The Dr. Peter J. Deckers Employee Appreciation Award finalists from left, Lakeesha Brown, Elizabeth Cwalinski, Ursula Knight, and Carol Schramm. (Photo by Tina Encarnacion)
Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, CEO UConn Health and EVP for Health Affairs, addresses employees during the 2016 Dr. Peter J. Deckers Employee Appreciation Award and annual celebration of employee years of service event Nov. 21 in the Academic Rotunda. (Photo by Tina Encarnacion)
The 2016 Dr. Peter J. Deckers Employee Appreciation Award and annual celebration of employee years of service was held Nov. 21 in the Academic Rotunda at UConn Health. (Photo by Tina Encarnacion)
Dr. Peter J. Deckers, retired executive vice president for health affairs and dean emeritus of the UConn School of Medicine, talks about the award named in his honor during the annual celebration of employee years of service event held Nov. 21 in the Academic Rotunda at UConn Health. (Photo by Tina Encarnacion)
Ursula Knight, CMHC nursing supervisor, with Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, CEO UConn Health and EVP for Health Affairs, and Dr. Peter J. Deckers, retired executive vice president for health affairs and dean emeritus of the UConn School of Medicine. (Photo by Tina Encarnacion)
Elizabeth Cwalinski, housekeeping supervisor, was a finalist for the 2016 Dr. Peter J. Deckers Employee Appreciation Award. (Photo by Tina Encarnacion)
Registered nurse Carol Schramm, finalist for the 2016 Dr. Peter J. Deckers Employee Appreciation Award, with Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, CEO UConn Health and EVP for Health Affairs, and Dr. Peter J. Deckers, retired executive vice president for health affairs and dean emeritus of the UConn School of Medicine. (Photo by Tina Encarnacion)
Lakeesha Brown, principal labor relations specialist in the Department of Human Resources, is the 2016 Dr. Peter J. Deckers Employee Appreciation Award honoree. (Photo by Tina Encarnacion)
It’s among the highest honors a UConn Health employee can receive – the Dr. Peter J. Deckers Employee Appreciation Award. Who qualifies as a Deckers Award nominee? An employee who consistently demonstrates passion and commitment, strong leadership, exemplary professional skills, and goes above and beyond to help meet the goals of UConn Health. The award was first presented in 2009 and is named after Dr. Peter Deckers, retired executive vice president for health affairs and dean emeritus of the UConn School of Medicine.
This year’s honoree is Lakeesha Brown, principal labor relations specialist in the Department of Human Resources. Christine Cieplinski, director of labor relations, nominated Lakeesha saying “she sees every work day as an opportunity to positively invest employees in the mission and vision of UConn Health.” Hear what else Christine said about Lakeesha.
The three other finalists for the Deckers Award were:
The Deckers Awards and the annual celebration of employee years of service were held Nov. 21 in the Academic Rotunda during a high-energy ceremony emceed by Alexis Crean, organization and staff development specialist in the Department of Human Resources.
After nearly a year in an interim role, Anne Horbatuck has been named Vice President, Ambulatory Services. In this role she has responsibilities for ambulatory practices with both UConn Medical Group and UConn John Dempsey Hospital. In over thirty years with UConn Health, Anne has held a number of roles including as Chief Operating Officer of the Musculoskeletal Institute, Director of Signature Programs, and as a nursing director, manager and service line leader.
“Removing Anne’s interim designation is well deserved,” said Dr. Andy Agwunobi, CEO of UConn Health and EVP for Health Affairs. “She has shown passion for her work, dedication to the organization and a commitment to making UMG a top tier patient service organization.”
“I am excited to have such a significant opportunity to impact the future of UConn Health,” said Horbatuck. “I love the potential we have and look forward to working with people in all roles of ambulatory operations to create a great patient experience that contributes to the overall success of UConn Health”.
Mark Koziol, maintenance employee, doing leaf clean-up in the center courtyard of the main building at UConn Health. (Photo by Janine Gelineau)
Mark Koziol, 33-years old from Plainville, works on the grounds crew in the Maintenance Dept. He’s worked at UConn Health for 13 years, he’s married and the father of an 8-month old girl. This time of year, Mark and his fellow grounds crew workers are extremely busy with – you guessed it – cleaning up leaves. It’s an extremely time-consuming job considering the size of our campus which stretches 209 acres and includes our Munson Road, 195 and 400 Farmington Avenue locations. That’s a whole lot of leaves to get rid of.
Q: Other than leaf clean-up – what are some of your other job responsibilities?
A: It really depends on the time of year. We do landscape maintenance so in the spring and summer we’re mowing, tree and hedge trimming, mulching, planting flowers, and cutting the ivy – that needs to be done several times a year.
This time of year, it’s cleaning up the leaves and cutting down the day lilies and ornamental grasses. Then when winter comes – it’s a whole another story. We have to remove the snow and spread salt on all the sidewalks, parking lots and roads here on campus and our nearby locations. We also have to clear the snow from the garages, otherwise it’s too much weight. We plow the snow and then we find a designated safe place to dump it off the garage. That takes a long time.
I typically start my day at 6 a.m. but if we get a major snow storm we come in when we’re needed and work around the clock until all the snow is cleared. We stay overnight here if it’s necessary. Our department has couches or we sleep in our trucks. Depending on the storm, we can end up being here for a few days. Last year we were lucky so this year we’ll see what happens.
And then throughout the year, we’re in charge of the litter pick-up.
Who is your favorite actor? Robert De Niro
What’s your favorite junk food? Pizza
What’s your favorite sports team? Red Sox
What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
If you could meet someone “famous” who would you most like to meet? “Big Papi” David Ortiz
Q: Is littering a big problem on campus? A: Usually it’s the patients who are messy. The employees really are not that bad.
Q: What job do you like the best?
A: Well, fall is my favorite time of year and I never seem to get tired of leaf blowing.
Q: Overall, why do you like working here?
A: I enjoy working in this field and being outside. The people are nice, too. I’ve met lots of nice people through the years.
I also like the variety. Every season brings something different. And this campus has changed tremendously since I started back in 2003. When I started, there was no MARB or Outpatient Pavilion. There was a greenhouse there. I remember the Butler buildings and Dowling North and South. The campus has really expanded for the better but then again, it also means we have a lot more work than we used to.
From left, David Marshall, General Manager/Director of Tennis at Farmington Field Club, Jennifer Grey and Aaron Frankel with the UConn Foundation. (Photo by Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)
The Farmington Field Club (FFC) Children’s Classic Tennis Tournament completed its 33rd year of activities this summer. The FFC Tournament, the second longest running U.S. Tennis Association New England Tournament was held over two weekends in July (Adult Tournament July 9-10 and the Junior Tournament July 16-17) and raised more than $11,000 for the UConn Children’s Cancer Fund. This year’s tournament had more than 100 player participants over the two weekends and was viewed by several hundred spectators.
The proceeds from the event, primarily derived from the financial support and sponsorships of many local corporations and companies and individual contributions, helps advance UConn’s research into the diagnosis, treatment and eventual prevention of children’s cancer. To date, the fund raising efforts of FFC has contributed more than $365,000 to the Farmington Field Club’s Endowment for UConn Children’s Cancer Program.
The Farmington Field Club, a private membership tennis, swimming and paddle tennis club, encourages and welcomes tax deductible donations to this worthwhile cause. Donations may be sent to:
The Farmington Field Club Endowment for UConn Children’s Cancer
UConn Foundation, Inc.
P.O. 4032
Farmington, CT 06034
UConn Health will welcome John Peeples as Vice President of Human Resources on November 28.
Currently with Dimensions Healthcare System in Maryland, John brings over a decade of senior level human resource experience – in both healthcare and government – to his new position. He will be reporting to Dr. Andy Agwunobi, CEO of UConn Health.
“I am looking forward to working on issues that impact our people,” John said by phone, “developing what I hope will be high impact human resource and talent management programs while balancing our obligation of fiscal discipline and efficiency.”
Holding an MBA in Organizational Behavior and Management Policy and certifications from multiple major professional organizations, John is a Fellow with The American College of Healthcare Executives. John will assume leadership of the Farmington-based HR function from Chief Administrative Officer Carolle Andrews, who has served during the search as interim leader.
“John’s addition to our team brings important experience and perspective as we tackle the important work clearly illustrated in our recent engagement survey,” says Dr. Agwunobi. “Carolle and the team have done commendable work in an interim period and set a foundation for future success.”
“We had a number of qualified, diverse and enthusiastic candidates from all over the country,” adds Andrews. “John’s selection is the result of hard work by a search committee and our willingness to take as long as needed to find the right leader for our organization and our times.”
Speaking during the event was a Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center patient.
Members of Team UConn Health Husky Heroes.
UConn spirit and pride was evident with the largest team turn out ever for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of Hartford event on Sunday, Oct. 16at Bushnell Park. Team UConn Health Husky Heroes proudly joined 5,500 walkers to help raise over $280,000 to support the American Cancer Society in the fight against breast cancer. The team was comprised of patients, caregivers, friends, staff and families. It was a beautiful autumn day and UConn Health once again had the honor of sponsoring the Survivor Tent which offered survivors delicious food, tips and advice, special goody bags, and a space to interact with other survivors. One of the speakers at the event was a Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center patient whose story for the opening ceremony was impactful and moving. She was able to share the experience with her family and caregivers, providing inspiration and hope to all participants. Thank you to all who raised funds, volunteered their time in so many different ways, and continue to support important events like Making Strides.
We are writing to inform you that our close affiliate Connecticut Children’s Medical Center has entered into initial affiliation discussions with Yale New Haven Health System.
Knowing the leadership at both Connecticut Children’s and Yale New Haven Health System, we are confident that their goal is to enhance children’s care for the region and the state while exploring ways they can partner to improve healthcare access for children.
We expect that if a new collaborative alliance between the two pediatric medical centers moves forward it should have a positive impact on advancing pediatric healthcare in Connecticut and help create a readily available expanded network of experts and services spanning the state. Also, we expect it would not only preserve but strengthen and bolster the academic commitments and collaborations among Connecticut Children’s, UConn Health and our School of Medicine.
For many years UConn Health has enjoyed a close educational, research and clinical affiliation with Connecticut Children’s. We have been assured that these relationships will not be affected by the proposed alignment.
We will continue to work closely with Connecticut Children’s to provide excellent patient care, research and training of healthcare professionals for the region.
We wish Connecticut Children’s well in their future discussions and plans. We will keep you updated on any further developments.
Andrew Agwunobi, M.D., MBA
Chief Executive Officer, UConn Health
Executive Vice President for Health Affairs
Bruce T. Liang, M.D., F.A.C.C.
Dean, School of Medicine
Results shared at Tuesday’s Town Hall provide insight and baseline data into our level of workforce commitment, also known as engagement. A raw engagement score of 3.67 looks great to those of us who grew up in a graded world but in this case, it’s not a B+. Our results place us in the lowest 10 percent of similar organizations for overall engagement.
Nearly 50 percent of all employees took the survey, adding over 2,000 open ended comments that all together provide measurement and context to the often elusive world of organizational culture. Sure, anyone can differ in how connected we feel to our workplace, any day, even hour-by-hour, but overall this tells us some really important things about ourselves.
With more detail available by using this link on UConn Health Express, and to be shared by your leaders in the coming days, the infographic shows a lot about the general sentiment of the organization. Thanks to everyone who took the time to complete the survey. We will do this again in spring 2017 and we hope that more than 60 percent of you participate, express your opinion, and offer feedback as we strive toward building a culture worthy of our name and our mission.
In just a couple of days, our pediatric practice at UConn Health will transition to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. There are a lot of benefits to this including greater coordination between our primary care and specialty physicians at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center which will result in superior care for our patients.
Although the practice is changing ‘affiliations’, we (the physicians) are not changing, nor are our office locations. We remain at 800 Connecticut Boulevard, East Hartford and 65 Kane Street, West Hartford. Importantly, we will remain on the staff of UConn John Dempsey Hospital and continue to provide all of clinical services at the Well Baby Nursery. We will also continue to serve as teachers to our medical students and residents and to serve as full-time members of the Department of Pediatrics.
Our phone number will change. To reach pediatrics after October 1, to establish care or make an appointment, call us at 860-837-7250.
Primary care pediatrics has been a part of UConn Health from its beginning, and the pediatricians wish to thank the UConn Health community for its support over the years. We look forward to continuing to serve our community and to enjoy many future collaborations under our new hospital affiliation.
The Dr. Peter J. Deckers Employee Appreciation Award finalists from left, Lakeesha Brown, Elizabeth Cwalinski, Ursula Knight, and Carol Schramm. (Photo by Tina Encarnacion)
