From the desk of Dr. Andy
Andrew C. Agwunobi, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, EVP for Health Affairs, UConn Health
Dear Colleagues,
I had a bit of a cold early in the week so to avoid spreading germs I worked remotely for the first two days. However, I am back in the saddle and alongside Commissioner Susan Hamilton and Office of Policy and Management Secretary Joshua Wojcik, this week I attended a town hall to speak with the employees and unions of the Albert J. Solnit Children's Center ("Solnit")-South Campus in Middletown.
Just as a reminder, Solnit is a DCF managed state adolescent psychiatric hospital that provides essential care for Connecticut's youth. The reason I attended the town hall was to answer employee questions about UConn Health's April 15 plan to partner with the hospital. Specifically, Solnit's 50 inpatient beds will come under UConn Health John Dempsey Hospital's license and as such Solnit will become a satellite location of UConn John Dempsey Hospital.
At the town hall, I communicated that as we've learned more about the operations of Solnit, my senior team and I have developed a deep respect and admiration for the amazing work that the employees of Solnit do for the most vulnerable children in our state. We therefore feel strongly that our approach as we partner with them is to find ways to support their work and to ensure the seamless continuation of quality care for this population.
I also communicated to the employees that as a sister state hospital, UConn Health believes, that together with the Solnit employees, we can build on the wonderful care they provide and enhance the care for this population. In terms of the specific enhancements, those are still under discussion. We need to listen to the Solnit employees, unions, providers, DCF leadership, OPM and other stakeholders to determine what those enhancements might be and the source of resources necessary to implement them.
I'd also like acknowledge and thank Caryl Ryan, our CNO and hospital COO, Dr. Scott Allen, our chief medical officer, Dr. Asma Zehgeer, assistant service chief for child psychiatry, Dr. Glenn Konopaske, psychiatry service chief, and Dr. Brian Shames, chief of our hospital medical staff, who are taking leadership roles in this partnership.
Switching back to UConn Health, about a week ago we gave a tour of UConn Health to the newest member of the UConn Health Board of Directors, namely, Andrea Barton Reeves, the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS). Commissioner Barton Reeves is a phenomenal addition to our board, and it was a pleasure along with the Dr. Bruce Liang, medical school dean, and Dr. Steven Leposwky, dental school dean, to show her the gem that is UConn Health.
I want to thank Dr. Jonathan Harris for the many tours of dignitaries that he has guided through the Virtual Anatomy Lab (VAL). The Anamotage tables are always a highlight of the tour. In case you were wondering, Anatomage tables are large, interactive virtual dissection tables that use real human imaging data to allow detailed, life‑size 3D exploration of human anatomy. Or, in my non-technical language, they are like human sized laptops that allow virtual dissections of a cadavers - pretty amazing!
Our multimedia team made a short video that takes you right into the VAL to get a better look:
Similarly on the dental side another highlight of all our tours is virtual reality dental simulation machines. These machines use immersive 3D visuals and haptic feedback to let dental students safely practice clinical procedures, such as drilling, restorations, and injections on realistic virtual patients.
Among other topics, in my introductory comments to Commissioner Barton Reeves I told her who we are:
I gave her an overview of our Graduate School and our schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine:
And an overview of our clinical enterprise:
As usual it was a great tour because we have so much to show and to be proud of.
I'm happy to report, we have notified our 2026 recipients of the Nightingale Awards for Excellence in Nursing. Named after Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who's largely credited as the founder of modern nursing, the Nightingales are among the profession's highest honors. Every year, hospitals throughout the country recognize nurses for excellence in a number of criteria including impact on patient care, mentoring and supporting other nurses, going "beyond the call," outstanding commitment to the community, and impact on their field throughout their career. At UConn Health, we present Nightingale awards to six of our nurses each year.
This year's honorees are:
- Kristen Cannata, MSN, RN
Heart Failure Program Coordinator, Clinical Effectiveness & Quality
- Domenic Cote-Roy, MSN, APRN, AGACNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner, Intensive Care Unit
- Laura Glynn, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse CN3, Surgery/Orthopedics (UT5)
- Shiela Lafleur, BSN, RN
Clinical Patient Navigator, UMG Parkinson's Disease & Movement Disorders Center
- Melissa Revicki, MSN, EFM-C, NPD-BC,
Professional Development Specialist, L&D, Mother Baby, Professional Practice & Clinical Excellence
- Toni Ann Ryan, MSN, RN,
Staff Nurse, CN2 Postoperative Services
