News Releases

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DERBY, CT (November 21, 2011) - Dan Tuccio, Physician Support Specialist, and Marya Chaisson, MD, co-chair of Griffin Hospital's Patient Centered Care Council, were named recipients of 2011 Spirit of Planetree Awards at the 2011 Planetree Annual Conference held October 30 - November 3, 2011, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tuccio and Chaisson received the "Caregiver Award" and "Physician Champion Award, respectively, recognizing their personal embodiment of Griffin Hospital's patient-centered approach to providing care.  The awards were presented by Planetree President Susan B. Frampton in conjunction with the Planetree Annual Conference.

“The Spirit of Planetree Award Ceremony is always a highlight of our Annual Conference,” said Planetree President Susan B. Frampton. “At the heart of the Planetree model are the human interactions between patients and caregivers. With the Spirit of Planetree Awards, we celebrate individuals like Dan Tuccio and Dr. Marya Chaisson...

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DERBY, CT (September 15, 2011) - Griffin Hospital was named one of the nation’s top performers on key quality measures by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of healthcare organizations in America.

Griffin Hospital was one of 405 U.S. hospitals and critical access hospitals earning the distinction for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance and the only Connecticut hospital named.

This is the first time that The Joint Commission, the healthcare industry’s standard setter, is recognizing top performers and including them in its “Improving America’s Hospitals” annual report.

Griffin Hospital was recognized by The Joint Commission based on data reported about evidence-based clinical processes that are shown to improve the effectiveness of care for certain conditions including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care. Inclusion on the list is based on an aggregation of public accountability measure data reported to The Joint Commission during the previous calendar year, in this case 2010.

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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 - Do you snore? Are you frequently tired during the day? Do you wake during the night feeling breathless? If you answered yes to just one of these questions, you may be suffering from a sleep disorder.

Most people who suffer from snoring and sleep apnea are unaware of the consequences of how it affects their daytime and nighttime functions. A person with sleep apnea finds it hard to breathe during sleep due to a partial or complete collapse of their breathing passage. The airway collapse is usually identified by a family member complaining of loud snoring. Untreated, sleep apnea can lead to potentially life threatening diseases such as a cardiac disease, stroke, and diabetes.

On Wednesday, December 15, at 6:30 pm, Dr. K. Marya Chaisson, Director of Griffin Hospital's Sleep Wellness Center, will present "Snoring - It's No Laughing Matter!" Dr. Chaisson is board certified in sleep medicine, internal medicine,...

DERBY, CT (August 16, 2010) - Griffin Hospital will offer a Fall session of its free 10-week “Mini-Med School” course beginning Thursday, September 16, 2010. The free course, which will be conducted over 10 consecutive weekly sessions by various Griffin Hospital physicians who serve as faculty, will meet Thursdays from 6:30 – 9:00 pm in the hospital’s Meditation and Learning Center. The Mini-Med School will culminate with a “graduation” ceremony for participants on November 18.

The course is specifically designed for the layperson with little or no medical background, providing a unique opportunity to gain a greater understanding of how the human body works, insight into common disorders of the various organ systems, as well as information about disease prevention. Each weekly session will be divided into two hour-long presentations on different medical topics with a refreshment break between presentations and ample time for questions and answers.

This is the seventh time Griffin Hospital has offered...

DERBY, CT - The Sleep Wellness Center at Griffin Hospital has recently completed a state-of-the-art equipment upgrade to its equipment, adding advanced digital and video technology.

The Center, which is fully accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), has been diagnosing and treating sleep disorders for more than 12 years. The Center's new equipment upgrade will improve patient comfort and allow the Center to perform polysomnographs - or sleep studies - at the highest level of diagnostic quality, according to the Center’s Medical Director, K. Marya Chaisson, M.D., a board certified sleep medicine specialist.

"Griffin Hospital's highly trained staff and patient-centered Planetree approach to care help ensure that our patients are comfortable and relaxed throughout the course of their sleep study. Now, thanks to our recent...

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DERBY, CT (February 26, 2010) - Snoring, chronic knee or hip pain, hospitalization of the elderly and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are the focus of an upcoming series of free talks for the general public by Griffin Hospital physicians and professional staff. Part of the hospital’s ongoing Health Empowerment Series, all programs take place at 6:30 pm (unless otherwise specified) at Griffin Hospital, 130 Division St., Derby, CT. Register online or by calling (203)732-1511.

The current series includes:

Thursday, March 11, "Snoring - It's No Laughing Matter!" with Dr. Marya Chaisson, Medical Director...

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DERBY, CT (December 15, 2009) - If you are one of the millions of Americans who suffer from sleepless nights due to snoring or obstructive sleep apnea, blurred vision due to cataracts, or painful joints due to arthritis, here's an opportunity for a face-to-face discussion with an expert in the field. Griffin Hospital's ongoing Health Empowerment Series - presented by Griffin Hospital physicians to empower people to make informed decisions about their health care - offers the latest information on the diagnosis and treatment of these and other topics.

Upcoming sessions include:

"Snoring - It's No Laughing Matter!" on January 7, featuring pulmonologist and sleep specialist Dr. K. Marya Chaisson "Is Your Best Vision Ahead of You?", on January 13,...

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DERBY, CT (August 3, 2009) - The Fall 2009 session of Griffin Hospital's popular "Mini-Med School" course will begin Thursday, September 17, 2009. The free course, which will be conducted over 10 consecutive weekly sessions by various Griffin Hospital physicians who serve as faculty, will meet Thursdays from 6:30 - 9:00 pm in the hospital's Meditation and Learning Center. The Mini-Med School will culminate with a "graduation" ceremony for participants on November 19.

The course is specifically designed for the layperson with little or no medical background, providing a unique opportunity to gain a greater understanding of how the human body works, insight into common disorders of the various organ systems, as well as information about disease prevention. Each weekly session will be divided into two hour-long presentations on different medical topics with a refreshment break between presentations and ample time for questions and answers.

This is the sixth time Griffin...

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 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 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...