Where We Live

Several projects are underway aiming to connect Connecticut residents to revitalized riverfronts.

This hour, we hear from planners on the Naugatuck River Greenway Trail, getting the latest on the effort to connect 11 municipalities from Derby to Torrington along 44 miles of trail.

We'll check in on the next phase of construction planned through the center of Waterbury.

But first, Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim discusses the new 200-acre plan for the "Return to the Riverbend."

You can download the master plan here.

GUESTS:

• Ben Florsheim: Mayor, City of Middletown
• Aubrey Lamonica: Co-owner, Eli Cannon's Tap Room
• Aaron Budris: Senior Regional Planner, Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments
• Jack Walsh: Co-Chair, Naugatuck River Greenway Steering Committee
• Kenneth Curran: Chair, Waterbury Greenway Advisory Committee

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Sy Montgomery has authored over 30 books about animals.

Today, she joins us to talk about her latest book, The Hawk’s Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty. We learn about Sy’s lessons in falconry and what it takes to handle these incredible creatures.

Later, we hear from A Place Called Hope Rehabilitation Center, a raptor rehabilitator located in Killingworth.

If you’re a lover of birds of prey, we want to hear from you. What questions do you have about falconry?

GUESTS:

• Sy Montgomery - Author of The Hawk’s Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty
• Christine Cummings - Executive Director and Founder of A Place Called Hope Rehabilitation Center in Killingworth, Connecticut

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired May 13, 2022.

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Implementation of certain telehealth services would improve clinical quality nationwide by 20%, increase access to care by 20%, and reduce health care spending by 15% to 20%, a May-June 2022 report in Harvard Business Review of Kaiser Permanente and Intermountain Healthcare, two of telehealth’s earliest adopters, show.

Today on Where We Live, we hear how Yale New Haven Health and UConn Psychiatry are expanding their telehealth services well after hospitals and clinics have opened up in-person consultations to non-COVID patients.

We look at telehealth outcomes as measured by the management of patients’ diseases, a reduction in ER visits, no-show rates, and wait times to see a provider; as well as a reduction in barriers to access care.

Also, we discuss the future of telehealth in providing abortion care following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not allow abortion rights.

And, we look into the privacy of patient data.

GUESTS: 

Dr. Pamela Hoffman: Medical Director, Yale Medicine-Yale New Haven Health Telehealth Program.

Dr. Lisa Perriera: Chief Medical Director of the Women’s Centers

Dr. Neha Jain: Director of Telepsychiatry, University of Connecticut

Bob Chaput: Founder and Executive Director, Clearwater; faculty member (cyber security), Quinnipiac University

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A shortage of reproductive health professionals has resulted in wait times for some services in our state, including in-clinic abortions.

Connecticut's "safe harbor" law expands the scope of care for advanced-practice clinicians to include procedural abortions, and is expected to lessen what is now up to a two-week wait. These clinicians are advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), clinical-nurse midwives (CNMs) and physician's assistants (PAs).

CNM and CEO and President of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England Amanda Skinner told the Connecticut Mirror she expects a "continued surge in patients" in the wake of the Dobbs decision.

This hour, Skinner joins us to discuss the important role advanced-practice clinicians play in reproductive health care. At Planned Parenthood, these clinicians are primary care providers, she explains.

Plus, Loren Fields is an advanced-practice nurse, educator and longtime member of Clinicians in Abortion Care, an arm of the National Abortion Federation.

GUESTS:

• Amanda Skinner, CNM, MBA: CEO and President, Planned Parenthood of Southern New England
• Loren Fields, DNP, MSN, APRN: Clinician, Planned Parenthood of Southern New England; Lecturer in Nursing, Yale School of Nursing; Member and Former Advisory Committee Chair, Clinicians in Abortion Care

Where We Live is dedicated to exploring the issues and impact of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe. We wanted to create a space to make it easy for our listeners to find all of this content with one click. Visit ctpublic.org/PostRoeWorld for easy access to our ongoing coverage.

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If you experience headaches, fatigue or gastrointestinal issues during difficult times, you’re not alone.Today, we explore the link between our physical and mental health. Doctors typically treat these areas of health separately, but there is a lot more connecting these two areas of health than you might think.Dr. Julian Ford, clinical psychologist and professor in the department of psychiatry at the UConn School of Medicine joins us to talk about the physical consequences of chronic stress.We want to hear from you. How has stress impacted your overall health?GUESTS:

• Dr. Julian Ford - Clinical psychologist and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine
• Aneri Pattani - National Correspondent with Kaiser Health News
• Heather Labbe - Director of Trauma Informed Wellness and Education at the YWCA in New Britain, Connecticut

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired May 6, 2022.

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In light of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on abortion, period tracking apps have been a new target of concern. But legal experts like Nora Benavidez say digital safety and the potential for "digital dragnets" are a broader concern "decades in the making."

This hour, we hear about the ways digital privacy is at risk, and how personal data can be weaponized to prosecute people seeking abortions. Prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Electronic Frontier Foundation provided tips for protecting digital privacy in those cases.

How can you be more diligent about your digital footprint? And what role do tech platforms and the federal government play?

GUESTS:

• Nora Benavidez: Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights, FreePress
• Lydia X. Z. Brown: Policy Counsel, Privacy and Data Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology
• Cat Zakrzewski: Technology Policy Reporter, The Washington Post
• Cindy Cohn: Executive Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Dana Sussman: Acting Executive Director, National Advocates for Pregnant Women

Where We Live is dedicated to exploring the issues and impact of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe. We wanted to create a space to make it easy for our listeners to find all of this content with one click. Visit ctpublic.org/PostRoeWorld for easy access to our ongoing coverage.

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the overturn of Roe v Wade, how will OBGYNs have to change the way they provide for patients?

This hour on Where We Live, we host a roundtable of OB-GYNs, and hear what their expectations and fears are about providing care in a post-Roe world.

We hear from Dr. Amanda Kallen, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale School of Medicine, specializing in reproductive endocrinology and infertility.

She is joined by Dr. Kate Pascucci, a physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology at Connecticut Women’s OB/GYN.

We’ll also hear from Dr. Jessian Munoz who practices in Texas, and Dr. Beverly Gray, who practices in North Carolina.

What questions do you have about the future of OB-GYN care post-Roe?

GUESTS:

• Dr. Kate Pascucci - Connecticut Women's OB/GYN
• Dr. Amanda Kallen - Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale School of Medicine
• Dr. Jessian Munoz - Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist practicing in Texas
• Dr. Beverly Gray - Associate Professor Duke Obstetrics and Gynecology

Where We Live is dedicated to exploring the issues and impact of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe. We wanted to create a space to make it easy for our listeners to find all of this content with one click. Visit ctpublic.org/PostRoeWorld for easy access to our ongoing coverage.

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cinema fans will get an intimate look into the careers and marriage of Hollywood couple Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in The Last Movie Stars, a six-part documentary on HBO Max premiering July 21.

The documentary also highlights their dedication to art and philanthropy.

Newman and Woodward’s legacy of giving grew out of Westport, Connecticut, where the couple lived and raised their family on a 10.46 acre estate, with a 1900-era carriage house, in the Coleytown section.

This hour on Where We Live, we talk with Miriam Nelson, President and CEO of Newman’s Own Foundation, and a highly regarded scientist in the field of public health, about the foundation’s new giving focus – child health – and what’s driving the change.

Newman’s Own Foundation, beginning this year – its 40th anniversary – will focus on children with Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACES, who are at risk for cardiovascular diseases and mental health conditions later on.

Nearly $600 million in profits from the sale of Newman’s Own products have been donated to date to benefit organizations in Connecticut, across the U.S. and worldwide.

We also hear from another long standing nonprofit, Real Art Ways in Hartford, on its $14.7 million expansion plans, as well as its work with children in the neighborhood, including a new community garden.

Disclosure: Sujata Srinivasan, producer of this show, is a visiting artist at Real Art Ways’ summer Park Art program for children in Hartford. 

GUESTS:

Miriam Nelson: President and CEO, Newman’s Own Foundation

Will K. Wilkins: Executive Director, Real Art Ways

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One in ten Americans, or one on every elevator and four on every bus, is impacted by a rare disease. 

Yet, 95 percent of rare diseases do not have approved treatment. On a promising note, bio-pharmaceutical companies working on orphan drugs have more than 800 projects in clinical development.

In a ground-breaking clinical trial, a participating patient at the University of Connecticut Health Center was the first in the world to receive an infusion treatment for a type of glycogen storage disease.

This hour on Where We Live, we hear from the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) on efforts to create a Rare Disease Advisory Council in Connecticut to elevate the voices of residents with rare diseases, something other states have done.

We also hear from a UConn researcher, and a father and son living with osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, on the latest treatment and challenges.

GUESTS:

John D'Alessandro: Diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta at age 40

Christian D'Alessandro: Diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta at around four weeks

Alicia Lawrence: Patient Services Case Manager, National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)

Amber Barry, RN: Glycogen Storage Disease & Disorders of Hypoglycemia Program at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center

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Six in ten Americans say they’re feeling the effects of climate change where they live, and that the federal response thus far has fallen short.

Meteorologists are shown to be trusted messengers on climate change, and one non-profit news outlet is driven to help broadcasters connect the local weather conditions to the science of climate change. This hour, we hear from Bernadette Woods Placky at Climate Central, and NBC Connecticut Chief Meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan.

NBC Universal/NBC Connecticut Chief Meteorologist Ryan Hanrahan speaks with students in various school engagements, discussing weather forecasting, the "Snow Monster" vehicle, and often, climate.

GUESTS:

• Ryan Hanrahan: Chief Meteorologist, NBC Connecticut
• Bernadette Woods Placky: Chief Meteorologist, Climate Central; Director, Climate Matters Program

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired April 7, 2022.

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