Friday, June 29, 2007
By Jeffery Kurz
MERIDEN - Cindy Russo was receiving a warm reception in the hallways of MidState Medical Center the other morning.
“We were just so excited when we heard she was coming back,” said Kathy Barta, a registered nurse and education specialist. “She’s a leader who is visible and supportive of the staff.”
Russo, who joined MidState as director of clinical services in 2001, has spent the past year as president and chief executive of Mid State VNA.
She is now the hospital’s vice president of patient care, which means she has responsibility for about 700 of MidState’s employees, including nurses. She replaces Linda Berger Spivack, who resigned.
“Cindy really exemplifies what nursing is all about, which is caring for the patients,” Barta said.
Russo’s appointment follows another transition at the highest level of MidState leadership. Jeffrey Flaks, the hospital’s vice president and chief operating officer, is taking that position at Hartford Hospital temporarily while MidState’s affiliate hospital searches for a permanent replacement. While he’s away, he will be replaced at MidState by George Kyriacou, Hartford Hospital’s vice president for network development.
At MidState and with the VNA, Russo “provided excellent leadership and achieved many goals and, at the same time, always leading through example with our MidState values,” said Lucille A. Janatka, MidState’s president and chief executive, in a statement announcing Russo’s appointment.
“I feel fortunate that I’ve experienced the spectrum of care settings,” Russo said.
“Most of my experience has been in the inpatient setting,” said Russo. “So it feels great to be coming back to the hospital.”
Before Russo joined MidState, she was manager of internal medicine and urgent care at Yale University Health Services. She’s also been director of ambulatory services for the Masonic Geriatric Health Care Center, in Wallingford. She started her career as a staff nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury.
A Cheshire resident, Russo’s husband, Tom, is director of engineering at Waterbury Hospital. Daughter Tiffany just graduated from Cheshire High School, and is set to attend Mitchell College. Her stepson, John, lives in Oakville.
Spivack, who Russo said left to pursue educational goals, had “led many accomplishments and successes.”
Russo said one of the challenges she faces is workforce shortages, particularly in nursing. Mid State has been pursuing national recognition as a magnet hospital for nursing excellence. “In order to achieve magnet status, there are a number of standards,” Russo said.
The hospital also has been working to earn recognition in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award program, which encourages improvement in nonprofit hospitals.
Such programs give hospitals a means to measure their efforts.
“My sense is that it is a way to do a check-in on yourself,” said Russo. “It’s a way to be a cut above, which is what we want to be.”