News Releases

DERBY, CT - Kim Hall, senior applications coordinator, Information Services, and Wes Valentine, RN, Evening Supervisor, Emergency Department, will share honors as the 2011-12 "Employees of the Year." The staff of the Center for Cancer Care/Radiation Oncology, was named "Department of the Year" at Griffin Hospital's annual Employee Recognition ceremony, held May 11 at the Crowne Plaza in Southbury.

Griffin Hospital CEO and President Patrick Charmel and Medical Staff President Paul Nussbaum, M.D. made the award announcements at the event, held each year during National Hospital Week, which recognizes employees and physicians for years of service and for outstanding performance.

In announcing the...

DERBY, CT - In its facilities, Griffin Hospital has the staff and equipment to cure, care for, and heal. But the hospital's newest technology to promote everyday health can be found in an unlikely source - its food vending machines.

Starting this summer, the hospital's vending machines, which carry everything from soft drinks to bottled water to sandwiches and ice cream, will begin to display NuVal scores for each item. The NuVal Nutritional Scoring System ranks all foods on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the score, the higher the foods' overall nutrition. Griffin Hospital helped create NuVal in 2008 with Dr. David Katz, Director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center.

"A hospital is where you come to feel better, where health is our number one concern, and education is a large part of that," said Beth...

Dr. Howard Quentzel, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Griffin Hospital, Karen Spargo, Director, Naugatuck Valley Health District, and Deborah Horvath, APRN, Assistant Director of Community Health at the Naugatuck Valley Health District, will host an information session about H1N1 influenza on Wednesday, November 18, at 6:30 pm at the Griffin Hospital, 130 Division Street, Derby, CT.

Dr. Quentzel will give an overview of CDC guidelines, describe the warning signs and symptoms of H1N1 influenza and offer practical advice and tips on how to protect yourself. Health District officials will discuss the vaccine and its availability. The program is open to all interested members of the community. Registration is requested by calling 203-732-1511 or by registering online at www.griffinhealth.org.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children and youth up to 18-years-of-age are at higher risk for contracting infection and complications due to the H1N1 virus. Those who contract the flu may be contagious for 24 to 48 hours before symptoms appear.

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DERBY, CT - Retired nurses can make a difference by continuing their wonderful and caring work by becoming a volunteer at Griffin Hospital. There are currently volunteer opportunities available in a variety of clinical areas that enable nurses to use their skills and healthcare experience.

For more information about volunteer opportunities at Griffin Hospital and the Center for Cancer Care, call Tricia Wanciak at 203.732.7555.

Griffin Hospital is a full-service, 160 bed not-for-profit acute care community hospital committed to providing high quality, state-of-the-art medical care in a healing, nurturing environment. Griffin Hospital has earned local, national and international recognition and praise for its unique facility, innovative programs and services, and patient-centered Planetree model of care.

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DERBY, CT - Over the last couple of decades more and more attention is being given to the benefits of complimentary medicine and the positive impact it has on healing. As part of the Planetree model of care at Griffin Hospital, patients are offered a full menu of complimentary services that are provided by a dedicated corps of volunteers and staff. Among those services is Therapeutic Touch (TT), an adaptation of several healing practices in which the practitioner uses his/her hands to facilitate healing through a process of energy exchange, enabling patients to focus their energy toward recuperation.

Community members interested in learning Therapeutic Touch are invited to attend a comprehensive, full-day Basic-Level Therapeutic Touch workshop from 8:00 am - 6:30 pm Saturday, November 7 at Griffin Hospital. Therapeutic Touch practitioner Holly Major, MSN, ANP-BC, QTTT, will provide instruction (Registered Nurses...

StoryCorps, a national initiative to document everyday history and the unique stories of Americans, visited Griffin Hospital's Center for Cancer Care on May 27 and 28, 2009 to celebrate the stories of Griffin Hospital's community as part of the hospital's Centennial Anniversary. StoryCorps is a national independent nonprofit project in partnership with NPR and the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress.

Participating in the 45-minute interview sessions were a mixture of Griffin Hospital employees, nurses, physicians, donors, and friends: Dr. Jeff Yale and Lenore Yale; Griffin Hospital chaplain the Rev. JoClare Wilson and Maria Sylvestre, RN; Joseph Pagliaro, Jr. and Edward Sheehy, Jr. ; Griffin Hospital President and CEO Patrick Charmel and Griffin Hospital Vice President Bill Powanda; Dr. Kenneth Dobuler and daughter Zoe; Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce President Bill Purcell and The Valley United Way President Jack Walsh; Community Outreach & Parish Nurse Program...

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DERBY, CT (June 5, 2009) - Griffin Hospital will be 100 years old this year, and it is looking for other Centenarians to join in the celebration. On Saturday, June 27, from 11 am to 3 pm Griffin Hospital will host a birthday party to celebrate a century of caring for its community. Valley residents are invited to "come back where it all began" and celebrate with the Griffin Hospital Family of caregivers. During the event, the hospital plans to give special recognition to anyone who is 100 years old or older. All those born in 1909 or earlier with an interest in attending should contact the Griffin Hospital Development Fund at 203.732.7504.

Griffin Hospital's 100th Birthday Party promises to be a fun-packed event. Free cake and ice cream, kids' activities, musical entertainment and "behind the scenes" tours of the Operating Room, Childbirth Center, Digestive Disorders Center and Health Resource Center are...

DERBY, CT - Throughout April - Occupational Therapy (OT) Month - Griffin Hospital is raising awareness of this highly specialized profession, which enables people of all ages live life to its fullest by helping them promote health, prevent or live with injury, illness and disability. Griffin Hospital provides these specialized Occupational Therapy services in its Rehabilitation Services Department, which recently located in the new Hewitt Ambulatory Care Pavilion that adjoins the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital at 350 Seymour Avenue in Derby.

According to Griffin Hospital Occupational Therapist Fran Harmeyer, "Occupational Therapists go beyond just the physical. We take into account the emotional and social make-up of every person as well. This allows patients to not only function, but thrive doing what's most important to them." (Editor note: Occupational therapy patient stories, and interviews, are available for feature articles.)

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DERBY, CT - Griffin Hospital has been honored with a 10th year on the FORTUNE 2009 "100 Best Companies to Work For" list. Griffin Hospital ranked 62 on the 2009 list released today. Griffin Hospital is the only hospital in the nation to make the list for ten years.

Griffin Hospital was first invited to apply for selection to the FORTUNE list in 2000 and has made the list every year since. FORTUNE has issued the list of "100 Best Companies to Work For" since 1998. Only 13 of the original companies named to the list remain on the list in 2009 and only 37 have been on the list for ten years.

Griffin Hospital's tenth year on the list is very timely as the hospital is also celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding. Griffin Hospital was founded in 1909 with the support of community leaders who were convinced that the Valley should have its own hospital. What Griffin...

DERBY, CT - The Griffin Hospital management team has been selected as the 2008 Top Leadership Team in Healthcare in the nation for community and mid-size hospitals by HealthLeaders Media. HealthLeaders Media announced the selection today in their publications and on national wire services.

Announcing the award HealthLeaders said: "The leadership team at Griffin Hospital recognized years ago that to reach their goals of being a national model would require empowering the entire organization. That combination of an ambitious mission and an inclusive leadership culture has earned Griffin Hospital the honor as the 2008 Top Leadership Team in Healthcare for community...

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DERBY, CT (June 16, 2008) - The month of May was an award-filled one for Griffin Hospital. On May 7, the hospital held it's annual Nurses' Day celebration to honor all nurses and to present awards to those nurses receiving specific honors.

Kelly Egan, RN, of Oxford, was named "Outstanding Nurse of the Year," and rounding out the award recipient list were:

Mary Ellen Salemme, RN, of Shelton, who won the Marie Santini Perioperative Nursing Excellence Award Becky Dellinger, RN, of Derby, who won the Richard Stivala, MD Obstetric Nursing Excellence Award Tara Donovan, RN, of Naugatuck, who won the Donald Torok Memorial Scholarship Kristin Norko, RN, of West Haven, who won the Mary Nelligan Award for Continuing Education Betty Yankowski, RN, of Orange, who won the Mary Schumacher Leadership Award. Each year, in addition to the nursing awards, the nursing staff chooses a physician to be given the honor of Griffin Hospital's Physician of the Year....

DERBY, CT - Griffin Hospital has received two national awards related to its Planetree patient-centered care model, for providing an exceptional patient experience and for its employee centric culture. The Journal of Sacred Work of the Baptist Healing Trust selected Griffin Hospital as one of America's top ten Healing Hospitals for the second year in a row. Erie Chapman, J.D., President of the Baptist Healing Trust said: "The Healing Hospital designation reflects our belief that Griffin Hospital is making a meaningful effort to advance the work of Radical Loving Care. This work calls each of us to recognize that Love lives at the center of care giving in all fine...

DERBY, CT - Griffin Hospital's Digestive Disorders Center nurses have been recognized as New England's Best Nursing Team by ADVANCE for Nurses, the biweekly magazine of the nursing profession.

Griffin Hospital's Digestive Disorders Center nurses were pictured on the cover of the ADVANCE for Nurses New England Region's May 5 edition, and featured in an article titled "Easy to Stomach", which details why Griffin Hospital's 15-person staff was recognized as the magazine's "Best Nursing Team for 2008."

"This is a unique group of nurses," said Barbara Stumpo, MPA, BSN, RN, Vice President of Patient Care Services at Griffin Hospital, "and typically it's included senior staff members who come from the Emergency Department, critical care and other...

DERBY, CT - The HealthCare Chaplaincy recently honored Mary Lou Golebieski, R.R.T., R.P.F.T., Griffin Hospital's Director of Outpatient Scheduling and Physician Liaison, at The Chaplaincy's annual "Wholeness of Life" benefit and awards dinner in New York City. Founded in 1961, the Manhattan-based HealthCare Chaplaincy is a leading international center for multifaith pastoral care, education, research, and consulting. Griffin Hospital has been a partner with The Chaplaincy since 1996.

Over 550 people attended the November 8 black tie "Wholeness of Life" event to recognize and celebrate the dedication and accomplishments of those in healthcare and business who represent The Chaplaincy's core mission, to care for the whole person - spirit, mind, and body. Golebieski, who was nominated by her Griffin Hospital colleagues to receive this honor, was one of 13 patient care honorees, two lifetime achievement honorees, and one community honoree given gold medallions by the Chaplaincy as symbols of recognition...

DERBY, CT - Griffin Hospital and its President Patrick Charmel are spotlighted in the just released business book, Fire Them Up!: 7 Simple Secrets to: Inspire Your Colleagues, Customers, and Clients by Emmy award winning journalist, Carmine Gallo.

The book reveals seven simple secrets distilled from the wisdom of leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries from different backgrounds, generations and industries. Together, they possess all the tools for an individual to transform themselves into an extraordinary, electrifying, and enthusiastic leader who communicates with power, passion, confidence and charisma!

Griffin Hospital is in good company as among the twenty-five inspiring businesses featured are Ritz-Carlton and its President, Simon Cooper, Apple...

DERBY, CT: Griffin Hospital recently named its 2007 Employee of the Year and Department of the Year at its 37th Annual Service Awards Dinner, with Griffin Hospital President and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Charmel handing out the accolades to Diane Wood, a Respiratory Supervisor in the hospital's Pulmonary Department, and hospital's Digestive Disorders Center.

Wood, a Naugatuck resident, was recognized as Employee of the Year for being a conscientious caregiver dedicated to Griffin Hospital's Planetree philosophy of patient-centered care throughout her 26-year career with Griffin Hospital, as well as for holding herself to high personal standards and always working diligently to be better. "I have been lucky enough to spend my entire career at a facility I've come to think of as a second home, doing a job I love, with amazing people...

DERBY, CT - Training Magazine has named Griffin Hospital as one of the nation's Top 125 employers for staff training and development. It is Griffin's first appearance on the list. Griffin Hospital ranked 114th on the 2007 list joining such companies as Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Verizon Wireless, General Mills, IKEA and American Express. The award was presented to Griffin Hospital Director of Human Resources Stephen Mordecai at an annual awards banquet in Orlando Sunday night.

Training Magazine, the training industry's premier publication, selects 125 organizations that excel at human capital development. The companies are chosen based on criteria such as best training practices, evaluation methods and outstanding training initiatives.

As part of its commitment to its Planetree patient-centered philosophy of care and for "Putting the Patient First"...

DERBY, CT - A graduation ceremony will be held tomorrow, December 13th at 12:30 p.m. for the 30 employee graduates of this year's Griffin Hospital Dare to Care Program. Dare to Care is a year long personal development program offered to employees. Griffin Hospital President, Patrick Charmel, decided to offer the program five years ago to give something to Griffin Hospital employees. The program empowers employees to take charge of their personal lives and professional development.

Participants meet each month for 2½ hours in sessions facilitated by employee graduates of the program known as "sparkplugs". Each monthly session focuses on one of twelve "action values": authenticity, courage, perseverance, vision, mission, enthusiasm, focus, awareness, service, integrity, faith and leadership. The facilitators use various group interactions, personal sharing, skits, music and lectures to help mobilize people to their highest potential in life both...

Griffin Hospital Development Fund Announces Special Fund-raising Initiative

DERBY, CT - The 32-member Critical Care staff at Griffin Hospital has been named the 2005 Department of the Year. The award is a highlight of Griffin Hospital's employee recognition program, "I Take It Personally," where departments are nominated by their peers quarterly to compete for the overall award.

"CCU nurses are continually asked to provide care to the most ill patients," said Dr. Kenneth Dobuler, Chairman of the Department of Medicine. "This is always done with compassion, empathy and good humor even in the most difficult of circumstances."

The Critical Care Unit was built in 1994 with a unique care philosophy in mind. The 14-bed, family centered unit supports the Planetree model of care...

DERBY, CT: The Valley Women's Health Initiative will present the 5th Annual "Women Making a Difference in the Valley" tribute luncheon and breast cancer awareness fundraiser on October 6, 2005 from 12:00-2:00 pm at the Grassy Hill Lodge in Derby.

The tribute recognizes "outstanding women" who have made positive contributions to the community and have demonstrated significant achievement in their fields of endeavor, both professional and volunteer. The honorees exemplify the multi-dimensional role women play in today's society as demonstrated by the contributions they have made to positively affect their communities in the six Valley towns: Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, and Shelton.

This year, eight women will be honored; Beth Colette, Rita Girdzis, Andrea Hyde and Robin Smith of Derby; Denese Deeds and Kathleen McNicols-Marks of Shelton; Pauline Lounsbury of Seymour and Grace Malasankas of Oxford.

Sponsorships and advertisement are still available to support this important...

DERBY, CT - Griffin Hospital will celebrate its designation by FORTUNE Magazine as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" on Thursday, February 3rd in the hospital cafeteria. President Patrick Charmel and Vice President Bill Powanda will present gifts of appreciation and say thank you to Griffin Hospital employees, volunteers and physicians at six sessions covering all three shifts. The sessions begin at 11:00 a.m. The theme for this year's celebration is "Viva Las Fortune".

2005 marks the sixth year in a row that Griffin Hospital appears on the FORTUNE list, and this year's ranking at number eight is Griffin Hospital's highest ever and the...

Griffin Hospital, Derby, CT 1pm - Tuesday, February 1st Ground Floor of Staircase Entrance

DERBY, CT: Today Griffin Hospital officially kicks off its new employee wellness program WinFit with a presentation by nutrition expert Dr. David Katz.

Dr. David Katz is a nationally known authority on nutrition and weight control, who will give a talk based on his book, The Way to Eat. The two presentations will be at the Griffin Hospital Meditation and Learning Center Wednesday, January 19th:

Session 1 from 12:30-1:30 pm Session 2 from 5:00-6:00 pm His book The Way to Eat will be given as a gift to all employees who attend the presentation. Employee family members and the community are all welcome to attend. We ask that everyone call (203) 732-1511 to make a reservation.

"By knowing about the many obstacles to weight control, you can match to each one the skills and strategies needed to get around it," Katz states. In The...

DERBY, CT: Representatives from The Healthcare Chaplaincy in New York will visit Griffin Hospital tomorrow to join Griffin Hospital staff as they honor retired hospital Chaplain Fredrick Erson, recipient of the 2004 Wholeness of Life Award. Erson, who served as Griffin Hospital's first chaplain for 10 years, established the Valley Parish Nurse Program at Griffin Hospital in 1989 and has been instrumental in the start of most Parish Nurse programs in New England since that time. He also successfully developed the "Neighborhood" Parish Nurse program which focuses on ministering to the community at large by utilizing a Mobile Health Resource Center...

October 16 Reception Planned for Griffin Hospital Employee

DERBY, CT - Daun Barrett, R.N., Coordinator of the Valley Parish Nurse Program (VPNP) has been selected as Griffin Hospital's first Planetree "Spirit of Caring" award winner. Planetree started the "Spirit of Caring" award to publicly recognize health caregivers who personalize and humanize the health care experience for patients and their families and programs or services supporting extraordinary achievement in patient-centered care. The Valley Parish Nurse Program was selected as Griffin Hospital's "Spirit of Caring" award program.

Planetree established the "Spirit of Caring" award for the 76 hospitals across the country that are members of the Planetree Alliance. "Spirit of Caring" award winners from the hospitals will be recognized at a special award ceremony at the annual Planetree conference in Seattle in October.

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