In the U.S., an estimated 100,000 Americans live with sickle cell disease, or SCD.
Yet, despite its impact, the disease and its patients remain largely out of the public eye.
This hour, C-HIT reporter Peggy McCarthy helps us understand why. We discuss the realities of SCD awareness and hear from a New Haven resident living with the disease.
Plus: inside U.S. drug courts.
What approach do these programs take in addressing the nation’s opioid crisis? And are they accessible here in Connecticut? We find out.
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
GUESTS:
- Peggy McCarthy - Reporter for the Connecticut Health Investigative Team, also known as C-HIT (@mccarthy_peggy)
- Deborah Oliver - Volunteer Outreach Educator for Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Southern Connecticut; she was diagnosed with sickle cell disease (SCD) as a child
- Dr. John Roberts - Medical Director of Yale New Haven’s adult sickle cell program
- Rich Lord - Projects Reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (@richelord)
- Judge Robert Devlin Jr. - Presiding Criminal Judge for the Fairfield Judicial District
READING LIST:
C-HIT: Sickle Cell Patients Suffer As Disparities In Care And Research Persist - "The median life expectancy for SCD is 42 for men and 48 for women, according to Kathryn Britos-Swain, state sickle cell coordinator. Fewer children are dying, but adult mortality is not improving. A study by investigators at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine showed it got 1 percent worse each year between 1979 and 2005."
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Drug Courts Divided On Approaches To Addiction Recovery - "Nationally, an increasing number of drug courts are welcoming the medications, according to Chris Deutsch, director of communications for the National Drug Court Institute, which trains professionals involved in the special tribunals."
Chion Wolf contributed to this show.
