American Heart Association awards local hospital
Stamford Hospital received the Get With The Guidelines ”“ Heart Failure Silver Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation”™s secondary prevention guidelines for heart-failure patients. Get With The Guidelines ”“ Heart Failure is a quality-improvement program that helps hospital teams provide up-to-date, research-based guidelines with the goal of speedy recovery and reducing hospital readmissions.
Hospitals receiving the award have reached the goal of treating heart-failure patients with 85 percent or higher compliance to AHA core standard levels of care for 12 consecutive months. The Stamford Hospital Heart & Vascular Institute is a full-service cardiovascular facility with specialties in cardiology, cardiac surgery, vascular services, screening and diagnostics and cardiac rehabilitation.
The Dance Pointe workshop in Germany
Melissa Kopeloff-Truelove, the founder/director of The Dance Pointe in Greenwich, continues her dance mentor”™s tradition with an overseas workshop and performance program for young dancers. “Dance Pointe International” is comprised of dancers under the age of 18 who have earned the privilege of studying abroad in Buehl, Germany, from July 2 to July 14, under the direction of Kopeloff-Truelove and Kendall Moran, director of YDance at the YWCA of Greenwich.
This 42-year-old tradition was started by Kopeloff-Truelove”™s dance teacher, German-born Felicity Foote, who founded the Greenwich Ballet Workshop in 1960. In 1974, she began taking an elite group of her local dancers to Germany to train and rehearse daily. Kopeloff-Truelove studied with Foote from 1984-1996 and joined the overseas tour in 1990 at the age of 12. The Dance Pointe studio currently trains 300 dancers from both Port Chester and Greenwich.
First County taps Granata
First County Bank of Stamford announced Robert J. Granata, has been named president and chief operating officer by the board of directors. He replaced Katherine A. Harris who retired June 30 after 29 years of service to the bank.
Granata joined First County Bank in 2007 and has 27 years of financial services experience. He was selected as one of Connecticut Bankers Association”™s New Leaders in Banking for 2014 and serves as a board member of Children”™s Learning Center, a nonprofit agency in Stamford and has been serving since 2007.
Granata lives in Trumbull with his wife and four sons.
From Connecticut to Detroit
Stamford-based AmeriCares, a nonprofit global health and disaster-relief organization, is delivering bottled water for families in Detroit whose homes are without a water supply. With support from its long-term partner Nestlé Waters North America, more than 30,000 bottles of water are headed to the Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan for distribution to partner agencies serving affected residents.
“Right now bottled water is a critical need for thousands of Detroit residents living in homes without running water,” said Garrett Ingoglia, AmeriCares vice president of emergency response. “Everyone should have access to clean, safe water.”
AmeriCares has delivered medical relief and humanitarian assistance worldwide to millions affected by natural and man-made disasters for more than 30 years. The aid organization has a long history of responding to U.S. emergencies, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, the Joplin tornado, Hurricane Sandy and the 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes. Last year alone, AmeriCares and Nestlé Waters North America distributed more than 1 million bottles of water for U.S. families in crisis.
Kennedy Center arts cooperative has grand opening
The Kennedy Center Maggie Daly Arts Cooperative started as a dream and has become a reality in downtown Bridgeport at 1042 Broad St.
“The Kennedy Center is thrilled to open the Maggie Daly Arts Cooperative as a tribute to the late Maggie Daly, a longtime avid supporter of The Kennedy Center and our art programs,” said Martin D. Schwartz, president and CEO of The Kennedy Center, the nonprofit, community-based rehabilitation organization headquartered in Trumbull.
The cooperative is in the former Read”™s Building, which is called Artspace. “The Kennedy Center will have the opportunity to interact with the 61 creative artists in the building,” said Stephanie Campbell, the new project manager.
The 2,600-square-foot space includes expressive arts as well as a yoga/dance studio for 15 to 20 artists. The full-time staff will oversee Kennedy Center clients with a range of disabilities and abilities from Fairfield and New Haven counties. The artists have been selected from other Kennedy Center programs as well as other entities because of their interest and passion for the arts. Transportation is provided by the Kennedy Center as well as public transportation with the center”™s travel training program.
New vice president at ConnectiCare
Thomas Sciuto has joined ConnectiCare, a health plan based in Farmington and a subsidiary of EmblemHealth, as vice president of commercial and medicare large group sales. He brings 20-plus years of experience directing sales, strategy, account management and service functions. Prior to joining the ConnectiCare team, Sciuto held senior sales management positions at national health plans as well as leading a consulting firm. Founded in 1981, the company insures some 240,000 clients in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Sciuto serves on the board of directors for the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce and the Central Connecticut Chamber of Commerce. He also serves as a student mentor in Bridgeport.
New appointments at LaurelRock
Elena Hood has joined The LaurelRock Co. in Wilton as garden and property manager and Karen Paiva has joined the company as contract administrator.
Hood, a Connecticut certified master gardener, brings her simple love of gardening and plants to life in her new position. Her diverse background includes plant health care, fine garden maintenance and customer service.
Prior to joining LaurelRock, Hood was an indoor plant specialist for a nursery within a high-end, lifestyle store. An active participant in her community, she is looking forward to volunteering this summer as a wasp watcher. The program”™s goal is to catch and release a nonstinging wasp in order to collect data on the whereabouts of the Emerald Ash Borer, which is a major threat to the region”™s ash trees.
Previously, Hood dedicated her time to maintaining public and private gardens, some of which have included the gardens at the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford and Ambler Farm in Wilton. Her desire to work with nature makes her a welcome addition to The LaurelRock Company, which has been serving clients in Fairfield County and beyond for more than 35 years.
A graduate of SUNY College at Brockport, Hood obtained her certification as a master gardener from the University of Connecticut in Stamford.
Paiva, with her 20-plus years of experience in office management and banking, brings a wealth of experience to her position as contract administrator.
Prior to joining LaurelRock, Paiva spent 15 years at a landscape and design firm managing its administrative functions, resolving client and employee issues, screening job applicants, coordinating marketing and website maintenance, and managing trade show events.
She is a graduate of Masuk High School in Monroe.
Charity Golf Classic raises $60,000
The Charity Golf Classic recently hosted by Westport Resources ”“ an independent investment and financial planning firm ”“ at The Connecticut Golf Club, raised $60,000 for the Fairfield County Community Foundation (FCCF). For the second year, the entire cost of the event was underwritten by Westport Resources allowing 100 percent of the funds raised to go directly to FCCF.
Juanita James, president and CEO of FCCF, said, “In all of my years of involvement with nonprofit fundraising events, I have never encountered a host who insisted on giving an organization 100 percent of the proceeds. Westport Resources”™ extraordinary generosity and enthusiasm for the work we do is deeply appreciated.”
John Vaccaro, founder and CEO of Westport Resources said, “Thank you to everyone who supported this very worthwhile event and helped us surpass the amount of funds we raised last year. The Westport Resources team is proud to help FCCF provide assistance to the many nonprofits that work so hard to address our community”™s most urgent needs.”
The Fairfield County Community Foundation promotes the growth of community and regional philanthropy to improve the quality of life throughout Fairfield County. For more information, visit fccfoundation.org.
Quinnipiac professor chosen for second Fulbright scholarship
For the second time in seven years, Farid Sadrieh of Stratford, associate professor of international business at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, has been selected for a J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Award.
Sadrieh will spend the 2014-15 academic year in Burkina Faso, a French-speaking country in West Africa. He will study the feasibility of exporting shea butter to world markets while working with faculty and students at LӪInstitut Sup̩rieur Priv̩e Polytechnique.
Sadrieh, who studied the viability of the apparel industry in Madagascar as a Fulbright Scholar for 2008-09, earned bachelor”™s and master”™s degrees from the Universite de Paris. He also has an MBA from Fordham University and a doctoral degree from Temple University.
Sadrieh said Burkina Faso faces challenges in gaining access to the benefits of globalization. He hopes to address some of those challenges, such as the added costs of exports that result from the geographical isolation of a landlocked country.
Information for these features has been submitted by the subjects or their delegates.
