Medical Device Tax Seen as Inhibitor to Innovation, Repeal Sought

Emerging technologies that can develop breakthrough medical devices are at the intersection of innovation and tax policy, and a growing list of businesses and organizations are urging Congress to repeal a tax, instituted as part of the Affordable Care Act, that they say is harmful to industries with the potential to improve lives and boost local economies.  The issue has particular resonance in Connecticut, where efforts to grow technology, precision manufacturing and the medical and pharmaceutical industries have accelerated in recent years.  Medical technology creates more than two million jobs directly and indirectly across the United States. The industry is one of the few U.S. manufacturing sectors that is a net exporter, and its innovations help reduce the human and economic burden of chronic disease.  Industry officials point out that while U.S. leads the world in the development of new medical technology, the device tax “threatens that leadership.”

Earlier this year, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal the medical device tax.  The fate of the proposal in the Senate is unclear.  A growing coalition of research advocates, disability rights leaders, patient groups and others support repeal of the device tax because, they say, it drains critical resources away medical innovation.  According to a 2015 study by opponents of the tax, two-thirds of med-tech companies that were surveyed said they had to either slow or halt job growth at their companies because of the medical device tax.

Between 2002 and 2012, the number of jobs in the Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing industry in Connecticut increased by 10.75 percent, with the addition of about 700 jobs, according to the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC).  CERC’s research indicated that jobs in the field were almost twice as concentrated in Connecticut in comparison to the United States, with average wages above the national average, with more than 150 companies in the medical equipment and supplies manufacturing business.

Connecticut’s medical device industry continues to see new entries.  Just two years ago, a company launched by a 2011 UConn graduate, Orthozon Technologies, received local notice for its newly developed “minimally invasive tool for spine surgeons,” which led to the company’s quickly “gaining momentum in the medical device field,” the Fairfield County Business Journal reported that year.

The Stamford-based company’s Lumiere™ is a state-of-the-art minimally invasive surgical retractor that provides “access and visibility for physicians as well as faster and less painful recovery time for patients,” according to the company website.  Utilizing a patented technology with powerful unobstructed fiber optic lighting, translucent retractor blades, full medial access, and an expandable field of view, the medical device provides surgeons with a tool “for quicker and more efficient spinal decompressions.”

Earlier this month, when the state’s fastest growing technology firms were honored at the 2015 Marcum Tech Top 40, in partnership with the Connecticut Technology Council, medical devices were among the technologies highlighted. 

One of the leading categories included “Medical Devices companies manufacturing medical instruments and devices including medical diagnostic equipment (X-ray, CAT scan, MRI), medical therapeutic devices (drug delivery, surgical instruments, pacemakers, artificial organs), and other health related products such as medical monitoring equipment and handicap aids.”

Among the companies selected was Guilford-based Bio-Med Devices, which designs, manufactures, and markets a complete line of critical care and transportable respirators/ventilators, air - oxygen blenders, ventilation monitors,  disposable and reusable breathing circuits, and accessories.

Connecticut Innovations. The state’s leading source of financing and ongoing support for Connecticut’s innovative, growing companies, highlights six Connecticut companies in the medical device industry within its investment portfolio, with some investments dating back to 2007.

Nationwide, an aging population, people with disabilities living longer lives, and chronic disease rates growing at faster rates, lead advocates of repeal say now is the time for more—not less—resources to advance cures and treatments that help people live longer and healthier lives.  The industry survey indicated that 85 percent of respondents plan to reinstate forgone R&D projects if the tax is repealed.

https://youtu.be/uqTdNffOaas

Got Drugs? Take 'Em Back

There will be 64 locations across Connecticut collecting drugs on Saturday, September 26.  It is part of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Office of Diversion Control.  The aim is to get unused prescriptions and other drugs out of closets, medicine cabinets, glove compartments, and random shelves and drawers, as well as off the streets, before they end up causing harm. In Connecticut, state police barracks and many local police departments are serving as drop off points.  The collection sites will be open as part of the initiative from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturday. (See the full list here.)

States around the country are participating, and all but Pennsylvania and Delaware, which held their collection days on September 12, are doing so on September 26. According to a public service announcement prepared by the DEA, “prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in this country, and the source of these drugs is often the home medicine cabinet.”

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

“Prescription drug abuse is a huge problem and this is a great opportunity for folks around the country to help reduce the threat,” DEA Acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg said.  "Please clean out your medicine cabinet and make your home safe from drug theft and abuse.”

In the previous nine Take-Back events nationwide from 2010-2014, 4,823,251 pounds, or 2,411 tons of drugs were collected, officials reported.  Saturday’s event will be the 10^th national effort.

Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse, according to officials. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs, they point out.

Officials cite studies that show many abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, manyAmericans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.

Research Shows Schools Start Too Early; Some South Windsor Students Begin at 6:30 AM

A national publication, highlighting policies that school districts around the country are experimenting with to “make schools better for kids,” suggests starting classes after 8:30 a.m.  Some schools in Connecticut and across the nation are doing so, moving high school start times from earlier hours.  In South Windsor, however, the experiment is in the opposite direction, with a select group of high school students beginning weekday classes at 6:30 a.m. It's part of a new pilot plan called "zero period," created as a temporary relief for some students until the school can transition from a seven-period to an eight-period school day, Principal Daniel Sullivan recently told The Hartford Courant.

"It's not for everybody and it's not a requirement for the kids that are doing it," Sullivan said. "It's going to be tough … but they chose it because it's what they want. They're doing what they want to do and we're glad to give them that opportunity."

In other schools, the pendulum is moving the opposite way.  “In order to stay healthy, adolescents need at least eight hours of sleep each night; deprivation can lad to weight gain, focus issues, lower academic performance and other problems, the article in TIME magazine points out.

“Biologically, adolescents are hardwired to stay up late, often until 11 p.m. or midnight.  That’s why federal official and medical experts are calling for middle and high schools to start after – at or after 8:30 a.m.,” the magazine indicates.  The Portland Press Herald recently reported that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),  the American Academy of Pediatrics and numerous studies recommend later start times for secondary education – preferably 8:30 or later. 

In more than 40 states, at least 75 percent of public schools start earlier than 8:30 a.m., according to the CDC’s report. But those numbers are changing.  The idea is to improve the odds of adolescents getting sufficient sleep so they can thrive both physically and academically. Among an estimated 39,700 public middle, high, and combined schools in the United States, the average start time was 8:03 a.m., the CDC reported. In Connecticut, fewer than 5 percent of middle and high schools started at 8:30 or later, one of the lowest rates in the country.

The CDC’s recommendations in August came a year after the American Academy of Pediatrics urged schools to adjust start times so more kids would get the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of nightly rest. Both the CDC and the pediatricians’ group cited significant risks that come with lack of sleep, including higher rates of obesity and depression and motor-vehicle accidents among teens as well as an overall lower quality of life, The Atlantic recently reported.

At South Windsor High School, two "zero period" courses begin at 6:30 a.m. and end at 7:15 a.m., allowing students about 10 minutes for breakfast before the start of first period at 7:25 a.m. The school day concludes at 2 p.m.

In South Windsor, the early classes are aimed primarily at sophomore intervention, special education, AP science and music and art students, according to school officials. About 25 students are participating in the pilot program as the school year gets underway. The Courant reports that similar programs have been implemented in schools on the West Coast, with mixed reactions.

In Guilford, school officials were considering revised start times in discussions late last year.  But the schedule for the new school year shows the high school start time as 7:25, with middle schools beginning at 7:50 and 8:00 a.m.

This fall, students can choose from a photography and a health class. In the spring, students will have the option of business communications and physical education. Bus transportation is being provided for the students, the Courant reported. "These kids are committing to getting up early, getting here early and taking care of business,” Sullivan said, indicating that the experimental zero period is not a substitute for an eight-period school day.

CT Tax on Cigarettes is Nation’s 4th Highest, Headed Toward 2nd Highest

Connecticut’s cigarette tax, $3.40 per pack, is the 4^th highest in the nation.  State cigarette tax rates vary widely, ranging from 17 cents per pack in Missouri to $4.35 in New York, according to a report published in Governing magazine. When Connecticut’s tax increases to $3.65 per pack on October 1, the state will surpass the Massachusetts tax of $3.51 per pack, moving into 3^rd place.  Rhode Island, at $3.75 per pack, ranks 2^nd, behind New York State.  Should the scheduled increase of another 50 cents occur a year from now, Connecticut would have the nation’s second highest tax on cigarettes. 

Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest cigarette taxes are Hawaii (5), Vermont (6), Washington (7), Minnesota (8), New Jersey (9), Wisconsin (10).

Policymakers often support tax increases on tobacco products as a means of raising revenue or improving public health by encouraging smokers to quit, the Governing analysis points out.  A handful of states passed cigarette tax hikes in the 2015 legislative session. Nevada lawmakers approved the single largest cigarette tax increase, raising the rate from 80 cents to $1.80 per pack, the publication indicates.

While noting that Connecticut's tax rate is set to increase to $3.65 per pack in October, the publication indicated that earlier proposals in the Pennsylvania and New Hampshire legislatures also included cigarette tax increases, but the two states have yet to pass budgets.

Kansas and Louisiana pushed cigarette taxes up by 50 cents and Ohio increased that state’s tax by 35 cents. Earlier this month, Alabama’s legislature voted down a proposal to increase that state’s tax by 25 cents per pack from the current 42.5 cents per pack, the third lowest tax in the nation.  Only Georgia, Virginia and Mississippi have lower taxes on cigarettes.

The National Taxpayers Union Foundation reported that tobacco tax collections failed to meet initial revenue targets in 72 out of 101 recent tax increases, Governing reported, and as of 2011, only two states were funding tobacco control programs at levels recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which much of the tax revenue funneled into state general funds.

In Connecticut, the cigarette tax increased 61 cents in 2002 to $1.11 per pack, by another 40 cents in 2003, an additional 49 cents in 2007 and $1.00 in 2007 to reach $3.00 per pack.  In 2011, the tax increased by another 40 cents to the current $3.40 per pack.

Sexting Is Now Among Top 10 Concerns in Children's Health, Survey Shows

With more kids online and using cell phones at increasingly younger ages, two issues have quickly climbed higher on the public’s list of major health concerns for children across the U.S: sexting and Internet safety. Compared with 2014, Internet safety rose from the eighth to the fourth biggest problem, ahead of school violence and smoking, in the 2015 annual survey of top children’s health concerns conducted by the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. Sexting saw the biggest jump, now the sixth top-ranked issue, up from thirteenth.

Childhood obesity, bullying, and drug abuse remained the top three child health concerns for a second year in a row, while child abuse and neglect ranked fifth.  Smoking and tobacco use, usually rated near the top of the list, dropped from the fourth top concern to the seventh – which may reflect the decline in smoking and tobacco use by youth in recent years.

“The major health issues that people are most worried about for children across the country reflect the health initiatives providers, communities and policy makers should be focused on,” says Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the National Poll on Children’s Health and professor of pediatrics and internal medicine in the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the U-M Medical School.

“The increasing level of concern about Internet safety and sexting that are now ranked even higher than smoking as major childhood health issues really dominates the story this year,” adds Davis, who is also with the U-M School of Public Health, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and deputy director for U-M’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. “We found that while the public may find benefits to today’s shifting media environment, whether through cell phones or other technology, many also recognize risks that may make young people vulnerable.”

Studies have found that about 1 out of every 5 to 10 teens — guys and girls — have sent sexually suggestive pictures. And about 1 out of every 3 to 8 teens have received them, according to the Connecticut Children's Medical Center website.  The studies focused mainly on pictures, not sexually suggestive comments, messages, or tweets. The percentage of teens involved in sexting goes up if written sexual content is included, but it's not clear by how much. But one thing is clear, the site emphasizes: Sexting is relatively common among teens.

Expanding use of smart phones and other technology potentially exposes children and teens to the danger of predators and other harms like cyber-bullying, the report noted. Sexting (sending and receiving sexually suggestive text messages and photos) has also led to cases of teens around the country suffering from low self-esteem and even committing suicide following photos being widely shared among peers.

Sexting is relatively new, and many states have not created laws that specifically address it, especially when it comes to teenagers. In many states, teens who engage in sexting can be charged with significant crimes (concerning child pornography) because they are sharing images of minors.   Connecticut, however, is one of a number of states with laws that specifically address minor teens (those under the age of 18) who engage in sexting.  The Connecticut law was enacted in 2010.

https://youtu.be/kap7DHQyrww

Go Ask ALICE – Child Care Front and Center

The phrase “go ask ALICE” may have been a lyric a few decades ago, but today it is taking on renewed significance when assessing the day-to-day life challenges of a surprisingly large segment of Connecticut’s population, an updated report by Connecticut United Ways shows. In Connecticut, 1-in-4 households have earnings that exceed the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) but fall short of a basic cost of living threshold. The United Way has defined these households as ALICE-an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, and together with the 10% of Connecticut households in poverty, more than one-third of Connecticut households (35%) are struggling to make ends meet.

The original analysis revealed last fall has now been updated and expended with new data, which indicates that cost of child care is a significant burden, and that child care is “often the single-largest expense for families with young children.”

The Connecticut ALICE Report estimates that the cost of child care for two children (1 preschooler and 1 infant) is at least 28% of the monthly expenses included in the Household Survival Budget for a family of four. In a newly released ALICE Update, the latest available cost data from 2-1-1 Child Care is used to examine the biggest child care challenges facing ALICE families in Connecticut:

1. Child care is often the single-largest expense for families with young children, with limited options for affordable infant and toddler care posing a significant challenge. This is especially true for ALICE families.
2. Child care subsidies are available for working families, but some ALICE families have earnings that exceed the eligibility threshold, and others struggle to cover the difference between the subsidy and the provider fee.
3. Availability and cost of child care varies throughout the state, limiting options for ALICE families who may not be able to find child care providers they can afford that are located near where they work or live.
4. There are limited child care options that are available during evening, night, or weekend shifts. 2nd shift, 3rd shift, and weekend hours are more common among low- to moderate-income ALICE workers. When work schedules are unpredictable, and vary from week to week, it can be hard for ALICE families to find child care when they need it.

The most recent fee data available from 2-1-1 Child Care estimates the statewide average cost of full-time child care in a licensed center-based day care setting is $211/week for 1 preschooler and $253/week for an infant, which adds up to $2,011 per month. This may be less than what many Connecticut families pay for child care each month, due to variations in cost and availability throughout the state, differences in family size, and other costs associated with child care that are not included—such as the cost of alternate care arrangements when the child care setting is closed

The report indicates that statewide, the average weekly cost of Infant/Toddler care ranges from $135 to $400 in Home-Based settings and from $175 to $400 in Center-Based settings. The high cost of Infant/Toddler care creates the greatest burden, as the weekly cost amounts to the highest percentage of median income in both Home-Based (30.9%) and Center-Based (48.8%) settings in Hartford, where the median income is $29,430/year.

Adding to the challenge posed by the high cost of Infant/Toddler care is the fact that its availability varies throughout the state. There are six municipalities in the state that have no licensed Center- or Home-Based Infant/Toddler child care providers at all, and 15 that only have a single provider offering Infant/Toddler care in their town. A total of 52 Connecticut towns have two to five providers of Infant/Toddler care, and the remaining 96 municipalities have at least six providers who offer Infant/Toddler care.

The report also indicates that “there are limited child care options available during evening, night or weekend shifts, and it can be hard for ALICE families to find childcare when they need it.”  The vast majority of Center-Based child care providers in Connecticut do not offer evening or weekend care, according to the report. Another challenge for ALICE workers without stable, predictable work schedules is that child care providers are typically paid for a full week of care in advance, whether the care is ultimately used or not. When work schedules change from week to week or on short notice, ALICE families may end up paying for child care that they do not use.

In November 2014, Connecticut United Ways released the first statewide ALICE Report, a data-driven, comprehensive research project that quantifies the situation confronting many low-income working families across our state - in our urban, suburban and rural communities. The Report documents that the number of Connecticut households unable to afford all of life's basic necessities far exceeds the official federal poverty statistics.

Grit ‘N Wit Planning Underway for October Obstacle Course in Hartford

The Hartford Marathon will not be the only race in town in October. For those seeking an extra degree of challenge – both physical and mental – there’s another race course for you.  It’s called Grit ‘N Wit, New England’s first obstacle course to combine brain and brawn, and is the brainchild of a Connecticut-grown company “committed to the development of healthy, engaged communities.” 

Launched just two years ago by UConn law school graduate James Moher, the event, now held in Hartford’s Keney Park, is attracting a growing following of enthusiastic participants.  The goal is to take on 20-plus obstacles over a 3-mile course designed to challenge individuals both physically and mentally.

"Most competitions are one dimensional. If you do well at a race, that just tells you're fast. But if you do well at Grit 'N Wit, that tells you a whole lot more,” Moher explains.  "I've always thought that there should be a competition that should test the whole person. And there wasn't one...until now."

This year Grit ‘N Wit will take place October 24, 2015 from 9:00AM – 5:00PM. The event is open to the public in the morning and for college students in the afternoon.  It is open to all ages 10 & up.

Organizers have seen the event grow from 240 participants in its first year, to 420 last year.  This year, with improvements to both the physical and mental challenges, and strong support from local businesses, they’re pushing the envelope - hoping to surpass 1,000 participants. 

Last year’s event, for example, had participants memorize a pattern, then scale a hill and put the pieces of the puzzle together. After climbing over a series of inclined monkey bars and 5' walls, participants came to Ultimate Field Sobriety Test. There they had to get two golf balls through a maze while standing on an inclined balance beam. A post-race survey showed that 95 percent of participants like – or loved – the experience.

“The mental obstacles are designed to be fun and challenging - think Survivor, the Amazing Race or MTV's The Challenge - but without the bugs, plane ticket or a stint on the Real World,” organizers point out.  Rebekah Castagno, a two-time participant, said "It's the creative and physical combination that makes it such a fun and unique challenge."

As Grit ‘N Wit continues to grow, plans are in the works for it to be extended to other cities, and perhaps to college campuses, in the future – another Connecticut export that began as nothing more than an idea.  In addition, organizers say the event will support college students by offering scholarship awards and prizes in this year’s Hartford event.

Teams are not required, but are highly encouraged. Registration is currently $57 and increases the first of every month.  The website is www.gritwitrun.com  Volunteers are also welcome to help out for the day.

https://youtu.be/4ng_GKZsZo8

Assessing Developmental Concerns Early in Children: Connecticut Approach Becoming Standard of Care

Identifying and addressing developmental or behavioral concerns in young children early, before problems escalate, can rewrite the script for their future. Easier said than done.  But organizations in Connecticut are taking steps to address the gap in services, making an innovative "mid-level" development assessment available to families across the state.  It is an approach that has local roots, and is now helping children not only in Connecticut, but beyond the state’s borders. In a newly released issue brief, Connecticut Health and Development Institute of Connecticut (CHDI) points out that for early intervention to occur, “developmental surveillance and screening must be followed by timely assessment to determine the need for intervention services. Children for whom surveillance and screening show concerns but don’t meet the threshold for a high-level evaluation historically fall through the cracks.”

CHDI’s Issue Brief indicates that concerns identified by a primary care provider can range from mild to severe and may lead to a referral to Connecticut’s Birth to Three early intervention program. Yet, 40 percent of children in Connecticut referred to Birth to Three fail to meet the eligibility criteria for services. Without an alternative, “mid-level” assessment resource, these children and their families often end up on long waiting lists for costly and sometimes unnecessary evaluations by specialists in neurology, developmental pediatrics or psychiatry.

In that circumstance, “precious intervention time is lost, and most children evaluated by specialists do not end up meeting the threshold for an official diagnosis despite real concerns and delays. Without a diagnosis, many families are not connected to helpful services. Furthermore, children with the most severe concerns are precluded from securing timely assessments and interventions, as appointment times are scarce.”

Mid-Level Developmental Assessment (MLDA) offers an alternative, or “mid-level”, option filling the gap for children 6 months to 6 years old with mild to moderate developmental or behavioral concerns. This approach provides an efficient assessment between initial screening and a full evaluation.  It is now being used in Connecticut and five other states. CHDI points out that “MLDA optimizes the screening process; delivers more appropriate care earlier; and leads to more efficient use of limited full-evaluation resources.”

The rapidly advancing approach is relatively new.  In 2009, three child-serving organizations in Connecticut – The Village for Families and Children, Pediatric Associates of Bristol and the Pediatric Primary Care Center at Yale New Haven Hospital – pilot tested MLDA with a grant awarded by CHDI and funded by the Children’s Fund of Connecticut. The pilot study showed that MLDA could efficiently identify developmentally vulnerable children who could benefit from community-based services. The pilot study in Connecticut found:

• Fewer than 20 percent of children undergoing MLDA required higher-level evaluation.
• Eighty percent could be enrolled immediately in available developmental and mental health programs.
• Children referred to more extensive evaluations qualified for services with stringent eligibility criteria.

The Village’s MLDA model is now available for young children in the Greater Hartford area through a partnership with Connecticut’s Help Me Grow access point, Child Development Infoline (CDI), according to the CHDI report. Since 2009, The Village has evaluated more than 350 children using the MLDA model.

The partnership between the MLDA program and the statewide Help Me Grow access point has established solid groundwork for replication of MLDA among other organizations in Connecticut that perform Birth to Three and preschool special education evaluations. In partnership with The Village and the United Way of Connecticut, the Office for Community Child Health at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center is currently replicating MLDA throughout the state with the support of a two-year grant from the LEGO Community Fund U.S.

“Connecticut was the first state to test the feasibility of the model,” the CHDI report indicates. “Now it is becoming the standard of care for young children at risk for developmental delay and unlikely to qualify for publicly funded programs.”

The report indicates that by efficiently assessing children at risk of developmental delays, using limited specialist resources more efficiently, and decreasing health care system costs, “MLDA can have a profound effect in shaping the futures of children across Connecticut and other states.”

CHDI is “a catalyst for improving the health, mental health and early care systems for children in Connecticut.”  The organization works to “advance and inform improvements in primary and preventive pediatric health and mental health care programs, practice and policy in Connecticut, with particular focus on disadvantaged or underserved children and their families.”

238 Organ Transplants in 2014 in CT; 1,467 on Current Waiting Lists in State

At the beginning of this month, there were 1,467 individuals registered for organ transplants in Connecticut, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Organ Procurement and Transplant Network.  The longest list was for a kidney transplant, with 1,259 names.  In addition the transplant waiting lists included 159 people seeking a liver transplant, 52 awaiting a heart transplant, 18 on the waiting list for a kidney/pancreas, and 10 for a pancreas. Among those on the heart transplant list, five individuals are between the ages of 18 and 34, eleven are between 35 and 49, 25 individuals are between age 50 - 64 and eleven are age 65 or older.  Forty-one are men, eleven are women.  The waiting time for a heart transplant, according to the data, is usually between one to six months, although in more than one-third of the cases, it is longer.

In Connecticut in 2014, there were 238 transplants according to the data, a portion of the 29,376 kidney, pancreas, liver, heart, lung and intestine transplants nationwide.  Only 15 states had fewer transplant surgeries, including four states that did not have any (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Alaska).  The largest number of transplants occurred in California (3,454), Texas (2,626), New York (1,826), Pennsylvania (1,803), and Florida (1,803).  There were 796 transplants at hospitals in Massachusetts in 2014.

According to the state Department of Motor Vehicles,. Connecticut residents can join the Donor Registry at the DMV/AAA or online at Donate Life New England (www.donatelifenewengland.org). Donate Life New England is a joint endeavor of the organ procurement organizations that serve New England: LifeChoice Donor Services and the New England Organ Bank.

In Connecticut, only 43 percent of state residents over the age of 18 are included in the Donor Registry, which is below the national average of 48 percent.

Each year, more than 8,143 people donate organs after death, including organs for kidney transplant, liver transplant, heart transplant, or other organ transplant operations.  Anyone above 16 years old can register to be an organ and tissue donor in Connecticut. At the age of 18, the decision to donate is authorization for donation.  The DMV website points out that there are no age limits for organ donation, noting that “medical history is a far more important factor.”

The Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation and Donate Life America joined forces this month to create a new nationwide observance called Donate Life ECHO, which stands for Every Community Has Opportunity.  Designed to reach multicultural communities, the new observance from July 12th – 25th had two objectives: to focus on the power of sharing one’s personal decision to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor with members of one’s community; and to encourage registered donors to ask members of their personal networks and extended communities to talk about donation and register as donors.

“When people share the life-affirming message of donation within their community, more lives will be saved and healed,” said Caitlyn Bernabucci, Public Education Specialist for LifeChoice.

Multicultural communities play a critical role in America’s transplant system.  They save and heal lives as donors of organs, eyes and tissue, need life saving kidney transplants in disproportionately high numbers, and serve patients and families as healthcare professionals. Organs are not matched according to race or ethnicity, officials explain, as people of different races often match one another.  However, there is a higher probability of a match when received from someone of the same ethnicity because compatible blood types and tissue markers—critical qualities for donor and recipient matching—are more likely.   Ultimately, a greater diversity of donors will increase access to organ and tissue transplantation for everyone, officials noted.

New Haven’s Prometheus Research Receives Federal Funding, Industry Selection

New Haven-based Prometheus Research will be receiving one million dollars in additional support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and health-focused private philanthropies for their work developing open-source integrated registry software and related clinical research informatics data standards. "The ability to use a single integrated registry platform for both observational and interventional research projects will be a boon to every research center and academic medical center trying to improve data quality while controlling costs," said David Voccola, Chief Business Development Officer at Prometheus.

Prometheus Research provides data management services and web-native data-management software to biomedical researchers investigating autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, specializing in designing and building systems capable of accelerating complex interdisciplinary research and of multiplying the value of research data.

A previous grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration, a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award, provided support for observational research being conducted in the field of autism.  Building on the success of their Phase I SBIR award from NIH, the new NIH awards provide significant additional funding for enhancing Prometheus' Research Exchange Database (RexDB®) platform with features that are required in interventional research.

Prometheus Research also recently announced that the company has been chosen by the American Optometric Association (AOA) to build a state-of-the-art registry aimed at enhancing care delivery and outcomes for the millions of patients treated by AOA members each year. AOA's Measures and Outcomes Registry for Eyecare (MORE) will leverage Prometheus' open source RexRegistry™ platform, and will securely facilitate efficient secondary uses of essential health and operations data, according to the company.

"Imagine every optometrist in the country being able to collaborate on outcomes for glaucoma management, amblyopia treatment, contact lens-induced ulcers, myopia progression and more using evidence-based outcomes to improve our patient's care instead of waiting years for clinical trials," Dr. Jeffrey Michaels, chair of the AOA's Quality Improvement and Registries Committee, said. "As the primary eye care profession, this is a huge opportunity for optometry and the millions of patients we serve every year."

Prometheus Research builds integrated registries that support biomedical research, quality improvement, education, and advocacy. The company’s registries use flexible, open source technologies.