Danbury Hospital

Danbury Hospital is a 371-bed hospital in Danbury, Connecticut serving patients in Fairfield County, Connecticut and Putnam County, New York.

The hospital has 3,300 employees. John M. Murphy, M.D. is president and CEO of Western Connecticut Health Network, the regional health system that includes Danbury Hospital and New Milford Hospital.

Notable departments and offerings

• The Praxair Heart and Vascular center provides open heart surgery and coronary angioplasty to all the patients in need of care. Founded in 2003 the Center leads the state in outcome for cardiac surgery and heart and vascular treatment. Specialized care for valve disease, heart failure, electrical disease of the heart, percutaneous arterial treatment, in state-of-the-art new facilities. The provider for advanced tertiary care for over 500,000 people in Eastern New York and Western Connecticut.
• The Center for Weight Loss Surgery was started in the fall of 2002.
• The Praxair Cancer Center at Danbury Hospital is the Western Connecticut Affiliate of the Yale Cancer Center. Services range from prevention to aftercare. The Praxair Foundation, run by a company with offices in Danbury, contributed $4 million to the hospital (the largest donation the hospital ever received) to support cardiovascular care. The new center was dedicated in May 2006.^[1]
• Walgreens Pharmacy is a retail pharmacy on the first floor of the Stroock Building and is open seven days a week.
• Sleep Disorders Center
• Complementary Alternative Medicine includes "programs designed specifically to complement and enhance traditional medicine, rather than replace it," according to the hospital's Web site. "On-site holistic services include therapeutic touch, reiki, and instruction on relaxation techniques. Staff also provides referrals for massage therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic treatment, hypnosis, biofeedback, nutritional experts, homeopathic practitioners, and naturopathic physicians. Patients may purchase magnets, herbs and vitamins through the program."

Awards

• HealthGrades ranks Danbury Hospital in the top 5% across the United States for overall clinical performance - five years in a row: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009
• The only accredited chest pain center in Fairfield County, a level II trauma center and accredited stroke center.
• Healthgrades ranks Danbury Hospital in the top 5% in the United States for overall Cardiac Services - Two years in a row: 2008 and 2009
• Healthgrades ranks Danbury Hospital in the top 5 hospitals in Connecticut for the treatment of Stroke - Seven years in a row: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009
• Healthgrades ranks Danbury Hospital in the top 5 hospitals in Connecticut for Joint replacement - Two years in a row: 2008 and 2009
• Healthgrades ranks Danbury Hospital in the top 5% in the United States for Gastrointestinal Surgery in 2009
• Healthgrades ranks Danbury Hospital in the top 5% in the United States for overall Gastrointestinal Services - Two years in a row: 2008 and 2009
• Solucient LLC, a national firm providing statistical analysis of health care quality, named Danbury Hospital on its list of "100 Top Hospitals" for 2004, 2005 and 2006.^[2][3] (and one of only two across the country) to get "1A accreditation status" from the American College of Surgeons - the highest level of hospital achievement - for its quality, safety and reporting standards for weight-loss surgery.^[4]
• The American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) named Danbury Hospital as a bariatric surgery center of excellence in 2005.
• The hospital received "Accreditation with Commendation" from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
• The hospital received "2009 CoC Outstanding Achievement Award" from the American College of Surgeons

Satellite locations

• Brookfield Specimen Collection Facility in the Greenknoll Professional Building, 60 Old New Milford Road
• Danbury Diagnostic Imaging Center opened in Danbury in 2001.
• Danbury: Seifert & Ford Family Community Health Center, 70 Main St. in downtown Danbury
• Danbury Specimen Collection Facility, 41 Germantown Road
• Ridgefield Specimen Collection Facility, 10 South St.
• Southbury: The Danbury Hospital Health Center, in the Southbury Medical Building at 22 Old Waterbury Road, offers three primary care practices: Primary Care of Southbury, Southbury Pediatrics and Southbury Geriatrics) along with specialist practices (Health Specialists of Southbury, Physical Medicine Center of Southbury, Patient Laboratory Services and Home and Hospice Care).
• Ridgefield Diagnostic Imaging (RDI), and the Ridgefield Surgical Center LLC, 901 Ethan Allen Highway-Route 7. RDI offers a "full range of diagnostic services" for radiologic care, according to a hospital news release. The surgical center is a joint venture between Danbury Health Systems and local surgeons and offers outpatient surgery. Both units opened in the summer of 2006 at the same address.^[5]

Affiliations

Danbury Hospital is affiliated with Yale University School of Medicine, St. George's University School of Medicine, University of Vermont School of Medicine, New York Medical College, and UCONN Medical School.^[6] The hospital first signed a preliminary affiliation agreement with Yale University School of Medicine in 1971, and in 1976 a formal five-year agreement was established. As of 2006, the affiliation agreement has been renewed four times. The Yale affiliation focuses primarily on internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, pathology, genetics and oncology. The hospital also affiliated with New York Medical College in 1974 to support pediatrics, psychiatry and surgery, the University of Connecticut’s School of Medicine to support nuclear medicine and the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine to support its third and fourth year clinical rotations.^[7]

Danbury Hospital is a member of the Council of Teaching Hospital and Health Systems (COTH) of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Of the 1,100 hospitals involved in graduate medical education in this country, the 400 COTH member institutions train about three-quarters of the residents in the United States.^[7]

History

Founded in 1885, Danbury Hospital was a small community hospital for its first 50 years. Its School of Nursing was established in 1893, and the first graduate medical education (GME) program was a one-year general internship approved in 1926.^[7]

In 1970 the hospital developed a long-range strategic plan which included a proposal to make the hospital a regional teaching hospital. A full-time faculty was formed and eventually evolved into the multi-specialty, not-for-profit practice called Danbury Office of Physician Services, PC.^[7]

Other area hospitals

• New Milford Hospital
• Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut
• Norwalk Hospital
• Stamford Hospital
• Bridgeport Hospital

Notes

External links

• Danbury Hospital Web site
• Connecticut Department of Public Health
• Hospital Performance Comparisons a report released in February 2006 by the state Department of Health
• Careers at Danbury Hospital

Coordinates: 41°24′19″N 73°26′41″W / 41.4054°N 73.4447°W / 41.4054; -73.4447