Dear Colleagues,
I hope you had a restful and meaningful holiday weekend, and to those who worked, I thank you for helping us carry out our mission of service around the clock.
I’m happy to share that this week, interim Provost Pamir Alpay announced Dr. Steven Lepowsky has been reappointed for a second five-year term as dean of the UConn School of Dental Medicine.
Our dental school long has been among the nation’s elite and is a real point of pride for the University. Please join me in congratulating Steve on this well-deserved appointment.
Also this week, Dean Bruce Liang announced that Dr. Charles Lee, who helped build one of the country’s leading programs in translational genomics and human disease research at The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, is joining us next month as associate dean of translational genomics at our medical school. I invite to learn more about Dr. Lee on UConn Today.
I’d like to share this letter from a patient sharing her experience with Paulina Kupchunos, one of our respiratory therapists (edited for length and privacy):
I’m writing to share feedback about a recent visit I had for a pulmonary function test.
I had the pleasure of working with Paulina Kupchunos (RRT), and I wanted to express how truly exceptional she was. She was incredibly friendly, caring, patient, and personable throughout the entire appointment. It was clear from the start that she genuinely cares about her patients and takes pride in her work.
Tests like these can sometimes feel a bit stressful or uncomfortable, but Paulina made the experience so much easier and more positive. Her kindness and professionalism really stood out, and I can’t say enough good things about her.
I just wanted to make sure her efforts are recognized—she’s a wonderful asset to your team.
Great work, Paulina, thank you for providing the type of care that inspires someone to write in about it!
Before concluding this week, I have two quick reminders:
If you haven’t already, please mark your calendar for my next town hall meeting, Wednesday, June 10, at noon, in Keller Auditorium and virtually.
Also, open enrollment for our health insurance benefits closes Sunday.
Thank you for all you do.
Andrew C. Agwunobi, MD, MBA
Chief Executive Officer
EVP for Health Affairs
UConn Health
Dear Dr. Andy
We have so many patients who do not have anyone who can accompany them to procedures. Is there a way to get a service or offer something to assist these/this unfortunate patient/situation? We have to cancel and delay important medical care due to a simple ride situation, it is so unfortunate. If we can provide any solution, it would be wonderful.
Thank you for the question, which I’ve shared with several leaders. Our population health team is familiar with a number of free or low-cost transportation services in the community that are available to those who are eligible, often based on age, location, insurance, etc. When transportation is needed to or from an outpatient appointment, Khadija Poitras-Rhea, our AVP for population health, encourages us to message her staff via Epic, noting that this often requires lead time to arrange, so please initiate this as soon as transportation is identified as a barrier. A member of our population health team will reach out to the patient to review community-based options.
I appreciate your thoughtful observation and concern for our patients.
Does Morrison take suggestions from employees on new menu items, or is the menu decided strictly by the vendor? If they do take employee suggestions, do they have a phone number/email/suggestion box that employees can utilize when they’re on lunch or off the clock?
Thank you for the question. Morrison indeed does have a suggestion box in the Food Court in the main building, behind the cashiers near the condiment station. You also can send your thoughts to food-nutrition@uchc.edu.
Thank you for the opportunity to raise awareness of this.
Have something you want to ask Dr. Andy? Submit your question on The Hub.
Hub Highlights
It’s another accolade for our hospital’s maternity care from Newsweek!
Meet Dr. Michael Siegenthatler, cardiothoracic surgeon who recently joined us.
Find out which of our medical residents accepted community service awards from Capital Area Health Consortium, and a statewide Community Champions Award.
Visit the Hub Now
Note: Unlinked content is only available on The Hub, for which you must be on the UConn Health network to access.
Check in on our MPH students in our medical school’s Department of Public Health Sciences, and our dental students in the American Dental Education Association Academic Dental Career Fellowship Program.
Dr. Steven Lepowsky will serve a second term as our dental dean.
Dr. Charles Lee is joining us from JAX as our medical school’s associate dean of translational genomics.
Plus, it’s last call for healthcare open enrollment.
