News Releases

DERBY, CT (January 12, 2012) - The Lower Naugatuck Valley Boys & Girls Club and Father Leonard Kvedas, pastor of St. Michael’s Parish in Beacon Falls, will share honors as recipients of the 4th Annual “Caring Heart” Award.  The award is presented each year to an individual and a community organization in recognition of initiatives that support, promote, and improve the general health and well-being of the community. 

Sponsored by the Woman and Heart Disease Committee at Griffin Hospital, in conjunction with American Heart Month, the award presentations will take place on February 2nd at Grassy Hill Lodge in Derby. Registration and a silent auction will begin at 5:00 pm, followed by dinner at 6:00 pm and the program and awards. The guest speaker...

DERBY, CT (January 3, 2012) - In conjunction with American Heart Month, the Women and Heart Disease Committee will host its 7th Annual Women and Heart Disease program on Thursday, February 2, 2012 at Grassy Hill Lodge in Derby. Reservations for the event, which is open to the public, can be made by calling 203-732-7584 or 203-732-1137. The cost is $35.

Event registration and a silent auction will start at 5:00 pm, followed promptly at 6:00 pm by dinner and the program, which features guest speaker Samantha Heller, MS, RD, CDN, Nutrition Coordinator at the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital.

In addition to her duties at Griffin Hospital, Ms. Heller is a nationally known health and media expert, consultant, and author of Get Smart:...

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...

In conjunction with American Stroke Month, the Women and Heart Disease Committee of Griffin Hospital will host its Annual "Desserts for the Heart" Program, at 6:30 PM on Thursday, May 20, 2010, in the Dining Room of Griffin Hospital. The free program is open to all. Dr. Dorothea Wild, MPH, Chief Hospitalist and co-director of the Griffin Hospital Stroke Program, is featured speaker. An assortment of heart-healthy desserts will be provided. Those interested in attending should call 203-732-1137 by May 13 to reserve a seat. Seating is limited. Free stroke assessments are being offered from 5:30 to 6:30 PM and immediately following the program.

According to the American Stroke Association, each year approximately 795,000 people suffer a stroke - 610,000 are first attacks and 185,000 are recurrent. Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States is suffering...

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.

...

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...

Derby, CT - The Integrative Medicine Center at Griffin Hospital is offering an intermediate level Therapeutic Touch workshop for Therapeutic Touch practitioners. The program will explore deeper concepts of Therapeutic Touch and provide opportunity for hands-on practice. Meets Friday, May 1 from 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM & Sunday, May 3 from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM. 14.4 contact hours will be awarded to RNs who complete the course.

Instruction will be provided by Holly Major, MSN, ANP-BC, QTTT, a nurse practitioner at the Integrative Medicine Center. Holly is also the Therapeutic Touch Coordinator at Griffin Hospital and a Therapeutic Touch instructor.

The program will be held in the conference room in the Griffin Hospital Dining Room, located at 130 Division Street in Derby, CT. The workshop fee is $100. For more information about the program, contact Holly Major at hmajor@griffinhealth.org...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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'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...