BRIDGEPORT, CT (June 18, 2025) – Bridgeport Hospital has been awarded the 2025 Community Service Award by the Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) for its Family Bridge program, an innovative initiative offering home visits by nurses and community health workers to all families with newborns, who deliver their babies at one of the two Bridgeport hospitals.
The Community Service Award recognizes a Connecticut hospital or health system that has made an outstanding contribution to its community, including developing and implementing an innovative program or service that meets a specific need or addresses the concerns of a targeted segment of its community.
Under the Family Bridge program, each eligible family receives up to three free visits from a maternal-infant health nurse, who conducts physical assessments of both mother and baby, performs screenings and provides education on newborn care. Certified lactation consultants can also offer breastfeeding support. Approximately 45 percent of participants continue with the community health worker, who helps connect them to vital resources such as diaper banks, food banks, WIC and SNAP. Families can stay engaged with the program for up to six months after delivery.
“We are honored to have been selected by CHA for the Community Service Award,” said Magna Dias, MD, medical director of Family Bridge and chair of Pediatrics for Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital’s Bridgeport Campus. “The Family Bridge program addresses a vital need in our community by supporting mothers and families during a pivotal time, when they return home from the hospital with a newborn. By meeting families where they are, the program provides essential support that many may not have known was available or even necessary.”
Family Bridge is primarily funded by five state agencies: the Office of Early Childhood (OEC), Department of Public Health (DPH), Department of Social Services (DSS), Office of Health Strategy (OHS) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF). It is free for participants.
Bridgeport Hospital, part of Yale New Haven Health, is a non-profit 501-bed acute care hospital with two campuses (plus 42 beds licensed to Yale New Haven Children's Hospital). Its Bridgeport and Milford Campuses serve patients from across the region. The hospital admits more than 23,000 patients and provides nearly 350,000 outpatient treatments annually. The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital is the only burn center in the state and one of only 64 verified burn centers in the United States. Bridgeport Hospital is committed to providing safe, compassionate and cost efficient care to its patients and the community. www.bridgeporthospital.org
