Claire Hughes
Times Union
Albany, NY, United States
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Past articles by Claire:
New enrollment high for N.Y. Obamacare exchange, led by Medicaid signups
ALBANY - Health insurance enrollment in New York's Obamacare exchange was the highest this year since the website was launched four years ago. About 4.3 million New Yorkers signed up for health insurance through NY State of Health during this open enrollment season, which ended Jan. 31, according to data released from the state on Thursday. That was 700,000 more than did so last year. → Read More
In U.S., rise in drug overdoses make accidental injury the 3rd leading cause of death
A 21 percent rise in drug overdose deaths last year made unintentional injuries the third-leading cause of death in the country, according to data set for release Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accidental injuries now follow only heart disease and cancer on the list of leading killers of Americans, according to CDC. Chronic lung diseases, such as chronic… → Read More
Special Counsel questions VA findings in Albany whistleblower case
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs changed its story several times and focused on a whistleblower's actions rather its psychiatrists' behavior in response to allegations of excessive restraint of mentally ill patients at the Stratton VA Medical Center in 2013 and 2014, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. In a Nov. 8 letter to President Donald… → Read More
Union to lead town hall meeting Monday on conditions at Scotia nursing home
Conditions at Baptist Health Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Scotia will be the subject of a town hall-style meeting at the Schenectady Public Library on Monday evening. The message of the union representing workers there, 1199/SEIU, is that inadequate wages and benefits have contributed to high staff turnover, which has in turn resulted in low quality. The nursing home's administrator, Tony… → Read More
Reproductive rights supporter to speak in Albany on threats to women's freedom
The most recent affront on reproductive rights supporters' minds may be last week's move by the Trump administration making it easier for employers to deny contraception coverage to workers by claiming a religious or moral exemption. Michele Goodwin, however, will remind feminists in Albany on Thursday that the rollback of federal rules requiring employers to provide such coverage is only the… → Read More
Central Avenue reopens after gas leak
COLONIE - A portion of Central Avenue closed when a delivery truck hit a pipe, causing a natural gas leak, reopened later Friday afternoon. → Read More
Albany County task force seeks local, timely data on drug overdoses
To consider ways to get more timely data on heroin abuse and overdoses, the five-month-old Albany County Opioid Task Force heard Tuesday morning from an expert on a data strategy implemented five years ago in New York City, called RxStat. Dr. Daliah Heller of the City University of New York described ways in which multiple players in the city - hospitals, law enforcement, public health officials… → Read More
Reports: N.Y. slow to investigate nurse, nursing home complaints
Two reports out Friday criticized New York's oversight agencies for slow responses to allegations against nurses and nursing homes that have the potential to impact the safety of patients and residents. → Read More
Wilton teen injured, dog killed, by Amtrak train
WILTON - A 17-year-old boy was injured and his dog killed early Saturday afternoon by an Amtrak passenger train heading north above Maple Avenue near Daniels Road, according to state police. → Read More
Bethlehem woman, teenage daughter aid overdose victim at strip mall
Jill VanAlstyne's compassion and fast-thinking likely saved a woman's life. But the story, she said, is not about her. It's about the need to respond to a crisis in the midst of an overdose epidemic, which health officials say is currently driven by heroin laced with fentanyl, a more-potent synthetic opioid. Commander Adam Hornick, a spokesman for the Bethlehem Police, said the department… → Read More
The solar eclipse underway in Albany area
The difference between a clear viewing and a poor viewing of Monday's solar eclipse could be a matter of how quickly the sky clears during the afternoon. The sky is supposed to be at least cloudy until sometime between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. By 3 p.m., forecasters said, the sky should be clear of clouds. → Read More
Gene-editing scientists to share $500K Albany Med prize
The decision by the Albany Prize National Selection Committee to award the $500,000 prize to these researchers stands out from recent announcements of the prestigious award, which have acknowledged scientists for groundbreaking work leading to current medical advances. "The committee saw this technology as having huge potential for eradicating human disease," said Dr. Vincent Verdile, dean of… → Read More
8-month-old Scotia baby fights rare brain tumor
[...] the little baby has proved that he is, in fact, "Logan Strong," the slogan the family has used to move forward and to raise funds to cover the expenses they are incurring while he is undergoing treatment. ALBANY — Logan Fogg spent Wednesday morning the way he has spent half his life — lying in a crib at Albany Medical Center Hospital, awaiting the next chemotherapy treatment. The baby… → Read More
N.Y. AG cuts deal to extend heroin antidote discount
Under the deal, Amphastar will provide state agencies and municipalities with a $6 rebate per dose, a discount off the retail price of about 20 percent. The rebate is available to all public entities, including the state Health Department, county governments, and the drug treatment centers and harm reduction programs they fund. → Read More
N.Y. ranks high in health, low in economic environment for kids
In an annual ranking released Tuesday, New York ranked 29th in the nation among states for having an environment where children can thrive. Of 16 measures of children’s wellbeing, New York im… → Read More
A choice for quality of life
Entering its third year, a local experiment in providing palliative care at home for patients in advanced stages of illness is showing success on three fronts considered crucial to improving health care. Care Choices, a home-based program of the Visiting Nurse Service of Northeastern New York, has been shown to improve quality of life for patients, increase satisfaction among their family… → Read More
Lung cancer persists as No. 1 killer
John, a 71-year-old Colonie resident who asked that his last name be withheld, had no symptoms of lung cancer when he decided to get screened for the illness, based on family history and his years of smoking. Often detected after it's too late for effective treatments, lung cancer is expected to kill more than 150,000 Americans this year — more than the death estimates for breast, prostate and… → Read More
She did everything right, but still got lung cancer
According to her mother, Liz Grogan, Burbank ran four to five miles a day. Why, she still wonders, did her daughter have to defend herself for having a life-threatening illness? Burbank went through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and had part of her right lung and lymph nodes removed. [...] the cancer had spread to Burbank's brain, Grogan said. Grogan's experience with her daughter's lung… → Read More
The car crash saved her life
Because Greco had time to swerve, she and Rhys suffered only minor injuries. A second came in an offhand remark made by a doctor in Saratoga Hospital's emergency department, after Greco's CT scan. Doctors classified her at stage IIIA, meaning the cancer had already spread to the lymph nodes, but could still be treated. Because Greco is relatively young, doctors treated her aggressively. There… → Read More
No one tells him he's to blame for his cancer
[...] the 77-year-old, who smoked for nearly 60 years, feels responsible for his illness and imagines others must view him with disrespect. Aware of the risks of smoking on the lungs, heart and other organs, however, he insisted on regular chest X-rays and CAT scans beginning in 2002. None troubled doctors until November 2014, when a mass had grown to seven millimeters, an increase of two… → Read More