Hospital Honored at MEDi 2008 Medical Device Industry Event in September

The Hospital of Central Connecticut (HCC) of New Britain and Southington has won the 2008 BEACON Medical Technology Award by the Biomedical Engineering Alliance & Consortium (BeaconAlliance.org).
 
The award was presented yesterday at MEDi 2008 (www.MEDi2008.com), the medical device industry conference and exposition produced by BEACON (Biomedical Engineering Alliance & Consortium) at the Connecticut Convention Center, September 9-10.  The annual award recognizes significant advancement in the development, commercialization and/or manufacturing of new medical technology by an individual, organization or corporation, primarily in the Northeast, which BEACON President Dr. Joseph Bronzino said is “the heart and soul of the medical device industry.”
 
The Hospital of Central Connecticut was nominated for the award by Dr. Steven Hanks, its chief medical officer, for its installation of a comprehensive emergency department information system -- now 100% digital in the emergency department at both hospital campuses– which includes all physician and nursing documentation and physician order entry.  The selection of HCC as the winner was by a four-member committee comprised of members of BEACON’s Board of Directors.
 
Dr. Jeff Finkelstein, chief of Emergency Medicine at HCC, said that the hospital and the EmpowER Systems® staff completely customized the EmpowER EDIS™ system, calling its deployment “as unique as it is inspiring. Many emergency departments have tried in vain to do what we have accomplished,” he said, “resulting in our installation being recognized as a new and exciting industry standard.

“The Hospital of Central Connecticut is one of only 5% of U.S. hospitals to currently have an emergency department information system in place,” he said.  “As a pioneer, we deeply appreciate this recognition and honor from BEACON, and thank Dr. Joseph Bronzino and the BEACON staff.”
 
This is the third Medical Technology Award from BEACON.  Previous winners were Dr. Gualberto Ruaño, president and founder of Genomas, Inc. of Hartford for innovative research in personalized medicine, and the Connecticut CyberKnife® Center at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center of Hartford for advancements in robotic surgery.
 
“The Northeast Corridor has emerged as the heart of the medical device industry, and leaders and participants in the industry from throughout the U.S. and worldwide will come here for MEDi 2008,” said Dr. Bronzino.  “We are delighted to honor The Hospital of Central Connecticut and Dr. Finkelstein with our 2008 award.”