Dear Colleagues,

I’d like to start this week with some updates from our locations beyond our main campus in Farmington.

First, Monday we celebrated the grand opening of our new Torrington location. Last week I mentioned how we had a soft opening in April, when we moved some of our services to the larger, renovated space at 507 E. Main St. Now, in addition to internal medicine, we have rotating specialties and services including blood draw and laboratory services, comprehensive spine care and total joint, imaging and radiology, internal medicine, orthopedics and sports medicine, and vascular surgery, with OB-GYN, cardiology, and pulmonary soon to join them.

This investment reflects our long-term commitment to this region. It’s about responding to the needs of the Torrington community, improving convenience and continuity of care, and helping ensure faster diagnoses and better health outcomes. We are excited about the future and look forward to continuing to grow with and serve the greater Torrington area for many years to come. 

I’d like to thank the many individuals and teams who had a hand in making this move a success, including ambulatory operations, under the leadership of Anne Horbatuck, our COO of UMG and AVP for ambulatory operations, as well as facilities, information technology, regulatory and compliance, finance, supply chain, pharmacy, telecommunications, marketing and communications, and numerous clinical and administrative departments. I’d also like to thank our multimedia services team for this fascinating one-minute video tour of the new space:

Please read more about our Torrington office on UConn Today.

Earlier Monday, in Canton, we had what may have been a life-saving intervention by our urgent care team, not in the office, but outside of it. A man was slumped over in a running car that was stopped in the parking lot. While waiting for EMS to respond to the 911 call, our providers sprang into action, turned off the car, took the keys, made the patient alert, checked his vitals, and turned the patient over to the arriving ambulance. No harm came to any other person or property. Special thanks to Dr. Craig Ryan, Stephanie Behrens (physician assistant), Cheryl Burkett (assistant nurse manager), Qerime Pocesta (lead radiology tech), Jennifer Jakiel (medical assistant), Hollie Mencher (medical assistant), Kelly Billingsley (medical assistant), and Marcelo Buceta (radiology tech), and to Mary Hernandez, the administrative manager of our Canton urgent care, for bringing this to my attention. As Mary put it, “The urgent care providers and staff are truly an exceptional and compassionate team. Their professionalism, teamwork, and commitment to our patients and the public are evident every day, and I am very proud of how they responded during this emergency.”

I echo those sentiments. I also should mention, this person indicated he was on his way to neighboring CVS, and was not there intending to be one of our patients that day. That didn’t stop our folks from intervening. Thank you to everyone involved for going above and beyond to save someone in distress.

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We have some academic accolades to share. First, the University Board of Trustees has named three faculty members as Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors — one of them being our medical school dean, Dr. Bruce Liang. This is the highest honor the University confers upon faculty. It’s a distinction that recognizes and validates what we already know about Dean Liang’s excellence in scholarship, teaching, and service. He is most deserving of this honor and I know I speak for our entire organization when I say I’m extraordinarily proud of him.

This week our medical school’s Department of Medicine announced the establishment of the Division of Palliative Medicine, under the leadership of Dr. Mary Buss, who will serve as division chief. As department Chair Dr. Francesco Celi stated in his announcement, “This structural evolution is a direct response to the increase in the number of palliative care faculty and the soon-to-be-established fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine.” Please take a moment to learn more about this on The Hub and join me in congratulating Dr. Buss on her new role.

And in case you missed it, at the University level, President Maric announced the appointment of Pamir Alpay as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs on a permanent basis. He had been serving in this role in an interim capacity since October. You can read President Maric’s announcement on UConn Today. Please join her and me in congratulating Pamir on this well-deserved appointment.

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I have a letter from a patient expressing her gratitude for Amy Davids, a nurse in our PACU:

I’m not sure of what my guardian angel Amy’s last name (operating prep) is but she saw and responded to my good energy and good attitude about the gentle hands I was about to be helped by. She, by way of wisdom I have inquired, treats every single person (young or old, tall or short, rich or poor, blue or red) with the same dignity, care and gentle spirit and mother-like nature, was what I gathered by her speed of care and implementation of the preparations she was handling before my surgery. Her all-around optimism and her tone with exchanges we had made me feel my success and good recovery to come was EMINENT. I connected with her only for a few moments but she made a lasting impression on the hope I had and increased it, made me feel like I was absolutely and definitely going to be fine and so far, her positivity has come to fruition by way of her experience, GOD’s grace and what seems to be the best health care and hospital on the planet. Thank you so much !!!!! (8 days after surgery)

Thank you, Amy — What a wonderful impression you left on this patient!

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Lastly, as we head into Father’s Day weekend, we have a terrific story to share about one of our surgeons, Dr. Christopher Conner, and a special medical mission trip he made to Peru. This time one of the other physicians on the trip was Dr. Conner’s father, and this was the first time Dr. Conner’s dad saw him practice medicine. Please take a moment to read more, and join me in wishing all the fathers in our lives a happy Father’s Day.

Thank you, to everyone reading this, for all you do.

Andrew C. Agwunobi, MD, MBA
Chief Executive Officer
EVP for Health Affairs
UConn Health

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Dear Dr. Andy

Are there any benefits for employees who are veterans, i.e., free Area 1 parking, meal vouchers on Veterans Day?

Thank you for writing and for taking the time to share your thoughts on how we recognize our veterans. I appreciate your advocacy for this important part of our workforce.

We are proud to recognize our veterans each year on Veterans Day and to honor their service to our country. Across UConn Health, this includes moments of observance, sharing stories of members of our workforce who serve and have served, and highlighting their contributions across our community. This commitment is also reflected in efforts such as our dental students providing care to Connecticut veterans and the establishment of the UConn Health Neuromodulation Center of Excellence for Veterans.

Thank you again for reaching out and for your thoughtful suggestions. Your perspective is important as we continue to strengthen how we recognize and support our veteran community.

Have something you want to ask Dr. Andy? Submit your question on The Hub.

Hub Highlights

Changchun Liu, professor of biomedical engineering, leads an NIH-backed project to develop advanced lung cancer screening technology.

Read an inspiring Father’s Day story featuring one of our physicians on a mission trip with his dad!

We’re officially open in Torrington – read the story and get a quick video tour of the new space.

Congratulations to Dr. Bruce Liang, dean of our medical school, now a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor.

Plus, news from Storrs on the appointment of Pamir Alpay as provost and EVP for academic affairs, and the University’s fiscal 2027 budget — Go to The Hub now for these and other announcements and features and stay up to date with the latest UConn Health news!