Dear Colleagues,

As you may have seen, our 2026 employee engagement survey is underway, and the theme this time is “Progress Happens Together.” It’s fitting because candid feedback from you goes a long way toward helping my leadership team and me understand what our institution is doing well and what areas have opportunities for improvement.

Like all our employee engagement surveys, a third party is administering it, thus keeping your responses confidential. I invite you to please take a few minutes to thoughtfully respond to the survey questions. You’ll find a unique survey link in your email (July 13 from “Press Ganey on behalf of UConn Health”), a QR code on our Take the Survey page on The Hub, and even an Employee Engagement Survey shortcut on your computer’s desktop.

You also can take the survey during one of our pop-up events, which feature things like food trucks and music, every Wednesday through the end of the survey period, Aug. 7. Find more information on the pop-ups.

I’d like to thank Alexis Crean and her team in the Office of Professional Well-Being and Engagement for all their work organizing and executing the survey.

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As many of you know, I love to visit our employees who are serving the needs of the people of Connecticut every day in such an excellent manner. This week, Caryl Ryan, our CNO and UConn John Dempsey Hospital COO, Carlos Iitsuka, our VP for business development and analytics, and I had the opportunity to round in our emergency department. We had the pleasure of meeting with charge nurse Angelina Cabral, nurse Alexa Zborowski, health unit coordinators Ewa Truszkowski and Christopher Brijmohan, lead transportation aide Francesco Nigro, and educator Shannon Curtis. They are all amazing and gave us their thoughts on what is working well and ways we can further support them. For example, for the emergency department, which is extremely busy, consistent levels of staffing of the triage (intake) area to decrease patient wait times was a theme.

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As you likely are aware, parts of the U.S. are seeing an outbreak of a GI infection known as cyclosporiasis, which is caused by a microscopic parasite spread by way of contaminated food or water. The Department of Public Health recently reported 40 confirmed cases in Connecticut, which, while not an alarming number like in Michigan (more than 4,300 cases reported, by far the most in the country), is more than we usually see here in a typical year.

I bring this up because I want to provide some assurance by mentioning a few things:

1. We have not seen a significant number of patients presenting in our ED or urgent care centers with symptoms of cyclosporiasis.
2. Even if we did, this illness typically is not transmitted person-to-person.
3. Most importantly, we have taken a number of steps to ensure we are prepared to handle an influx of such patients: Our infection prevention team just held an education session for the infection prevention liaisons this week. The liaisons are a dynamic team representing each inpatient and outpatient unit and clinic who are dedicated to promote the charge of the infection prevention program. They are bringing that information back to their units to disseminate the information to their fellow staff members. Our food and nutrition vendor, Morrison Healthcare, is taking precautions with its food suppliers, such as buying only full heads of lettuce as opposed to bagged lettuce. Our clinical microbiology laboratory has testing available to support clinicians in diagnosing this infection.

I’d like to thank our infection prevention experts, particularly Erica Gomez, emerging infectious diseases coordinator, Kate Falotico and Rachel Crosby, infection prevention specialists, Nancy Dupont, nursing director of epidemiology, and Dr. David Banach, hospital epidemiologist, for their leadership in this area.

By the way, for those who don’t know about our Infection Prevention Liaison Committee, it consists of frontline staff, both inpatient and outpatient. This group has the important role of helping us identify and develop improvement opportunities in support of our Infection Control Committee, which enhances our quality and patient safety. The Infection Prevention Liaison Committee meets the third Wednesday of the month and always welcomes new members. Please email our infection prevention team if you’re interested in getting involved as a liaison or to learn more.

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Here is a letter I’d like to share from the spouse of a patient who came to our emergency department and was admitted (edited for privacy):

I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for the excellent care and support my husband received from:

– Emergency Department: Entire Emergency Department and manager of this unit, Chad [Eichman], thank you for your incredible care and guidance.

– UT2 Floor Unit: An incredible group of talented people who work together to attain amazing results.

– Special big thanks to the team who took care of my husband: Nurses: Sara [Kolodziejczyk], Liz [Clark], Jeremiah [Jaques], Hooman [Musavi] and CNA: Tessa [Kelly], Mila [Kadzielnik], Donville [Bell].

Thank you for showing up with a big heart every day. Your kindness, patience, and gentle approach brought so much comfort when my husband needed it most.

Thank you, Doctor Andy – Your team is the best!

Lastly, I’d like to call attention to an announcement we made this week: The Human Rights Campaign Foundation recognizes us as an “LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equity High Performer. This is based on a national benchmarking tool that evaluates healthcare organizations on policies and practices that support equitable, inclusive care for patients, visitors, and employees.

It also is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to creating a welcoming environment where every patient feels respected, valued, and heard while receiving compassionate, high-quality care.

This is just the latest of the many awards, accolades, and recognitions we’ve been able to celebrate. None of them would be possible without you, our outstanding workforce.

Thank you 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

I have noticed that the height of some of the bushes and trees creates a significant visibility issue when crossing Academic Way. Because I cannot see oncoming vehicles clearly through the landscaping, I often have to pull forward and stop immediately adjacent to the median in order to check for traffic coming from Munson Road. Unfortunately, this position can create visibility concerns for drivers entering from Munson Road as well, since my vehicle may be partially in view before I can safely determine whether the intersection is clear. In many cases, smaller vehicles are completely obscured by the shrubs until they are very close, making it difficult to safely assess approaching traffic. The current landscaping limits sightlines in both directions and creates an unnecessary safety concern for drivers navigating the intersection. Would it be possible to trim the existing bushes and trees or consider replacing them with lower-growing plantings to improve visibility?

Thank you for the question, which I have shared with J.J. Odom, our buildings and grounds director. It is about that time of year where our grounds crew would start the seasonal trimming of the bushes and trees throughout our campus. Thanks to you raising this, we got started with the area you asked about, and I can report we have improved the visibility around that island at the Munson Road entrance.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention and for your concern about traffic safety on our campus, and thank you to our grounds crew for the timely response.

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

Hub Highlights

Dr. Bina Katechia has some wellness tips for new dental residents.

Read about the national recognition we’ve earned for our inclusive care.

Plus, get all you need to know about this year’s employee engagement survey, including your options to take it — Go to The Hub now for these and other announcements and features and stay up to date with the latest UConn Health news!