Connecticut

CT high school students advocate for expanding HUSKY health care

Published

2 years ago

April 18, 2024

CT high school students advocate for expanding HUSKY health care

Advocates and Connecticut youth are pushing for expanding state Medicaid coverage for residents, including immigrants, up to 18 years old. Students from different districts adopted varied approaches: some gave up a day of their spring break to travel to the Capitol, while others skipped school to attend training sessions at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford Wednesday morning. Alongside immigration supporters, the students learned how to make their voices heard.

Eric Cruz Lopez, a program coordinator at Connecticut Students for a Dream, said he believes there is support for expanding eligibility for Connecticut’s Medicaid program known as HUSKY.

“We just don’t have the money that’s been allocated up to 18,” Lopez said. “Because we know that there’s a lot of people in our community — our staff, our members — who need help.”

While last year’s bipartisan budget approved expanding HUSKY eligibility through age 15 starting July 1, 2024; Lopez and advocates are pushing for coverage up to 18 years old.

Ayannah Brown

Connecticut Public

High school student, Emmy de Leon from Danbury, Connecticut holds up a sign that says “No one should have to choose between health and financial stability” as her and other high school students and immigrant advocates with CT Students for a Dream prepare to head into the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Connecticut to meet with legislators to push for extended access to healthcare.

Students, ranging from 14-to-18 years old, from various cities, including New Haven, Danbury, Hartford and West Hartford, many of whom are immigrants themselves, shared their personal stories and experiences with health care access.

Dorys Yanbay, originally from Ecuador and a 15-year-old student in Danbury, said ensuring access to health care is not just a matter of personal importance, but a fundamental human right.

“Many people here don’t have the security to go to the hospital or go and get medical attention,” Yanbay said.

Jermy Rodriguez is a 16-year-old originally from the Dominican Republic currently residing in Danbury. Despite needing medical attention, he recounted instances where he and his family without insurance couldn’t afford necessary treatments.

“There was a time I couldn’t access a dentist and I actually needed real attention,” Rodriguez said. “My annual checkup, I haven’t had one since like two years ago or so. We should tell politicians that this is a really serious issue within the state of Connecticut.”

High school students and immigrant advocates with CT Students for a Dream walk through the Legislative Office building to the Capitol building in Hartford, Connecticut to talk to legislators about a push for the approval of expanded healthcare on April 17th, 2024.

State Sen. Matt Lesser, a Democrat, chanted with advocates on Wednesday. Lesser said expanding HUSKY health care would cost $1.9 million next year. He said it’s a relatively small investment in the context of a $25 billion annual budget.

Connecticut Public reached out to the state Senate Republican party for their comment, but did not immediately hear back.

Lesser said while they hope for expansion he remains proud of the success of extending HUSKY health care eligibility to all children 15 and younger last year, which he said served over 14,000 children across the state.

Source link

Connecticut

Do you work or volunteer for CT’s emergency medical services? We want to hear from you.

Published

7 hours ago

June 22, 2026

Press Room

Do you work or volunteer for CT’s emergency medical services? We want to hear from you.

by Cassandra Garibay | ProPublica and Jenna Carlesso, CT Mirror
June 22, 2026

ProPublica and The Connecticut Mirror, two nonprofit newsrooms, are examining the state’s emergency medical services and what it takes to provide lifesaving care across the state. If you work or volunteer for emergency medical services in Connecticut, we need your help.

We know that the state’s emergency medical services have been strained for years, but that doesn’t stop paramedics, emergency medical technicians and emergency medical responders from working around the clock to serve community members in crisis. We have data on ambulance response times, but we know it doesn’t tell a full story about what is happening behind the scenes.

If you work or volunteer for a Connecticut ambulance corps, a fire department, a law enforcement agency or an emergency room, we want to hear your experience and understand what resources you need to do this lifesaving work.

What has changed about emergency medical services since you started? If your ambulance corps needs more staff, what are the challenges to hiring or retaining new people? What do you wish Connecticut residents or lawmakers knew about the state of EMS?

Your input is crucial and will help guide our reporting. We want to understand the issue in all its complexity — from training limitations to worker housing needs to budget cuts, and what that means for your vital work every day.

You can fill out our brief form to share your experience. Our reporters read through every response and may follow up with you. You can also email CT Mirror reporter Jenna Carlesso and ProPublica reporter Cassandra Garibay at ctemergency@propublica.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Don’t work for emergency medical services in Connecticut but know someone who does? You can also help by sending this form to them.

If you have called 911 for a medical emergency, we also want to hear from you. Please fill out our patient experience form.

This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://ctmirror.org/2026/06/22/connecticut-emergency-medical-services-callout/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://ctmirror.org”>CT Mirror</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://ctmirror.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/cropped-CTMirror_bug_rgb-180×180.jpg” style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>

<img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https://ctmirror.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=1171978&ga4=G-9GVNVL530Q” style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://ctmirror.org/2026/06/22/connecticut-emergency-medical-services-callout/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } </script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”//cdn.parsely.com/keys/ctmirror.org/p.js”></script>

Source link

Connecticut

Florida High School State Bronze Medalist Dajah German Verbals To Connecticut For Fall 2027

Published

17 hours ago

June 21, 2026

Press Room

Florida High School State Bronze Medalist Dajah German Verbals To Connecticut For Fall 2027

Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Florida high school state bronze medalist Dajah German has announced her verbal commitment to swim and study at the University of Connecticut beginning in the fall of 2027. She publicized the news on SwimCloud, writing:

I am so excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of Connecticut! I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported me throughout this journey, my family, coaches, teammates, and friends who have pushed me to be my best throughout the years. And a very special thank you to Coach Chris and Coach Nicole for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I’m so excited for what’s ahead. GO HUSKIES!

A rising senior at Fort Lauderdale High School in Florida, German trains year-round with Swim Fort Lauderdale and primarily specializes in the sprint and middle-distance freestyle events.

German has improved each year of her high school career, most recently dropping from 23.78, 51.39, and 1:50.56 in the 50/100/200 free to 23.54, 51.35, and 1:49.69 during the 2025-26 short course season.

German’s top meet of the season was the Florida Senior Championships in March, where she recorded her current PBs in both the 50 and 200 free. She finished second in the 500 free (4:55.94) and 1650 free (17:02.78), third in both the 50 free and 200 free, and fifth in the 100 free (51.43). She set her current 100 free PB at a smaller holiday meet in December. In the 500 free, she clocked a season-best 4:55.21 at the Speedo Cup in January, with her lifetime best of 4:53.19 coming at the 2025 Florida Senior Championships.

German has qualified for the FHSAA (Florida High School Athletic Association) State Championships for the past three years, with her top performance coming at the 2025 iteration in November. She placed third in the 50 free (23.96), fifth in the 500 free (5:01.12), and helped Fort Lauderdale to fourth place in both the 200 free relay (24.64 leadoff) and 400 free relay (53.08 anchor).

Top SCY Times:

50 Freestyle: 23.54
100 Freestyle: 51.35
200 Freestyle: 1:49.69
500 Freestyle: 4:53.19

A Division I Mid-Major program, Connecticut competes in the Big East, with the women’s team placing second out of seven teams at this past season’s conference championships. German’s current lifetime bests would have placed third in the 200 free, fourth in the 500 free, eighth in the 50 free, and ninth in the 100 free, setting her up as an immediate contributor with two full seasons of training still ahead before her first conference meet.

German joins Anna Mumford, Lyla Devlin, Lena Brown, and Louisa Holda in committing to the Huskies’ class of 2031 so far.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].

About the Fitter and Faster Swim Tour

Fitter & Faster Swim Camps feature the most innovative teaching platforms for competitive swimmers of all levels. Camps are produced year-round throughout the USA and Canada. All camps are led by elite swimmers and coaches. Visit fitterandfaster.com to find or request a swim camp near you.

FFT SOCIAL

Instagram – @fitterandfasterswimtour
Facebook – @fitterandfastertour
Twitter – @fitterandfaster

^{FFT is a SwimSwam partner.}

Source link

Connecticut

Strong Storm Emerges For Northern Connecticut: Here’s When, What To Know

Published

1 day ago

June 21, 2026

Press Room

Strong Storm Emerges For Northern Connecticut: Here’s When, What To Know

Here are the forecast details for northern Connecticut via the National Weather Service:

Today: Sunny, with a high near 80. Light west wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Monday: A chance of showers before 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 2pm and 4pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Monday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Low around 59. Southeast wind around 8 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.

Source link