CT Health Newsletters
University of Connecticut Health Center
Connecticut Health Signature Program Newsletter
Issue Four - November and December 2002
www.connecticuthealth.org
PROGRAM OF THE MONTH:
Huntington's Disease Program
James D. Duffy, M.D., Bonnie L. Hennig, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., Mary Jane
Fitzpatrick, A.P.R.N.
Huntington's Disease (HD) is a genetic, degenerative, terminal brain
disorder for which there is no present effective treatment or cure.
Though less public than Lou Gehrig's disease, HD ravages a person's life
and family much in the same way. Huntington's Disease affects both mind
and body, resulting in personality changes, depression and mood swings,
as well as unsteady gait and involuntary movements, among other
symptoms. HD is estimated to affect 30,000 individuals across the United
States, with a known population of 400 in Connecticut. Another 150,000
persons are at risk for HD by virtue of having a parent or sibling
affected with the disease. HD affects as many people as Hemophilia,
Cystic Fibrosis, or muscular dystrophy.
The Huntington's Disease (HD) Program, directed by the University of
Connecticut Health Center and housed at Hartford Hospital, serves the
comprehensive physical, mental, and emotional needs of HD patients,
their families, and their extended care systems. The program was
established in 1997 by the Connecticut General Assembly as an attempt to
improve the quality of life of HD-affected individuals, as well as
develop the capacity for research toward a cure. In a nutshell, the HD
program forms a vital support link with patients and families to act as
an intermediary in the complex health care world while studying the
disease to contribute to successful treatments and cures.
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Celebrate Women offers Free Membership
Celebrate Women is a new, free membership program directed by the
University of Connecticut Health Center aimed at improving the health of
women of all ages.
The Celebrate Women initiative at the University of Connecticut
Health Center understands the unique health needs of a woman - mind,
body, and spirit. Its free membership program offers educational,
research, and clinical service advantages, including: an informative
quarterly newsletter; discounted or free admission to sponsored events,
health screenings, and seminars; and discounts and special offers from
local merchants. In addition, the program centers focus around
nationally recognized leaders in areas such a breast health,
osteoporosis, cardiology, dermatology, and incontinence, as well as
specialists in UConn's comprehensive OB/GYN program, to care for women
from adolescence through childbearing years, menopause, and beyond. The
Celebrate Women program operates in conjunction with the Charlotte
Johnson Hollfelder Center for Women's Health, located in the University
of Connecticut Health Center main lobby.
To learn more, visit
www.celebrate.uchc.edu or call 860-679-8899 or toll free at
1-866-4-FEMALE
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Connecticut Health General Information
Connecticut Health facilitates and promotes public health and public
sector service to the State of Connecticut. The Connecticut Health
Project Database serves as a central source of information regarding
the UConn Health Center's community and public health programs. Working with governmental
and community-based organizations, it seeks out opportunities for UConn Health Center
faculty and staff to collaborate on new initiatives, and it consults on
the development of new projects that are initiated from within the
Health Center.
Connecticut Health represents for the University of Connecticut
Health Center a new and permanent emphasis on community and public
health. It embodies the contribution of the Health Center to the health
of the citizens of the entire state. From Connecticut Health will come
an expanded range of programs that augment the Health Center's
traditional mission in education, research, and high quality medicine
and fulfill its obligation as a publicly funded institution.
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Highlights -Did you know . . . ?
- Medical errors account for over 98,000 deaths per year in
hospitals alone. Find out how the UConn Health Center addresses these avoidable
fatalities under keyword "Quality Assurance and Continuous Quality
Improvement."
- The number of children suffering from asthma in the US is
estimated to have increased by 49 percent since 1982. See what the
UConn Health Center
is doing about it! Search the Connecticut Health website by keyword:
asthma
- Over 93,000 UConn Alumni currently live in Connecticut.
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Connecticut Health Engages the City of Hartford
Connecticut Health staff have found a new outlet for serving the
underserved-by teaming up with local agencies in need of assistance in
project development and grant writing.
Connecticut Health staff have been working extensively with several
agencies in Hartford to bridge gaps in health care services: Hartford's
Federally Qualified Health Centers, or FQHCs; Hartford Behavioral
Health; the Hartford Health Department; and the Connecticut Department
of Mental Retardation.
FQHCs provide health care to local communities, including uninsured
populations. The focus of grant activities has been to enhance the
clinical capacity of these health centers by expanding behavioral health
services for the homeless. Connecticut Health staff members also
assisted Hartford Behavioral Health, a community mental health agency,
in a similar grant application. Future collaboration may include efforts
to expand the numbers of mid-level practitioners available on-site at
federally qualified health centers.
In work with the Hartford Health Department, Connecticut Health has
focused on problems acute in Hartford, such as substance abuse and the
lack of access to mental health services. Working together with the
Hispanic Health Council, Community Health Services, Alcohol and Drug
Recovery Centers, Hartford Behavioral Health, and the Psychiatry
department of the Health Center, the grant proposes to create Hartford
Outreach, a collaborative effort to find and engage in effective
treatment for young adults, ages 16-30, who are actively using addictive
substances and who are enmeshed in the drug culture. The grant proposes
to serve 480 youth over three years.
Additional Connecticut Health efforts have concentrated on assisting
the Connecticut Department of Mental Retardation with a "State
Innovation Grant," designed to enhance and streamline the health care
components of DMR's client support plan.
By assisting in the writing of several grants and engaging faculty
members, fellows, residents, and researchers in the community,
Connecticut Health has succeeded in furthering collaborative
relationships targeted at linking Health Center resources to critical
public health issues for the City of Hartford.
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"Because your own strength is unequal to the task, do not assume that
it is beyond the powers of man; but if anything is within the powers and
province of man, believe that it is within your own compass also."
- Marcus Aurelius -
Connecticut Health
University of Connecticut Health Center
263 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT 06030-3967
Phone: (860) 679-3236
Fax: (860) 679-1101
Email: kpasquale@nso1.uchc.edu
www.connnecticuthealth.org
END OF NEWSLETTER
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