HARTFORD — Governor Dannel P. Malloy announced that he intends to allocate $5 million in state funding to be placed on an agenda of an upcoming meeting of the State Bond Commission as part of the state’s ongoing efforts to assist homeowners in northeastern Connecticut facing concerns due to the possible existence of a mineral that could cause the foundations of their homes to deteriorate.  The funding will be used to provide testing and including visual inspections of foundations in order to better understand the extent of the problem while also assisting property owners with the costs related to testing.

The Connecticut Department of Housing (DOH) is also planning to allocate an additional $1 million in federal block grant funding to further assist low and moderate-income homeowners and help offset these testing costs.

A number of homes in the region have suffered damages due to what appears to be the result of a natural disaster – specifically the reaction of a naturally occurring mineral, pyrrhotite, to oxygen and water.  Pyrrhotite is an iron sulfide mineral, and its exposure to oxygen and water leads to a chemical reaction that results in deterioration of home foundations.  The presence of pyrrhotite indicates the potential for concrete deterioration, but its existence alone does not necessarily cause it.  For homes with existing deterioration, the existence of pyrrhotite can – in some circumstances – be determined by visual inspection alone, chiefly because this kind of deterioration forms a unique cracking pattern.

Under the program homeowners will be eligible for a 50 percent reimbursement – up to $2,000 – for the testing of two core samples within their home.  Homeowners who have visual testing conducted by a licensed professional engineer will be eligible for a 100 percent reimbursement – up to $400.  The program will provide testing for applicants with homes built since 1983 and that are within a 20-mile radius of the J.J. Mottes Concrete Company in Stafford Springs.

 

Donations

WATERFORD --- Charter Oak Federal Credit Union has donated $45,500 to local food pantries and shelters including two local organizations: Interfaith Human Services in Putnam and the Friends of Assisi Food Pantry in Danielson each received $3,500.

 

 

PUTNAM — Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) has again awarded accreditation to Day Kimball Hospital based on results of a recent on-site inspection of the hospital’s Laboratory as part of the CAP’s Accreditation Programs. Day Kimball Hospital provides more than a half-million diagnostic laboratory tests each year, through its main laboratory at the hospital as well as blood draw sites at three community healthcare centers and visits to skilled nursing facilities and homecare patients across northeast Connecticut.

The laboratory’s medical director, Jiafan Qi, MD, PHD, was advised of this national recognition and congratulated for the excellence of the services being provided. Day Kimball Hospital is one of more than 7,700 CAP-accredited facilities worldwide.

“Our entire staff, from our laboratory service specialists and phlebotomists who work directly with our patients to our pathologists, dispatch and courier staff behind the scenes, work hard every day to provide compassionate care and service and the highest quality, reliable and efficient laboratory results possible,” Dr. Qi said. “Our re-accreditation by the CAP speaks to how those efforts are successful in providing our patients with the highest quality care and service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We’re very pleased and proud of this accomplishment.”

The U.S. federal government recognizes the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program, begun in the early 1960s, as being equal-to or more-stringent-than the government’s own inspection program.

During the CAP accreditation process, designed to ensure the highest standard of care for all laboratory patients, inspectors examine the laboratory’s records and quality control of procedures for the preceding two years. CAP inspectors also examine laboratory staff qualifications, equipment, facilities, safety program and record, and overall management.

Of the accreditation, DKH President and CEO Joseph Adiletta said, “Providing the highest quality care to our patients is always our goal and the laboratory plays a crucial role in that effort across the entire Day Kimball Healthcare system. From routine preventive care blood tests to the fastest most reliable results when testing potentially cancerous tissue, this accreditation provides our patients with the assurance that our laboratory is providing them with the best care possible.”

In addition to the CAP accreditation, Day Kimball Hospital’s Laboratory is also accredited by The Joint Commission and the American Society of Clinical Pathologists.