What's the word on healthcare in Cuba?

Healthcare in Cuba will be dicussed at 7 p.m. July 21 at the New Haven Public Library, 133 Elm St.
Two health care professionals recently traveled to that country to gather information about how their system works, Anne Somsel and Tina Santoni, will present their observations in "Healthcare in Cuba: What We Learned in Eight Days," organizers said in a statement.
There is no charge for this program, and free parking is available.
Details at www.cubahealth.eventbrite.com or call the library at 203-946-8835.

Think Pink to fight breast cancer

The following is a press release by the University of New Haven:

A "throng" of University of New Haven staff, students, and faculty members are participating in the UNH “Think Pink” campaign to raise money for breast cancer research. Several campus groups will solicit donations for the Father McGivney Center for Cancer Research at the Hospital of St. Raphael, including the UNH women’s basketball team, cheerleaders, Undergraduate Student Government Association, Greek associations and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

The week will culminate in a “Think Pink” basketball game at 2 p.m. Feb. 9,in the Charger Gymnasium. Donations will be accepted at the door for pink ribbons and T-shirts.

Also, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 16, the Yale New Haven Hospital Digital Mammography Mobile Van will offer free mammograms to the community in the parking lot of Maxcy Hall on the UNH campus. The event is free and is sponsored by Yale-New
Haven Hospital in conjunction with UNH health services.

The Think Pink Campaign is sponsored by UNH Department of Athletics /NCAA Div. II Community Engagement, and co-sponsored by: The Office of Student Activities , SCOPE, The Office of Residential Life, Health Services, Sodexho Dining Services, SAAC, Delta Phi Epsilon and the UNH Greek community, Charger Cheerleaders, The Experiential Education Office, Tarsey Anastos Photography, Humphrey’s East, West Haven Shop Rite, Power Teesplus, Flower Creations by Raul Rivera and Yale New Haven Hospital.

State fines St. Raphael’s

By Gregory B. Hladky
Capitol Bureau Chief
HARTFORD — State health officials have fined the Hospital of St. Raphael $12,000 for patient care violations that included non-fatal medication overdoses and failures to properly monitor and treat bed sores.
The state action marks the second time since 2006 that St. Raphael’s has been penalized for improper patient care.
In addition to payment of the fine, hospital officials have voluntarily agreed to make improvements in staff procedures, training and record keeping. Unannounced state inspections that turned up the problems were conducted in early June and September 2007.
A spokeswoman for St. Raphael’s said many of the state-ordered reforms have already been put into effect and remaining improvements will be completed soon.
"We formulated a corrective action plan immediately," said Janeanne Lubin-Szafranski, vice president and general counsel for St. Raphael’s.
In a prepared statement, St. Raphael’s officials said inspections by the state Department of Public Health were part of the routine visits made annually by the many regulatory and accrediting agencies that oversee care at hospitals around Connecticut.
"Saint Raphael’s takes these reviews very seriously as they help the hospital further improve the excellent, safe care provided to thousands of patients each year," hospital officials said in the statement. "Saint Raphael’s goal is always to be in compliance with or exceed the many hundreds of standards these groups have."
In 2006, the state fined the hospital $18,000 after a 21-year-old patient died as a result of an overdose of medication. That incident also resulted in a consent order to improve hospital procedures.
Lubin-Szafranski said that, while the 2006 consent order and the 2008 agreement both involved medication procedures, the problems involved were "not similar. … It was a different issue."
William Gerrish, a spokesman for the state Health Department, said his agency has kept a "closer watch (on St. Raphael’s) than we normally would because of the 2006 violations.
"We always follow up on our consent orders," he said.
Gerrish said St. Raphael’s officials "are being cooperative and compliant with the department’s demands."
According to Gerrish, state health officials have occasionally levied fines of more than $200,000 as a result of serious patient care violations at some Connecticut hospitals. But he said smaller fines are far more frequent.
The latest fine resulted from inspections at St. Raphael’s that began last June 6, 7 and 8. Another unannounced inspection was conducted on Sept. 17.
St. Raphael’s President and Chief Executive Officer David Benfer signed the agreement with the state on Jan. 3.
The hospital has already hired an independent nursing expert to review St. Raphael’s wound care program and recommend improvements in the way staff monitors and treats bed sores and other types of pressure ulcers.
Another of the consent agreement’s requirements, to have a staff pharmacist review all doctor’s orders for regulating patient medications, was put into effect last summer.
The unannounced state inspections last year included findings that:
-Staff failed to properly administer and monitor patient medications in several instances. In one case, a patient with congestive heart failure, pneumonia and respiratory failure was given a morphine drip and received an overdose because doctors failed to provide detailed instructions to staff.
- Five different patients with bed sores and other pressure ulcers weren’t being properly monitored and treated.
- A refrigerator used to keep medications cold was malfunctioning and failed to maintain the recommended temperature.
- Infection control practices, such as nurses changing gloves or washing hands, weren’t always followed.
Gregory B. Hladky can be contacted at ghladky@nhregister.com or (860) 524-0719.

St. Raphael’s to receive $3.4M grant

By Eliza Hallabeck
Special to the Register
The Hospital of Saint Raphael will receive a $3.4 million grant to use toward the purchase of a device that will allow doctors to detect heart disease in earlier stages, a state official said.
State Social Services Commissioner Michael P. Starkowski said the grant is part of an overall $20.3 million package from the state Hospital Hardship Fund to eight hospitals in Connecticut facing financial difficulties.
Paul Storiale, vice president of finance and chief financial officer at St. Raphael’s, said caring for economically disadvantaged area residents has resulted in hospital losses over the last year, and the grant was the hospital’s way of easing the financial burden.
"These awards are further indication of how important our network of nonprofit hospitals is in caring for the residents of Connecticut," Starkowski said.
The state Department of Social Services provided the grant, along with the state Department of Public Health, Office of Health Care Access and the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority.
The $3.4 million award will be used to help purchase of a 64-slice CT scanner and laboratory information system for St. Raphael’s.
The scanner is a noninvasive tool for cardiac diagnosis, and can help doctors detect signs of heart disease in earlier stages by finding calcium deposits.
The scanner helps detect coronary artery disease, which is the most common form of heart disease. The information system will be used to record and report lab results, Storiale said.
St. Raphael’s already owns a CT scanner, but according to Storiale, the new machine will be much better. He said the new scanner should arrive within 30 days.
"To put it into context, we do 38,000 CT scans per year," said Storiale.
The hospitals chosen to receive the grants were selected on the basis of actual and projected revenues and expenditures, licensure and certification compliance history and the care of patients eligible for state assistance programs.
Eliza Hallabeck is a Register intern.