Lynne DeLucia and Lisa Chedekel at the C-HIT office suite on Elm Street shared with the New Haven Independent and La Voz Hispana.
Two longtime Connecticut journalists launched a health-care investigative reporting project Monday.
Called “C‑HIT,” it is a part of the Online Journalism Project, which also publishes the New Haven Independent, Valley Independent Sentinel, and Branford Eagle.
Check out its first batch of stories here. And read on for a press release with more details.
INVESTIGATIVE NEWS WEBSITE LAUNCHED, WITH UNIQUE FOCUS ON HEALTH & SAFETY
C‑HIT Debuts in New England, with Stories on Physician Misconduct, Restraints in Schools, Physicians Earning Millions From Firm Under FDA Scrutiny, Veterans’ Mental Health Struggles and More.
NEW HAVEN, CT – A new non-profit investigative news service – the Connecticut Health Investigative Team [www.c‑hit.org] — debuts today, offering in-depth, original stories on issues of health and safety in Connecticut and the surrounding region. The first edition of C‑HIT, produced by a team of award-winning journalists, includes stories that reveal:
• Numerous doctors who have been sanctioned for prescription abuse, financial malfeasance and other misconduct in neighboring states are practicing in Connecticut, under unrestricted licenses;
• Connecticut schools used emergency restraints and seclusions on students more than 18,000 times last year;
• DePuy Orthopaedics, under fire for producing faulty hip-replacement parts, has paid out more than $80.8 million to 200 physicians across the country since 2009;
• A physician shortage in Connecticut is hampering patient access to primary care and high-risk specialty care, with inner city and rural areas such as Windham and Litchfield counties among the hardest hit;
• The numbers of Iraq and Afghanistan treated for PTSD by the VA and veteran centers climbed 28 percent over the last year – an increase stretching service providers.
In addition to articles on healthcare, safety and veterans, C‑HIT is providing searchable databases containing up-to-date government regulatory information on healthcare facilities, providers and other health-related issues. The first two databases, launched today, provide detailed information on Connecticut nursing homes and statewide ambulance response times.
C‑HIT, affiliated with the Online Journalism Project of Connecticut, is funded by generous start-up grants from the Ethics & Excellence in Journalism Foundation and the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut.
Founded by Lynne DeLucia, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former editor of The Hartford Courant, and Lisa Chedekel, an award-winning reporter, C‑HIT works in partnership with the Investigative News Network, Quinnipiac University and other supporters. The team plans to distribute its content through partnerships with media outlets in Connecticut and the region.
Overseen by an Advisory Board that includes leaders in healthcare and veterans’ affairs, C‑HIT’s aim is to “engage the public in issues of health and safety by offering in-depth, compelling storytelling and accessible data, in the hopes we can help fill a void in coverage in these areas,” DeLucia said.
Visit C‑HIT at www.c‑hit.org and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ct.hit.