A new investigative news service has been launched in the US aimed at producing in-depth coverage of health and safety issues.

The non-profit venture is being launched in the state of Connecticut and will initially focus on local stories, according to a press release.

The Connecticut Health Investigative Team or C-HIT will also provide searchable databases on health-related issues and has this week launched two covering nursing homes and ambulance response times across the state.

The project has been launched by the Online Journalism Project, the US not-for-profit news network led by Paul Bass and launched in 2005 that is also behind the Newhaven Independent website.

The new initiative has been set up by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and veteran Connecticut journalist Lynne DeLucia, who hopes to "engage the public in issues of health and safety by offering in-depth, compelling storytelling and accessible data, in the hopes we can help fill a void in coverage in these areas".

CHIT will work in partnership with other media outlets and news organisations in the region to distribute its work. The team is also working with journalism students at Quinnipac University.

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