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.

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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 Harrison 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.

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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

Please join me in congratulating these outstanding nurses, who were chosen from among more than 30 nominees. I’d also like to thank everyone who took the time to nominate a nurse for this prestigious award, as well as the committee charged with the difficult task of determining this year’s honorees.

Look for more about this year’s Nightingales during Nurses Week, which we’ll observe in early May.

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On another note, I’m pleased to report that we have settled contracts with the bargaining units who represent our unionized employees. All state employee collective bargaining agreements go to the Connecticut General Assembly for final approval, and we expect the legislature to vote on them in the coming weeks.

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 A patient took the time to write to me about a positive experience with our IT staff, who helped troubleshoot and overcome an electronic health record challenge (edited for length and privacy):

Subject: Commendation for Outstanding IT Support at UConn Health

I am writing to commend the University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC) for the exemplary service provided by an IT staff member, Daniel, who assisted me with a technical issue involving the MyChart system on April 1.

Daniel promptly created incident ticket and approached my concerns with professionalism, patience, and genuine attentiveness. He took the time to listen carefully, validate the issue, and initiate appropriate troubleshooting steps. His courteous demeanor and commitment to resolving the matter stood out and made a significant difference in my experience.

Shortly after Daniel escalated the issue, I received a follow-up call from another support staff member who was equally helpful. Through this process, it was determined that the issue stemmed from my use of Patient Gateway (which I use for another hospital’s records) to access UCHC information. I was unaware that MyChart is the appropriate platform required for full access to my UCHC records, and this clarification ultimately resolved the problem.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation for Daniel’s outstanding service and his genuine kindness. His professionalism, empathy, and diligence reflect highly on UCHC’s commitment to patient support. In what can often be a stressful situation, his willingness to listen and assist thoroughly was both reassuring and commendable.

Thank you for your time and for your continued dedication to providing high-quality support services. Please extend my gratitude and recognition to Daniel for a job exceptionally well done.

This is wonderful and I’d like to congratulate and say thank you to technical analyst Daniel Quaicoe, and also to application analyst Harmony Lipeika, who’s not named in the letter but is the one who called the patient back to ultimately resolve the problem. Kudos to you both!

And thank you to everyone reading this for all the work you do.

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

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Dear Dr. Andy

I’m wondering if there is a way to get hypoallergenic linen in the hospital. While it may be rare, we do have some patients who break out in hives and have a reaction to the sheets and gowns. Over this past weekend, I had a patient who broke out in full-body hives and no one, not even the nursing supervisor, knew where to find this, if it was even available. After a lot of searching, we found a flat sheet, a blanket and a pillowcase; there was no fitted sheet, no gown. Can we implement this? Patients shouldn’t have to suffer and itch because we can’t provide them with things they need while they are here.

Thank you for raising this. I checked with J.J. Odom, who oversees our linens. He reports that all linen we provide and use throughout our facility is hypoallergenic and meets the appropriate requirements to support patient safety and comfort.

That said, it is important to recognize that while hypoallergenic linen is designed to minimize the risk of irritation or allergic response, it may not be effective for every patient, particularly those with specific or highly sensitive skin conditions.

If a patient expresses concerns or experiences a reaction, we recommend escalating the situation to our facilities staff so we can assess and determine if alternative accommodations are appropriate.

Thank you for your continued attention to patient care and for helping us maintain a safe and responsive environment.

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

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Hub Highlights

The UConn Center on Aging and JAX are using a skin patch to learn about the aging immune system.

U.S. News & World Report’s new graduate program rankings have our medical school in elite company.

Plus, learn how you can sign up for this year’s UConn Health Half Marathon, June 6 in Simsbury.