Milford Hospital News

Avoiding Winter's Falls

As we age, our thinning bones make falling one of the biggest hazards. Milford Hospital's Emergency Center and Urgent Walk-in is ready for you, but prefers you follow tips to avoid falls. Wear thinner soled shoes if you have poor circulation or loss of feeling. These offer better traction & sensitivity to the surface you're walking on. If arthritis & sore joints are a problem, use thicker soled shoes to cushion the impact of walking & give you greater support. Wear sturdy, low-heeled shoes. When alone, avoid surfaces where ice may form. Be careful on stairs & use hand rails. Slow down. Falls most often occur when you walk fast.

Emergency Visits: Milford, W. Haven, Orange

More 30,000 people a year from throughout CT come to Milford Hospital's Emergency Center and Walk-in Urgent Care Center. About half are from Milford, one in five visitors are from West Haven, and at the urgent care center one in 10 is from Orange. Others are from Woodbridge, Naugatuck Valley, Stratford, Hamden, West Haven, Guilford, and every town within 50 miles.

WMD "Disaster" Goes Well

All went well in May when Milford and seven other hospitals conducted a large coordinated emergency preparedness drill. The scenario was a weapon of mass destruction, and our role was in part to receive patients who needed decontamination. HS students played victims, parents, school administrators. The event was coordinated by Alan Lynn, Milford Hospital safety director.

'Green' Medical Building

This fall the Torrey Corp, a  for-profit subsidiary of Milford Hospital's parent, breaks ground on the second building in the Medical park on Boston Post Road it opened a year ago. The new 33,000 square-foot "green" building, tentatively to open in fall 2010, will allow for the expansion of community, non-hospital medical services, such as Cardiology and Orthopedic specialists. The existing 17,000 facility, also owned and leased by Torrey, includes the Walk-in Urgent Care Center, now used by over 1000 people a month, and medical offices. Later this year the Urgent Care Center is expected to be expanded, since demand far exceeded initial expectations. Milford Hospital has also reported that almost a dozen MDs recently joined the staff (see items below), part of a growing trend. Click here for the full story in the New Haven Register.

Emergency Mgr, Infection Control Nurse Named

Court Curneen, RN, was named manager of Milford Hospital’s Emergency Care Center and Walk-in urgent care center. Both provide about 40,000 annual visits a year. He has experience in emergency and ICU settings at an academic Level I tertiary hospital (Yale-New Haven Health). He has been a flight nurse, paramedic supervisor, and nursing supervisor at Bradley Memorial and Milford Hospitals in. He received his RN from Duchess Community College and is pursuing his MSN. He is certified in emergency nursing (CEN) and has BLS, ACLS, TNCC, ENPC, and NRP certificates. Click here for information on Emergency Services.

Kathryn Cusano, RN, BS was named Infection Control Nurse. She has experience as an infection control nurse and in quality improvement at Yale-New Haven Health. She was certified in infection control, has experience in oncology/bone marrow transplantation and has certifications in oncology and chemotherapy. She is pursuing her master’s.

Urgent Care Serves 14,000

More than 14,000 people have used the Milford (CT) Hospital urgent care center since it opened a year ago, and demand is so strong that plans are afoot to expand the center. "Obviously there was a great need that was not filled by existing emergency centers, but even we were quite surprised by the strong demand for the center’s services,” said Paul Moss, hospital president. Many patients have said they prefer the new center for its ease of access, 7-day schedule, and strength of on-site medical professionals and diagnostic tools. Patients included Assisted Living clients, office staff, sports enthusiasts, and people who have said they could not get in to see their own physician for minor problems. Click here to read more about Milford Hospital.