Million Dollar Packages Routine Atop Connecticut Hospitals, CEO’s Receive Highest Pay at 26 of 30

Newly released data from the state Office of Health Care Access, which regulates hospitals in Connecticut, reflects that 18 Connecticut hospital executives received pay packages of over $1 million during fiscal year 2012.

Leading the top-compensated list – and exceeding $1.5 million in total compensation for their highest paid individual staff member - were William Backus Hospital ($3.4 million), Hartford Hospital ($3.3. million), and Yale- New Haven Hospital ($2.8 million).

In addition to the top three, there were seven other hospitals where the highest compensated official received a pay package exceeding one million dollars during FY2012.  Rounding out the top ten were officials at  Greenwich Hospital ($1.5 million), Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center ($1.5 million), Stamford Hospital ($1.5 million), Hospital of Central CT ($1.5 million), Bridgeport Hospital ($1.1 million), Hospital of Saint Rafael ($1.8 million), and Middlesex Hospital ($1 million).

An analysis by Connecticut by the Numbers indicates that the top salary and benefit package at all but four of the state’s 30 hospitals went to top administrators, usually the President or CEO.  The exceptions included  New Milford Hospital, where the president’s total package ranked 5^th and a lab physician led the list;  at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, where the CEO also ranked 5^th and a physician surgeon ranked first, and at Rockville General Hospital which was led by the Medical Director, with the CEO placing third in the salary hierarchy.    At Windham Community Memorial Hospital, the top administrator – the Vice President of Operations – placed 7^th in salary and fringe benefits amongst hospital leadership.

Only five hospitals in the state saw the top ranked individual receive less than half a million dollars in compensation.  The lowest was at  Rockville General Hospital, where the Medical Director received $324,458, followed by Windham Community Memorial Hospital, where the top  Physician/Hospitalist earned $463,270, John Dempsey Hospital, where the CEO earned $477,518, New Milford Hospital, where the top package was $480,036 and Johnson Memorial Hospital, where the President’s pay package totaled $483,070.

The OHCA report did report the names of individual administrators, but listed the top 10 paid positions at the state's 30 acute care hospitals. The state's two largest hospitals—Hartford Hospital and Yale New Haven Hospital—each had four senior executives that received million-dollar plus pay packages last fiscal year, the Hartford Business Journal has reported, while Stamford Hospital had two administrators earn over $1 million.

The highest paid hospital executive in fiscal 2012 was the former president & CEO of William Backus Hospital, who received a total pay package of $3.4 million. That included $3.2 million in fringe benefits, the report said.  In addition, the President & CEO received compensation of $975,550 during the year.  The highest active paid hospital administrator was Hartford Hospital's vice president of academic affairs and chief academic officer, who received $3.4 million in compensation.

In 2007, there were seven hospital CEO’s earning in excess of $1 million in compensation, according to the Office of Legislative Research.  In fiscal year 2005, five of the top paid positions at the state’s 30 hospitals received more than $1 million, data from the Office of Legislative Research indicates – all of them CEO’s.

Hospitals are required to provide their top ten highest paid hospital positions annually to OHCA.  The full list for FY2012 is available on the OHCA website. The top salary at each hospital, according to the report:

Bridgeport Hospital, President & CEO: $1,101,139

Bristol Hospital, President & CEO: $605,526

Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, Physician Surgeon: $661,640

CT Children’s Medical Center, President & CEO : $748,347

Danbury Hospital, Chief Executive Officer: $955,838

Day Kimball Hospital, President & CEO: $514,375

Essent-Sharon Hospital, Chief Executive Officer: $736,907

Greenwich Hospital, President & CEO: $1,530,629

Griffin Hospital, Chief Executive Officer: $558,543

Hartford Hospital, VP, Academic Affairs & CAO: $3,351,507

Hospital of Saint Rafael, President  : $1,803,605

John Dempsey Hospital, CEO : $477,518

Johnson Memorial Hospital, President : $483,070

Lawrence and Memorial Hospital, President, CEO: $761,734

Manchester Memorial Hospital,CEO: $560,793

Middlesex Hospital, President/CEO:  $1,022,460

MidState Medical Center, President/CEO: $958,020

Milford Hospital, President: $579,475

New Milford Hospital, Lab-Physician: $480,036

Norwalk Hospital, President & CEO : $901,148

Rockville General Hospital, Medical Director:  $324,458

Saint Francis Hospital & Med Ctr., President: $1,521,090

Saint Mary’s Hospital, President & CEO: $791,256

Saint Vincent’s Medical Center, Chief Executive Officer:   $2,394,278

Stamford Hospital, President & CEO: $1,532,094

The Hospital of Central CT, President & CEO: $1,499,546

Waterbury Hospital, President: $520,298

William W. Backus Hospital, Former Pres. & CEO: $3,357,690

Windham Community Memorial Hospital, Physician/Hospitalist: $463,270

Yale-New Haven Hospital, President & CEO* : $2,803,228

*includes Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale-New Haven Health System

State, AARP Seek Volunteer Resident Advocates to Give Voice to Facility Residents

AARP Connecticut is working with the state Department on Aging Long Term Care Ombudsman Program  (LTCOP) to help recruit and train Volunteer Resident Advocates who help residents of skilled nursing facilities, residential care homes and assisted living facilities solve problems and voice their concerns.  Orientation sessions will be held in June in Manchester, Meriden and New Fairfield for individuals interested in learning more about the program.

 The Volunteer Resident Advocate, along with the Regional Ombudsman, helps voice residents’ concerns and empower residents speak up themselves, consistent with their individual rights. This is accomplished through individual consultation and complaint resolution as well as follow-through with state agencies and advocacy organizations.

In lending its support to help identify volunteers for the program, AARP Connecticut gets the word out to nearly 600,000 members age 50 and over throughout the state of Connecticut.

The LTCOP, mandated by the federal Older American’s Act and state law, works to improve the quality of life and quality of care of Connecticut citizens residing in nursing homes, residential care homes and assisted living communities.  All Ombudsman activity is performed on behalf of, and at the direction of residents.  All communication with the residents, their family members or legal guardians, as applicable, is held in strict confidentiality.

 Volunteer Advocates may speak to the dietitian about a resident’s desire for a change in diet, let the nurse know a resident needs more timely assistance, or discuss with the administrator a resident’s idea for weekend activities.  Volunteer Advocates and Ombudsman support quality of life for residents by listening to and working for resident’s needs and interests and helping residents and families work with nursing home staff for changes to improve nursing home life. They help residents, their families and staffs communicate better with each other.

 Orientation sessions are being held in Connecticut this June at the following locations:

• Wednesday, June 19, 2013, 9am – 12pm, Manchester Senior Center, 549 East Middle Turnpike
• Monday, June 24, 2013, 9am – 12pm, New Fairfield Senior Center, 33 Connecticut Route 37
• Tuesday, June 25, 2013, 9am – 12pm, Meriden Senior Center, 22 West Main St.

To learn more or to RSVP for one of the upcoming orientation sessions, call toll-free at 1-866-388-1888.

In addition to recruiting and training Volunteer Resident Advocates, the LTCOP responds to, and investigates complaints brought forward by residents, family members, and/or other individuals acting on their behalf.  Ombudsmen monitor state and federal laws and regulations, and make recommendations for improvement.  The State Ombudsman also works with policy makers, legislators and stakeholders to advance and improve systems and protections at the state level.

Got Cocaine? Yale Center for Clinical Investigation May Need You

If researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine discover a cure for cocaine addiction, it may be because of people being paid $800 to participate in a clinical research study, after responding to an advertisement in the local Advocate newspapers and a phone call to the “Cocaine Clinic Research Recruitment” line.

The ad asks “Are you currently using cocaine?  Are you NOT CURRENTLY on medication?”  It then goes on to offer payment for those deemed eligible to participate “in a paid cocaine use" study.

No mention of the fact that cocaine remains an illegal drug.  The Drug Policy Alliance indicates that according to government surveys, eight percent of high school seniors reported using cocaine at least once during their lifetime.  In 2010, 23 percent of eighth graders, 32 percent of tenth graders, and 45 percent of twelfth graders reported that crack was “fairly easy” or “very easy” to obtain.

The Yale Cocaine Research Clinic studies the “causes and consequences of cocaine addiction in order to develop improved treatments and, ultimately, to prevent addiction to the drug,” the clinic’s website explains.  Who is eligible?  “Individuals who are now using or have used cocaine.”

The nationally-recognized research includes active studies in  the genetics of addiction, brain imaging (PET, MRI), psychopharmacology, medications development,  and sleep and cognition. The clinic is located at 34 Park Street in New Haven.

Among four pages of studies highlighted on the website of the School of Psychiatry are a handful that relate to cocaine use or cocaine abstinence, and the impact of various medications on the addiction.

One study among the nearly 40 “active addictive behavior clinical trials,” sets out its impetus and objective:

“Opioid and cocaine dependence are major problems among veteran and non-veterans and no effective pharmacotherapy exists for cocaine dependence. Methadone has not shown robust effectiveness in reducing cocaine abuse. Thus, new treatments are needed for the individuals who have developed cocaine dependence. This study is designed to test a new pharmacotherapy for cocaine dependence and is a placebo-controlled trail.”

A separate study outlines detailed eligibility criteria which includes a requirement that individuals “are using cocaine more than once per week in the previous 30 days, provide a cocaine-positive urine specimen at screening, and fulfill criteria for current cocaine dependence.”  Another is an initial investigation for “A Drug Treatment for Cocaine Users Who Are Also on Methadone Maintenance Treatment.”  The “small clinical trial with cocaine users” would, if deemed sufficiently promising,  be followed by a more extensive double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Yet another current clinical trial tests whether a “learning enhancing medication will help methadone maintained cocaine abusers with their learning and memory.”  Eligible participants – those with current cocaine abuse or dependence – must be willing to commit to 12 weeks of treatment, or a placebo.

Other ongoing clinical research studies within the School of Psychiatry related to addictive behavior include those related to alcohol addiction, smoking addiction, and post traumatic stress disorder.  In addition, there are approximately 30 mental health clinical trials underway, ranging from postpartum depression and domestic abuse to obsessive-compulsive disorder and binge eating.

Beyond those, there are numerous clinical trials for “healthy volunteers.” Chronic conditions like diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and pediatric and geriatric illnesses, are all being studied at Yale. The Yale Center for Clinical Investigation website stresses that “staff members, study doctors, nurses and coordinators are available to answer questions” of individuals considering participation in clinical studies, “so that you can make an informed decision.”  Trial categories include cancer, mental health, heart/cardiovascular, brain, spinal cord & nervous system, women's health and children's health.

At the beginning of 2013, Yale University launched a major effort to recruit thousands of volunteers to participate in clinical trials being conducted at Yale's Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health. Posters, brochures, newspaper ads, radio spots, transit ads, and community health fairs encourage members of the Greater New Haven community, including students, to enroll in the hundreds of trials that are initiated every year. The campaign is called "Help Us Discover" because without community involvement, lab research cannot be translated into treatments, the campaign kick-off announcement stated.

The Yale Center for Clinical Investigation (YCCI) was launched in January 2006, specifically to support and facilitate clinical and translational research and training. The School of Medicine was the only academic medical center in New England among the 12 institutions across the nation that received Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) funding – a program that has expanded to about 60 academic medical institutions across the country.

With support from the CTSA, the School of Medicine, the University, and the Yale-New Haven Hospital, YCCI has developed into a home for clinical and translational research at Yale. By expanding existing programs, forging collaborations with other NIH-funded centers and establishing new initiatives. As a result of these efforts, almost $200 million per year of Yale’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant support is now directly connected to YCCI, the institution’s website explained.

New Haven's Prometheus Research Has Triple-Crown Worthy Win Streak

If innovation, recognition and funding are the triple crown of research technology, New Haven-headquartered Prometheus Research is in every sense a leader.

Autism Speaks and Prometheus Research have teamed up to develop a new, more user-friendly assessment portal through which parents can complete surveys for use in autism research.  The tool, called the Online Clinical System for Research (OSCR), allows parents to complete forms over the web and makes them accessible to Autism Speaks' Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) scientists, among others.  Assessments collected via OSCR provide important clues for autism research, increase the power of statistical analyses, and are easily shared with scientists and clinicians via a secure browser.

Autism Speaks is now able to view OSCR data alongside information on patient visits, diagnosis, biospecimens, and medications, points out Prometheus CEO, Dr. Leon Rozenblit.  "Through its support for new study configuration and data re-purposing, the integrated data management platform will enable Autism Speaks to significantly grow their research capabilities."  Autism Speaks' VP of Clinical Programs, Dr. Clara Lajonchere , explained that “This web-based patient-facing data collection interface will allow families to work more closely with researchers and healthcare professionals in real time.  Questionnaires can be integrated with electronic medical records or made available to clinicians prior to a clinical visit allowing healthcare professionals to better understand patient needs."

Also within the past month, P to extend its Open Source Research Exchange Database (RexDB) for the management of autism spectrum disorders research. The project aims to empower autism investigators to make more effective use of their data and more efficiently exchange data across the scientific community.  

Collaborating with Prometheus on the grant are the Yale University Child Study Center, the Marcus Autism Center, Weill Cornell Medical College, the University of Missouri Thompson Center, and others. SBIR grants are judged for scientific and technical merit, including significance of the problem being addressed, the innovative nature of the proposed solution, the overall strategy for execution, and the quality of the research team.

And finally, completing a very good month, Prometheus Research was named as one of the top ten Best Places to Work in Connecticut by the Hartford Business Journal. Prometheus received the recognition for the second year in a row.  The survey and awards program was designed to identify, recognize, and honor the best employers in Connecticut, benefiting the state's economy, workforce, and businesses. Prometheus Research was selected in the small business category.

Autism Speaks is the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization. It is dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Autism Speaks was founded in February 2005 by Suzanne and Bob Wright, the grandparents of a child with autism.  Wright is the former vice chairman of Connecticut-based General Electric and chief executive officer of NBC and NBC Universal.

Prometheus Research's mission is to help research institutions and funding organizations get more utility from their data.  Prometheus offers integrated data management services, expert consulting, and software customization to deliver sensible solutions powered by their adaptable, open-source, web-based RexDB technology.  The company was founded a decade ago, and is an active community participant, most recently sponsoring an Arts for Autism contest at the Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School in New Haven.  Winning artwork was featured by the company on social media channels and provided inspiration for t-shirts to be worn by the Prometheus team during the Autism Speaks Walk.

Riding to Work, Protecting Vulnerable on the Way

 The goal is 2,500 people.  With the start of CTrides week set to begin on May 13, there are about 250 people registered on the organization’s website of free services and information, thus far.  Officials are hoping for a boost of support in the coming days, and remain optimistic, perhaps encouraged by the arrival (finally) of springtime weather and the increase in cyclists it inevitably brings.  And they acknowledge that many may choose to observe the spirit of the day, without formally registering their participation.

Commuters are asked to carpool, vanpool, take buses or trains, walk, bike or telecommute instead of driving alone to work.  CTrides is not alone in advocating alternate transportation – and the benefits of leaving the car in the driveway, or sharing the ride into work.

BikeWalk Connecticut is urging people to step outside their vehicles - May 8 is National Bike to School Day and May 17 is National Bike to Work Day.   There are community-based events taking place on May 17 in at least two dozen locations around the state, from Bloomfield and Bethel to Waterbury and West Hartford.  Most are open to the public, and some are held on-site for corporate employees, such as  CIGNA, GE, Aetna and United Technologies.

CTrides notes that Americans spend an average of 47 hours per year sitting in rush-hour traffic, and public transit is viewed as 170 times safer than automobile travel.  An averge family’s second largest expense, after housing, goes to buying, maintaining and operating a car.  For those acutely aware of environmental impacts, it has been estimated that a single person switching to public transportation reduces carbon emissions by 4,800 pounds per year.  On May 9, CTrides goes to college – Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, specifically.  The midday Community Outreach event will focus on the benefits of sharing a ride.

Protecting Vulnerable Users

Beyond the personal riding advocacy, BikeWalk Connecticut also works for legal changes to make cycling safer.  This year, among their legislative priorities is the so-called “vulnerable user” bill (SB191).  It would establish a penalty for a motorist who, failing to exercise reasonable care on a public way, seriously injures or causes the death of a “vulnerable user,” provided the vulnerable user exercised reasonable care in using the public way. A driver who causes such injury or death would face a fine of up to $ 1,000. Reasonable care is the degree of care that a prudent and competent person engaged in the same endeavor would exercise under similar circumstances.

The bill applies to any public way, including a public highway, road, street, avenue, alley, driveway, parkway, or place, under the control of the state or any of its political subdivisions, dedicated, appropriated, or opened to public travel or other use.  Under the bill, vulnerable users include: 1. pedestrians; 2. highway workers; 3. bicyclists; 4. anyone riding or driving an animal (e. g. , driving a horse-drawn vehicle); 5. skaters, skateboarders, and roller bladers; 6. people driving or riding on a farm tractor; 7. people in wheelchairs or motorized chairs; and 8. blind people and their service animals.  The states of Washington, Delaware and Oregon have similar laws.  Efforts are underway to have Connecticut follow suit.

Achieving Efficiency in Human Services Delivery Proves Elusive for State

Perhaps this is why they call it bureaucracy.  Even when the goal is more family-friendly, responsive and efficient operations, it requires the following:  a presentation to the Governor’s Cabinet on Nonprofit Health and Human Services from the state legislature’s Bi-Partisan Municipal Opportunities & Regional Efficiencies (M.O.R.E.) Regional Entities Sub-Committee Human Services Working Group.  It occurred, without fanfare, at the State Capitol on May 6, 2013.

The subject:  a proposal now being considered by the state legislature to do what many in the room described as implementing a provision of law that generally dates back to the last century, circa 1992, that has been sitting on a shelf, as State Rep. Tim Bowles described it, waiting for just the right convergence of administration and legislature to take another crack at insisting on implementation.  Bowles viewed its original creation from the vantage point of the Office of Policy and Management, where he worked during the Weicker administration.

The plan, updated for 2013:  re-align the “service boundaries” of a series of state agencies in order to make them more easily navigable for families with troubled or challenged youth who can, at times, find themselves dealing with as many as 16 agencies and nonprofit organizations for necessary services, requiring a nightmare of navigation through agency after agency.

The state agencies involved: the Department of Social Services, Department of Developmental Services, Department of Children and Families, Department of Mental Health and Addition Services would adjust their geographic boundaries to create six service delivery areas that align with the six Regional Education Service Centers boundaries – thus bringing human services and education into geographic alignment, no easy task according to those gathered to discuss the proposal.

The initiative is embodied in House Bill 5267, approved by the Human Services Committee and now awaiting House action.  It’s stated goal:  “to establish an integrated human service delivery system to ease access for consumers and reduce inefficiencies.”

As was noted during the meeting, the bill omits the Department of Public Health from the list of participating agencies.  It also lays out a relatively aggressive time line for implementation – especially weighed against two decades of delay – including a plan to be submitted by 2014 that would include consolidation of office space, relocation of staff, implementation of one-stop services for referrals to services.  The one-stop centers would be required at half of agency office locations by December 2015, and the remainder by the following year.  All of which makes the stated expectation, in response to questioning by dubious Cabinet members,  that the plan implementation would move slowly – taking as long as a decade – even more curious, and seemingly inconsistent with the language of the bill.

The Office of Fiscal Analysis could not provide a fiscal impact for the planned service coordination, which also includes common information technology development.  The Office of Legislative Research report underscores the imperative for better coordination and collaboration by describing the status quo:  DCF has six regions covering the state.  DDA and DSS each have three regions covering the northern, southern and western parts of the state, but DSS maintains either a large regional office or a sub-office within the larger regions.  DMHAS has five service regions.

The Regional Educational Services Centers (RESC), whose boundaries would be mirrored by the other agencies, were created more than 30 years ago to “furnish programs and services” to Connecticut’s public school districts.  RESC works with DCF, DMHAS, DMR, DPH, DSS, the Department of Corrections, Department of Education and Board of Education & Services for the Blind on statewide issues.

The M.O.R.E. Human Services Working Group proposals also calls for “the establishment of pilot Regional Human Service Coordination Councils consisting of elected officials, representatives from DSS, DDS, DCF, DMHAS, DOC, ED, PH, Workforce Development Boards, Non-Profits, and Family Advocacy groups to coordinate regional efforts and continue studying and implementing more efficient service delivery.”

The Governor's Cabinet on Nonprofit Health and Human Services was established in September of 2011 to analyze existing public-private partnerships with respect to the state's health and human services delivery systems and to make recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of those systems in regard to client outcomes, cost-effectiveness, accountability and sustainability.   Members include:

• Co-Chair Terry Edelstein, Nonprofit Liaison to the Governor
• Co-Chair Peter S. DeBiasi - President/CEO, Access Community Action Agency
•   Michelle Cook, State Representative
•  Robert Dakers, Executive Finance Officer, Office of Policy and Management
• Joette Katz, Commissioner, Department of Children and Families
•  Terrence W. Macy Ph.D., Commissioner, Department of Developmental Services
•  Patricia Rehmer, Commissioner, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
• Dr. Jewel Mullen, Commissioner, Department of Public Health
• Roderick L. Bremby, Commissioner, Department of Social Services
•  Stefan Pryor, Commissioner, Department of Education
• William Carbone, Executive Director, Judicial Branch
• Yvette H. Bello, Executive Director, Latino Community Services
•   Deborah Chernoff, Communications Director, SEIU 1199NE
• Roberta Cook, President/CEO, BHcare, Inc.
• Marcie Dimenstein, LCSW, Senior Director, Behavioral Health Connection, Inc.
• Patrick J. Johnson, President, Oak Hill
• Daniel J. O'Connell, Ed.D., President/CEO, Connecticut Council of Family Service Agencies
• Maureen Price-Boreland, Executive Director, Community Partners in Action
• Anne L. Ruwet, CEO, CCARC, Inc.
• Amy L. Porter, Commissioner, Department of Rehabilitation Services

Flags Fly Across Connecticut During Donate Life Month; Events Held Statewide

Nearly 100 Connecticut municipalities, hospitals and organizations are promoting organ and tissue donation awareness by flying flags that read “Donation Saves Lives” during April, the 10th annual National Donate Life Month.

Connecticut’s flag flying campaign is part of a national initiative, Flags Across America, to honor and celebrate the hundreds of thousands of donors and recipients whose lives have been affected by organ and tissue donation.  With more than 116,000 people in America waiting for a transplant, and 1,300 in Connecticut alone, the need for donation has never been greater.  Across the nation, every 12 minutes a new person is added to the wait list, and every day 18 people die waiting for an organ or tissue transplant.

The goal this month is to increase the Donor Registry, which will inevitably impact the number of transplants that give new life and hope to people suffering from fatal illness or life threatening injury.  The celebration commemorates those who have received the gift of organ and tissue donation, raises awareness for those that still wait and honors those that have given the gift of life as donors.

Connecticut’s participating communities are partnering with Donate Life Connecticut and LifeChoice Donor Services to increase the donor registry and help save lives in the state’s communities.  Donate Life Connecticut is a volunteer driven statewide non-profit dedicated to raising awareness.  To register as an organ and tissue donor visit www.DonateLifeNewEngland.org or register when renewing your state driver's license at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

“I’ll Save You, Will You Save Me?” is the theme that underlines a new campaign being conducted by the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The effort aims to increase awareness registering as a donor with a simple change on a driver's license, state ID card, or by going online.  It is as easy as either making that choice at the time of renewing or obtaining a license, or going to www.donatelifenewengland.org to sign up to join  the registry of donors. There are currently over 1.1 million registered donors in the state.

Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman marked the recently formed collaboration of the Department of Motor Vehicles, Donate Life Connecticut, Hartford Hospital, LifeChoice Donor Services, New England Organ Bank, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center and Yale New-Haven Hospital. The hospitals, DMV, Organ Procurement Organizations and local Donate Life affiliate have teamed up for a special outreach program of activities and television public service commercials.

“Becoming an organ or tissue donor is literally a decision to save the lives of others.  Those ‘others’ may be family members, friends, neighbors or co-workers.  One organ donor can touch more than 50 lives,” said Wyman.  The initiative will run through late October with the goal of reaching 20,000 new donors through the http://www.donatelifenewengland.org website and DMV.

The television campaign is funded through contributions from the three hospitals and an allocation in the current budget from the state legislature to promote organ and tissue donor awareness. Public service announcements will also support the campaign.  The ads aim to encourage people to become donors and to consider donation as a community responsibility. They also aim to reduce common fears about donating by showing how donations help save people.

In New London on Friday, April 26, Lawrence & Memorial Hospital is bring people together at Connecticut College’s F.W. Olin Science Center at 6 p.m. to celebrate Donate Life Month by lighting 200+ luminaries at a donor family gathering prior to a free movie screening of Power of Two- A story of twin sisters, two cultures, and two new chances at life. This inspiring, award-winning movie documents the double lung transplants received by half-Japanese twins Ana and Isa Stenzel, born with Cystic Fibrosis, a fatal genetic disease that impacts the lungs and pancreas. They have emerged as authors, athletes and global advocates for organ donation.   For details and reservations, contact proma@lmhosp.org or 860-444-3722.

Donate Life New England is a joint project of three federally designated organ procurement organizations that serve New England – New England Organ Bank, LifeChoice Donor Services, The Center for Donation and Transplant and the Connecticut Eye Bank. LifeChoice Donor Services is the federally designated, non-profit organ procurement organization for six counties in Connecticut and three counties in Western Massachusetts with a combined population of 2.1 million people.

LifeChoice serves twenty-three acute care hospitals for organ and tissue donation and two organ transplant hospitals, Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT and Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA. LifeChoice Donor Services is a member in good standing of the United Network of Organ Sharing and the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations.

Donate Life Connecticut is a volunteer driven Connecticut non-profit dedicated to increasing the number of registered organ and tissue donors through education and public outreach.  The organization’s coalition of donor families, transplant recipients, living donors, supporters and healthcare professionals believe that working together with a common voice is the best way to reach the goal of increasing the Donor Registry, which will inevitably impact the number of transplants that give new life and hope to people suffering from fatal illness or life threatening injury.

National BRAIN Research Initiative Good News for Connecticut

The BRAIN Initiative — short for Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies — announced this week by President Obama, calls for historic investments in research and development to fuel innovation, job creation, and economic growth.  In Connecticut, where scientific research – from stem cells to bioscience – has been advocated and advanced by government and a roster of companies home-grown and imported, the proposal to push yet another scientific envelope should be good news. The Initiative “aims to bring together nanoscience, engineering neurology,” said Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, who described the initiative as “bold and audacious.”   It is an effort to revolutionize understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders like Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.

The announcement came on World Autism Day, created to bring attention to the group of developmental disabilities known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD).   In Connecticut, Autism Speaks, part of the national organization, offers connections to 120 resources to support and assist families.  Recent stats indicate that autism effects 1 in 88 children and 1 in 54 boys .

The Alzheimer's Association, the world's leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care, support and research said it “looks forward to working with the administration on this ambitious new project.”   The Connecticut chapter holds its annual education day on April 16 in Berlin.  More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's, including 200,000 younger than age 65.

The President highlighted the BRAIN Initiative as one of the Administration’s “Grand Challenges” – ambitious but achievable goals that require advances in science and technology to accomplish. The President called on companies, research universities, foundations, and philanthropies to help create the jobs and industries of the future while improving lives.  The BRAIN Initiative is launching with approximately $100 million in funding for research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

In January, Governor Malloy proposed the Bioscience Innovation Act which, over ten years, would establish a $200 million fund here to strengthen Connecticut’s bioscience sector, to be administered by Connecticut Innovations, the state quasi-public economic development entity.  Private organizations also promote and advance research in the state, as well as responding to individual dealing with brain-related diseases or injuries.

The Brain Injury Alliance of Connecticut (BIAC) sponsors approximately 30 support groups throughout Connecticut. All provide information, support, and encouragement to survivors and their loved ones.  The organization has events planned in May (bike-a-thon) and June. As a partner in prevention, BIAC works with individuals, organizations, schools and government to educate people in Connecticut about the causes and realities of brain injury. As a resource in recovery, BIAC is the only non-profit organization in the state dedicated to providing brain injury survivors and their families.

Also among the numerous organizations in Connecticut with a particular interest in brain-related research is The Connecticut Brain Tumor Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the disease, providing hope and support for those living with brain tumors in Connecticut and raising money “to support and advocate the cutting-edge research we all know someday will find a cure.”  The organization has major fundraising events planned for May (at CitySteam in Hartford) and July (at the New Britain Rock Cats).  The organization is led by “nine individuals whose lives were changed forever by the five words, ‘you have a brain tumor,’” according to the Alliance website.

Hydrocephalus is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within cavities of the brain called ventricles.  The Hydrocephalus Association's mission, including a chapter in Connecticut, is to eliminate the challenges of hydrocephalus by stimulating innovative research and providing support, education and advocacy for individuals, families and professionals dealing with hydrocephalus. More than one million Americans live with the challenges of hydrocephalus every day. Anyone, at any time, may be diagnosed with hydrocephalus.  The organization will hold a fundraising walk in Middlebury in September.

The Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut is dedicated to improving the lives of people with epilepsy and their families. They are Connecticut's only affiliate of the national Epilepsy Foundation. Approximately 60,000 people in Connecticut have epilepsy, and 1 in 10 people will experience a seizure at some point in their lives, the organization emphasizes.

The new national BRAIN Initiative promises to accelerate the invention of new technologies that will help researchers produce real-time pictures of complex neural circuits and visualize the rapid-fire interactions of cells that occur at the speed of thought. Such cutting-edge capabilities, applied to both simple and complex systems, will open new doors to understanding how brain function is linked to human behavior and learning, and the mechanisms of brain disease, according to The White House.

Pilot Proposed to Track High School Sports Injuries; Prospects in Doubt

Even with increased attention of late on the prevalence of concussions in youth sports, the Connecticut Athletic Trainers Association (CATA) says there is no reliable sports-related injury data compiled by secondary schools across Connecticut – for concussions or other injuries. They’d like to change that, and are urging legislators to  The goal is to “make recommendations to decrease the number” of injuries, and to quantify the need for appropriate medical coverage for secondary school student-athletes.

The proposal is opposed by the state Department of Public Health (DPH), citing a lack of funding for such a pilot.  In testimony earlier this month for the legislature’s Public Health Committee, Commissioner Jewel Mullen said “DPH does not have resources to conduct a pilot program solely for the purpose of studying injury rates in school athletic programs.”

She went on to offer that “the DPH can assist in providing support to statewide injury prevention initiatives that would address systems and environmental change to prevent injuries and disabilities to Connecticut residents.”

The department’s Office of Injury Prevention (OIP) “ceased to exist” in August 2010, after 17 years, when it was unsuccessful in obtaining federal funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  A five-year grant from CDC, which had supported operations of the OIP, expired in 2010.

The new pilot program being proposed by CATA and a coalition of statewide organizations would:

• Collect injury data from 20 schools over a 2-year period
• Identify injury rates, patterns and trends among high school sports participants in CT
• Assist with the development of evidence-based interventions to improve the health and safety of participants by lowering the number and/or severity of injuries and illnesses
• Provide evidence that may drive rule or policy change to ensure athlete safety
• Quantify the need for appropriate medical coverage for secondary school student –athletes

Thomas H. Trojian, Sports Medicine Fellowship Director at the UConn Health Center and a member of the Connecticut Concussion Task Force, described the plan as “vital to the health and safety of the children of the state of Connecticut.”  He told the committee that “due to the lack of a data collecting process, both physicians and those involved in these sports at a regulatory level cannot make fully educated decisions regarding interventions or rule changes to protect the health and safety of our student athletes in Connecticut.”

A multi-disciplinary group has begun collaborating, and supports the initiative.  Included are the Connecticut Athletic Trainer’s Association, Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, Connecticut State Medical Society, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and University of Connecticut School of Medicine.

Nationally, there are 30 million high school students participating in organized sports, with more than 2 million sports-related injuries each year.  The Connecticut State Medical Society said the pilot program proposed in Connecticut is “the appropriate first step by putting in place the appropriate entities to study and report on incidence of injuries and concussions at the high school level.”  The organization added that “it has been estimated that up to 50% of injuries may be preventable or at least have the long-term consequences lessened if tracking and reporting occurred.”

In her testimony, Mullen noted that “unintentional injuries cause 25% of all deaths among Connecticut children 1 to 14 years of age and approximately half of all deaths among young persons between the ages of 15 to 24 year.”

Connecticut athletic trainers are licensed health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to optimize activity and participation of patients and clients.  Athletic training encompasses the prevention, assessment and intervention of emergency, acute and chronic medical conditions involving impairment, functional limitation and disabilities.

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association has formed a Youth Sports Safety Alliance, with more than 100 health care and sports organizations and parent activities involved.  Their goal:  to make America’s sports programs safer for young athletes.

The organization has developed a “Secondary School Student Athletes’ Bill of Rights,” and urges schools to adopt safety measures to protect students from injury or illness, particularly cardiac events, neurological injuries, environmentally-induced conditions and dietary/substance-induced conditions.

More Social Capital = Fewer Traffic Accidents, Research Study Finds

If you’ve never made a connection between traffic accidents and social capital, you’re probably not alone.  However, the Harvard Business Review (HBR) is reporting on research by Matthew G. Nagler of the City College of New York which found, perhaps surprisingly, that a 5% increase in the average level of agreement with the statement "most people are honest" within a U.S. state results in a decline in traffic fatalities in that state by about 11%. The “most people are honest” statement is a measure of trust in others that is an indicator of the state's level of social capital, sometimes defined as a willingness to engage in community activities. Less-conscientious people who reject civic engagement presumably drive more recklessly, HBR reported.

Nagler’s abstract for the research, to be published next month in the journal Economic Inquiry, explains that “evidence that social capital reduces traffic accidents and related death and injury, using data from a 10‐year panel of 48 U.S. states show that social capital has a statistically significant and sizable negative effect on crashes, traffic fatalities, serious traffic injuries, and pedestrian fatalities that holds up across a range of specifications.”

In case you were wondering, Nagler – an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics - did not want the research unduly impacted by snow-related accidents, so he used only data from summer months.  The research data used was from 1997 to 2006. His research paper is entitled “Does Social Capital Promote Safety on the Roads?”

The death toll in the U.S. from traffic accidents has been approximately 43,000 deaths annually, according to the report. Traffic fatalities remain a major cause of death at all ages and the leading cause for persons under the age of 44.

In the paper’s conclusion, Nagler notes that the results of his study “parallel prior findings with respect to social capital’s beneficial effects on economic growth and various health outcomes.”  In 2004, a study by three University of Connecticut researchers found that social capital is associated with decreased risk of hunger.“Households may have similarly limited financial or food resources, but households with higher levels of social capital are less likely to experience hunger,” they concluded.