Elizabeth Chuck, Haimy Assefa, NBC News, February 8
Stephanie Snook, who was due with twins, was asked to be interviewed for an article about the high rate of pregnancy-related deaths for indigenous women. Stephanie and her twins died before she had the chance to be interviewed. While it’s unclear what could have been done to prevent this tragedy, many acknowledge that institutional racism and a lack of providers that share their patient’s racial and ethnic backgrounds contribute to these disparate health outcomes.
Carol Leonetti Dannhauser, Connecticut Health Investigative Team, February 12
A recent federal study found that potentially preventable cancer deaths fell in Connecticut over the last decade, with two rural counties, Litchfield and Windham, experiencing a nearly 49 percent decrease, the best in the nation. Though cancer deaths fell overall in the United States, the trend in rural areas was not universal. In neighboring Massachusetts, for example, preventable cancer deaths rose in non-metropolitan areas. The lead author on the study noted that the improvement seen in Connecticut is statistically significant and likely due to factors including early prevention and detection efforts, as well as timely and targeted treatment and post-treatment care.
