PUTNAM — Renee M. Smith, RN, MSN and executive director of Day Kimball Healthcare (DKH) at Home, was honored with the 2019 Judith Hriceniak Award for Excellence in Nursing Leadership by the CT Association for Healthcare at Home at its recent annual conference.
The Hriceniak Award is presented to a registered nurse who has demonstrated excellence in nursing leadership.
To receive the prestigious award, a nursing supervisor or CEO must serve as a visionary role model in the development and implementation of innovative projects that positively affect the ever-changing home care and hospice environment.
Smith, who has led DKH at Home for the last five years, has guided the home care agency into a culture of sustainability. As a seasoned nurse and patient advocate, upon stepping into the leadership role, she recognized the need to respond to the rapidly changing healthcare landscape and through her vision and innovative spirit, has motivated the agency’s staff to change with it, leading them into the future with confidence.
Smith’s presence not just within DKH, but within the local community and in the home care and hospice community along with her clinical expertise and knowledge earned her the distinguished Judith Hriceniak Award.
“This recognition is a testament to the excellent leadership Renee exemplifies, her contributions to home care services in northeastern Connecticut, and her commitment to her staff and the community,” said John O’Keefe, chief nursing officer and vice president of patient services, DKH. “Due to Renee’s strong leadership and guidance, the staff and agency are making a positive difference in the community by ensuring that individuals receive the best care possible in the comfort of their own homes.”
In her role as executive director of DKH at Home, Smith oversees the non-profit health system’s HomeCare, HomeMakers and Hospice and Palliative Care divisions, which provide both medically and non-medically based home care services for the residents of northeastern Connecticut.
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Honoring
The Woodstock Academy boys’ hockey team displayed the flag, decked out in their camo jerseys, to celebrate Military Appreciation Night. Photo by Trent Peters/The Woodstock Academy.
Spotless week for boys’ hockey team
The Woodstock Academy boys’ hockey team completed a spotless week with a 3-2 victory over Tri-Town on Military Appreciation Night Feb. 1.
The victory in the Nutmeg Conference game raised the Centaurs record to 4-2 in the conference and 9-4 overall.
Junior Guerin Favreau scored all three goals for the Centaurs. His first was a shorthanded goal halfway through the first period. His second came off the stick of Doug Newton.
It was the 97th point of Newton’s career with the Centaurs.
After a scoreless second period, Favreau put his 21st of the season into the net in the third period for the hat trick.
It gave the Centaurs a 3-0 lead and it turned out that the Centaurs would need all of those tallies as the Knights (3-7-2) rallied for two goals late in the third period.
The Centaurs had a mixed bag of results earlier in the week.
They had to fight hard for a win in Auburn and then coasted through a game with North Branford.
Woodstock Academy sophomore defender Brendan Hill was hit pretty hard in a game against Auburn earlier in the week and there was some concern about his availability for the boys’ hockey contest Jan. 30 versus North Branford.
Hill not only played, but also had a big contribution in the 7-1 Centaurs victory over the Thunderbirds.
“The training staff held him out of practice which was smart. They evaluated him on Thursday before we left for the game. He passed and was inserted back into the lineup,” said Woodstock Academy coach Kevin Bisson.
Hill scored his first two goals of the season for Woodstock Academy. He got his first with 1:50 left in the first period and then added a second, a power-play goal, with 4:48 left in the second period.
It was a breakout game, offensively, for the Centaurs as a whole. Kyle Brennan added a goal and three assists while Favreau and Newton each had a goal and two assists. Jake Starr and Nick Chubbuck also scored for Woodstock Academy.
The Centaurs came up with a pair of second half goals and downed the Rockets in a non-league game, 2-1.
The small ice surface helped Woodstock Academy score what proved to be the game winner.
Senior Austen LeDonne bodied up on an Auburn defender and kept the puck in the offensive end, immediately shoveling it to Starr.
Starr, from a tough angle, put it into the top shelf from the short side for his sixth goal of the season with 4:07 left in the second period.
Newton scored the first goal for the Centaurs just 2:06 into the second period off assists from Brennan and Favreau.
The Centaurs had experimented the game before, an 8-1 loss to Branford, with splitting up their top line. The experiment was quickly shelved.
Auburn did tie the game with 7:03 left in the second period, setting up Starr’s game winner.
The Centaurs also had to kill a hooking penalty which gave the Rockets the power play for the final 1:57 of the game.
Bisson has split the season up into five game mini-series. At first, it wasn’t so pleasant.
"Looking at the record now, I feel a little better,” Bisson said.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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Winter Mist
Snow comes and goes. High temperatures come and go. The constant is mist. More photos are on page 6. Linda Lemmon photo.
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Poor shooting
mars record
A 2-1 week isn’t usually a bad thing for most teams. But Putnam Science Academy’s boys’ prep team doesn’t want to be “most teams.”
So after winning its first two games of the week - 83-76 over Bridgeport Prep on Jan. 28 and 73-62 over Mt. Zion Academy on Jan. 30, a 68-62 loss to Compass Prep of Arizona on Feb. 1 put a damper on the week.
“We didn’t shoot it well,” said PSA coach Tom Espinosa. “You always think we’ll have a run in us, but we didn’t get it.”
The Mustangs made just 22-of-57 shots (38.5 percent) in suffering their second loss of the season. Hassan Diarra had 18 points but was the only PSA player to score in double figures.
It was a much different story earlier in the week, particularly against Mt. Zion.
Marty Silvera filled out the stat sheet in that one, finishing with nine points, seven rebounds, 10 assists, and four steals, while Diarra went for a team-high 29 points. Melvyn Ebonkoli (13 points, seven rebounds), Josh Gray (nine points, 10 rebounds, three steals), and Vlad Goldin (four points, seven rebounds, six blocks) all had big games for the Mustangs.
Goldin, Diarra, and Silvera led the way against Bridgeport Prep as well. Goldin, the big 7-footer from Russia, had 16 points and 15 rebounds; Diarra added 16 points and six rebounds; and Silvera had another solid all-around game, ending with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
Girls’ Prep
The girls’ prep team dropped its lone game of the week, 48-45 on the road to St. Andrews on Jan. 29. PSA dropped a five-point loss to the same team earlier this season.
Delaney Haines, who last week committed to play next year at New York Institute of Technology, led the Mustangs with 10 points. Sabou Gueye and Lani Cornfield scored nine apiece in the loss.
Girls’ Varsity
The girls’ varsity team fared better, winning its two games by an average of 67 points.
Zanashia Croft led six players in double figures with 21 points, and PSA rolled to an easy 104-23 win over St. Andrews on Jan. 29.
Bri Mead had 20, May Santiago 19, and Aden Edebali 16 for the Mustangs. Elisha Clinkscale added 11 points and Liza Rogova finished with 11 in the win.
The Mustangs also beat SUNY Sullivan Cc 89-36 on Jan. 31 behind 25 points from Croft and 24 more from Santiago.
Sofia Marcos finished with 15 for the Mustangs.
Boys’ Varsity
After a busy week of games two weeks ago, the boys’ varsity team played just once last week, and got a win.
Abdul Seck scored 24 points, and Jaden Brewington and Darryl Simmons had 20 points each, leading PSA to a 90-76 victory over Pioneer Academy on Feb. 1. Luc Brittian added 14 for the Mustangs (12-9).
Boys’ Varsity 2
The boys varsity 2 team split its two games, first falling 62-50 to a Bartlett team that was unconscious shooting the ball. Javier Cobo’s 21 points weren’t enough for the Mustangs, but was the only PSA player to score in double figures in the loss. Michael Phav finished with seven points in that one for the Mustangs, who bounced back with a 71-50 win over Plainfield to improve to 10-5
Khalil Gooden scored 18 points off the bench, and Alonzo Henries added 17 points, and Cobo finished with 12 for the Mustangs.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy