Maria Horn

Here’s a list of today’s topics: 

• Settlement Between Nuvance Health and Northwell Health. Click here.
• Request Information about Health Insurance Options While Filling Taxes. Click here.
• Participating in Arts, Culture, and Tourism Day. Click here.
• Care Compass - Diabetes Prevention Program. Click here.
• Events in the Northwest Corner. Click here. 

Earlier this week, the proposed affiliation between Nuvance and Northwell Health was approved by the Office of Health Strategy (OHS).  This means that Sharon Hospital (along with Danbury and Norwalk Hospitals) will now be under Northwell’s leadership, which had made clear its intention to improve and expand services at Sharon Hospital, and to maintain its current services, such as maternity. 

The settlement agreement sets conditions safeguarding the interests of Connecticut patients and providers, and specially requires that Northwell and Nuvance adhere to an agreement Northwell leadership made with Save Sharon Hospital, along with the Connecticut and New York State Attorneys General, which requires the preservation and expansion of maternity services at Sharon Hospital, and that Sharon Hospital be maintained as "a full-service community hospital, including 24/7 surgical capability and a full-service emergency department.”
 
Northwell has agreed to invest at least $1 billion across the Nuvance hospitals in Connecticut and New York over the next five years, and to provide annual reports detailing Northwell's progress made toward completion of those investments. The agreement also prohibits any real estate sale leaseback transactions for at least five years. Other specific conditions include: 

• Constraining growth in commercial prices so negotiated rates do not exceed the average of the state’s Cost Growth Benchmark Target and the Consumer Price Index for Medical Care in New England (CPI-U Medical)
• Adoption of Northwell’s more generous financial assistance policies at Nuvance hospitals
• Maintaining all inpatient clinical services and recognizing all collective bargaining agreements
• Developing strategic plans to retain and enhance health care services at each of the hospitals, including physician recruitment and resource commitments for clinical service programming
• Promoting advanced alternative payment models with payers to improve population health, reduce the rate of unnecessary cost or utilization growth, improve access to primary care, address social determinants of health 

Click here to learn more. 

Without intervention, prediabetes raises your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. The good news is that healthy eating, staying active, and losing weight can help prevent it.
Take charge of your health with our FREE 12-month Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). This program is designed to help you make sustainable changes through:

• Interactive webinars on exercise, healthy eating, and stress management
• Personalized group coaching and support

Fun challenges to keep you motivated

Crescendo, a Salisbury based music performance organization, will hold the final concerts of the 2024-2025 season on May 10 and 11. On these dates, Crescendo will present Body & Soul: Cavalieri's Rappresentatione – A Turning Point in Music. This musical drama features a cast of renowned soloists, the award-winning Crescendo Chorus, and Crescendo Period Instrument Orchestra, directed by founding artistic director Christine Gevert.
 

The performances are on Saturday, May 10 at 6:00 PM at Trinity Church, 484 Lime Rock Rd., Lakeville, CT, and on Sunday, May 11 at 4:00 PM at Saint James Place, 352 Main St., Great Barrington, MA. Tickets range from $10 to $75, and are available online at www.crescendomusic.org, or on a first-come-first-served basis at the door, 45 minutes prior to the concerts.