At the Tuesday, September 9 meeting of
West Hartford
’s Town Council, Mayor Scott Slifka presented a proclamation to Mercy Community Health in honor of the healthcare organization’s 10
th anniversary and the 20
th anniversary of its component ministry, The McAuley.
Mayor Slifka delivered the citation to Joseph J. Noto, Chair of the Mercy Community Health Board of Trustees. “Be it proclaimed that on behalf of the Town Council and the residents of
West Hartford
, I, Mayor R. Scott Slifka, do hereby extend our best wishes and sincere appreciation to the faculty and families of Mercy Community Health and The McAuley on their tenth and twentieth anniversaries, respectively, as they restore health, provide comfort, and extend compassion and healing to all, especially the poor,” the Mayor said.
10/03/08 - November 13 Candle Lighting and Thanksgiving Event at Mercy Community Health
Participants in the monthly Alzheimer’s and Dementia Family Caregiver Support Group meeting at Saint Mary Home and those who are interested in learning more about this network are invited to a Candle Lighting Ceremony and Thanksgiving Social on Thursday, November 13. The event will take place at
Saint
Mary
Home,
2021 Albany Avenue in
West Hartford, in the Center 1 Dining Room.
National Commemorative Candle Lighting is a nationwide event sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America to remember and honor Americans who have been or will be affected by Alzheimer’s Disease. Local organizations like Mercy Community Health hold inspirational ceremonies in their communities on November 13, uniting individuals from coast to coast as they light “candles of care.”
To pre-register, contact Eileen Cleary, director for dementia education and programming at
Saint
Mary
Home, at 860.570.8335. While advance registration is preferred, walk-ins are welcome to attend.
09/29/08 - Family Caregiver Support Group to Discuss Music Therapy
The Alzheimer's & Dementia Family Caregiver Support Group will meet on Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. in Saint Mary Home's Center 1 Dining Room. Saint Mary Home's Director of Therapeutic Recreation and Coordinator of Volunteer Services, Michelle Russell, will present "Music Therapy: Communication beyond Words."
All are welcome to attend this free event, but pre-registrations are encouraged. Call Jackie Holcomb at 860.570.8223 by October 7 to pre-register.
The Alzheimer's & Dementia Family Caregiver Support Group Meetings are generally held on the second Thursday of each month at Saint Mary Home, 2021 Albany Avenue, West Hartford, CT.
08/25/08 - Family Caregivers for Those Living with Alzheimer's and Related Dementia Invited to Sept. 11 Presentation
Eileen Cleary, director for dementia education and programming at Saint Mary Home, will present “Sharing Successes and Challenges” at a support group meeting for family caregivers of those living with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementia. The meeting – free and open to the public – will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 11, 2008 in the Center 1 Dining Room at
Saint
Mary
Home,
2021 Albany Avenue in
West Hartford. Those who wish to attend are asked to call 860.570.8335 before September 9 to confirm their attendance; however, walk-ins are also welcome.
08/15/08 - Mercy Community Health Celebrates 10th Anniversary as The McAuley Enjoys 20th
Mercy Community Health will mark its tenth anniversary as the Catholic Health East regional healthcare community composed of Saint Mary Home, The McAuley, Mercy Community HomeCare and Mercyknoll with a week-long celebration from September 22 through 26. During that same week, the community at The McAuley will observe the 20
th anniversary of the day it opened its doors. “We have been proudly serving our mission of enhancing the quality of life for our residents and clients for 10 years as Mercy Community Health, and we wanted to share our celebration of that with the greater
Hartford
community,” said William J. Fiocchetta, President and CEO of Mercy Community Health. “Because the timing also coincides with the 20
th anniversary of The McAuley, we thought it provided a perfect reason to invite people to enjoy a host of cultural and spiritual activities on our beautiful campus nestled between Steele Road and Albany Avenue," he explained.
- On Monday, September 22, musicians will stroll the corridors of
Saint
Mary
Home
, performing for residents on the violin, flute, guitar and banjo. At 2:00 p.m. on that day, actress, author, director, and producer Robin Lane will present her one-woman play --Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: An American Original – in The McAuley Auditorium. That evening, residents of The McAuley and
Saint
Mary
Home
will travel to an HD Broadcast at Showcase Cinema Buckland Hills in
Manchester
of the Met’s Opening Night Gala.
- On Tuesday, September 23, The McAuley Chorus will stage a 3:00 p.m. anniversary performance at The McAuley. That evening at 7:00 p.m., The Celebration Jazz Band, featuring Reverend Gary Miller and friends from Asylum Hill Congregational Church, will perform at The McAuley.
- Wednesday, September 24 is Mercy Day: an annual celebration of the Sisters of Mercy who work in service to others around the globe. Locally, the Sisters founded
Saint
Mary
Home
1880 and continue to be active sponsors of Mercy Community Health and its component ministries. A special Mass for the Sisters will take place in the Saint Mary Home Auditorium at 10:00 a.m. At 2:00 p.m., the Jewish High Holy Days will be observed in The McAuley Auditorium.
- Mercy Community Health President and CEO William J. Fiocchetta will present “The History of The McAuley” in The McAuley Auditorium at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 25. This conversation is part of The McAuley’s monthly Lunch & Learn series; for more information, visit www.mchct.org . At 2:00 p.m. that day, the quartet “Irish to the Last Drop” will perform in
Saint
Mary
Home
’s Dining Room B. At 7:00 p.m., the Saint Mary Home Auditorium will host an Irish Step Dancing Performance by students from the Griffith Academy of Dance.
- On Friday, September 26, Sister Mary Frederick Tkacz and Sister Ann O’Neill will discuss “Life as a Sister of Mercy” at 2:00 p.m. in the Center 1 Dining Room. At 7:00 p.m., the Greater Hartford Opera Ensemble will perform in honor of the anniversaries at
Saint
Mary
Home
in the Auditorium.
The public is invited to attend any of these free events with the exception of the September 22 bus trip, which is a grant-funded excursion for the residents of Mercy Community Health. For more information, please contact Christine M. Looby, Mercy Community Health’s director of community relations, at 860.570.8305.
08/05/08 - Alzheimer's & Dementia Family Caregiver Support Group Meets August 14
At the Thursday, August 14 meeting of the Alzheimer's & Dementia Family Caregiver Support Group, Eileen Cleary, RN, CRRN, M.A., NHA, director for dementia education and programming at Saint Mary Home, will discuss "Communication, Conversation and Companionship." New individuals and family members are welcome to attend this free meeting, which will take place in the Saint Mary Home Center 1 Dining Room at 4:30 p.m.. While walk-ins are welcome, advance registration by August 12 is preferred.
To register or find out more information about the Alzheimer's & Dementia Family Caregiver Support Group, call Eileen Cleary at 860.570.8335.
07/29/08 - Mercy Community Health Celebrates Noah Webster's 250th "Birthday" August 4 - 8
To celebrate the 250th birthday of West Hartford native Noah Webster, the Noah Webster House and the President's College at the University of Hartford are conducting a six-month marathon reading of all of the approximately 63,000 headwords (the words that are defined) in the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, which was authored by Webster.
The dictionary marathon will continue at Mercy Community Health August 4-8, 2008 with a public reading of the 2935 headwords beginning with the letter M. The reading will take place as follows:
Monday, August 3 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Frances Warde Towers Dining Room, Saint Mary Home
Tuesday, August 5 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. The McAuley Auditorium
Wednesday, August 6 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Center 1 Dining Room, Saint Mary Home
Thursday, August 7 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Baggott St. Lounge, Saint Mary Home
Friday, August 8 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. The McAuley Auditorium
Various businesses and organizations throughout West Hartford have adopted letters of the alphabet and staged public readings. These events will conclude on October 16, which is the date of the 250th anniversary of Noah Webster's birth.
06/27/08 - Lunch and Learn at The McAuley
The McAuley will hold Lunch and Learn events at 11:00 a.m. on the following dates in 2008:
October 30
November 19
December 17
All are welcome. To register, call 860.920.6319.
03/20/08 - MCH Trustee Receives Award from Catholic Health East
 |
Deacon Dennis R. Ferguson accepts his Excellence in Governance Award from Jacque Kinder, Catholic Health East Board Chair. |
The Board of Directors of Catholic Health East has awarded Deacon Dennis R. Ferguson, Esq., with its 2008 Excellence in Governance Award for his dedicated service on the Mercy Community Health Board of Trustees. Deacon Ferguson was nominated for this recognition by William J. Fiocchetta, President and CEO of Mercy Community Health in West Hartford. Catholic Health East is a multi-institutional Catholic health system, which is co-sponsored by 10 religious congregations, and Hope Ministries, a Public Juridic Person within Catholic Health East. Based in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, the System provides the means to ensure the continuation of the Catholic identity and operational strength of sponsors' health ministries (including Mercy Community Health,) which are located within 11 eastern states from Maine to Florida.
In December 2007, Deacon Ferguson completed his two-year term as chair of Mercy Community Health’s Board of Trustees. Mr. Fiocchetta characterized Deacon Ferguson’s leadership as passionate, generous, strategic, analytical, and consensus-building. “His stewardship, vision, collaborative nature, willingness to challenge his colleagues for the ultimate benefit of those we serve and his unwavering loyalty to our Mission and Core Values make Dennis very worthy of this recognition. We firmly believe that he exemplifies the very best of Mercy Community Health as well as the very best of Catholic Health East,” Mr. Fiocchetta said.
“These individuals exercise strategic thinking and visionary leadership, and have consistently shown dedication to their respective organizations and to the mission and values of Catholic Health East,” said Robert V. Stanek, president and CEO of Catholic Health East, of this year’s Excellence in Governance Award winners. “We express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to all of our Board members and especially our honorees for sharing their time and talents in serving our health care ministry.”
The Excellence in Governance Award carries with it a grant of $10,000 to be designated to a Mercy Community Health program or service that provides community benefit. Deacon Ferguson has designated that this gift be applied to the upcoming renovation project at the Saint Mary Home Chapel. Mercy Community Health will soon announce a fundraising campaign to refurbish the Chapel in order to increase its accessibility.
Owner of the Law Offices of Dennis R. Ferguson on Farmington Avenue and Deacon at St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church on Farmington Avenue, Deacon Ferguson and his wife, Linda, also live in West Hartford.
03/07/08 - Mercy Community Health Receives $90,000 Grant from Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority
Mercy Community Health has received a grant of $90,000 from the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA) to implement a central telemonitoring system. As a provider of health care services to Connecticut's aging population, Mercy Community Health is committed to improving the management of chronic illnesses among its clients of Mercy Community HomeCare and residents of The McAuley and The Frances Warde Towers Apartments within Saint Mary Home. The Client Grant from CHEFA will make possible Mercy Community Health's acquisition of Home Telemonitoring for some of its HomeCare clients and a Central Telemonitoring station for The Frances Warde Towers Apartments and each of The McAuley's buildings.
"This technology will track blood pressures, weights, oxygen levels and pulse on our clients and residents, as well as prompt them to answer questions designed to identify changes in their medical status in the early stages, before they require emergent care or hospitalization. Home telemonitoring capabilities and a central telemonitoring station on our campus will expand the breadth of services Mercy Community Health provides. We are very grateful to CHEFA for assisting our efforts to maximize our technological capabilities that supports the mission and the quality of care for which Mercy Community Health is known," said Bill Fiocchetta, President and CEO of Mercy Community Health.
Richard D. Gray, executive director of the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, suggested additional benefits brought about by this technology. "The CHEFA Board and Staff congratulate Mercy Community Health on its successful grant application to fund its Telehealth Monitoring Program. The power of this technology not only improves patient care, but also allows caregivers to substantially increase their productivity," he said.
Within three months, nursing personnel at Mercy Community HomeCare, The McAuley and The Frances Warde Towers Apartments will introduce the equipment to associates through a series of educational programs pertaining to health promotion and management of chronic diseases. Twenty Telemonitoring units will be leased by Mercy Community HomeCare, two Central Monitoring Telehealth stations will be purchased for The McAuley, and three will be purchased for clients within The Frances Warde Towers Apartments.
More information about CHEFA and its programs can be found at
www.chefa.com .
01/22/08 - Mercy Community HomeCare Ranked Among Top 25 Percent of Home Health Providers in U.S. for 2007
Mercy Community Health today announced that Mercy Community HomeCare has been named to the 2007 HomeCare Elite, a compilation of the most successful Medicare-certified home health care providers in the United States. This annual review identifies the top 25% of agencies, ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, quality improvement and financial performance.
The 2007 HomeCare Elite also indicates those providers who are included in the Top 100 and Top 500 of providers nationwide. The data used for this analysis was compiled from publicly available information.
"We applaud the success of all the providers named to the 2007 HomeCare Elite," said Bill Bassett, Senior Director of Market Strategy at OCS, Inc. "Being noted as one of the top performers in the nation in this very competitive environment shows that Mercy Community HomeCare is dedicated to quality and performance."
William J. Fiocchetta, president and CEO of Mercy Community Health, credits Mercy Community HomeCare's associates and their commitment to the organization's mission with its ability to gain national recognition as one of the HomeCare Elite. He said: "Those who work at Mercy Community HomeCare promote wellness, embrace diversity, and enhance quality of life on a daily basis. They provide not only health care, but also comfort and compassion. I congratulate Mercy Community HomeCare's dedicated associates, under Administrator Ellen Madigan's leadership, on achieving this recognition. We are very grateful to OCS for acknowledging Mercy Community HomeCare among its Elite for 2007."
01/08/08 - Say Hello to Mercy on the Mooove
For those of you who might not have "herd", the cows are coming back to West Hartford and this time Mercy Community Health is a proud sponsor. In working with the "cowsultants" at WH CowParade, I found an artist whose work in similar events was exactly what I envisioned for a lasting depiction of the history and beauty of our campus and its building architecture. The artist, Christine MacClintic, strolled our campus on several occasions taking lots of photos and poring over some vintage pictures from a time long ago. Her initial design achieved all that we envisioned.
The parade officially starts on Wednesday September 12th when all cows are placed in West Hartford Center. Mercy's pasture spot will be on LaSalle Road in front of the Joseph A. Banks clothier store - a prime location. The Thursday September 13th edition of The Hartford Courant will contain a special supplement on the Parade complete with photos, locator maps and information about each sponsor and artist. No doubt, the popularity of this event, will serve our community relations and marketing needs on a grand scale. The five-month long event will culminate in late January/early February when all cows will be sent out to pasture via auction or sale. Plans are underway now to assure that Mercy comes home to Albany and Steele.
Once Mercy takes residence here on campus, she will continue to draw visitors, many who had no idea who we are or what we do. What an opportunity to tell the story of our history, our mission and our plans to grow in our role as a vital community resource! Mercy will graze the different pastures around campus for years to come and in harsh weather will be seen ruminating indoors, all to the "udder" delight of residents and visitors alike.
I hope that you enjoy the photos on the website and, even better, meeting
Mercy on your next visit to West Hartford Center. In
Mercy on the Mooove, we have a masterpiece!
Bill Fiocchetta
President and CEO
Mercy Community Health
