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October 10, 2018
Connecticut has never seen anything like CarePartners of Connecticut, a joint venture between Hartford HealthCare and Tufts Health Plan of Massachusetts, that will begin selling 2019 Medicare Advantage plans in the state when the open-enrollment period begins Oct. 15. It’s the first partnership between a hospital system and an insurer…
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September 18, 2018
The Food and Drug Administration last week threatened a ban on flavored e-cigarettes after research showed the number of teens using the devices has reached epidemic proportions. “I’ve been asked a lot of questions about electronic cigarettes in my community nurse travels,” says Lisa Hageman, a nurse at Backus Hospital….
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September 10, 2018
The Junior Volunteer Bridge Program at Backus Hospital gives high school students the opportunity to explore careers in healthcare, as well as provide services to our patients and staff. In 2018, 82 junior volunteers from 23 different towns and 18 different high schools completed a whopping 6,100 hours from the end of June through…
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August 15, 2018
More than a year after being installed, Backus Radiation Oncology’s linear accelerator is being used in new ways to help patients fight cancer. In operation since last July, the new equipment uses a higher, more targeted dose of radiation for small tumors in various parts of the body. These precisely…
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August 15, 2018
Suicide prevention is a topic that’s very close to Patricia Hayward-Paige’s heart. The Natchaug pharmacy technician lost a close friend to suicide nearly 20 years ago. “She made an attempt and was unsuccessful,” says Hayward-Paige. “I was able to get her to a hospital and get her some help. She moved back…
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August 08, 2018
Like many people with diabetes, Roland Bowley couldn’t feel the sore on his right foot until it got so bad a nurse said he might need to have it amputated. The disabled 63-year-old from Canterbury says he had a wound that became infected. “I just didn’t feel it until it…
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June 20, 2018
In 2017, life threw a curve ball at Ricardo Arduengo of Hartford. He was facing end-stage kidney failure. “At this point last year, Dad was really, really sick,” his son, Sebastian, recalled. “He looked like an 80-year-old man. He could barely get out of bed.” This was a dramatic turn of…
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June 19, 2018
It’s like a wake-up call for your body but, unfortunately, most people who have pre-diabetes don’t hear it because there are no telling symptoms. The statistics from the Centers for Disease Control are alarming, revealing that more than 84 million American adults, or 33.9 percent of the adult population, have…
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June 19, 2018
Backus Hospital recently earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Centers, both of which represent symbols of quality. “We are thrilled that the Backus stroke team is being recognized with this advanced certification for…
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June 08, 2018
Designer Kate Spade is dead at 55. Chef and CNN world traveler Anthony Bourdain is dead at 61. These are just the latest in a long line of tragic, high-profile deaths by suicide. Google “celebrity suicide” and the lists are seemingly endless. They stretch back centuries. Included are people whose influence…