Page 7 - Ct Viewpoints News Today

Lessons learned: Education is not enough to combat anti-vaccine propaganda Anti-vax protestors outside the State Capitol. The Connecticut House of Representatives just passed legislation to end the religious exemption for the school vaccination requirement ( HB6423).  The Connecticut state Senate must act quickly to do the same.  If passed, Connecticut would require medically able school children to receive vaccines as recommended by the CDC. Opponents argue Connecticut should pursue educatio...

Playing politics with people’s healthcare is always wrong The coalition represents over 60,000 public school employees across Connecticut. For the past decade, towns, school boards and cities throughout the state have been able to provide their employees high-quality healthcare through the Connecticut Partnership Plan. Municipalities had the choice to buy in to the state employee healthcare plan, using its market power and established program to provide its workforce the world-class health an...

Children’s mental health needs continue to soar: The second pandemic lawmakers must address “She was my happy kid,” a parent told me when I cared for her child who was experiencing a mental health crisis. My patient recovered medically within a few days, however, she remained in the hospital for over a week waiting for placement at a psychiatric rehabilitation facility. We must improve our mental health system and you can be a critical part of making that happen. When children with mental...

The intersection of race, class and gender in America’s childcare system: The class edition Fixing America’s broken childcare system is not just a matter of dollars, but also sense. Children at play at Hope Child Development Center When Michelle Obama declared that she wanted to become “Mom in Chief,” she spoke to a sentiment shared by many women, i.e. the desire to be the primary caregiver of their young children in their early years. Not unexpectedly, Mrs. Obama was derided for making...

Will the Comptroller open the state-run healthcare plan’s books? What choices do you have when you cannot defend a policy issue on its merits? One path is that chosen by former New Britain Democratic Town Committee chair Bill Shortell in his April 14 Viewpoints opinion piece, “Debunking the CBIA’s takedown of the public option healthcare bill.” Instead of defending any perceived merits associated with the proposed expansion of state-run healthcare in Connecticut, Shortell attacks the me...

Three lessons for schools across America from Secretary Cardona’s hometown Johnathon Henninger :: Meriden Record Journal Then-Principal of Meridens Hanover School Miguel Cardona poses for a photo with a student on the last day of school in 2018. Last month, the Biden Administration took a historic step by confirming Miguel Cardona as the new U.S. Secretary of Education. Secretary Cardona enters the position with a distinguished track record as an educator, leader, and advocate for the student...

A healthcare system too broken to fix On March 25, the White house announced that it was going to invest over $6 billion in health centers that are funded through the Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in order to expand COVID-19 vaccinations and other health services provided to vulnerable populations. As a chief medical officer for a health center that is strained to reach some of the most disenfranchised patient population in Hartford, this was great news. Yet there was a part of m...

The Connecticut Juvenile Training School and the lie that built it The Connecticut Juvenile Training Center, closed in 2018. Sitting in the paddy wagon, I was afraid – maybe apprehensive was a better word, since I rightly suspected that white privilege would guarantee me good treatment.  Still, I said a prayer of thanksgiving. After years of advocating for people in our carceral system, I was given a chance to develop more empathy. Together with many other advocates, I’d been arrested for ...

SB 1018: Connecticut’s effort to increase prosecutorial accountability and why it will not work Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division, CT OPM Prosecutors hold people’s lives in their hands. Their decisions shape not only the futures of defendants, prisoners, and formerly incarcerated people, but also the overall extent of mass incarceration. Currently, the United States is the international leader for incarceration with almost 2.3 million people behind bars. Connecticut’s incarcer...

A crisis and complaint about Anthem mental healthcare coverage An excerpt from the MH-CAN survey and complaint to the Department of Insurance. We write on behalf of the Mental Health Clinicians Action Network of Connecticut (MHCAN-CT), a multidisciplinary group of mental health professionals aiming to improve access to mental health care by bridging the gaps between clients, clinicians in private practice, legislators, governing bodies, and insurance companies. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we h...