CT Playing Catch-up to Other States in Reducing Childhood Obesity

Although Connecticut has fared comparatively well to other states in adult obesity rates, the state does “not do as well for children, especially low-income children,” according to two new national reports, the Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI) of Connecticut indicates in the organization’s latest issue brief. “Preventing children from being overweight or obese requires action in the earliest years since experts agree that reversing these trends later in life can be very difficult,” CHDI points out. “It is currently estimated that one in four children are overweight or obese by the time they enter kindergarten.

The reports highlight how Connecticut is doing relative to other states on early childhood obesity prevention. Data for low-income children was drawn from families participating in the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

The Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State of Obesity in America report shows that Connecticut ranks:

• 12th out of 50 states for highest WIC obesity rates (low-income children ages 2-4 years old)
• 27th out of 37 states for highest adolescent obesity rates (students grades 9-12) Mississippi high schoolers have the highest obesity rate in US: 18.9%. Montana the lowest: 10.3% Connecticut is 12.3%
• 42nd out of 50 states for highest adult obesity rates (18 and older)

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Early Care and Education State Indicator Report, tracks state policies aimed at preventing obesity in child care settings and shows that Connecticut is missing opportunities to address healthy nutrition in early childhood and education settings (ECE).

The 2016 report examines 15 data indicators including, assessing each state’s licensing regulations for high impact obesity prevention standards. Connecticut only had 2 out of 47 obesity prevention standards in State licensing regulations for early care and education programs and lacked ECE professional development training on obesity prevention that 42 other states offer.

CHDI explains that since 2014, Connecticut state agencies have started to address early childhood nutrition through licensing and training. The State is currently in the process of reviewing Early Childhood Education (ECE) licensing regulations, and has developed general training for some early childhood providers on nutrition and fitness.

Additionally, the Department of Public Health offers training to ECE providers via funding through the Centers for Disease Control and is working with the Connecticut State Department of Education (SDE), Office of Early Childhood (OEC), and the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity to enhance professional development training focused on obesity prevention.

“Despite this progress,” the CHDI stresses, “more needs to be done to catch up with other states and reduce obesity rates among young children.” CHDI adds that “Connecticut must look at best practice standards related to early childhood obesity prevention and do better for our children to ensure that they grow at a healthy weight.”

Connecticut now has the 10th lowest adult obesity rate in the nation, according to The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America released September 2016. Connecticut's adult obesity rate is currently 25.3 percent, up from 16.0 percent in 2000 and from 10.4 percent in 1990.

CT’s Mortality Rate from Drug Poisoning is 11th Highest in US; Was 6th Lowest A Decade Ago

Connecticut’s mortality rate from firearms is less than half the national average, the state’s homicide rate is slightly above half the national average, but the rate of drug poisoning deaths exceeds the national average. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that Connecticut’s mortality rate from drug poisoning was 17.6 per 100,000 population, with 623 deaths in the state in 2014, the 19^th highest rate in the nation.  The U.S. rate that year was 14.7, with 47,055 fatalities.  Last year, Connecticut’s mortality rate from drug poisoning climbed to 22.1, which was the 11^th highest rate in the nation, with 800 deaths. 

The states with the highest drug poisoning mortality rates in the nation in 2015 were West Virginia, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Ohio, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Utah, Tennessee and Connecticut.  The lowest rates were in Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Texas and Iowa.

The CDC reported this month that opioids—prescription and illicit—are the main driver of drug overdose deaths. Opioids were involved in 33,091 deaths in 2015, and opioid overdoses have quadrupled since 1999.

In 2015, according to the CDC, significant increases in drug overdose death rates from 2014 to 2015 were primarily seen in the Northeast and South Census Regions. States with statistically significant increases in drug overdose death rates from 2014 to 2015 included Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington, and West Virginia.

The five states with the highest rates of death due to drug overdose were West Virginia (41.5 per 100,000), New Hampshire (34.3 per 100,000), Kentucky (29.9 per 100,000), Ohio (29.9 per 100,000), and Rhode Island (28.2 per 100,000).

The increase in drug overdose deaths in Connecticut from 2014 to 2015 was 25.2 percent, the fourth highest in the nation among states that had a statistically significant increase.  Only Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine had larger increases.

Among the 28 states meeting inclusion criteria for state-level analyses, 16 (57.1%) experienced increases in death rates involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, and 11 (39.3%) experienced increases in heroin death rates from 2014 to 2015, the CDC reported.

The largest absolute rate change in deaths from synthetic opioids other than methadone occurred in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island and West Virginia. The largest percentage increases in rates occurred in New York (135.7%), Connecticut (125.9%) and Illinois (120%).

Connecticut, Massachusetts, Ohio, and West Virginia experienced the largest absolute rate changes in heroin deaths, while the largest percentage increases in rates occurred in South Carolina (57.1%), North Carolina (46.4%), and Tennessee (43.5).

Connecticut announced a detailed opiate response initiative this fall.  The Connecticut Opioid REsponse Initiative (CORE) is a strategic plan from Yale experts in response to the state’s opioid and overdose epidemics. It recommends: 1) expanding access to effective, medication-based treatment for substance use disorders; 2) improving transitions within the treatment domain; 3) increasing the availability of naloxone — the antidote to reverse an opioid overdose — and; 4) decreasing the over-prescribing of opioid at high doses or in combination with sedatives.

The CDC said “there is an urgent need for a multifaceted, collaborative public health and law enforcement approach to the opioid epidemic;” the Drug Enforcement Administration referred to prescription drugs, heroin, and fentanyl as the most significant drug-related threats to the United States, the CDC reported.

Connecticut Opioid REsponse Initiative (CORE) news conference, 10/6/16

https://youtu.be/fqw-AXvsL_8

Lead Poisoning Is A Problem for Connecticut Children, National Study Reveals

A Reuters news service examination of lead testing results across the country found almost 3,000 areas with poisoning rates far higher than in Flint, Michigan, which was the focus of national attention this year for its dangerously tainted water supply. The review and analysis found at least seven areas in Connecticut, based on zip code geography, where the percentage of children found to have elevated lead levels exceeded – more than doubled – the percentage in Flint.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that nationwide, around 2.5 percent of children ages 0-6 have an elevated lead level, defined as 5 micrograms/deciliter or higher. Among small children tested in Flint, Michigan during the peak of that city’s lead contamination crisis, 5 percent had elevated levels, or double the average.

In many neighborhoods – census tracts or zip code areas – across the country, a far higher rate of children have tested high in recent years.  The zip codes in Connecticut with elevated lead levels in more than 5 percent of children tested include more than a dozen neighborhoods and communities scattered across the state, with the highest levels  in the towns of Canaan and Sharon, and the cities of Bridgeport, New Haven, and Waterbury.

The State Department of Public Health website indicates that “childhood lead poisoning is the most common pediatric public health problem, yet it is entirely preventable. Once a child has been poisoned, the impairment it may cause is irreversible. Lead harms children’s nervous systems and is associated with reduced IQ, behavioral problems, and learning disabilities.”

Since the 1970s, U.S. efforts to eradicate childhood lead poisoning have made what Reuters describes as “remarkable progress,” while pointing out that “the advances have been uneven.”  Legacy lead – in paint, plumbing, yards, well-water or even playgrounds – means that kids in many neighborhoods remain at a disproportionately high risk of poisoning, the news service report explained.

The news service conducted a nationwide analysis of childhood blood lead testing data at the neighborhood level. Census tract or zip code level data reflecting the local prevalence of elevated lead tests was obtained from 21 states, including Connecticut.  The highest prevalence was found in:

Zip Code                              Tested Children /Elevated Results

06031 Canaan                    107 / 15.89%

06608 Bridgeport            8,602 / 13.32%

06511 New Haven            15,731/12.88%

06519 New Haven            8,318 / 11.95%

06607 Bridgeport             4,079/10.9%

06710 Waterbury             6,133/ 10.48%

06069    Sharon                  137 /10.22%

Across the country, Reuters found nearly 3,000 areas with recently recorded lead poisoning rates at least double those in Flint during the peak of that city’s contamination crisis. And more than 1,100 of these communities had a rate of elevated blood tests at least four times higher.

Reuters reports that zip codes have average populations of 7,500. In each area, a relatively small number of children are screened for lead poisoning each year, the report indicated.

The poisoned places stretch from Warren, Pennsylvania, a town on the Allegheny River where 36 percent of children tested had high lead levels, to a zip code on Goat Island, Texas, where a quarter of tests showed poisoning, the Reuters analysis indicated. In some pockets of Baltimore, Cleveland and Philadelphia, where lead poisoning has spanned generations, the rate of elevated tests over the last decade was 40 to 50 percent.

“I hope this data spurs questions from the public to community leaders who can make changes,” said epidemiologist Robert Walker, co-chair of the CDC’s Lead Content Work Group, which analyzes lead poisoning nationwide. “I would think that it would turn some heads.”

The findings, Walker told Reuters, will help inform the public about risks in their own neighborhoods and allow health officials to seek lead abatement grants in the most dangerous spots.

Congress recently directed $170 million in aid to Flint - 10 times the CDC’s budget for assisting states with lead poisoning this year, Reuters reported.

Efforts Forge Awareness From Tragedy, As CT Nonprofit Stresses Fire Safety

Jeff Block founded One Innocent Life, a Connecticut-based nonprofit organization, 18 months ago while battling for a new state law to improve Connecticut fire safety standards. He has been campaigning for fire safety in Connecticut homes since 2012, when his daughter, Eva, of Woodbridge, and two friends, died in a fire in their off-campus housing at Marist College in upstate New York on January 21st.  Approximately 66 percent of students attending college in the U.S. live in off-campus housing, according to the Center for Campus Fire Safety Student Committee.

His efforts led to legislation in Connecticut, but One Innocent Life is continuing to advocate for greater awareness, in Connecticut and beyond, on campuses and in local communities.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated annual average of 3,870 structure fires in dormitories, fraternities, sororities, and barracks between 2009 and 2013.  From 2000 - 2015, 89 fires that killed 126 people have occurred on a college campus, in Greek housing or in off-campus housing within three miles of the campus. Of these, 76 off-campus fires caused 107 deaths, while 7 on-campus building or residence hall fires claimed 9 victims and 6 fires in Greek housing took the lives of 10 people.

Public Act 15-5, approved by the Connecticut legislature in the June 2015 Special Session, took effect on October 1, 2015.  The law requires landlords to include a notice in each dwelling unit's lease disclosing whether the unit has a working fire sprinkler system. If a unit has a working system, the lease must also include a notice indicating the date of its last maintenance and inspection. Both notices must be printed in a uniform font of at least 12-point, boldface type.

Under the state law, a “fire sprinkler system” is a system of piping and appurtenances designed and installed according to generally accepted standards so that heat from a fire automatically causes water to discharge over the area, extinguishing the fire or preventing it from spreading.

There were seven college students in the rental house that night in Poughkeepsie. Four made it out. New Canaan resident Kevin Johnson, a student at Duchess Community College at the time, Kerry Fitzsimmons, a Marist senior from Long Island, and Eva Block, a Marist senior, did not. “One Innocent Life is dedicated to raising awareness about the living conditions of college students, involving fire safety,” the organization’s website explains.

“The annual number of fires in dormitories, fraternities, sororities and barracks reported to U.S. fire departments has been substantially higher in recent years than any time prior to 2000,” the NFPA’s Richard Campbell said in August 2016.

The National Fire Prevention Association suggests that students renting off campus housing – and other renters – ask the following of landlords:

• Does every room have a smoke alarm?
• What is the power supply to the detector (hardwire/battery/both)?
• Who provides the battery replacement?
• Does the off-campus housing have sprinklers and fire extinguishers?
• What is your disciplinary policy toward tenants who cause false alarms or fail to evacuate during an alarm?
• Do the rooms have enough outlets with enough power to feed energy needs?
• Can the exit doors be opened from the inside without a key?
• What fire safety training does your building staff receive?

One Innocent Life's video to extend awareness, made with the help of Wesleyan University, the City of Middletown Professional Firefighters Local 1073, includes more than a dozen volunteers from Connecticut.

https://youtu.be/9tVQGDyzUHQ

Mattress Recycling Has Solid First Year in Connecticut

Saying bye-bye to a used mattress in Connecticut has changed dramatically during the past year-and-a-half, as Connecticut became one of only three states in the nation to institute a statewide mattress recycling program. The initiative, approved by the state legislature two years ago and underway since May 2015, has gained a solid foothold here, according to its first annual report.  The Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), a non-profit organization established by the mattress industry that created and manages the program in Connecticut, California and Rhode Island, presented its inaugural Annual Report of the Connecticut Bye Bye Mattress Program to Connecticut municipal leaders and state regulators last month. The report summarized the Program’s performance from its inception through the end of the state’s 2016 fiscal year (June 30).

The Connecticut program has “exceeded, met or is on pace to achieve nearly all benchmarks” set in its plan, which was approved by the state in 2014. Highlights include:

• Recycled 150,000 mattresses.
• Recovered more than 2,800 tons of steel, foam and other materials that will be made into new useful products.
• Expanded the collection network to 101 free drop-off sites throughout the state.

“We are pleased with the program’s productive start and will continue to work with city leaders, businesses and the state to improve the program, expand the number of communities served, and increase the volume of mattresses recycled,” said Ryan Trainer, President of MRC and the International Sleep Products Association.

Bye Bye Mattress allows Connecticut residents to drop-off used mattresses at participating collection sites, collection events and recycling facilities free of charge. This collection network is made possible by the $9 recycling fee that Connecticut consumers pay when they buy a new mattress or box spring. The fee provides for collection containers, transporting the discarded mattresses and recycling costs.

Industry-led recycling programs like Bye Bye Mattress will play an important part in helping Connecticut reach its goal to divert 60 percent of materials from disposal by 2024, officials indicated in the 59-page report.

“We applaud the mattress industry for developing a successful statewide program under the mattress stewardship law that has already recycled thousands of mattresses in an environmentally sound manner,” said Robert Klee, Commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.  “This program has created jobs, recovered vast quantities of resources to be reused, saved municipalities $1.5 million in disposal costs and given residents an easy way to recycle a cumbersome item.”

MRC is also working with more than 130 other public and private entities, including mattress retailers, hotels, military bases, universities and healthcare facilities in Connecticut to divert their discarded mattresses from the solid waste stream.  The MRC website indicates that the organization continues to enroll interested municipal transfer stations in the program and work with those interested in hosting recycling events.

Connecticut’s Public Act 13-42 (enacted in 2013 and amended in 2014) required the mattress industry to create a statewide recycling program for mattresses discarded in the state. Connecticut residents can find their nearest participating collection site, collection event or recycling facility at www.ByeByeMattress.com.

Preventing Elder Abuse: CT Ranks 26th in USA

Connecticut ranks 26^th among the nation’s 50 states in providing protections for elder abuse, according to a new analysis of state policies by the financial website WalletHub. Connecticut is the 7^th oldest population in the nation.  The U.S. Census Bureau expects the national population aged 65 and older to nearly double from 43.1 million in 2012 to 83.7 million in 2050, in large measure due to aging Baby Boomers who began turning 65 in 2011.

Abuse happens every day and takes many forms, WalletHub’s explains. “Anyone can become a victim of abuse, but vulnerable older Americans — especially those who are women, have disabilities and rely on others for care or other type of assistance — are among the easiest targets for such misconduct.”

WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 10 key indicators of elder-abuse protection. The data set ranges from “share of elder-abuse, gross-neglect and exploitation complaints” to “financial elder-abuse laws.” By one estimate, the analysis summary points out, elder abuse affects as many as 5 million people per year, and 96 percent of all cases go unreported.

States described as having the “Best Elder-Abuse Protections” are the District of Columbia, Nevada, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Missouri, Tennessee, Iowa, Louisiana, Vermont and Hawaii.  At the bottom of the list were Rhode Island, California, Wyoming and South Carolina.

WalletHub’s review of data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia were conducted across three key dimensions: 1) Prevalence, 2) Resources and 3) Protection.  Connecticut’s highest ranking in the individual categories was in Resources, ranking 23^rd.  The Resources category included Total Expenditures on Elder-Abuse Prevention per Resident Aged 65 & Older, Total Expenditures on Legal-Assistance Development per Resident Aged 65 & Older, Total Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Funding per Resident Aged 65 & Older.

The state legislature earlier this year folded the Legislative Commission on Aging into the new Commission on Women, Children and Seniors.  Former executive director Julia Evans Starr pointed out in an April article that "Elder abuse is a significant social justice issue that transcends race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, income, and education levels. At least 10 percent of older adults have suffered elder abuse — and that proportion is set rise among Connecticut’s rapidly growing, longer-lived population. It demands a strong policy response."

Panera in Connecticut: State of Flux

If you’re looking for a Panera location in Connecticut, check twice before you head out for a sandwich.  There may be a new location opening nearby, or the locale you’re familiar with may have already closed its doors. The churn at Panera may not be unusual, but it did come as an unwelcome surprise to regulars at the Newtown location when it abruptly closed in mid-November, with a sign on the door saying farewell (and please visit other locations.)   And later this month, the long-time location in Darien will be closing.

The Darien store has been renting 3,754-square-feet — the entire first floor of its building, since 2007, when it became the first Panera Bread restaurant to open up in Connecticut, according to published reports.

The chain now has more than 2,000 locations, including in Connecticut – some owned by the company, most by franchisees.  While the departure from Newtown was an unexpected surprise to customers, plans to leave the Darien location have been known since June, when it was first reported by local media.

Last fall, a Panera location closed in Meriden and a location in nearby Wallingford opened. Also on the plus side, a Panera opened earlier this year at Evergreen Walk shopping plaza in South Windsor.  As of this spring, there were 17 Panera Bread locations in Connecticut, all across the state.  The Downtown Hartford location, its first in the city, opened in 2013.

As of June 28, 2016, there were 2,007 bakery-cafes in 46 states and in Ontario, Canada operating under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co. or Paradise Bakery & Cafe names. Published reports indicate the company has 97,000 employees nationwide and saw a 3.4 percent growth in sales in its third quarter this year. In 2015, it reportedly generated roughly $2.7 billion in revenue. Founder and CEO Ron Shaich attended college at Clark University in Worcester in the 1970’s.

Earlier this year, Fortune magazine reported that the company estimated that over 20% of orders would be produced and paid for digitally by the end of 2016, up from 16%. In some markets, digital sales are making up more than a third of retail sales, according to the company. The restaurant chain says digital orders could make up half of the total business down the road, the magazine reported.

According to the industry website Fast Casual, Panera Bread does not sell single-unit franchises, so it is not possible to open just one bakery-cafe. Rather, the company has chosen to develop by selling market areas which require the franchise developer to open a number of units, typically 15 bakery-cafes in a period of 6 years.

Panera says it serves 3 to 4 percent of all Americans every week.

EpiPen in Connecticut: Costs Vary, Concerns Continue; New Congressional Hearing Possible

Obscured in recent months by the intense presidential campaign, the furor over the price of pharmaceutical company Mylan’s life-saving EpiPen may be moving back to center stage in Washington as questions continue about Connecticut’s policy and the varying impact on school districts across the state.  The EpiPen is the widely used medical device that quickly administers a dose of epinephrine to counter allergic reactions. The cost of EpiPens to Connecticut schools - which keep EpiPens in their nurses’ offices in case a student has a severe allergic reaction - may be defrayed or eliminated by Mylan’s “EpiPens4Schools” program, which gives some schools two twin packs of the medical devices for free.  But that is not uniformly true, according to a recent survey by CT by the Numbers, and questions are being raised about the program’s future. 

A report by Connecticut’s Office of Legislative Research found that “over the last decade, Mylan has continuously increased the EpiPen’s cost, from approximately $60 in 2007 to over $600 in 2016 for a pack of two pens. The device requires a prescription and must be replaced annually.”

North Haven, which has participated in the free program, warns that “if the free program is discontinued, it will be a significant financial burden” for the school district.  “To satisfy the Connecticut mandate, we must stock one box each of EpiPen Jr. and EpiPen Sr., bringing the total cost to $1,600 x 7 schools = $11,200/year!!!”

In Chaplin, officials have also been using the free program, but note “we will not always be eligible year-to-year,” anticipating “the cost increasing by at least $300 or greater per school.”

Now, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee says he is considering a subpoena or another method of compelling testimony from Mylan and federal officials, the Associated Press is reporting.  Mylan says it agreed to pay $465 million to settle allegations it overbilled Medicaid for EpiPen, but Sen. Charles Grassley says the Justice Department has said there is no "executed settlement."  At issue is whether the product should have been classified as generic.

Published reports indicate that Mylan acquired the decades-old product in 2007, when pharmacies paid less than $100 for a two-pen set, and has since been steadily raising the wholesale price. In 2009, a pharmacy paid $103.50 for a set. By July 2013 the price was up to $264.50, and it rose 75 percent to $461 by May 2015. This past May the price spiked again to $608.61, according to data provided by Elsevier Clinical Solutions’ Gold Standard Drug Database.

At a December 1 health forum sponsored by Forbes, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said “We absolutely raised the price and take full responsibility for that, ” insisting that Mylan’s price increases were justified by improvements the company made on the product.

As the increases were being imposed, Mylan intensified efforts to have states require that EpiPens be made available in schools.  Connecticut was among 11 states which passed such a law.  The Connecticut General Assembly approved a bill in June 2014 that required all state primary and secondary schools to carry a supply of EpiPens. The new law also allowed school personnel other than a school nurse – if they were properly trained – to administer the epinephrine.  Published reports indicate that other states have approved laws allowing student to bring the dispensers with them to classes or encouraging schools to stock the drug.

The Connecticut Department of Education said it does not know how much the new mandate cost the state’s more than 1,300 primary and secondary schools, because the drug is purchased at the local level at a number of approved pharmacies throughout the state, officials told CT Mirror earlier this year.

A number of districts indicated to CT by the Numbers that they had EpiPens on hand in their schools even before passage of the state requirement, and at least one that had participated in the free program previously did not do so this year.

In Eastford, officials purchased one .15 mg dose and one .30 mg dose EpiPen in each of the past three years.  The costs increased steadily, from $599.90 in 2021-13 to $740 in 2015-16.   In the Region 9 (Easton, Redding) school district, for example, officials indicated that they paid $325 each for three EpiPen twin-packs for the Helen Keller Middle School this year.

Northwestern Regional School District 7 and Regional School District 12, both participants in the free program, have not incurred any costs for EpiPens in recent years.  Bolton school officials report that costs have increased in recent years, to approximately $600 per package of two” for a total of $1800 for the year.  Region 16 reports that they budget for EpiPen purchases each year, in case the free program is no longer available to them.  As of last year, they indicated, the twin-pack price was $535, but they were able to benefit from the company’s free program.

In Cromwell, schools have received 2 twin-packs per school through the free program for the past three years; previously they were purchased by the school district, officials said. In Ansonia, some were provided at no cost, others were purchased. The last time that North Haven paid for the EpiPens was in 2012, when the cost was about $190 each.

In 2015 the legislature considered, but did not pass, a bill requiring the insurance commissioner to study and report on health insurance coverage of and out-of-pocket expenses for EpiPens, according to the OLR report.  The 2014 legislation requires (a) schools to designate and train nonmedical staff to administer EpiPens to students having allergic reactions who were not previously known to have serious allergies and (b) the public health and education departments to jointly develop an annual training program for emergency EpiPen administration.

The website STAT, which focuses on health and medicine, reports that Mylan Pharmaceuticals has been selling the devices to schools at a discounted price for years, giving them a break from rising costs. But the program also prohibited schools from buying competitors’ devices — a provision that experts say may have violated antitrust law.

Mylan’s “EpiPen4Schools” program, begun in August 2012, offers free or discounted EpiPens to schools. Over 65,000 schools receive free EpiPens through the program; an unknown number of schools buy the epinephrine auto-injectors at a discount. Laws in at least 11 states require schools to stock epinephrine, and keeping a stockpile is incentivized by federal law across the country.

As of last year, the EpiPen4Schools discounted price was $112.10, according to company documents reported by STAT, although the prices cited by Connecticut districts vary.

ConnectiCare, First Health Insurer to Open Retail Store, Adds More

Holiday shoppers may encounter something new amidst the traditional retail stores vying for attention.  Last month, ConnectiCare opened its first storefront location, a 6,000-square-foot standalone building in Manchester. The company plans to open outlets in Bridgeport, Newington and Orange in the coming days, according to David Gordon, ConnectiCare's senior vice president for strategy and product innovation. "The impetus for taking this step came from listening to our customers," Gordon said. "The key thing that we consistently heard was how they want a choice in how they engage with us."  It is a way of “providing face-to-face interactions with our members and our nonmembers, who feel their relationship with us would work better if we were sitting across a table from each other."

ConnectiCare is apparently the first health insurance company in the state to offer services from a retail storefront location.  Manchester was chosen after a study of ConnectiCare members, traffic and drive-time patterns and general population figures. The selection of Bridgeport also was based on proximity to significant numbers of ConnectiCare members, and the surrounding population, and are tied to a new partnership with CliniSanitas to offer bilingual facilities for the state's growing Hispanic population.

The flagship Manchester location, near Buckland Hills mall, is staffed by 12 people and includes an area for seminars on various health topics as well as space for yoga and Zumba classes.   ConnectiCare's stores in Bridgeport, Newington and Orange will be smaller than the Manchester flagship, which opened in October.

The ConnecticutCare storefronts will be adjacent to CliniSanitas Medical Center locations.  The centers will offer primary care, specialty care, urgent care, laboratory and diagnostic imaging, as well as health education and wellness services. All three centers – Bridgeport, Newington and Orange - will offer extended evening and weekend hours, with walk-ins welcome. The centers are to be staffed with medical and administrative staff who are bilingual in English and Spanish.

This expansion is the result of a strategic alliance between GuideWell Sanitas and ConnectiCare to serve the health care needs of Connecticut's growing multicultural population, while helping to address the long-standing disparities in the health status of people from culturally diverse backgrounds, officials said. ConnectiCare is the only health insurance plan being accepted by the CliniSanitas Medical Centers, which will also serve those paying directly for health care services and those with traditional Medicare coverage, the companies recently announced.

CliniSanitas has more than 40 years of health care experience with over 200 facilities in South America. In 2015, the first stateside CliniSanitas centers were opened in Florida. The company explains that their  model is focused on improving access to quality primary care services, and delivering the best health outcomes while preventing unnecessary high medical costs, encouraging longer appointments aimed at strengthening the doctor-patient relationship.

CliniSanitas Medical Centers is a joint venture between two leading health care organizations – GuideWell Mutual Holding Company and Organización Sanitas Internacional. GuideWell is a U.S.-based not-for-profit mutual holding company and the parent to a family of forward-thinking companies focused on transforming healthcare.

"We're excited to start our journey in Connecticut in partnership with ConnectiCare and GuideWell to bring our proven model of patient-centered care to the diverse community of Connecticut. These new medical centers will build on our successful centers in Miami, Florida, and our experience transforming healthcare in South America," said Dr. Fernando Fonseca, Chief Executive Officer of CliniSanitas.

"The CliniSanitas Medical Centers will help us deliver on our brand promise to make it easy for our members to get the care they need. ConnectiCare is pleased to help bring the people of Connecticut access to the high quality and culturally relevant health care provided by the CliniSanitas Medical Centers," said Michael Wise, ConnectiCare's President and Chief Executive Officer.

A local company for 35 years, ConnectiCare, a subsidiary of Emblem Health,  has a full range of products and services for businesses, municipalities, individuals and those who are Medicare-eligible.  In September, ConnectiCare, the single-largest insurer on the state’s health exchange, announced it would participate in the exchange in 2017.

UConn Study Questions Marketing, Ingredients in Food Advertised to Young Children

It would be disingenuous to describe the results as surprising, but a new study has found that marketing for baby and toddler food and drinks often contradicts the advice of health professionals. According to the study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut, companies tend to use marketing messages that may lead parents to believe that these commercial products are healthier alternatives to breastmilk or homemade food.

The new Baby Food FACTS report found that companies spent $77 million in 2015 to advertise infant formula, baby food, and toddler food and beverages to parents, primarily through TV, magazines, and the internet. By comparison, companies spent $98 million to advertise fruits and vegetables in 2015 – products intended for the entire U.S. population.

“Our analysis shows that marketing for baby and toddler food, infant formula, and toddler milk and nutritional supplements often contradicts expert guidance and in some cases encourages parents to feed their young children products that may not promote healthy eating habits,” said Jennifer Harris, UConn Rudd Center Director of Marketing Initiatives and the report's lead author.

The report analyzed companies spending $100,000 or more in total advertising in 2015 and documented changes in advertising over the past five years. Eight brands from three companies (Nestle, Abbott and Mead Nohnson) were responsible for 99 percent of advertising spending. Four additional baby and toddler food brands spent $100,000 or more in advertising in magazines and online, including Plum Organics (Campbell Soup Company), Beech-Nut (Hero A.G.), and Happy Baby and Happy Tot (Nurture Inc.).

Among the findings:

• Infant formula brands had the most internet advertising and were most active in social media and on mom blogs.
• Nearly 60 percent of advertising dollars promoted products that are not recommended for young children, including sugar-sweetened toddler drinks and nutritionally poor snack food.
• Beech-Nut and Gerber marketed their baby food products in a way that supported most expert recommendations on best practices for feeding infants.
• Toddler milk products including Enfagrow, Gerber Good Start Grow, Nido 1+, Similac Go & Grow, and Happy Tot Grow & Shine, contained added sweeteners, including sugar, glucose syrup solids, honey, and corn syrup solids.
• Pediasure Grow & Gain, a nutritional supplement aimed at toddlers, had 240 calories per serving and as much sugar as an 8-ounce sports drink.
• In contrast to nutritious baby and toddler fruit, vegetable, and meal products, just four of 80 baby and toddler snack foods, such as cookies, cereal bars, puffs, and fruit snacks, were nutritious choices for young children.
• Fifty percent of baby and 83 percent of toddler snacks contained added sugars.

The findings included in this report “provide policymakers, health professionals, public health advocates, industry representatives, and parents an opportunity to address misinformation conveyed through marketing of baby and toddler food and drinks.”

The study also found that traditional advertising spending (primarily on TV and magazines) by infant formula brands declined substantially—from more than $30 million in 2011 to less than $10 million in 2015.

Among the recommendations, the Rudd Center researchers indicated that toddlers’ diets should help them develop gross and fine motor skills and learn to enjoy the taste, flavors, and textures of real fruits and vegetables. By age two, toddlers should be eating the same food as the rest of the family. For all children, they stated, a healthy diet should include a variety of fruits and vegetables every day, and limited consumption of saturated fat and sodium. Children under two should not consume any food with added sugars.

The report called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to issue final guidance on claims on infant formula packaging, including claims that compare infant formula to breastmilk, and also regulate claims on toddler milk packaging. The Federal Trade Commission should similarly regulate claims made in advertising, the report advised. The food industry was also urged to expand the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) self-regulatory program for improving food advertising to children to incorporate marketing of baby and toddler food and drinks.

The study was funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and presented Nov. 1 at the American Public Health Association’s 2016 Annual Meeting and Expo in Denver.  The Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut is a multi-disciplinary research center dedicated to promoting solutions to childhood obesity, poor diet, and weight bias through research and policy. For more information, visit www.UConnRuddCenter.org.