AWARDS
National Press Foundation, AARP Award for Excellence in Journalism on Aging
2024 – “Connecticut’s elder care reckoning” (Four-part series exposing gaps in Connecticut’s elder care system)
Association of Health Care Journalists, First Place Award, Health Policy Reporting (small newsroom)
2024 – “Connecticut’s elder care reckoning”
New England Newspaper & Press Association, Publick Occurrences Award (special award for enterprise reporting)
2023 – “Connecticut’s elder care reckoning”
2021 – “Vaccine rollout” (collection of stories on the state’s uneven rollout of the COVID vaccine)
2020 – “Crisis in CT’s nursing homes” (investigation of a lack of oversight in nursing home care during the pandemic)
2016 – “Soccer stadium investigation” (series that uncovered the theft of taxpayer funds in a major stadium development project, leading to indictments)
New England Newspaper & Press Association, First Place Award, Health Reporting
2024 – “Connecticut’s elder care reckoning”
2021 – “Health care sharing ministries” (exposé of religious health care sharing groups that masquerade as health insurance)
New England Newspaper & Press Association, First Place Award, Investigative Reporting
2017 – “Soccer stadium investigation”
Society of Professional Journalists, Connecticut Chapter, Theodore Driscoll Award for Investigative Reporting
2016 – “Soccer stadium investigation”
Society of Professional Journalists, Connecticut Chapter, Stephen A. Collins Award for Public Service Journalism
2016 – “Soccer stadium investigation”
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, 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 each introduced sweeping legislation overhauling aspects of the elder care industry, most of them highlighted in our coverage. The bills would 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.
‘Cyberattack at three Connecticut hospitals’ – Just months after our stories ran, legislators crafted a proposal that would require better preparedness across health care facilities for cyberattacks (with annual reporting mandates to the state) and would convene an annual meeting with members of the National Guard, representatives from the state’s Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and health officials to discuss and prepare for cyber threats.
‘Health care sharing 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.