points of Light Corporate Institute is a leading resource for community-minded companies looking to build and expand effective employee volunteer programs.

Report: Connecticut's Medicaid Expansion Increased Coverage, Access to Preventive Care and Behavioral Health Treatment

A recently issued report found that emergency department visits are down; coverage seen as critical in fight against opioids has expanded, and preventative care and mental health care have become more prevalent – all resulting from a 2010 policy decision made by Connecticut’s elected officials to expand Medicaid coverage. That decision, made collaboratively by a Republican Governor (M. Jodi Rell) and Democratic-controlled legislature – helped to reduce Connecticut’s uninsured rate from 9.1 percent in 2010 to 4.9 percent in 2016 and created a significant source of coverage for preventive health services and behavioral health care, according to the report developed by the Connecticut Health Foundation.

The report examines the impact of HUSKY D, as the Medicaid expansion is known, and highlights a number of key findings:

• Most people covered by HUSKY D are using their insurance to get care. Just over 80 percent of people with HUSKY D used the coverage for preventive or outpatient health services in 2016.
• Emergency department usage among HUSKY D members is down significantly. The rate of emergency department visits fell by 36 percent from 2012 to 2016.
• HUSKY D is a significant source of coverage for behavioral health care. In 2016, more than one in three HUSKY D members – 36 percent – used their coverage to get care for a mental health condition or substance use disorder.
• Outcomes have improved for diabetes patients with HUSKY D. A review of more than 500 HUSKY D members with diabetes found that the percentage whose blood glucose was under control rose from 31 percent to 50 percent from 2012 to 2016.

The report also examines the role HUSKY D plays in other policy work in the state, including addressing the opioid crisis and helping those leaving prison get medical and behavioral health treatment when they return to society. The report notes that before HUSKY D, individuals with substance use disorders were generally not eligible for Medicaid, creating a major barrier to treatment.

“Health insurance coverage is a critical first step to health, but it is also important to ensure that people are able to use that coverage to get care, and for that care to make a difference in people’s health,” said Patricia Baker, president and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation. “This research underscores the importance of HUSKY D in giving low-income state residents the tools to take care of their health.”

HUSKY D covers adults ages 19 to 64 who do not have minor children and whose income falls below 138 percent of the poverty level – the equivalent of $16,643 for an individual. (For comparison purposes, a person working 30 hours per week at Connecticut’s minimum wage – $10.10 per hour – would earn $15,756 in a year, the report indicates.)

The report concluded that “nearly eight years after Connecticut expanded HUSKY to cover more low-income adults, HUSKY D has made a significant impact on the state’s uninsured rate and the lives of thousands of people. The majority of those covered are using this insurance to get preventive care, and the rate of emergency department usage has declined, a promising trend.”

The report also notes that the federal government has “financed more than 90 percent of the cost of the program, allowing Connecticut to cover more than 200,000 people with a relatively small budgetary impact.” Currently, the federal government pays 94 percent of the cost of coverage and the state pays 6 percent. The report also identifies challenges associated with HUSKY D, including concerns raised by health care providers about Medicaid payment rates and uncertainty in federal funding.

The report’s analysis indicates that HUSKY D enrollees live in every city and town in Connecticut.  The largest number of covered individuals live in Hartford (18,404), Bridgeport (16,330), New Haven (15,583), Waterbury (13,989), New Britain (8,439) and Stamford (6,110).

The Connecticut Health Foundation is the state’s largest independent health philanthropy dedicated to improving lives by changing health systems. Since it was established in 1999, the foundation has supported innovative grantmaking, public policy research, technical assistance, and convening stakeholders to achieve its mission – to improve the health of the people of Connecticut. Since its creation, the Connecticut Health Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $60 million in 45 cities and towns throughout the state.