Good morning. U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) has called for the Department of Veterans Affairs to address increasing female veteran suicide rates. According to the National Veteran Suicide Prevention’s annual report, the suicide rate for female vets jumped 24% between 2020 and 2021. That is four times higher than male veterans.
The report found female veterans are three times as likely as non-veteran women to die by firearm suicide. Murphy is asking the VA to improve firearm storage and safety counseling to prevent further deaths.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
Long Island nursing homes rack up state fines. New York state fined almost a quarter of Long Island nursing homes a combined $148,000 last year. The nursing homes incurred several violations, including sexual assault on patients and failure to follow medication protocol. Officials cited minimal state oversight and substandard staffing. Suffolk County’s Brookside Multicare Nursing Center received the most fines totaling $42,000.
Four Connecticut state troopers will not be charged in a ticketing scandal. Chief State Attorney Patrick Griffin opened a criminal investigation into the troopers in 2022. The four are believed to have collectively falsified hundreds of traffic tickets. They will not be charged, as state police failed to notify prosecutors within five years of issuing the tickets.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman sues New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Blakeman said Hochul’s 2023 legislation that moves most local elections to even years violates the state’s constitution. He wants to protect the county’s control over when local elections are held. The law moves the days for presidential, congressional and gubernatorial elections. Hochul said the goal is to increase voter turnout.
Connecticut disability center owes millions to the family of a deceased patient. Oak Hill, a disability assistance nonprofit, will pay $10 million to the family of Scott Case. The 50-year-old Special Olympics athlete died at the Watertown facility in 2016 after his respiratory breathing apparatus malfunctioned. Case’s family sued Oak Hill in 2018. They claim facility employees did not provide aid until emergency personnel arrived a half hour later.
Third-party cannabis companies can compete with New York dispensaries. A state Supreme Court justice has ruled that regulations banning dispensaries from fulfilling orders on third-party sites have no basis. Leafly, the online cannabis resourceat the center of this case, said the decision will lead to a healthy adult-use market. Local dispensaries fear this may force them to use third-party companies to market and deliver their products.
Connecticut nonprofit hospitals spend less on patient financial assistance. According to an Office of Health Strategy report, patient charity care spending decreased from $343 million in 2017 to $256 million in 2022. That is a $90 million, or 25% decrease. This is despite hospital community benefit spending increasing by $200 million during this same time period. Report authors cite pandemic Medicaid eligibility and decreased hospital utilization.
Brookhaven National Laboratory will receive a part of $8 billion in federal funds granted to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. The laboratory studies the atomic structure, elemental properties and electronic behavior of various materials. Officials say the funds will keep Long Island at the forefront of scientific progress. The laboratory employs over 2,500 residents and has made seven Nobel Prize-winning discoveries.
