Month: May 2021

Public Health Committee Senate Chair Sen. Daugherty Abrams, Leads Passage of Comprehensive Legislation to Address Several Public Health Issues and Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy

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HARTFORD, CT – Public Health Senate Chair state Senator Mary Daugherty Abrams (D-Meriden, Middlefield, Rockfall, Middletown, Cheshire) led passage of a comprehensive bill to improve several fundamental and consequential aspects of public health. The legislation, Senate Bill 1083 “An Act Concerning Various Revisions to the Public Health Statutes,” revises how partners are labeled in marriage licenses, allows residents 16 years of age to donate blood and requires training for the identification of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). The bill heads to the state House of Representatives after passing the state Senate by a 33-2 tally.

“Today we passed an important piece of legislation that will positively impact the lives of many across our state,” said Sen. Daugherty Abrams. “I am especially proud of the requirements for health clubs to have life saving Automatic External Defibrillators and additional training and study going into understanding and preventing Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy. This is a vital first step in saving lives and providing people who live with epilepsy and their families with some peace of mind.”

The bill previously passed out of the Public Health Committee by a 29-4 tally and makes the following changes to statues regarding public health, according to the Office of Legislative Research:

Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP)

• Requires the Chief Medical Examiner, starting January 1, 2022, to complete at least one contact hour of training or education in sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) as part of his required continuing medical education. This portion of this legislation is also referred to as Halyn’s Law in memory of Hayln Murtha of Wethersfield who was nine years of age when she died of SUDEP in May of 2019.
  • Under the bill, “sudden unexpected death in epilepsy” is the death of someone with epilepsy that is not caused by injury, drowning, or other known causes unrelated to epilepsy. By law, physicians must generally complete at least 50 hours of CME during every two years.
    • According to the Epilepsy Foundation, annually more than one in 1,000 people with epilepsy die from SUDEP making it the leading cause of death in people with uncontrolled seizures.
    • According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SUDEP occurs more often in people ages 21 to 40 compared to other age groups and counting SUDEP cases is hard because SUDEP is not always included on death certificates.
    • Per the executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Connecticut, Linda Wallace, this bill “will lead to more accurate and uniform reporting of potential SUDEP cases amongst the epilepsy community. This will result in the collection of critical data to help identify the causes and potential risk factors associated with SUDEP.”
    • The Murtha family provided public testimony saying, “Like all parents, we want to see our children grow up to be healthy and happy, to protect them from harm, and to be a positive contributor to society. Halyn doesn’t have that chance to grow up and we couldn’t protect her from epilepsy. But she was happy, and this bill is one of the ways she can make a lasting contribution to society.”

Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) in Health Clubs

• Requires licensed health clubs to provide and maintain at least one automatic external defibrillator (AED) and, among other things, ensure that at least one employee trained in its use is on the premises during business hours.
  • Under existing law, unchanged by the bill, the Department of Consumer Protection can revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew a health club’s license if it fails to comply with these requirements.
    • AEDs save lives as the chances of a return to spontaneous circulation in people who suffer from out of hospital cardiac arrest is only 5% without the assistance of a defibrillator. Those odds increase to 25% with an defibrillator, according to Avive. Additionally, according to the American Heart Association median average for survival from a cardiac arrest with near-immediate bystander CPR and use of a public access defibrillator was around 40%

Hospital Patients and Notification to Family and Caregivers

• Requires hospital personnel to ask patients, upon admission, whether they want the hospital to notify a family member, caregiver, or support person about the admission.
  • If the patient chooses the notification, hospital personnel must make reasonable efforts to contact the family member, caregiver, or support person as soon as practicable, but within 24 hours after the request.
  • Existing law already requires hospitals to do this for the patient’s physician, upon the patient’s request.

Blood Donations by Minors

• Allows a 16-year-old, with parental or guardian written consent, to donate blood, or any of its components, and consent to blood withdrawal at a voluntary blood donation program.
  • Existing law, unchanged by the bill, allows a person age 17 or older to do so without parental or guardian consent.
    • Currently, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, New Mexico and Wyoming are the only states that do not allow 16-year-olds to donate blood.

Marriage Licenses

• Requires the public health commissioner, by January 1, 2022, to revise marriage license applications and certificates to replace references to “bride” and “groom” with “spouse one” and “spouse two.” The bill also removes the race ethnicity designation on marriage licenses.

Temporary Permits for Art Therapists

• By law, the Department of Public Health (DPH) may issue nonrenewable temporary permits to art therapist licensure applicants with a graduate degree in art therapy or a related field. The permit allows the holder to practice under the general supervision of a licensee.
  • Existing law, unchanged by the bill, prohibits DPH from issuing a temporary permit to someone with a pending professional disciplinary action or who is the subject of an unresolved complaint in any state. The commissioner may revoke a temporary permit for good cause, as she determines

Sen. Daugherty Abrams Votes for Passage of Legislation to Support Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention in Connecticut

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HARTFORD, CT – State Senator Mary Daugherty Abrams (D- Meriden, Middlefield, Rockfall, Middletown, Cheshire), voted in support of legislation to bolster minority teacher recruitment and retention in Connecticut, create a plan to encourage high school students to enter the teaching profession, and address implicit bias in the teacher hiring process. Senate Bill 1034, “An Act Concerning Minority Teacher Recruitment and Retention” moves to the state House of Representatives for further discussion and action.

“As a former educator I am proud to support this piece of legislation that will not only increase opportunities for minorities hoping to become educators, but also strengthen our education system as a whole,” said Sen. Daugherty Abrams. “The impact of having a teacher who looks like you cannot be understated. In addition to a profound understanding between students and teachers of color due to shared experiences, each and every minority teacher is an example of what students of color can achieve if provided with access to reach their goals. It is also true that diversity among teachers benefits all students and the entire school community.”

Senate Bill 1034 will strengthen efforts to increase diversity in Connecticut’s teacher workforce so that it reflects the numerous backgrounds of the state’s student population, while creating pathways to good-paying careers that are central to a young person’s academic achievement.

More than 40 percent of Connecticut’s student population are people of color. However, people of color make up less than 10 percent of the state’s public school teachers, according to the governor’s office in 2019.

The three main components of the bill are:

Establishing the Minority Candidate Certification, Retention or Residency Year Program

Senate Bill 1034 would create the minority candidate certification, retention, or residency year program. The state Department of Education (SDE) would administer the program and it would begin in fiscal year 2022 (i.e. 2021-22 school year) and continue each following year.

The overall program administered by SDE would help minority candidates – a person of color who is employed as a school paraprofessional or an associate instructor with a local or regional board of education – enroll in a residency program with the goal of becoming full-time, certified teachers once they have successfully finished their residency program. Additionally, the overall program managed by SDE would assist local and regional boards of education hire and retain the minority candidates who graduate from their residency program.

The residency program would be a State Board of Education approved certification program. In addition, the program would have participating candidates:

• Serve in a role that would otherwise need professional certification and would be a full-time position for a period of 10 school months in a school district
• Be supervised by a certified teacher or administrator, along with a supervisor from a regional educational service center (RESC). As an alternative to a supervisor from a RESC, a private, nonprofit teacher or administrator overseeing the certification program could serve in that role

A board of education participating in the residency program may hire a minority candidate situated in their school district following the candidate’s successful conclusion of the program.

Starting with fiscal year 2022, the bill would require that each board of education for an alliance district partner with a RESC or private, nonprofit teacher or administrator operating a residency program to sign up candidates and situate them in the school district as a participant in the residency program.

Hartford, Bloomfield, and Windsor were among the 2019-2020 SDE list of alliance districts.

Starting with fiscal year 2022 and each year after, SDE would reserve from an alliance district 10 percent of any funding increase the district received for that fiscal year that is above the amount it received for fiscal year 2020. SDE would use those reserved funds for distribution to the alliance districts to cover costs of the residency program.

An alliance district’s board of education may apply to SDE for funds to cover expenses associated with the aspects of the program. Allowed uses by the participating board of education for the funds distributed by SDE include: signing up minority candidates into a residency program, certification process for the program’s minority candidates, hiring of the candidates who have successfully finished a residency program, and retaining them as certified teachers in the school district.

Develop a Plan to Promote Teaching as Career Path to High School Students

Under Senate Bill 1034, the commissioner of the state Department of Education (SDE), the president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system, and the dean of UConn’s Neag School of Education would collaborate to create a plan to help local and regional boards of education encourage high school students to consider teaching as a career option.

The developed plan would include avenues for boards of education to partner with educator preparation programs in Connecticut and establish counseling programs for high school students to learn about the teaching profession.

In addition, SDE would have to provide boards of education information promoting teaching as a career by September 1, 2021. The distributed information for school counselors and students would include materials on programs in Connecticut regarding educator preparation and alternative route to certification. Also, the information would have to be available on the SDE website.

Video Module Training Addressing Implicit Bias and Anti-Bias in Hiring of Teachers

Senate Bill 1034 directs the state Department of Education (SDE), in consultation with the Minority Teacher Recruitment Policy Oversight Council and State Education Resource Center (SERC), to create a video training module covering implicit bias and anti-bias in the hiring process. The module must be created and available for school district personnel by July 1, 2022.

This bill would require that any local board of education employee involved in or responsible for the teacher hiring process in the school district to complete the video module training before they can participate in the hiring process. This requirement goes into effect for the school year starting on July 1, 2023 (i.e. 2023-24 school year).

Public Health Committee Co-Chairs Sen. Daugherty Abrams, Rep. Steinberg Hold Press Conference to Discuss Fiscal, Public Health Benefits of a Ban on the Sale of All Flavored Tobacco Products Being Included in Budget Negotiations

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HARTFORD, CT – Today, Public Health Committee Co-Chairs state Senator Mary Daugherty Abrams (D- Meriden, Middlefield, Rockfall, Middletown, Cheshire), state Representative Jonathan Steinberg (D-Westport) and Dr. Sandra Carbonari from the American Academy of Pediatrics held a press conference to discuss the fiscal and public health benefits of including Senate Bill (SB) 326, which is a total ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco products, in budget negotiations. Similar efforts have garnered attention across the country.

“We’ve learned throughout the pandemic that it is necessary to invest in the health of our state and our state’s youth,” said Sen. Daugherty Abrams. “We know flavored tobacco products increase the likelihood of addiction to these products in young people, and the health risks associated with these products are costly and deadly. This legislation is the right intervention to protect the youth in our state from an addiction that can lead to expensive medical bills down the line.”

“We passed the Tobacco 21 bill to address the scourge of youth nicotine addiction. But we knew we’d be back to further that mission,” said Rep. Steinberg. “While we’d prefer to ban all flavors, including menthol cigarettes, banning vaping flavors does reduce those opportunities which might lead to addiction. Perhaps the Feds will finish the job next year, but we’re committed to doing what we can – now.”

“Pediatricians in Connecticut are alarmed by the steadily rising number of our young patients who are using e cigarettes,” said Dr. Carbonari “Flavored e-cigarettes, which are marketed to young adults and adolescents, have driven this epidemic. 97% of youth e e-cigarette users report using a flavored product in the past month and 70% cite flavors as a reason for their use. Too many of our youth are inhaling these substances into their lungs.”

On March 5, SB 326 was passed out of the Public Health Committee by a 25-8 tally and on May 3 it passed out of the Finance Committee by a 35-14 tally. The bill has garnered bipartisan support in both committees. If enacted, Starting January 1, 2022, this bill prohibits e-cigarette dealers from selling, delivering, giving, or possessing with the intent to sell, electronic cigarettes and vapor products with a nicotine content greater than 35 milligrams per milliliter or flavoring agents other than tobacco.

The penalty for violating this law is as followed:

• First violation
  • $600, if they fail to complete an online tobacco prevention education program within 30 days.
• Second violation
  • $1,500
• Third violation
  • $2,000, plus minimum 30-day license suspension
• Fourth violation
  • $2,000, plus license revocation

The new law, if enacted, will also penalize employees for violating this law:

• First violation
  • $400, if the employee fails to complete an online tobacco education program within 30 days
• Second violation
  • $500

This legislation is needed as, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking-related illness in the country costs, “more than $300 billion each year, including nearly $170 million for direct medical care for adults.” The CDC’s report continues, “More than $156 billion is lost in productivity, including $5.6 billion in lost productivity due to secondhand smoke exposure. The CDC also noted that state spending on tobacco prevention and control “does not meet CDC-recommended levels.” This is due to the billions of dollars from taxes placed on tobacco products and money from lawsuits against cigarette companies that is not applied to cessation and prevention. According to the CDC, not only do all states fall short of CDC-recommended levels of funding for prevention and cessation, Connecticut is the only state that gives no state funding for “prevention and quit-smoking programs.”

Action, such as enacting SB 326, is necessary as tobacco companies continue the practice of using flavored products to attract kids and menthol cigarettes to attract the Black community. According to the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey, youth usage of electronic cigarettes continues to be a public health crisis with 3.6 million youth still using e-cigarettes. As reported in JAMA, 81% of youth who have ever used tobacco of any kind started with a flavored product. Regarding the tobacco industry’s targeting of the Black Community, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 85% of Black smokers use menthol tobacco products compared to the less than 10% that did in the 1950s. Additionally, tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death among Black Americans, claiming 45,000 lives per year, per the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. All of Connecticut’s neighbors (MA, RI, NY and NJ) have already banned the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. Massachusetts, California, and over 100 cities nationwide have banned the sale of all flavored tobacco products including menthol cigarettes.

During the public hearing on this legislation, Nancy Alderman, the president of Environment and Human Health Inc., said of the bill, “menthol cigarettes have now been banned in many countries and our neighboring state, Massachusetts, has also banned them. It would be important for human health to get menthol cigarettes banned in Connecticut. The Food and Drug Administration has found that menthol cigarettes likely pose a public health risk above that seen with nonmenthol cigarettes.”

The state’s attorney general, William Tong, said of SB 326, “ending the sale of flavored tobacco products will have an enormous impact in reducing the number of people who die or suffer debilitating illness from tobacco use, significantly reducing the number of young people who become addicted to tobacco products, and reversing the youth e-cigarette epidemic.”

Andrew L. Salner, MD FACR at Hartford Healthcare’s Cancer Institute said, “flavors are what makes these products so appealing to youth and are driving the e-cigarette epidemic. Given how popular flavored e-cigarettes are among youth, if retailers are still allowed to continue selling them, kids will find ways to obtain them. Entirely removing these products from the market is the only way to curb their use by kids and create a tobacco-free generation.”