News Releases

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 - Griffin Hospital has been recognized for achievement in using evidence-based guidelines to provide the best possible care to patients through The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines® program.

Griffin Hospital and 814 other hospitals are featured in a special advertisement in the "America's Best Hospitals" issue of US News & World Report (August issue) to commemorate their receipt of Get With The Guidelines Silver Performance Achievement Award. A total of 961 awards were given for achievement in coronary artery disease, stroke and/or heart failure treatment.

Hospitals recognized in each category achieve at least 85 percent compliance to Get With The Guidelines measures. Those achieving 85 percent compliance for 24 consecutive months receive the Gold Performance Achievement Award, with the Silver Performance Achievement Award going to those with 85 percent compliance for 12 consecutive months. Special recognition is also given for those hospitals achieving 85 percent compliance in two or all three categories and/or for being in 75 percent compliance with heart failure and/or stroke measures.

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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...

DERBY, CT - The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) will formally designate Griffin Hospital as a Primary Stroke Center (PSC) at a special ceremony scheduled for 10:00 am Friday, May 14 in the Griffin Hospital cafeteria. DPH Commissioner J. Robert Galvin, MD, MPH, MBA will present a plaque commemorating Griffin Hospital?s PSC status to Griffin Hospital President and CEO Patrick Charmel and members of Griffin Hospital's stroke team who participated in the PSC application process.

Griffin Hospital's designation as a Primary Stroke Center follows a successful DPH site visit of the hospital?s stroke program, during which Griffin Hospital demonstrated compliance with criteria established by DPH to assure that facilities have the necessary infrastructure, staffing, and services to stabilize and treat most acute stroke patients. DPH created...

The 5th Annual Community Health and Safety Fair For All Ages will take place on Saturday, May 22, from 10 am to 2 pm. at the Ansonia Armory, 5 North State St.  Sponsored by Griffin Hospital, the Valley Parish Nurse Program, Valley NAACP,  Valley YMCA, the City of Ansonia, and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven Neighborhood Small Grants, the free event will feature a variety of activities including free cholesterol, diabetic, osteoporosis and blood pressure screening. It is open to the entire community. Attendees may park in the Assumption School lot.

In addition to the health screenings for adults and children, health and safety activities include child bike helmets and bike rodeo, the CHIPS (Childhood Identification) program, car seat checks and installation, health, wellness and safety display booths and educational materials, vision...

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...

Griffin Hospital has received the American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke (GWTG-Stroke) Silver Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes Griffin Hospital's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

"With a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the GWTG-Stroke Silver Performance Achievement Award addresses the important element of time," said Dr. Dorothea Wild, MPH, Chief Hospitalist and Co-Director, Griffin Stroke Program. Griffin Hospital has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients admitted to the emergency department. This includes always being equipped to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.

To receive the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Performance Achievement...

DERBY, CT (August 14, 2009) - The latest imaging and diagnostics technology, chronic knee or hip pain, single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS), arthritis, and syncope, a temporary loss of consciousness or fainting, are among the scheduled talks by Griffin Hospital physicians to be presented as part of the ongoing Health Empowerment Series. Other topics include shoulder pain, reconstructive breast surgery, congestive heart failure, and complementary medicine. Registration is requested. Please call (203)732-1511 or register online at www.griffinhealth.org.

The schedule of topics and presenters is:

Aug. 20, “A Radiologist’s View,” Dr. Diego Nunez Aug. 25, 6:30 pm and Oct. 15, 2:30 pm – “Is Chronic Knee or Hip Pain Slowing You Down?” Dr. Ignatius Komninakas...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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...

DERBY, CT - An event for all ages is the focus of the 4th Annual Community Health and Safety Fair for children and adults on Saturday, May 30, from 10 am to 2 pm. at the Ansonia Armory, 5 North State St.

Sponsored by Griffin Hospital, the Valley Parish Nurse Program, the Valley N.A.A.C.P., the Valley YMCA, the City of Ansonia and the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven Neighborhood Small Grants, the free event will feature health screenings for adults and children including cholesterol, diabetic, osteoporosis, blood pressure screenings and stroke assessments.

Fitted bike helmets will be given to the first 250 children and there will be a bike rodeo and car seat safety checks and installation. Volunteers will be on hand to register youngsters for the CHIPS (Childhood Identification Program)...

DERBY, CT - The Griffin Hospital Dining Room will again serve as the setting for the 2nd Annual "Desserts for the Heart" program sponsored by the Women & Heart Disease Committee. The event will take place on Thursday, May 28, at 6:30 p.m., 130 Division St., Derby. This year's program features Griffin Hospital's newest cardiologist, Dr. Lavanya Bellumkonda, a specialist in heart failure, cardiac imaging and women's heart disease. In addition, in conjunction with Stroke Awareness Month, free stroke assessments will be offered from 5 - 6:30 pm and immediately following the program. A variety of desserts and heart-healthy treats will be served.

Dr. Bellumkonda is affiliated with Doctors Anthony D'Souza, Martin Plavec and Stephen R. Woodworth at Heart Specialists PC of Southern Connecticut in Oxford and Shelton.

The Women and Heart Disease Committee is focused...