Stamford Hospital

Stamford Hospital is a private, nonprofit, Level II trauma center and community academic hospital in Stamford, Connecticut. The hospital is a branch of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System and a major teaching affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Hospital Services

The 305 bed Stamford Hospital and its 440 affiliated physicians provide patient care in all of the typical medical specialties, including internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, and medical and critical care units. In addition, as a regional Level II trauma center, appropriate subspecialty care is on-site, including Trauma surgery, Orthopedics, Neurosurgery and Interventional Radiology. As of 2005, Stamford Hospital had a total of 2,254 employees, making it one of the cities largest employers.^[2]

The Tandet Center, a nursing home adjacent to the main building, was previously operated by the hospital, however decision was made to sell to a private entity.

A large segment of the 2,254 hospital employees are represented by the New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199, affiliated with the Service Employees International Union.

The hospital's 32-bed Cardiology Department expanded its services in August 2005 when the hospital began offering emergency angioplasty. In addition, the hospital performs open heart surgery and urgent or elective angioplasty. ^[3]

History

Founding and Early History

The original hospital in a 1911 postcard

John Clasen, a farmer and former state legislator, town assessor and school board member, is credited with the founding of Stamford Hospital. After consultation with his his friend and attorney, Edwin L. Scofield (later the second mayor of Stamford), regarding possible philanthropies, he gave the initial funding for the hospital by selling some of his property. Clasen raised about $45,000 from the sale of the property.^[4] Clasen's only conditions for the money were that the new institution would be named Stamford Hospital, be nonsectarian and not discriminate in receiving patients.^[4] Subsequently, the hospital opened with 30 beds on May 7, 1896 in a mansion on East Main Street, just west of the railroad bridge.^[4]

In 1954, Edgar L. Geibel, a graduate of the Yale School of Public Health, became the chief administrator of the hospital, a position which he held for 23 years until his retirement in 1977. Under his leadership, the hospital experienced significant change and growth, including the 1966-1969 construction of the hospital's signature white pavilion wing designed by Perkins & Will.

Recent history

From 1994 to 2000, the hospital had significant financial difficulties, losing money in six of the seven years, including a $22 million loss in one year. By 2001 the hospital's pension plan was underfunded by $40 million. In 2001, Brian Grissler became the president and chief executive officer of the hospital. Under his leadership, significant budgetary changes were made, including the laying off of 200 employees in 2002 and 2003, in order to address the hospital's loss of market share. The hospital's finances began to improve, and revenues in 2007 were $357 million. ^[5]

In early 2006, the hospital actively considered moving to a new, undetermined site and construct a new hospital in order to enlarge hospital rooms (which are approximately half the size of more modern hospitals), as well as expand and modernize clinical departments (particularly the emergency room, critical care units and cardiac labs). However, this proposal was scrapped in favor of building a large expansion. The expansion of the hospital, dubbed "New Stamford Hospital" will result in a large 11 story glass structure, to become the dominant portion of the hospital. Ground was broken on this wing in May 2013 with expected completion date in 2016 and estimated cost of 575 Million dollars.^[5] It is unclear if a portion of the funding comes from a federal grant of $358,623, apportioned in the 2008 federal budget for an expansion of the emergency room.^[6]

Campus

Main Campus

Stamford hospital is located in the southwestern portion of Stamford, CT, near the downtown area and waterfront. The campus currently consists of five buildings on a site of about 20 acres (81,000 m²), mostly fronting West Broad Street. The oldest existing portion of the hospital, The Physician's Building, was constructed in the 1920s, while the newest wing, The Whittingham Pavilion, opened in 2001.

Cohen Children's Specialty Center at Stamford Hospital

An extensive pediatric ward within Stamford hospital, the Cohen Children's Center provides all branches of pediatric medicine and surgery.

Tully Health Center

The "Daniel P. & Grace I. Tully & Family Health Center" is a satellite campus site located a few miles northwest of the main hospital. Named after the Tully family who made a significant donation to The Campaign for Stamford Hospital, the center opened in the spring of 2002 at the site of the former St. Joseph's Hospital and includes multiple health care services in an outpatient setting^[3]

Auxiliary Sites

In addition to those listed above, Stamford hospital has several additional outpatient facilities, largely clinical offices and phlebotomy labs, scattered throughout Stamford and greater Connecticut. These include the larger Darien Imaging Center, Darien Medical Center, Wilton Surgery Center, among others.

Awards and recognition

In 2004, the Joint Commission awarded the annual Ernest A. Codman Award for creating a protocol to maintain correct blood glucose levels in critically ill patients. The new protocol cut the death rate among those patients by 29 percent and shortened time spent in the intensive care unit by 11 percent.^[5]

Stamford Hospital was awarded American Nurses Credentialing Center Award for Excellence in Nursing Services in 2005. Stamford Hospital was one of 168 hospitals in the country to receive the award.

In 2007 Ernst & Young LLP gave Brian Grissler, the hospital president, its Entrepreneur of the Year award in the "social enterprise" category.^[5]

Alliances and partnerships

• Stamford Hospital is part of the lauded NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System, which routinely has hospitals ranked as the best in the nation.
• The hospital is a major teaching affiliate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and is utilized in the education of medical students from this institution. In addition, the hospital itself is the base of operation for residency programs in internal medicine, family practice, psychiatry, obstetrics/gynecology and surgery.
• The hospital is accepted into the Planetree Alliance, a select group of hospitals nationwide focused on patient-centered care.

Special Programs

In early 2007 the hospital started a "Familial Colorectal Cancer Registry" for individuals and families with a history of colorectal or associated cancers. The private registry is the first of its kind in Connecticut and provides general screening information as well as updates on the latest research.^[7]

To amuse patients, some volunteers at the hospital roam the halls dressed up as clowns, calling themselves Health and Humor Associates (or "HAHA").^[8]

See also

• List of hospitals in Connecticut
• Greenwich Hospital is in neighboring Greenwich, Connecticut.
• Norwalk Hospital is in Norwalk, Connecticut, on the other side of Darien.

Footnotes

External links

• Stamford Hospital Web page
• District 1199, SEIU, a union representing some employees
• Connecticut Department of Public Health
• Hospital Performance Comparisons a report released in February 2006 by the state Department of Health