Health Care Council Annual Awards Ceremony
Virtual Program 2020
Message from the Chairman
Jason Van Stone
OptiCare Eye Health Centers, Inc.
Jason Van Stone
OptiCare Eye Health Centers, Inc.
The Waterbury Regional Chamber’s Health Care Council celebrates its 15th Annual Awards Event this year amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. We hope you enjoy and appreciate this annual event, which recognizes and celebrates our Council’s achievements and the contributions of leaders, advocates, unsung heroes and organizations dedicated to providing excellence in health care and healthcare advocacy every day in Greater Waterbury.
It is especially hard to single out honorees this year, when so many healthcare workers have risen to the challenge presented by COVID-19. While the public is experiencing a renewed respect for our fellow healthcare workers, those of us on the Health Care Council have known and appreciated their value for years. Our honorees would stand out in any year, but given the current environment, their selections in 2020 are even that much more special. Congratulations to each of our honorees.
The Health Care Council takes very seriously its role in providing Chamber members and the public with business contacts and the most relevant information about changes in health care, both for employers and employees. I want to thank the Health Care Council board and committee members for their tireless efforts and contributions, without which the Council would not exist.
I strongly encourage all of you to continue to support our Health Care Council. Your commitment and participation will help the Council to thrive and remain a key advocate for excellent health care in the region.
Sincerely,
Jason Van Stone
Chairman
Health Care Council Board of Directors
It is especially hard to single out honorees this year, when so many healthcare workers have risen to the challenge presented by COVID-19. While the public is experiencing a renewed respect for our fellow healthcare workers, those of us on the Health Care Council have known and appreciated their value for years. Our honorees would stand out in any year, but given the current environment, their selections in 2020 are even that much more special. Congratulations to each of our honorees.
The Health Care Council takes very seriously its role in providing Chamber members and the public with business contacts and the most relevant information about changes in health care, both for employers and employees. I want to thank the Health Care Council board and committee members for their tireless efforts and contributions, without which the Council would not exist.
I strongly encourage all of you to continue to support our Health Care Council. Your commitment and participation will help the Council to thrive and remain a key advocate for excellent health care in the region.
Sincerely,
Jason Van Stone
Chairman
Health Care Council Board of Directors
Keynote Speaker
Peter J. Hotez, MD, PhD, is an internationally respected expert on vaccines from Baylor University and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, who has appeared on Fox News, CNN, and other major television networks and has been quoted by the Wall St. Journal, The New York Times, and other major national and international news media.
Award Recipients
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LEADERSHIP AWARD
Dr. Justin B. Lundbye, Waterbury Hospital 
The Leadership Award is presented to a health professional who embodies the qualities required to improve healthcare in the community by raising awareness, initiating change, enhancing quality of care, and/or creating new services.
Justin B. Lundbye, MD, FACC, MBA, is a Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Waterbury HEALTH. A cardiologist by training, he completed his medical residency at UConn Medical Center and his fellowship at Hartford Hospital. He earned his MBA in 2018 from The Isenberg School of Management at UMass-Amherst. He has led clinical, organizational, and logistical healthcare delivery at Waterbury Hospital, including evaluating and reassessing staff at all levels and redeploying staff to meet clinical needs of critical patients. He was instrumental in setting policies to protect patients, visitors, and staff from the virus, and worked tirelessly to establish a drive-through sampling station, making Waterbury Hospital only the second such site in the state. His leadership throughout the pandemic extended beyond the medical staff to all hospital employees and into efforts well beyond his role, to include helping to ensure the hospital had needed supplies for all employees, and medicine and equipment for patients. Dr. Lundbye grew up in Stavanger, Norway, and moved to the United States with his family when he was 17, finishing high school in Simsbury, Conn., before attending college in Chicago and medical school in Dominica in the Caribbean. He lives with his wife, Kristen; his daughter, Elana; his son, Jude, and his two dogs in Fairfield. |
ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Saint Mary’s Hospital 
The Award for Organizational Excellence is presented to an organization that demonstrates the best qualities of a healthcare provider through exceptional commitment to safety, quality, positive outcomes and compassionate care.
Saint Mary’s Hospital, as part of Trinity Health Of New England, is being honored for its outstanding efforts in providing health care to the region, both before and during the pandemic. The hospital attained a 4-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), one of just seven hospitals in the state to receive four out of five stars, recognizing its quality of care, safety and patient satisfaction. During the pandemic, Saint Mary’s offered drive-through testing to the entire community, without requiring a doctor’s note, and partnered with the city to provide free walk-up testing in neighborhoods where residents may not have access to transportation. It also established a Fever Upper Respiratory Infection (FURI) Clinic to help keep patients with those symptoms out of emergency rooms and doctors’ offices, helping to limit the spread of COVID-19. |
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UNSUNG HERO AWARD
Trician Salmon, Benchmark Senior Living at The Village at East Farms 
The Unsung Hero Award is presented to a healthcare practitioner who has distinguished himself or herself by providing exceptional care, compassion and commitment daily, and who is dedicated to working behind the scenes in a hands-on capacity, making a difference for the people served.
Trician Salmon, LPN, is memory care director for Benchmark Senior Living at The Village at East Farms in Waterbury. She oversees the care provided to residents of The Village at East Farms’ Harbor Care apartments, which serves those with severe dementia & memory impairment. She was selected for her efforts to ensure that each resident receives the physical, mental and emotional support needed, and for going above and beyond to create a family atmosphere for both patients and staff. A Bloomfield native, she earned an associate degree in Liberal Arts from Capital Community College, an LPN from Stone Academy, and is pursuing an associate degree in Nursing from Goodwin College. She has served with Benchmark for 20 years, including as a clinical coordinator, nurse, Harbor Care director and Memory Care Director. She has four children. |
STEPHEN SASALA HEALTH ADVOCATE AWARD
Jack Birtwell Porter Preston, Inc 
The Stephen Sasala Health Advocate Award is named for a former Chamber president & CEO and is presented to an individual or group outside the healthcare industry that demonstrates exceptional commitment to healthcare-related issues.
Jack Birtwell is owner and president of Porter Preston Inc., a manufacturer based in Waterbury. Although Porter Preston manufactures window treatments, including blinds and shades, Jack decided in March to begin manufacturing plastic face shields for healthcare workers and first-responders after discussing their needs with a relative who leads a hospital emergency department in Virginia. Ramping up quickly, Porter Preston has produced thousands of shields and provided them at no charge to local hospitals and first responders, as well as to other medical facilities and first responders outside of Connecticut. A Chicago native, Jack Birtwell graduated from Southern Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in Design. In 1990, he moved to Connecticut and worked for a wholesale manufacturer in the exterior shade business. In the fall of 2002, he and his partner, Steve Preston Gilmore, incorporated Porter Preston. The company now operates out of a 12,000-square-foot facility with 28 employees in Waterbury. Jack and his wife, Jane, live in Southbury and have two children and two grandchildren. |
Health Care Council Board of Directors 2019-2020
Chair
Jason Van Stone, OptiCare Eye Health Centers, Inc.
Vice Chair
Kristie Balisciano, Easterseals of Greater Waterbury
Immediate Past Chair
Xhemil (John) Koliani, CPA, ABV, CohnReznick, LLP
Board of Directors
Nanette Bergin, Allume Home Health Care
William T. Campion Jr., Campion Ambulance Service, Inc.
Amber Chapman, Brandywine Living at Litchfield
Michelle Diaz, RN, SAFE, MidState Medical Center
Chet Doheny, We Do Life … Together Inc., A Division of ICES, Inc.
Brian Emerick, Access Rehab Centers
Lysa Fusco, Mental Health Connecticut, Inc.
Carol Gabriele, DNP, MA, RN, CNE, Naugatuck Valley Community College
Chaim Gewirtzman, NCE Homecare
Kevin Knierry, The Harold Leever Cancer Center
Meghan Lennon, Greater Waterbury YMCA
Heather Musante-Mitchell, The Village at East Farms
Kim Palmerie, RN, Prospect Memorial Funeral Home
Kara Reynolds, Naugatuck Valley Radiology
Dr. Jason Rizza, Rizza Chiropractic, & Wellness
Jeremy Rodorigo, Waterbury HEALTH
Sharon Rouleau, Urology Associates
Gary Steck, Wellmore Behavioral Health
Leslie Swiderski, RN, LCSW, Waterbury Health Access Program
Stephanie Valickis, Saint Mary’s Hospital
Jason Van Stone, OptiCare Eye Health Centers, Inc.
Vice Chair
Kristie Balisciano, Easterseals of Greater Waterbury
Immediate Past Chair
Xhemil (John) Koliani, CPA, ABV, CohnReznick, LLP
Board of Directors
Nanette Bergin, Allume Home Health Care
William T. Campion Jr., Campion Ambulance Service, Inc.
Amber Chapman, Brandywine Living at Litchfield
Michelle Diaz, RN, SAFE, MidState Medical Center
Chet Doheny, We Do Life … Together Inc., A Division of ICES, Inc.
Brian Emerick, Access Rehab Centers
Lysa Fusco, Mental Health Connecticut, Inc.
Carol Gabriele, DNP, MA, RN, CNE, Naugatuck Valley Community College
Chaim Gewirtzman, NCE Homecare
Kevin Knierry, The Harold Leever Cancer Center
Meghan Lennon, Greater Waterbury YMCA
Heather Musante-Mitchell, The Village at East Farms
Kim Palmerie, RN, Prospect Memorial Funeral Home
Kara Reynolds, Naugatuck Valley Radiology
Dr. Jason Rizza, Rizza Chiropractic, & Wellness
Jeremy Rodorigo, Waterbury HEALTH
Sharon Rouleau, Urology Associates
Gary Steck, Wellmore Behavioral Health
Leslie Swiderski, RN, LCSW, Waterbury Health Access Program
Stephanie Valickis, Saint Mary’s Hospital
