Connecticut Newborn Screening Network

The Connecticut Newborn Screening Network is a statewide network that responds to all reports of infants who have a newborn screen that is flagged as out of range.

At The Forefront of Newborn Screening

Newborn screening is one of, if not the most effective of all screening programs – providing families with answers to questions, timely diagnoses, and immediate access to high-quality and potentially life-saving medical care, when needed. Connecticut Children’s innovative approach through the Connecticut Newborn Screening Network takes newborn screening to a new level.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health selected Connecticut Children’s to develop and oversee the Connecticut Newborn Screening Network after reviewing proposals submitted by a field of health systems. Since its launch in May 2018, the Network has revolutionized newborn screening in Connecticut by building a system that reduces the time families wait for a diagnosis, provides a vital link between families and providers once a diagnosis takes place, and ensures long-term follow up care so children have every opportunity to thrive.

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The Network’s Impact

Nurses perform a heel stick on every newborn to collect a few spots of blood on a paper card, which goes to the state laboratory for screening of about 70 rare genetic conditions. Here is a look at the Network’s impact:

• From February 2020 to February 2021, 35,557 babies were born in Connecticut.
• Of those, 481 screened out of the normal range during the newborn screening process, and 113 went on to be diagnosed with a condition on the newborn screening panel.
• The Network decreased the time between screening and diagnosis by 71%, from an average of 140 days down to 40 days due to the introduction of efficient pre-diagnosis workflows for subspecialty care teams and the ability to track all pre-diagnosis patients electronically.
• The Network currently follows about 2,700 children throughout Connecticut diagnosed with one of the conditions on the newborn screening panel.

National Recognition

The Connecticut Newborn Screening Network overseen by Connecticut Children’s has received national recognition from leading newborn screening and maternal child health organizations.

• Baby’s First Test, the country’s newborn screening education center, selected the Network as one of two inaugural recipients of the Generating Real Action by Cultivating Engagement (GRACE) Award, which recognizes programs that engage families in newborn screening to meet their needs and incorporate lessons learned into future outreach.
• The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs recognized the Network as a Cutting Edge Practice and plans to feature it in its MCH Innovation Database.

Connecticut Newborn Screening Network Locations

Newborn screens are performed at hospitals throughout the state. Follow-up services are provided at Connecticut Children’s Specialty Care clinics in Hartford, Farmington, Danbury or Shelton, or at Yale New Haven Hospital.