BRIDGEPORT—St. Vincent’s Medical Center/Hartford HealthCare ran a free medical clinic, offering support and services to those in need on Saturday, June 5.
The clinic was by appointment only and no insurance was required. It was available for guests of the Thomas Merton Center and neighborhood residents. One hundred people were selected in advance and invited to come to the Merton Center to be treated by the St. Vincent’s team on-site.
“It was a successful event,” said Bill Colson, director of the Thomas Merton Center. “It was a great opportunity for Thomas Merton Center’s guests, staff and volunteers to be part of the Medical Mission which served about 60 percent of our guests and neighboring residents.”
Colson explained that the Medical Mission complimented the Merton Center’s Eat Smart Pantry‘s mission to provide healthy foods to low-income neighborhoods with food deserts.
“As we know the lack of healthy foods has a direct impact on one’s health,” Colson said. “Guests were able to receive an array of free services, including medical exams, blood pressure and cholesterol checks, podiatry services, free reading glasses and important nutritional information. We sincerely thank St. Vincent’s / Hartford Health Center and all their dedicated staff and volunteers for a great experience.”
About Hartford HealthCare
Hartford HealthCare is Connecticut’s most comprehensive healthcare network. With 24,000 employees and total operating revenue of $4.3 billion, Hartford HealthCare has cultivated a strong, unified culture of accountability and innovation. Its care-delivery system, serving 161 towns and cities, includes two tertiary-level teaching hospitals, an acute-care community teaching hospital, an acute-care hospital and trauma center, three community hospitals, the state’s most extensive behavioral health network, a large multispecialty physician group, a clinical care organization, a regional home care system, an array of senior care services, and a large physical therapy and rehabilitation network at more than 350 locations in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Hartford HealthCare’s unique, system-wide Institute Model offers a single, high standard of care in crucial specialties at hospital and ambulatory sites across Connecticut. The institutes include: Cancer; Behavioral Health; Heart and Vascular; Neuroscience; Orthopedics and Urology. Visit Hartford HealthCare at www.hartfordhealthcare.org
About St. Vincent’s Medical Center
Founded by the Daughters of Charity in 1903, St. Vincent’s Medical Center is a mission-driven organization committed to exceptional health care for all with special attention to persons living in poverty and those who are most vulnerable. St. Vincent’s, with more than 3,500 associates, includes a licensed 473-bed community teaching hospital, a 76-bed inpatient psychiatric facility in Westport, a large multispecialty provider group, and St. Vincent’s Special Needs Services. St. Vincent’s was awarded the Nursing Magnet® Recognition, the highest national award for nursing excellence. In 2013, St. Vincent’s Medical Center was named Top Performer on Key Quality Measures® by the Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America, and has been recognized by both the Joint Commission and OSHA as a model of a highly reliable organization dedicated to patient safety. The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer awarded St. Vincent’s an Outstanding Achievement Award with Accreditation in 2012, and it also has earned its designation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Cancer. For more information on programs and services, visit www.stvincents.org
About Thomas Merton Center
The Thomas Merton Center, a program of Catholic Charities of Fairfield County, Inc., is located on Madison Avenue in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Thomas Merton Center is committed to providing a loving, safe and hope-filled community atmosphere that responds to the needs of its guests and residents and respects the dignity of each person.
(For more information on how you can help the Thomas Merton Center by making a donation or volunteering your time, visit the program website at www.themertoncenter.org.)