Finalist, Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting, Staff of The Hartford Courant
2013 — “Tragedy in Newtown” (Courant staff received recognition for “complete and sensitive coverage of the shooting massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.”)
IMPACT
‘Connecticut’s elder care reckoning’ — Shortly after the project was published in 2023, lawmakers passed a broad bill to beef up oversight of the home care industry and require more transparency in how nursing homes spend taxpayer money. In 2024, Gov. Ned Lamont and House Speaker Matthew Ritter followed up by each introducing sweeping legislation to overhaul aspects of the elder care industry, most of them highlighted in our series. The bills require the state to create a registry of home care workers to make it easier for consumers to find caregivers, expand oversight of homemaker companion agencies by mandating that workers wear photo identification, and establish a presumptive eligibility program to give people speedier access to Medicaid so they can remain at home, among other changes. Both measures were passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and signed into law by Lamont.
‘Cyberattack at three Connecticut hospitals’ — Just months after our stories ran, legislators passed a bill that requires hospitals to annually craft plans for responding to cybersecurity breaches and submit them to an audit by an independent, certified cybersecurity auditor or expert credentialed by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association or similar entity. The auditor must review the adequacy of the plans, identify improvements, and make them available for state agencies, such as the public health department, to inspect. The measure was signed into law by Lamont.
‘Complaint backlog’ — After we reported on a backlog of 2,400 unaddressed complaints from nursing home residents and their families at the state Department of Public Health, lawmakers added $700,000 into the 2024 budget bill to bolster nursing home survey teams to help clear the pileup.
‘Nursing home arrest’ — Following our report on a nursing home in Danbury that was fined for failing to report and investigate allegations of an employee sexually assaulting a resident, the employee (who had been fired) was arrested on sexual assault charges.
‘Religious health ministries’ — Lawmakers introduced a bill in 2021 to bar insurance agents and brokers from marketing and selling plans run by health care sharing ministries.
‘Soccer stadium investigation’ — Following our reporting, a federal grand jury convened and issued subpoenas to the city of Hartford and to developers of the stadium project. Six months later, indictments were returned against the top two developers overseeing the project. One received a three-year federal prison sentence; the other received six months for cooperating with federal authorities. The Hartford City Council declined to approve the next stage of development on the stadium, and the Major Arena Soccer League dropped the team (Hartford City FC) amid allegations of theft and fraud. The team had been scheduled to play indoors at the XL Center in Hartford while it awaited completion of the outdoor stadium. A new developer and team have since taken over the stadium.