Report Outlines Responses to Opioid Emergency as Numbers Climb

It’s official.  The opioid crisis has grown from a national crisis to a national emergency.  That fact is plainly evident than in Connecticut. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates there are enough opioid prescriptions for every American adult to have their own bottle. Connecticut saw 729 deaths from drug overdoses two years ago, and 917 last year. Published reports suggest that the number is trending towards a thousand deaths in the state this year.

In 2012, Connecticut was ranked 50th in the nation in opioid deaths, with just 2 per 100,000 people.  By 2015, that number spiked 5-and-a-half times, and Connecticut's ranking climbed to 12th.The latest numbers from the Office of the Chief State's Medical Examiner show the trend continued in 2016, with a 21 percent increase in deaths involving opioids in a year.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the first three quarters of 2016 brought an average overdose death rate of 19.3 per 100,000 population — a rate that’s 17 percent higher than during the same period in 2015.  If 2016’s rate holds steady through the final quarter — data for it isn’t yet available — it is anticipated that more than 62,300 people will have died of overdoses in the United States in 2016. For Connecticut, however, last year’s numbers were more than 25 deaths per 100,000 - significantly higher than the national average.

A 28-page policy report produced this year by the Governing Institute found that Baltimore, Washington, Ohio, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania “serve as models for other states to jump start their efforts,” to respond to the opioid crises.

The addictive nature of opioids and overprescribing are fueling the epidemic, the Governing report explains, pointing out that “in the last 15 years, the number of opioids prescribed and sold in the U.S. has quadrupled, even though the amount of pain Americans report is the same.”

“The most important thing for policymakers to remember is this epidemic is a multi-faceted that requires multifaceted policy solutions,” the report, “A Crisis: A Practical Guide for Policymakers to Mitigate the Opioid Epidemic,” concluded.

A report released last week from a national commission led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie noted that number of deaths is approaching 142 each day from drug overdoses across the country – a death toll that is "equal to September 11th every three weeks," AP reported.

State medical examiner James Gill said in May that his office sees at least two or three overdose deaths a day, and as many as five or six.  The state budget crisis has kept the state’s Chief Medical Examiner’s Office from releasing quarterly data for this year, WTNH reported this month.

“There is no single spot on the continuum of interventions that is the magic bullet,” explained Ohio’s director of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Governing Institute report. “Really you just have to take it piece by piece.”

The  report noted that “Medicaid beneficiaries are prescribed opioids at twice the rate of the rest of the population, and research indicates they are at 3 to 6 times greater risk of a fatal overdose.”  The report also observed the impact of the epidemic on the nation’s prison population: Eighty percent of prisoners have a history of drug abuse; 50 percent are addicted to drugs; 60 to 80 percent of prisoners abusing drugs commit a new crime after release; and approximately 95 percent of addicted prisoners relapse when they’re released, according to National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) data.

In 2016, the Connecticut General Assembly passed a law that prohibits a prescribing practitioner authorized to prescribe an opioid drug from issuing a prescription for more than a seven-day supply to (1) a minor or (2) an adult for first-time outpatient use (PA 16-43).  That timeframe was tightened further under legislation signed into law last month.  The 2016 law included an exception if the prescriber, in his or her professional judgment, determines a longer prescription is necessary, OLR noted.

In June, Gov. Malloy signed a bill that has as a key component reducing the maximum opioid drug prescription for minors from seven to five days.  It was introduced by Malloy at the beginning of session and passed unanimously through the Senate and House. The bill also increases security on controlled substance prescriptions by requiring scheduled drugs to be prescribed only electronically, which officials believe will cut back on the potential for prescription forgeries.  And it requires increased data-sharing between state agencies regarding opioid abuse and overdose deaths.

Attorney General George Jepsen’s office recently announced it would be joining a multistate probe into the marketing practices of opioid drugmakers.  Jepsen did not specify any companies by name, citing “the ongoing and sensitive nature of the investigation.”

Connecticut law allows various health care providers to prescribe opioids and opioid antagonists within their professional scope of practice, including physicians, APRNs, dentists, nurse-midwives, optometrists, PAs, podiatrists, and veterinarians, according to the Office of Legislative Research. Pharmacists can prescribe opioid antagonists if they receive a special certification and training to do so.

Economic Insecurity Plagues More Than Half of Single Seniors in CT, Report Finds

More than half of single adults age 65 and older in Connecticut can’t afford food, housing or other basic necessities, based on their income.  The “economic insecurity” of that population ranks Connecticut the 13^th highest rate in the nation.  In the neighboring states of Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island, the situation is even worse.  Massachusetts, in fact, has the second highest rate in the nation. Nationwide, 53 percent of single older adults fall below the index’s target value.  In Connecticut, the percentage is 56.1 percent.

The report, Living Below the Line: Economic Insecurity and Older Americans Insecurity in the States 2016, was published by the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Gerontology Institute.

According to the report’s analysis, only about 15 percent of older Connecticut residents living alone fall below the poverty line, but 56.1 percent don’t make enough to live on, and often do not qualify for public assistance, because of the relatively high cost of living in the state.  The gap, the report points out, is 40.8 percent of Connecticut’s single elderly, among the largest in the nation.   Only four states have a larger percentage of that population below the index rate but above the poverty rate, reflecting the substantial economic insecurity in the state among the single elderly population.

The states with the largest percentage of single older adults situated below the index are Mississippi, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Kentucky, Maine, and Hawaii.

The report notes that “Northeastern states at the top of the rankings are characterized first and foremost by high Elder Index values, reflecting the high cost of living in these locations, whereas Southern states at the top of the rankings are characterized predominantly by low incomes.”

In considering the economic insecurity of elderly couples, Connecticut fared better in the analysis, ranking 25^th, midway among the states.  Still, fully one-quarter (25%) of the state’s elderly couples were below the index level, although only 2.9 percent fell below the poverty rate for income.

Most older adults rely on Social Security benefits as a key component of their incomes, the report pointed out. The Social Security Administration estimates that Social Security benefits provide one-third of all income received by older adults, and that lower-income elders are especially reliant on Social Security. The UMass-Boston analysis indicated that on average, half of older adults who live below the Elder Index rely on Social Security for at least 90 percent of their incomes.  In Connecticut, that percentage is 46.9 percent of single older adults and 45.2 percent of older couples.

The report concluded that “many older adults who live alone do not have the means to live with economic security. These older adults are of special concern, and policy and programs that address the concerns of single or couple elders living on their own— congregate and home-delivered meals, transportation, falls prevention, employment and training—should also be of special concern to federal, state and local governments.”

Noting that “Elder Economic Insecurity Rates demonstrate that a large proportion of every state’s independent older adults lack incomes that would allow them to escape the threat of poverty, to remain independent, and to age in their own homes,” the analysis implored that “each state must learn to recognize the economic security gap and those who fall into it.”

Developed by the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Wider Opportunities for Women, and maintained through a partnership with the National Council on Aging (NCOA), the Elder Index defines economic security as the income level at which elders are able to cover basic and necessary living expenses and age in their homes, without relying on benefit programs, loans or gifts.

No Chocolate Milk? Kids Get Used to Plain Milk, UConn Study Finds

There’s good news and bad news for chocolate milk advocates, depending upon which University of Connecticut research study you come across.  The studies don’t necessarily conflict, but provide differing points of view in the plain milk vs. chocolate milk debate. A new study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut has found that most students adjust to drinking plain milk after flavored milk is removed from school lunch menus.

Flavored milk served in the National School Lunch Program contains up to 10 grams of added sugar per serving, which is 40 percent of a child’s daily allowance of added sugar. Given the nation’s key public health target of limiting added sugars in children’s diets, flavored milk has come under scrutiny in the context of school nutrition, UConn Today recently reported.

The study, published in July in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, measured plain milk selection and consumption in the years after flavored milk was removed in two schools. Key findings include:

• The first school year after flavored milk was removed, 51.5 percent of students selected milk and drank 4 ounces per carton, indicating school-wide per-student consumption of 2.1 ounces.
• Two years later, 72 percent of students selected milk and drank 3.4 ounces per carton, significantly increasing the school-wide per-student consumption to 2.5 ounces.
• Older students and boys consumed significantly more milk.
• The availability of 100 percent fruit juice at lunch was associated with a significant decrease in students selecting milk and lower milk consumption per carton throughout the years of the study. Both years, student selection and consumption of plain milk dropped significantly on days when 100 percent fruit juice was also available.

The study could have implications for school nutrition policy and efforts to reduce added sugars in children’s diets. The study was conducted in two elementary (K-8) schools in an urban New England school district during the 2010-2011 and 2012-2013 school years. Researchers assessed the selection and consumption of milk immediately after flavored milk was removed in the 2010-2011 school year, and two years later in the 2012-2013 school year.

“The decision to remove flavored milk has both nutritional benefits and potential costs. It is clearly an effective way to lower student intake of added sugars at lunch, and over time, the majority of students will switch to plain milk,” said Marlene Schwartz, professor of human development and family studies, director of the UConn Rudd Center, and lead author of the study. “However, there will always be some students who don’t like plain milk. The challenge is finding a way to meet their dietary needs by providing other nutrient-rich options at lunch.”

The study was funded by the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs and the Rudd Foundation.  In the conclusion to the study, the researchers note that “A school policy to remove flavored milk has potential public health benefits and costs—it is likely to decrease consumption of added sugars at lunch for all children, but it is also likely to decrease consumption of milk for some children and increase their risk of missing key nutrients.”

Seven years ago, another UConn researcher was touting the virtues of chocolate milk.  That study, centered in Professor Nancy R. Rodriguez’s lab, found that drinking a 16-ounce glass of fat-free chocolate milk after exercise gives the body essential proteins and carbohydrates that help refuel weary muscles better than a beverage containing carbohydrates alone.

Rodriguez, with joint appointments in the departments of kinesiology and allied health – and who serves, then and now, as UConn’s director of sports nutrition – advocated for the benefits of milk in relation to athletic performance since the late 1990’s. But the 2010 study believed to be the first study of its kind showing a direct correlation between consuming chocolate milk and improved muscle recovery after prolonged exercise.

Results showed that chocolate milk was as effective as the carbohydrate drink in replenishing the body’s stores of glycogen, a form of carbohydrate the body uses as fuel during intense or prolonged exercise. Rodriguez said at the time that the sugar from the chocolate syrup in the milk helps athletes replace depleted glycogen in their muscles to prepare them for their next workout.

Rodriguez subsequently served on the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition (PCFSN), 2014-2017. She has been a Sports Nutritionist for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and has provided services to the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Bobcats, and the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack.

The 2010 study was funded by the National Dairy Council and the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board.

Danger in CT: Not Buckling Up in Rear Seat is Hazardous to Your (and Others) Health

Twenty-nine states require passengers riding in a vehicle’s rear seat to buckle up with a seat belt.  Connecticut is not among them. A new survey from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety highlights the common misperception that buckling up is optional – as well as the potential life-threatening hazards to rear and front seat passengers if those in the back seat opt not to buckle up.

"People who don't use safety belts might think their neglect won't hurt anyone else. That's not the case," indicates Jessica Jermakian, an IIHS senior research engineer and a co-author of the study. "In the rear seat a lap/shoulder belt is the primary means of protection in a frontal crash. Without it, bodies can hit hard surfaces or other people at full speed, leading to serious injuries.”

Among adults who admit to not always using safety belts in the back seat, 4 out of 5 surveyed say short trips or traveling by taxi or ride-hailing service are times they don't bother to use the belt.  Nearly 40 percent of people surveyed said they sometimes don't buckle up in the rear seat because there is no law requiring it. If there were such a law, 60 percent of respondents said it would convince them to use belts in the back seat. A greater percentage said they would be more likely to buckle up if the driver could get pulled over because someone in the back wasn't buckled.

Connecticut considered such a requirement in this year’s legislative session.  Urging legislators to approve the requirement, Julie Peters, Executive Director of the Brain Injury Alliance of Connecticut, said “In the event of a crash, unbelted back seat passengers become bullets, putting not only themselves, but everyone in the vehicle at risk. That's because unbelted back seat passengers continue to move at the same rate of speed as the vehicle they are riding in until they hit something -- the seat back, the dashboard, the windshield, the driver or another passenger. It's also not uncommon for unbelted passengers to be thrown from a vehicle and either crushed by that vehicle or another on the road.”

The new survey reveals that many rear-seat passengers don't think belts are necessary because they perceive the back seat to be safer than the front. This shows a clear misunderstanding about why belts are important, no matter where a person sits in a vehicle.

"For most adults, it's still as safe to ride in the back seat as the front seat, but not if you aren't buckled up," Jermakian said. "That applies to riding in an Uber, Lyft or other hired vehicle, too."

Except for New Hampshire, all states and the District of Columbia require adults in the front seat to use belts. All rear-seat passengers are covered by laws in 29 states and D.C. Of these laws, 20 carry primary enforcement, meaning a police officer can stop a driver solely for a belt-law violation. The rest are secondary, so an officer must have another reason to stop a vehicle before issuing a safety belt citation, the IIHS reported.

Rep. Mitch Bolinsky of Newtown, who advocated for passage of a Connecticut law this year, said in February that “Front seats have become much safer but that’s not the case in the back seat. Without the use of seat belts, we needlessly lose lives every year. Those souls should still be with their families.” He cited National Highway Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA) data that unbelted rear seat passengers are three times more likely to die than those who are buckled at the time of a serious impact.

AAA reported last year that three decades ago, Connecticut “moved ahead of the curve nationally with the passage of one of the nation’s first mandatory seat belt laws.”  AAA pointed that that estimates are that each year in Connecticut more than 120 adults are injured and approximately five adults die who were unbelted rear seat occupants. Dating back to 1995, AAA noted, that equates to close to 100 deaths and 2,500 injuries.  A survey of AAA members (AAA Allied Group and AAA Northeast) found that 7 in 10 members believe seat belts should be mandatory for back seat passengers, regardless of age.

The Governors Highway Safety Association issued a report in 2015, "Unbuckled In Back," analyzing the difference in highway fatalities between states that require rear seat passengers to buckle up and those that do not, the Hartford Courant reported.  At a Connecticut legislative hearing that year, the paper noted, state Transportation Commissioner James Redeker said that everyone in a passenger vehicle should buckle up, saying statistics show "people become projectiles because they're not strapped in a safety device."

Legislation has been introduced annually in recent years in Connecticut to require use of seat belts in the back seat.  Earlier this year, state Public Health Commissioner testified in support (HB6054 and HB6269), stressing that “adult seat belt use is the single most effective way to save lives and reduce injuries in crashes.”

Safety belts are credited with having saved 13,941 lives during 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates. If everyone buckled up, an additional 2,800 deaths could have been prevented, the data indicated. More than half of the people who die in passenger vehicle crashes in the U.S. each year are unbelted.

IIHS surveyed adults 18 and older by cellphone and landline nationwide between June and August 2016. Of the 1,172 respondents who said they had ridden in the back seat of a vehicle during the preceding six months, 72 percent said they always use their belt in the back seat, while 91 percent said they always use their belt when seated in front. This is in line with the 2015 nationwide observed belt use of 75 percent for adult rear-seat occupants and 89 percent for drivers and front-seat passengers.

https://youtu.be/bdW_3oQFO0c

Ana Grace Project Establishes Partnership, New Home at CCSU

The Ana Grace Project (AGP), established to promote love, community, and connection in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, has a new home at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) in New Britain. A pilot partnership between the AGP and CCSU establishes a new base of operations for the Ana Grace Project, in addition to the blending of resources, services, and expertise, officials of both organizations have announced.

Nelba Márquez-Greene was a CCSU adjunct faculty member in 2012 when her daughter Ana Grace was killed at Sandy Hook, along with 19 other first-graders and six educators. She established The Ana Grace Project to honor her daughter’s memory and, as its executive director, she will oversee the CCSU-AGP partnership.

In announcing the partnership, CCSU President Zulma Toro said, “This arrangement will enrich our longstanding commitment to serving our communities as well as deepen our commitment to being a University of compassion. We are happy to welcome Nelba Márquez-Greene back to the CCSU family.”

“I’m looking forward to the amazing things we can do together,” says Márquez-Greene. “CCSU already has an extraordinary depth and breadth of talented, skilled people. We'll add another layer of support and love available to all.”  She is a clinical fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and has experience in private practice, as well as academic and community mental health settings. For a time she served as coordinator for Klingberg Family Therapy Center’s outpatient child and adolescent psychiatric clinic.

“By partnering with CCSU, we’ll be able to expand our vision of ensuring every student in Connecticut has access to healthy relationships and tools of self-regulation – setting them up for life long success,” Márquez-Greene explains.

Also expected is the continuation and expansion of AGP’s “Love Wins: Finish the Race” initiative hosted at CCSU for the past two years. Several hundred New Britain school children spend a day on campus with CCSU student volunteers for a taste of the college experience with the hope, says Márquez-Greene, of “instilling the belief that there is a world of possibilities awaiting them.”

Márquez-Greene will also work with the School of Education & Professional Studies to establish a Center for Social & Emotional Learning to provide education, training, and research to the campus, community, and state. Other expected collaborations include the training of CCSU undergraduate and graduate students in the Marriage & Family Therapy, Psychology, and Counseling programs in the use of social-emotional curriculum in the classroom.

Her husband, Jimmy Greene, is Coordinator of Jazz Studies and Assistant Professor of Music at Western Connecticut State University, another of the four state universities in the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system.

Greene teaches applied jazz saxophone, jazz history, jazz pedagogy, jazz improvisation, jazz theory, jazz arranging, conducts the jazz orchestra and was awarded a 2013 Outstanding Faculty Award for his efforts. A native of Hartford, Greene is considered one of the most respected saxophonists of his generation since his graduation from the Hartt School of Music in 1997. His most recent recording, Beautiful Life (Mack Avenue) is a celebration of the life of his daughter. The album features touching performances by giants like Pat Metheny, Christian McBride, Kenny Barron and Kurt Elling amongst many others.

CT's Water Plan Ready for Public Comment; Recommendations Advance to Legislature in 2018

If you’re interested in Connecticut’s plans to manage a key natural resource – water – and might like to weigh in on what’s being considered, the window of opportunity to speak up has opened. The state’s Water Planning Council (WPC) published a draft version of the State Water Plan last week, on the council’s website (www.ct.gov/water).  They have also opened a public review period to provide Connecticut residents, businesses, and other stakeholders an opportunity to provide feedback before the Plan is finalized early next year. Comments will be accepted through November 20.

The draft plan recommends a framework for managing Connecticut’s water into the future and for “achieving balance with our many human and environmental needs as climate trends emerge and new needs develop,” according to officials.  The plan addresses the quality and quantity of water for drinking, ecology, recreation, business, industry, agriculture, energy, and wastewater assimilation.

The WPC members stressed that the input of Connecticut’s citizens is crucial to the development and implementation of the plan to ensure it is fair and effective at balancing the needs of all water users while protecting a valuable resource. The council will hold public hearings on the draft plan across the state during late summer and fall, and they also plan to use technological resources to advertise and educate the public on the plan throughout this period.  Comments on the plan can be filed electronically by the public.

Among the issues included is climate change.  The draft plan states that “Climate change is likely to have a significant effect on potential flooding in Connecticut, and could also result in drier summers in the next 25 years. More work is recommended on coastal impacts, longer term effects (50 – 100 years), and basins at risk of not satisfying all future needs.”

The creation of the State Water Plan was required following the adoption of a state law, Public Act 14-163, which directed the WPC to formulate a plan that will help planners, regulators, and lawmakers make decisions about managing Connecticut’s water in a manner that is consistent throughout the state.

The WPC is comprised of four members: John W. Betkoski (Chair), Vice Chairman, Public Utilities Regulatory Authority; Garrett Eucalitto, Undersecretary, Office of Policy and Management; Betsey Wingfield, Bureau Chief, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection; and Lori Mathieu, Drinking Water Section Chief, Department of Public Health.  The group’s draft plan reflects the input of various stakeholders, committee members and public participants.  There is also an advisory board for WPC.

The plan highlights five key messages:

• Plan Function: The Plan is not an answer, but a platform for consistent, informed decision making.
• Maintain Highest Quality Drinking Water: The Plan reaffirms the state’s dedication to the highest standard of drinking water quality in the nation (Class A).
• Balance: Many river basins in Connecticut cannot satisfy all instream and out-of-stream needs all the time. The Plan offers ideas for understanding and improving this balance.
• Conservation: While Connecticut leads the nation in protections of drinking water quality, the State lags in its water conservation ethic. Outreach that builds on utility initiatives is one of the most important recommendations in this Plan.
• Maintain Scientific Data: The plan advocates for the collection and use of scientific data, as well as centralized access to it.

Details of the WPC’s public outreach efforts, information on how to comment, and links to other resources will be available in the coming weeks at www.ct.gov/water. They intend to present a final document to the Governor and various legislative committees in 2018.  The WPC next meets on August 1 at 10 Franklin Square in New Britain.

Connecticut Ranked #2 Among States for Fitness Centers/Gyms

The United States has more fitness centers than any other country in the world, and Connecticut is one of the reasons why.  The state is ranked #2 in the nation, just behind Minnesota, among states with the most gyms/fitness centers, according to data compiled by the website exercise.com.  Rounding out the top 10 are Wisconsin, Iowa, New Hampshire, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota. The states were ranked based on the most gyms using these four categories: total number of gyms, state population in 2016, people per gym, and gyms per capita (100,000 people).  Totals were based on the 14 largest gym chains in America. There were more than 36,000 health clubs in the U.S. last year, up from 29,000 a decade ago.

As of 2017, the average yearly number of U.S. gym members is around 58 million, the website points out, with an average gym membership fee of $58 a month. Interestingly, two-thirds of gym members say they don’t actually go to their gym.

According to a Gallup survey of 335,050 adults, only 51.6 percent of Americans report exercising three or more days a week for at least 30 minutes.  Connecticut has nearly 300 gyms/fitness centers.

According to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), total health club/gym/studio visits surpassed 5 billion a year ago.

Hartford Region Ranks 13th in National Fitness Ratings

The Hartford region ranks as the 13^th “fittest” metropolitan area in the nation, according to a nationwide fitness index developed by the American College of Sports Medicine.  Hartford ranked 9^th a year ago and 11^th in 2015 in the ACSM American Fitness Index, now in its tenth year. The top 10 “fittest” metropolitan areas are Minneapolis, Washington DC, San Francisco, Seattle, San Jose, Boston, Denver, Portland, Salt Lake City and San Diego. The top seven cities in the 2017 AFI are between 4-13 percentage points ahead of the rest of the pack, principally related to lower rates of smoking and cardiovascular disease deaths and higher reported physical activity, consumption of fruits and vegetables, and per capita park expenditures in their communities.

The index publication is supported by the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation.  It is a scientific snapshot of the health and fitness status at a metropolitan level using data made up of personal health, community and environmental factors.

The United States Census Bureau defines the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as containing 54 towns of Hartford County, Tolland County, and Middlesex County. The 2015 population estimate for the MSA is 1,211,324 and is ranked as the 47th largest metropolitan area by population in the United States

Fifty regions were rated, with the Hartford MSA the only region in Connecticut.  Boston-Cambridge-Newton ranked 6^th and Providence-Warwick ranked 31^st, among the New England states.

The Hartford region’s total score has ranked among the top 12 metropolitan areas since 2009, until this year. Strengths include a high number of farmers’ markets per resident, a high percent of parkland as city land area, as well as a high number of recreational facilities per resident, including ball diamonds, golf courses, park units and recreation centers.

The region’s personal health rank was 13; its community/environmental indicators rank was 25, leading to an overall ranking of 13th.  The analysis points to “Areas of Excellence,” in the region, including:

• Lower death rate for diabetes
• Higher percentage of parkland as city land area
• More farmers’ markets per capita
• Higher Walk Score® (75% report engaging in physical activity or exercise in the last 30 days)
• More ball diamonds and basketball hoops per capita
• More recreation centers per capita
• More swimming pools per capita

Nationally, there were numerous positive shifts during the last year:

• 0% increase in the percent who met the recommendations for aerobic and strength in the last 30 days
• 5% drop in the percent with diagnosed angina or coronary heart disease
• 9% increase in walkability scores
• 9% increase in the percent who live within a 10-minute walk to a park
• 7% increase in the total park expenditures per capita
• 0% increase in the number of recreation centers per 20,000 residents

“Our ultimate goal is to offer individuals, families and communities trusted resources that can help them assess, plan and implement policies that promote positive health outcomes,” said Walter R. Thompson, Ph.D., FASCM, who chairs the AFI Advisory Board and is president-elect of ACSM.

The 2017 AFI report also revealed some shortcomings over the past year:

• 7% increase in the rate of diabetes deaths
• 3% reduction in the percent of residents biking or walking to work
• 2% decrease in the percent of individuals eating the recommended number of servings of fruit
• 6% reduction in the number of tennis courts per 10,000 residents

The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than 50,000 international, national and regional members are dedicated to advancing and integrating scientific research to provide educational and practical applications of exercise science and sports medicine. The Anthem Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Anthem, Inc. and through charitable contributions and programs, the Foundation promotes the inherent commitment of Anthem, Inc. to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Anthem, Inc. and its affiliated health plans serve, including Connecticut.

New Initiative Aims to Provide Vision Impaired Patients Access to Print News

The Connecticut Radio Information System (CRIS) continues to innovate and expand in Connecticut.  Connecticut’s only radio-reading service, which provides audio access to news and information for people who are blind or unable to read due to a print disability or medical condition, has announced a ground-breaking new service in partnership with Hartford’s Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center that will bring patients audio of the latest news, in English and Spanish. Saint Francis will be the first acute care hospital in the nation to provide an alternative to printed Spanish-language magazines and newspapers through an in-house system streamed to each patient TV with audio recordings for patients unable to read or turn pages of a magazine due to their medical condition or treatment.

It will also be the first acute care hospital in Connecticut to offer an alternative to more than 50 English-language magazines and newspapers streamed to each patient room.

Patients will be able to listen to human-narrated audio versions of newspaper and magazine articles featuring human narration – in both English and Spanish – through the hospital’s in-house television system.

CRIS is a 39-year-old nonprofit providing audio access to news and information for people who are blind or unable to read due to a print disability or medical condition / treatment, including those with physical, learning, intellectual or emotional disabilities.

 “The Connecticut Hospital Association applauds Saint Francis Hospital and CRIS Radio for its innovative collaboration, serving as another example of hospitals partnering with key service providers to enhance patient satisfaction and improve the quality of a patient’s experience while being treated at the hospital,” said Carl Schiessl, director of regulatory advocacy for the Connecticut Hospital Association.

CRIS operates with 300 volunteers at its main broadcast center in Windsor and satellite studios located in Danbury, Norwich, Trumbull and West Haven.  CRIS radio recently announced it will open its fifth regional studio in Norwalk next month, to be located inside the gatehouse at the Lockwood-Mathew’s Mansion Museum.  CRIS will share the gatehouse with the Fairfield County Cultural Alliance, which has been in that location for nearly four years.

“Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center is extremely grateful for the generosity of those who made this service possible for our patients,” said Dr. John F. Rodis, president of Saint Francis Hospital. “At Saint Francis we believe in caring for our patients in ways that help them on their journey to wellness. Whether it’s through surgical innovations or enhancements to their healing environment like the CRIS service, we are committed to providing the best patient experience possible.

Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center has been an anchor institution in north central Connecticut since 1897. In 2015, Saint Francis became part of Trinity Health of New England, an integrated health care delivery system that is a member of Trinity Health, Livonia, MI, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation.

“Streaming audio versions of newspapers and magazines to each patient room at Saint Francis Hospital is an important milestone for CRIS Radio,” said Paul A. Young, chairman of the CRIS Radio Board of Directors. “It enables our nonprofit to expand access to print information for people unable to read due to their medical treatment or other print disabilities.”

Young also said he is very thankful for the generous funding that brought this project to life. Key funders of CRIS Radio’s hospital streaming project include the John G. Martin Foundation and Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation. The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving supports the nonprofit radio station’s Spanish-language programming, CRIS en Español.

In addition to broadcasting newspaper and magazine articles, CRIS also records classroom materials for teachers, and the CRISKids Audio Library offers more than 800 classroom titles, including 17 children’s magazines, also recorded by CRIS volunteers.  CRIS also streams audio versions of children’s magazines to patient rooms at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

Other CRIS programs include CRIS en Español and CRISAccess, featuring Spanish-language newspapers and magazines and audible tours for museums, respectively. An initiative with the Mystic Aquarium, providing audio information about museum exhibits, was launched two years ago. Earlier this year, CRIS Radio's Voice's of World War I project was announced, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into the war.

CRIS Radio broadcasts can be heard with a special CRIS radio distributed free of charge, toll-free through the CRIS Telephone Reader, online streaming live or on-demand at the CRIS Radio website, www.crisradio.org, or with a free mobile app on any mobile device, including tablets or smartphones.

UConn Researcher: E-Cigarettes as Harmful as Tobacco

Researchers at the University of Connecticut have revealed evidence that electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, may be as harmful as tobacco cigarettes. Since e-cigarettes came on the market in 2004, there has been considerable debate on their safety, as well as the potential adverse health effects on users. E-cigarettes have risen in popularity in recent years as many consider them a "safer" alternative to traditional tobacco cigarettes.

Now, a just-published study by chemists at the University of Connecticut offers new evidence that electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are potentially as harmful as tobacco cigarettes.  The contents of e-cigarettes -- known as e-liquid or e-juice -- contain propylene glycol, glycerine, nicotine and flavorings.

Using a low-cost, 3-D printed testing device, UConn researchers found that e-cigarettes loaded with a nicotine-based liquid are potentially as harmful as unfiltered cigarettes when it comes to causing DNA damage.

“Some people use e-cigarettes heavily because they think there is no harm,” said Karteek Kadimisetty, a postdoctoral researcher in UConn’s chemistry department and the study’s lead author. “We wanted to see exactly what might be happening to DNA, and we had the resources in our lab to do that.”

The researchers found that vapor from non-nicotine e-cigarettes caused as much DNA damage as filtered cigarettes, possibly due to the many chemical additives present in e-cigarette vapors. Cellular mutations caused by DNA damage can lead to cancer.

The findings appear in the journal ACS Sensors, a publication of the American Chemical Society.  ACS Sensors is a peer-reviewed research journal that is devoted to the dissemination of new and original knowledge on all aspects of sensor science that selectively sense chemical or biological species or processes.  Since publication, the research has been widely featured in the news media across the country.

How much DNA damage e-cigarettes cause depends on the amount of vapor the user inhales, the other additives present, whether nicotine or non-nicotine liquid is used, and other factors, according to Kadimisetty.

“From the results of our study, we can conclude that e-cigarettes have as much potential to cause DNA damage as unfiltered regular cigarettes,” Kadimisetty told UConn Today.

How much e-cigarettes contribute to serious health problems and whether they serve as a gateway for future tobacco smokers remains the subject of debate among scientists, legislators and the public. A year ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration tightened some regulations on e-cigarettes due to concerns that were raised.

Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered devices that heat up liquid and turn it into an aerosol vapor that can be inhaled. Using e-cigarettes is also called ‘vaping.’ The contents of e-cigarettes, called e-liquid or e-juice, are usually made up of propylene glycol, glycerine, nicotine, and flavorings such as menthol, cherry, vanilla, or mint. Non-nicotine e-cigarettes are also available.

Joining Kadimisetty and Rusling on the study, UConn Today reported, was former UConn Ph.D. student Spundana Malla, now a scientist at Alliance Pharma in Pennsylvania. The study was supported by funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.

Photo: UConn postdoctoral researcher Karteek Kadimisetty. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)