Care in the Community
The strength of any healthcare provider is its ability to get the appropriate services and programs to the people who need them most. At Backus Hospital, that includes moving outside of the hospital campus proper and into the community, bringing needed care, providers, ancillary services and events to convenient locations. In doing so, we are eliminating a key barrier to quality care – distance.
Servicing the shoreline
Geographically, the East Region of Connecticut is a vertical swath cutting from the Atlantic Ocean in the south upwards to the Massachusetts border. Why, then, should Hartford HealthCare’s East Region be confined to the areas closest to Willimantic and Norwich? In recent years, we began to thoughtfully plan and expand our service footprint south to augment our existing primary care services in Waterford.
In a matter of months, we introduced an oncology practice and an additional location for Hartford HealthCare’s Headache Center, as well as a surgical center. Plans also include locating specialists in urology, breast health, gastroenterology and general surgery to our Waterford facility, choices that are in direct response to the identified needs of residents of southern New London County.
Reaching across the border
For almost a quarter century, Howard L. Haronian, MD, FACC, has operated a bustling cardiology practice right over the Connecticut border in Westerly, RI. When he saw the vision guiding Hartford HealthCare’s Heart and Vascular Institute, he says he was inspired to breach the border and become part of it. In April, he was named chief medical director and regional vice president of the Heart and Vascular Institute, East Region, a move that helped expand our sphere of influence into Rhode Island.
“It was very clear to me, after meeting with leadership, hospital administration and physicians, that they are committed to Hartford HealthCare becoming the destination of choice when it comes to cardiovascular care in the region and on a national scale,” Dr. Haronian says.
Healthcare for families
It’s not terribly far from Plainfield to Norwich for residents needing to see a doctor, but the drive time was trimmed exponentially in May with the opening of the Hartford HealthCare Family Health Center in Plainfield. The 40,000-square foot facility, adjacent to the Backus Plainfield Emergency Care Center, opened with primary care and cardiology services. The center will eventually include other specialties, an infusion center, urology and general surgery. Hartford HealthCare operates 20 other Family Health Centers, including those in the East Region in Willimantic, Norwichtown, Storrs, North Stonington, Ledyard, Montville and Colchester.