Higganum Resident Honored as a 2012 Healthcare Hero

At its 94th Annual Meeting on June 27, the Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) recognized Lisa Menillo, MD, Attending Pediatrician, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center and Director, Hartford Regional Lead Treatment Center and Health Homes Program, as a 2012 Healthcare Hero. She was nominated for this award by her colleague Kristen Durocher.

Dr. Menillo, of Higganum, collaborated with the Hartford Hospital Pediatric Department (now Connecticut Children’s Medical Center) to develop a multi-disciplined team to help children and families with lead poisoning.  She then worked with Yale-New Haven Hospital to solicit funding for the creation of two Regional Lead Treatment Centers in Connecticut – one at the Yale Children’s Hospital and one in Hartford.  Her initiative led to the development of the first Hartford Regional Lead Treatment Center (now called Hartford’s Healthy Homes).

CHA’s Healthcare Heroes award was developed in 2002 to celebrate the invaluable contributions of healthcare workers, both to their field and to the community at large.  Now in its 11th year, the presentation of the Healthcare Heroes awards has become a highlight of CHA’s Annual Meeting.

About CHA
The Connecticut Hospital Association has been dedicated to serving Connecticut’s hospitals since 1919.  Through state and federal advocacy, CHA represents the interests of Connecticut’s hospitals on key healthcare issues in the areas of quality and patient safety, access and coverage, workforce, community health, and hospital reimbursement.

About Saint Francis

Saint Francis Care is an integrated healthcare delivery system established by Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, an anchor institution in north central Connecticut since 1897.  Licensed for 617 beds and 65 bassinets, it is a major teaching hospital and the largest Catholic hospital in New England.  Other major entities of Saint Francis Care include The Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital, the Connecticut Joint Replacement Institute, the Hoffman Heart and Vascular Institute of Connecticut, the Saint Francis/Mount Sinai Regional Cancer Center, and the Joyce D. and Andrew J. Mandell Center for Comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Care and Neuroscience Research.  Its services are supported by a network of five major Access Centers and eight additional medical office centers sited throughout the region.  

Submitted by Press Release.