Community Health Promotion

Bridgeport Hospital provides a number of services throughout the year to promote good health and disease awareness in the community. Following are FY 2007 examples:

• The Norma F. Pfriem Cancer Institute at Bridgeport Hospital provided Oncology Nurse Navigation Services for patients with breast, thoracic and gastrointestinal cancers. Nurse navigators act as guides for patients and families as they make their way through the various phases of cancer care, helping them access needed medical care and support services. These services are not covered by insurance at a cost of $177,000.

• To meet the needs of the aging population, the Bridgeport Hospital Center for Geriatrics expanded its services to the frail elderly. The Center provided a total of 1,500 geriatric assessments, physician home visits and inpatient consultations. The current reimbursement levels from Medicare do not cover the entire cost of the program. The underpayment in FY 2007 was $412,000.

  The Center also employs a community health nurse who runs a clinic at a city of Bridgeport low income senior housing complex and travels to numerous senior centers doing health screening and evaluation.

• Dr. Beata Skudlarska, Chief of Geriatrics at Bridgeport Hospital, initiated the “Ask Dr. Bea” column in the Connecticut Post in September 2006. The weekly advice column provides responses to reader’s questions regarding issues facing the geriatric population. Topics during FY 2007 included medication lists, insomnia, flu shots, depression, Alzheimer’s, advance directives, active seniors, constipation, arthritis, alcohol, neuralgia, osteoporosis, elderly driving, bladder control, falling, fibromyalgia, erythropoietin shots, dehydration, Lyme disease, heat stroke, nursing homes, glaucoma, pets, Medicare and pressure sores. The daily circulation of the paper is 75,250.
• Bridgeport Hospital participated in Cover the Uninsured Week during May 2007. The observance included the fourth annual citywide Health for Generations fair in Bridgeport, at which staff from Ahlbin Rehabilitation Centers, Business Health Services and the Norma F. Pfriem Breast Care Center provided health screenings and information to more than 2,000 people.
• Bridgeport Hospital provided free monthly blood pressure screenings to more than 1,200 people throughout the year at libraries and senior centers in Bridgeport, Fairfield, Shelton, Stratford and Trumbull.

• As part of its annual awareness initiatives, the Hospital provided information and preventive health services for several diseases and conditions. Examples included:
  • Diabetes Awareness Day in November 2006 was presented in cooperation with the American Diabetes Association, provided screenings and information on diabetes prevention, detection and treatment. More than 350 people from the community attended.
  • Flu shots were provided to community members for a nominal fee in November 2006.
  • Stroke Awareness Day in May 2007 provided information and stroke screenings to more than 300 people.
  • Colon Cancer Awareness Day, held in March 2007 in cooperation with the American Cancer Society and Colon Cancer Alliance, provided information on screenings, prevention and treatment to 200 people.
  • Asthma Awareness Day, held in May, provided health information to more than 200 people.
  • Nearly 100 colon cancer screenings and 150 skin cancer screenings of the face and hands were provided as part of the Norma F. Pfriem Cancer Institute’s cancer awareness and screening event in September 2007.
• Bridgeport Hospital provided a broad range of health classes to the community, most offered for free or at low cost. Courses held in 2007 included childbirth preparation, CPR, first aid and smoking cessation classes.
• There were a total of 2,800 attendees at 12 free community lectures offered by the Hospital in 2007. Hospital experts spoke on a variety of topics including hip/knee pain, atrial fibrillation, bloodless medicine and surgery, infertility, minimally invasive robot-assisted surgery, peripheral artery disease, and dementia. These lectures provided information to address health concerns and the management of chronic diseases.
• The Hospital also provided experts to speak at quarterly lectures at the Westfield Trumbull Mall and the Watermark at 3030 Park retirement community. In addition, Hospital experts spoke to area business and community groups throughout the year about various health topics.
• Support groups sponsored by Bridgeport Hospital in 2007 included:
  • A Bereavement Support Group facilitated by the Pastoral Care Department, which met bi-monthly in the Hospital’s Interfaith Chapel.
  • The Better Breathing Club, which provides monthly education and emotional support for people with chronic respiratory conditions, their families and friends.
  • The Heart Beats Support Group open to former cardiac patients from any hospital, their families, friends, caregivers and anyone interested in topics relating to heart disease.
  • Support groups offered to parents of infants hospitalized in the Bridgeport Hospital or other hospitals’ Newborn Intensive Care Unit were offered by the Tiny Miracles Foundation twice a week and by Parents Available to Help on a monthly basis.
  • The Spanish-language support group, Latin Women with Power, conducted by CancerCare of Connecticut, met at the Hospital for women in treatment for any type of cancer.
  • The American Cancer Society’s Look Good…Feel Better program met monthly at the Hospital. The program helped women with cancer improve their appearance and self-image through hands-on beauty techniques.
  • The Man to Man prostate cancer support group was offered monthly in Trumbull for men with prostate cancer and their families.
  • The United Ostomy Chapter of Greater Bridgeport offered a monthly support group in Trumbull for all patients who had any type of ostomy operation, including a colostomy, urostomy or ileostomy.
  • Ahlbin Rehabilitation Centers offered a monthly stroke education and support group for patients and their families.
  • The Traumatic Brain Injury Support Group of Connecticut met monthly in Stratford for brain injury survivors and their families.
• Bridgeport Hospital continued mutually beneficial collaborations with a number of organizations including:
  • The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) through senior driving safety courses
  • The American Heart Association through patient support activities
  • The Arthritis Association through hip and knee pain educational programs
  • The March of Dimes through participation in community health awareness events
  • More than 500 area businesses through their relationship with Business Health Services
• The Healthy & Wise newsletter, published four times per year and distributed by mail to 100,000 individuals and area organizations, continued to be a key source of information on wellness and disease management for the community. Another important source of health information is the Hospital website, www.bridgeporthospital.com, which received more than 1.1 million visits in FY 2007.
• Bridgeport Hospital participated with the Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS) Office of Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response in several local and regional initiatives during the year. In June, the Hospital hosted a YNHHS tabletop exercise in which System hospitals tested their readiness for, and response to, a pandemic flu outbreak. Based on the findings of its FY 2006 hazard vulnerability report, the Hospital continued to focus on four key initiatives: mass vaccination, evacuation planning, surge capacity and a decontamination plan. Evacuation planning was tested with a Hospital drill in October.