Shelton company supports Griffin Hospital's Books for Babies program

Michael Law, Senior Director, Customer Strategy and Planning at Edgewell Personal Care, second from left, recently presented a $5,000 donation to Margaret Fischer, clinical director, The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital, at left, Griffin Hospital President and CEO Patrick Charmel, and Tricia O’Malley, director, The Griffin Hospital Development Fund, to support the Books for Babies program./ Contributed photo

DERBY - Edgewell Personal Care of Shelton recently made a generous $5,000 gift to support the Books for Babies program at The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital.

In addition to providing funds to purchase books for newborns, Edgewell also donated free sippy cups and feminine products.

“Edgewell is pleased to partner with Griffin Hospital to provide financial and product support to provide parents with the tools they need to get their children off to a good start,” said Michael Law, Senior Director, Customer Strategy and Planning at Edgewell and a member of Griffin Hospital’s Board of Directors.

The Books for Babies program provides a free children’s book to parents who have their baby at the Childbirth Center. 

A trained volunteer visits with parents to introduce the program and talk about the “how and why” of reading aloud to babies. 

Reading to babies builds a bond between parent and child, and stimulates brain development. Reading books opens doors to conversations and builds communication skills, language and literacy, as well as social and emotional skills.

About Edgewell
Edgewell is a leading producer of personal care products, including shaving preparations and systems, feminine care products, and sun and skin care products. 

The company has a broad global footprint and operates in more than 50 markets, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Japan and Australia with approximately 6,000 employees worldwide.

About The Childbirth Center
The Childbirth Center at Griffin Hospital offers family-centered maternity care in an environment that will best meet individual and family needs. The Childbirth Center follows the patient-centered Planetree philosophy that focuses providing a warm, caring atmosphere for the patient and loved ones, including childbirth and child care education, and support groups.

For more information, call 203-732-7252 or visit griffinhealth.org/childbirthcenter.


This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.

Recuperation journey: Heading home

It appears that son Cameron and I are going to have dueling recuperation journeys. Yikes! 

He has been in a hospital in Brooklyn since Oct. 15 when he had an accident while riding his bike, fractured his hip, and needed surgery.


Now he's learning to use a walker.
Ralph and Allegra are on their way to pick him up this afternoon. 

There's really no room for me to go along; we do have a mini-van but Ralph's wheelchair takes up a lot of space in back. 
Plus Cameron is 6'3" and needs a bit of space himself. 

Wish us luck!

Seymour Congregational Church to host 23rd annual Polish dinner

Dinner to benefit Beacon Falls resident fighting cancer

Carved pumpkin contest slated Saturday at 2 parks in Ansonia

A Carved Pumpkin Contest for the ‘Grow Your Own’ Program will be held Saturday at two locations in Ansonia: Gatison Park on Fourth Street from 10 a.m.-1 p.m, and Pine Lot Park on Howard Avenue, 2-5 p.m.

Massaro descendant to visit community farm in Woodbridge

WOODBRIDGE - On Saturday Massaro Community Farm will host James Massaro, grandson of the original John and Mary Massaro in a meet and greet at the farm, 41 Ford Road on the Woodbridge/Ansonia town line. 

Massaro is flying in from Arizona to visit the farm for the first time in three decades to share family memories and hear some of yours.

If you have memories of helping the Massaro family and their farm from decades past, you are invited to stop by Massaro Community Farm Saturday between 4 and 7:30 p.m. where you can sign a guest book and meet James. We'd also like to capture your stories on audio or video. 

Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited. 
This event is free but the farm asks guests to RSVP so they know how many guests to expect. You can do so by calling the farm office or using www.Eventbrite.com .

While James Massaro is in town, the farm is running a membership campaign. 
Become a new subscriber to our monthly newsletter on Oct. 27-28 and we’ll enter your name in a drawing to win a basket of farm goods!

Massaro Community Farm, Inc. is a nonprofit certified organic farm in Woodbridge. Their mission is to keep farming, feed people, and build community. 
The farm fulfills its mission by offering the sale of produce to seasonal subscribers, and to restaurants and farmer’s markets; by running farm-based education for youth and adults, and by holding several events each year. 
The farm maintains a commitment to donate no less than 10 percent of its weekly harvest to hunger relief agencies, which has totaled more than 45,000 pounds of food to date. 

For more information, contact the farm office or visit www.MassaroFarm.org. 


This is a press release from Massaro Farm.

Newsletter highlights Ansonia flag, Rotary Club recognition dinner

Dear readers,

Linking yesterday's Valley Voice newsletter a bit late!  
It features an Ansonia flag raising ceremony, the Ansonia Rotary recognizing first responders, and more.

Please check it out!

~ Patti

My Sister's Place in Ansonia posts this week's sales

My Sister's Place is at 380 Main St., Ansonia.

Derby author to share his children's book at Ansonia Library

ANSONIA - Derby author Richard DiCarlo will share his new children’s book, “There’s No Such Things as Monsters,” from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 18 at Ansonia Library, 53 S. Cliff St. 

Families with young children are invited to hear a reading of the book that DiCarlo, President of the Valley Arts Council, wrote and illustrated. 

The book will be available for purchase and DiCarlo will sign copies. 

This information is shared from the Ansonia Library website. 

Reminder: Halloween fun slated Sunday at Master's Table in Ansonia

Griffin Hospital in Derby recognized for workplace health achievement

 DERBY - The 2017 results of the American Heart Association Workplace Health Achievement Index were announced recently and Griffin Hospital achieved Bronze level recognition for taking significant steps to build a culture of health in the workplace.

The American Heart Association created the Index with its CEO Roundtable members, a leadership collaborative of more than 30 CEOs from some of America’s largest companies who are committed to applying evidence-based approaches to improve their employees’ overall health. 
The Index uses science-based best practices to evaluate the overall quality and comprehensiveness of their workplace health programs. 
A unique feature of the Index is that it calculates an average heart health score for employees of participating companies that securely submit aggregate health data.

More than 800 companies completed the Index assessment this year and, of those, 67 percent received recognition. Companies receive benchmarking reports, which allow them to identify potential areas of improvement so that they can advance their annual performance and recognition.

“We are honored to have achieved this recognition from the American Heart Association,” said Griffin Hospital Director of Human Resources Stephen Mordecai. 
“A key strategy at Griffin Hospital is to build a supportive culture that engages employees in their health and well-being, and provides them with many choices for how they can help improve their health outcomes.”

The Association’s Workplace Health Achievement Index allows companies to measure the effectiveness of their workplace health programs, as well as the overall heart health of their employees. 
Unlike other existing organizational scorecards, the Index also scores companies on the heart health of their employees based on Life’s Simple 7® – the Association’s scientifically validated definition of ideal heart health. 
The American Heart Association’s Workplace Health Achievement Index assessment is grounded in data-driven science, and a quality improvement framework. 

According to the Nielsen 2016 Employee Health Survey, robust and comprehensive strategies for well-being are associated with positive impacts on employees’ health.


This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.