Griffin physician to offer women's health seminar at Shelton restaurant

SHELTON - Griffin Hospital will host a free Women’s Health Community Education Seminar at 6 p.m. March 21 presented by Coloplast at Vazzy's Cucina, 706 Bridgeport Ave.
Bladder leakage and treatment options will be discussed by Griffin's own Dr. Grace Biggs.
Light refreshments will be served.

To reserve your space or for more information about this free Coloplast Women’s Health Community Seminar, call 866-464-6777.


This is shared from a Facebook event page.

Griffin Hospital in Derby to present Caring Heart Awards

Cheryl A. Santiago, RN, left, and Linda Stochmal, right, will be honored with the Caring Heart Award for their work at The Heart Wellness Center at Griffin Hospital in Derby./ Contributed photo

DERBY - Shelton resident Susan DeLeon, former director of The Umbrella, and The Heart Wellness Center at Griffin Hospital will be honored with the Caring Heart Award at the 11th Annual Women’s Heart Wellness and Caring Heart Award Brunch March 12. 

The event will be held from 8:30 a.m.-noon at the hospital Dining Room, 130 Division St.

The award recognizes individuals and groups that foster initiatives to promote and improve the general health and well-being of all. 

This is the eighth year the award will be bestowed.

Susan DeLeon

DeLeon served as director of The Umbrella, a domestic violence shelter in Ansonia, for more than 25 years. 
She is a marriage and family therapist who has received many community recognitions for her work with The Umbrella and BHCare including the Lillian Chrostowski Award from TEAM, Inc., the Silver Seal Award from the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, and Outstanding Community Service Award from Gateway Community-Technical College.

Griffin Hospital’s free Heart Wellness Clinic helps those with congestive heart failure stay well by giving them regular screening and support and providing a better understanding of their condition by equipping them with skills and strategies to stay healthy and avoid preventable hospital admissions.

Increase disease awareness

The Caring Heart Award is presented by the Women’s Heart Wellness Committee, which consists of healthcare professionals, heart patients, and women from throughout the Valley. 
The primary focus of the group is to increase heart disease awareness among women, empower them to love and save their hearts, and ensure they are provided the means to do so through education and rehabilitation. 
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease kills nearly twice as many women in the United States as all types of cancer.

The brunch will start with registration at 8:30 a.m. and the program will begin at 9 a.m. 
There will be presentations by Griffin Hospital’s Department of Radiology Chair Dr. Devika Jajoo on ways to take care of your health, and by certified diabetes educator Mary Swansiger on diabetes prevention and management. There will also be blood pressure and diabetes testing and consultation. 

Tickets for the brunch are $25. The event is open to the public. 

Proceeds benefit the Women’s Heart Wellness Fund, which supports heart wellness programs for women in the Valley.

Valet parking will be available.

Reservations are due by March 4. 
To make a reservation or for more information, email whw@griffinhealth.org.

This is a press release from Griffin Hospital. 

'Circle of Friends' at Griffin Hospital in Derby celebrates survivors

Donna Hayes, oncology social worker at the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital, left, and hospital volunteer Joyce Grohe, co-facilitators of the Circle of Friends' breast cancer support group, strike a pose during Thursday night's ice cream social. 

I'm posting this photo as a way of saying thanks to two great ladies who run the Circle of Friends breast cancer support group. I've been a member since 2011, the year I was diagnosed. Seems like so long ago!

Last evening we enjoyed our annual ice cream social. One of our guests was Mary Deming, founder of the nonprofit Seymour Pink, a community's fight against breast cancer. She talked about the fourth annual Pounding the Pavement for Pink 5K. 

The event starts at 9 a.m. Oct. 3 in downtown Seymour, and it draws a huge crowd. The Circle of Friends will be participating for the third consecutive year.

We always have fun walking and chatting and laughing, and I'm looking forward to this year's festivities. 

If you know someone who is a breast cancer survivor, please tell them about our Circle of Friends. We meet once a month at the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital. 
It's a wonderful group with which to be affiliated.