PUTNAM — Melissa Greene, patient access manager, has been named employee of the month for September at Day Kimball Healthcare (DKH). 

Greene, who is responsible for training and supervising the patient access staff as well as scheduling, pre-certification and registration processes, also focuses on compliance and staff compliance training. 

Greene joined DKH more than 15 years ago as a collector, moving next to the admitting department before being promoted to patient access manager in 2005. Born and raised in Norwich, Greene moved to northeastern Connecticut in 1997 and lives in Killingly with her husband, Don

 

 

Then

This is the bench on the overlook at the Palmer Arboretum a couple years ago. Putnam Town Crier file photos.

 

 

& Now

This is the same bench today.

 

 

PUTNAM — Day Kimball Hospital has learned that it has the lowest hospital-wide, 30-day readmission rate in Connecticut, and is actually lower than state success benchmarks in six out of seven readmission measures, said John Graham, MD, DKH vice president for medical affairs and quality/chief medical officer.

“One of the outcomes of the 2010 Affordable Care Act was the establishment of the readmissions reduction program, focused on improving care transitions from the hospital to other providers with a goal of reducing ‘preventable complications’ that lead to readmission to the hospital,” said Graham. “We took this challenge very seriously, evidenced by formalizing a ‘Transitions of Care Team’ to aggressively manage our patients’ continuum of care…and these results indicate that our efforts have been successful.”

The 30-day admissions rates are calculated in seven categories: Acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary (a type of obstructive lung disease, such as emphysema), hip/knee replacement, stroke and hospital wide.

 

Monday: No school - Columbus Day

Woodstock Public Schools

Tuesday: No school - professional development. Wednesday: Chicken Caesar salad, fruit. Thursday: Meatball grinders, corn, fruit. Friday: Pizza, broccoli, fruit.

Pomfret Community

Tuesday: No school - professional development. Wednesday: French toast sticks, scrambled eggs, hash browns, apple slices. Thursday: Personal pizza, pineapple cups. Friday: Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, vegetable soup, carrot sticks with dip, fruit tray.

Putnam Elementary/Middle

Tuesday: Crispy chicken sandwiches, carrots. Wednesday: Taco salad bowls, Mexicali corn. Thursday: Asian chopped chicken salad. Friday: Macaroni and cheese, broccoli and cauliflower.

Putnam High

Tuesday: Bacon, egg and cheese on whole grain English muffin. Wednesday: Penne primavera. Thursday: Crispy chicken sandwiches, sweet potato fries. Friday: Pizza, spinach salad with grape tomatoes.