Focus on Cholesterol
September is National Cholesterol Education Month and a good time to have your cholesterol checked and learn about the healthy lifestyle choices that can help you reach your personal cholesterol goals.
What Is Cholesterol and Why Do I Need to Manage It?
A cholesterol screening test can reveal if you are one of the 73 million adults who have high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. Click here for more information.
Foods to Eat (And Avoid) to Manage Your Cholesterol
The term “you are what you eat” certainly holds true when it comes to your cholesterol levels. Click here to learn what foods can help lower your cholesterol.
Join Us for The Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital 5K Walk-Run on Sept. 28!
The Annual 5K Walk/Run to benefit the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital, 350 Seymour Ave., Derby, will celebrate its 11th year on Sat., Sept. 28. This non-competitive, family-friendly event begins with day-of registration at 7:30 a.m. and the Walk/Run kicking off at 9 a.m.
Registration is $35. Pre-registration is encouraged at griffinhealth.org/5k with the first 500 registered participants receiving t-shirts.
Rock Out before You Run!
Join us for a FREE concert by The Orchard Hill Band at Quarry Walk in Oxford featuring your favorite classic rock - plus great food and prizes!
Sign up for the Walk-Run at the show and get a $5 discount! Race T-shirts will be distributed to 5K participants. For more details, visit the Griffin Walk-Run on Facebook.
Griffin Health, Naugatuck Valley Health District to Host Fall Prevention Event
Griffin Health and the Naugatuck Valley Health District are marking National Fall Prevention Awareness Day with a fall prevention event from 4:30-6 p.m. on Tues., Sept. 24 at Griffin Hospital. The free event will feature fall risk assessments, giveaways, and educational materials.
Griffin Gala Features Star-Studded Performance
The 2019 Griffin Health Gala will be a star-studded event as top celebrity impersonators from Las Vegas bring glitz and glam to Aria, 45 Murphy Road in Prospect, on Fri., Oct. 11 from 6:30-11:30 p.m. Master Impersonators, The Edwards Twins, will present An Evening with the Stars, a rollicking live performance of musical hits from legendary musical superstars. Visit griffinhealth.org/gala for tickets and more information.
Griffin Health Earns Gold Seal from The Joint Commission
Griffin Health, of Derby, has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Hospital and Behavioral Health Care Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.
Free Presentation on How to Transition Back to Home after the Hospital
The Community Health Resource Center at Griffin Hospital will host a free presentation about what patients and caregivers need to know when they go home from the hospital on Wed., Sept. 25 at 6 p.m.
“Here to Home” is a comprehensive overview of information and the important safeguards patients and their loved ones need to consider when transitioning back home from a hospital stay. The presentation will help keep patients and caregivers safe and healthy as well as provide the confidence needed to navigate this relatively difficult time in the healing process.
To register or for more information, call Kerry or Deborah at 203-732-7399.
Ready to Start a Fulfilling Career? Become a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant!
The Griffin Hospital School of Allied Health Careers is accepting applications for its Certified Clinical Medical Assistant program starting Oct. 1. The program prepares students to become multi-skilled healthcare professionals that specialize in outpatient settings. Medical assistants perform both clinical and administrative duties and assist a variety of providers including physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
For more information or to apply, call 203-732-1276 or 203-732-7578 or visit griffinhealth.org/allied-health.
Help with Managing Health Conditions
Griffin Hospital will host a free six-week workshop starting Oct. 2 at New England Young at Heart, 312 Oxford Rd., Oxford, to help individuals suffering from health conditions take back control of their lives.
The Live Well Chronic Disease Self-Management Workshop provides health information and strategies to help those with health conditions like pain, anxiety, diabetes, depression, heart disease, and arthritis increase their energy and take control of their health. The workshops will be held on Wednesdays from Oct. 2 – Nov. 6 from 5-7:30 p.m.
To register or for more information, call Esther Jones at Griffin Hospital’s Community Outreach and Valley Parish Nurse Program at 203-732-1523.
New Stroke Survivors Support Group Starts in October
A new support group aims to help stroke survivors and their caregivers understand the effects and manage their lifestyles.
Starting Oct. 14, the Griffin Health Stroke Support Group will meet on the second Monday of each month from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at The Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital.
The group will provide education to survivors and caregivers to help them understand physiological and psychological effects post stroke, and provide an emotional outlet through group discussions. For more information, contact Griffin Hospital Rehabilitation Services at 203-732-7445.
Griffin Screens 15 for Diabetic Foot Issues
The Comprehensive Wound Care Center at Griffin Hospital recently gave free diabetic foot screenings to 15 individuals from the community. Most of the participants were diagnosed with diabetes for more than five years, and clinicians were surprised to discover that none of the participants had received education on proper foot care prior to the screening. Three individuals were referred to podiatrists for follow-up tests.
Voices Needed! Help Us Bring some Holiday “Soul” to the Naugatuck Valley this Winter
For the third year, Griffin Health Hospital is assembling a gospel choir of volunteer singers from throughout the area to perform this year’s Valley Soul Concert set for Dec. 11 at Assumption Church in Ansonia.
The volunteer singers will take part in five, two-hour workshops October 16, 23 November 6, 13, and December 4. Volunteers do not need to know how to read music - all songs are taught by ear and everyone is given a practice CD. To register or for more information, contact Clemmons at 203-619-1415 or shorelinesoul@comcast.net. Although the workshop is primarily for adults, youth who are able to follow a lyric sheet are welcome to participate.
Hip Pain? We can help!
Learn how minimally-invasive surgery can relieve your pain and get you back in action!
Join Orthopedic Surgeon Philip Minotti, MD, for a free seminar about the anterior hip replacement surgery at Griffin Hospital on Wed., Oct. 16 at 5:45 p.m.
These seminars are offered monthly at Griffin Hospital. Refreshments will be served. For more information or to reserve your spot, call Griffin Hospital Orthopaedic Care Specialist Amy Gagne at 203-732-7524.
Dr. Minotti will explain the advanced Direct Anterior Approach, which offers important advantages over standard surgical procedures. There is generally less pain, it decreases the length of stay in the hospital, and can have you enjoying better comfort and mobility in as little as a few days!
Volunteers Needed for Study on Fecal Microbial Transplantation in Adults with Multiple Sclerosis
The Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, the Multiple Sclerosis Treatment Center at Griffin Hospital, and Yale University are teaming up see if changing the bacteria in a person’s intestines can be an effective, safe and tolerable strategy to slow the inflammatory process involved in multiple sclerosis (MS).
Those who complete the study will receive $800, payable in installments. The capsules, procedures, and tests will be provided free of charge. The State of Connecticut Department of Public Health is providing funding for this study. To learn more about this study, contact Dr. Guarnaccia, MD, at 203-732-1290 or msteatmentcenters@griffinhealth.org.
Become an ACP Volunteer!
Griffin Hospital is looking for volunteers to help provide patients and caregivers peace of mind about future healthcare decisions. The hospital’s new Advance Care Planning Facilitator Program will train individuals to help guide others in developing a plan for their healthcare, in the event they are unable to speak for themselves. Advance Care Planning (ACP) is a process of understanding, reflecting on, and discussing individual goals, beliefs and values in order to determine one's healthcare wishes and select a Health Care Representative to make decisions on his or her behalf. Click here for more information.
Writers Needed!
Griffin Hospital’s Vital Patient Stories Program, which provides patients with short stories about their lives, is looking for volunteers. The program helps improve patient morale and the healing process by taking his or her mind off their illness or treatment.
For more information about the volunteer opportunities at Griffin Hospital or its upcoming complementary healing workshops, call Kathy Browne at 203-732-7555. Click here for more information.
Bereavement Support Groups
Griffin Hospital offers ongoing support groups for anyone experiencing the loss of a loved one.
These groups are facilitated by caregivers in Griffin’s Department of Spiritual Care and Education and provide grief education and support to ease the pain of loss as well as encouraging healing and growth. There will be groups meeting on Tuesdays from 4-5:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 6:30-8 p.m. at the hospital.
Due to limited capacity, pre-registration is required. To learn more or to register, contact Janice Lautier at 203-732-1100 or jlautier@griffinhealth.org.