Health Care | May 16, 2008

Strong Threads Rebuild Lives

by Allan Appel | May 16, 2008 8:47 AM | Permalink

Michelle Ashford, on the left, who has lived, finally, without drugs or drinks since 2005 and Vivian Fripp-Elbert have formed a deep and powerful bond -- a bond made from thread. Click here for the story.

Health Care | May 13, 2008

Nursing Home Workers Picket

by christine stuart | May 13, 2008 7:34 AM | Permalink

Employees at Bloomfield Health Care Center took their voices to the street Monday and let management know they mean business when it comes to wages, benefits, and negotiations. Full story here.

Health Care | May 8, 2008

House Buries Sick Day Bill Again

by christine stuart | May 8, 2008 7:33 AM | Permalink

A bill that would allow workers to accumulate one hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked died Wednesday night. Full story here.

Health Care | May 7, 2008

Pollan: What You Eat Makes You Sick

by Melinda Tuhus | May 7, 2008 7:38 AM | Permalink

The modern American diet is the only one in human history that reliably makes us sick, leading to obesity, diabetes and heart ailments. So said a popular author on food and the politics and food. He looks to government policy as the culprit.

Michael Pollan -- author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food -- made the comments during a speech at Yale Law School at the end of April, at the invitation of the Community and Economic Development Clinic at the Law School, which is working with City Seed, the New Haven non-profit that's nurtured four farmers' markets in town. They'll be producing a policy paper on access to fresh, healthy food by students in the New Haven School system.

Pollan writes about the industrial food system, including subsidies to large
agribusiness corporations, as well as alternatives to it that would increase the healthful food people eat. He said that humans around the world have been able to stay healthy on a huge variety of diets.

Click here for a transcript of an excerpt from Pollan's talk from Between the Lines Radio Newsmagazine.

Health Care | May 2, 2008

Will House Kill Paid Sick Day Bill Again?

by christine stuart | May 2, 2008 4:01 PM | Permalink

That's the question a sick-day measure passes the State Senate. Story here.

Health Care | May 1, 2008

"Awareness" = Profiteering

by Staff | May 1, 2008 9:24 AM | Permalink

New Haven's Anne Somsel was ejected in a protest over manufacturers cashing in on breast cancer awareness through "pink ribbon" profiteering. This release has the details.

Health Care | April 29, 2008

Serious About Sick Days

by christine stuart | April 29, 2008 4:29 PM | Permalink

The Working Families Party, Acorn, and the National Partnership for Women and Families wants Connecticut legislators to know they are serious about getting a paid sick days bill passed. Pulling out all the stops before the legislative session ends May 7th the group unveiled a report that finds approximately 44 percent of Connecticut employees have no paid sick days. Click here for the full story.

Health Care | April 17, 2008

Poll Finds Majority of Voters Support Paid Sick Days

by christine stuart | April 17, 2008 11:00 AM | Permalink

The Connecticut Working Families Party released a poll Wednesday that showed 87 percent of the 500 Connecticut voters polled this April favor the idea of earning paid sick days. Full story here.

Health Care | April 6, 2008

Officials Are Cracking Down on Nursing Homes

by christine stuart | April 6, 2008 9:07 AM | Permalink

State officials accused a nursing home chain of taking millions in Connecticut taxpayer dollars and using them to purchase a nursing home in Springfield, Mass. Full story here.

Health Care | April 4, 2008

Will $$$ Follow 1/2 The Persons?

by christine stuart | April 4, 2008 3:53 PM | Permalink

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle stood together and announced their support for the Medicaid program known in Connecticut as "Money Follows the Person." The program wold help up to 5,000 disabled and elderly people get out of nursing homes and return home.