Sharon Adams, president
(part of Nuvance Health)
24 Hospital Ave., Danbury
203-739-7000
What was your path to becoming a hospital president?
“I started my career as a registered nurse before transitioning to hospital administration. I have held various roles, including vice president of pa-tient care and chief nursing and quality officer at Mercy Medical Center in Massachusetts, and vice president and chief nursing officer of Western Connecticut Health Network before we formed Nuvance Health. Each of Nuvance Health’s hospitals is committed to caring for our unique communities. That is why local, community-based leadership and separate boards of directors oversee each hospital. I am proud to serve as president of Danbury Hospital and its New Milford Hospital campus. Patient care, quality outcomes, operational efficiencies and developing and supporting staff and community partnerships are my top priorities.”
What makes Danbury Hospital distinctive?
“Danbury Hospital features advanced facilities and technologies, making it a destination for innovative health-care services. For example, our surgeons perform minimally invasive and robot-assisted surgeries that benefit patients, including faster recoveries. The Surgical Review Corp. has designated Danbury Hospital as a robotic center of excellence. Danbury Hospital earned The Joint Commission’s gold seal of approval as a primary stroke center and a center of excellence in total joint replacements. Orthopedic and neurological patients who have had joint replacement, brain or spine surgery heal in spacious, comfortable rooms with specialized nurses and care teams. Danbury Hospital offers advanced heart and vascular care in the state-of-the-art Yoriko McClure Surgical Suite. Praxair Cancer Center staff wrap patients in compassionate, comprehensive and innovative care throughout everything from chemotherapy, radiation and surgical oncology to genetic counseling, nutritional guidance and other support services. Danbury Hospital provides women and children with services that begin with pregnancy and range through giving birth, breastfeeding and beyond in the modern family birth center, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Pediatric Unit and the Spratt Family Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – the region’s only level III NICU. Danbury Hospital is proud to train and shape the future of health care as a teaching hospital. We also have a robust research program to improve patient care and advance the field of medicine.”
What are Danbury Hospital’s specialties?
“In addition to what makes Danbury Hospital distinctive, we offer the latest cancer, cardiovascular and neurology and neurosurgery care through Nuvance Health’s Cancer Institute, Heart and Vascular Institute and Neuroscience Institute, including:
- Cancer screenings, diagnostic tests and treatments for all types and stages of cancer;
- Cardiovascular disease preventive care, heart and vascular medical and surgical treatments and rehabilitative services; and
- Brain, spine and nervous system neurosurgical care and neurological care for headache, movement disorders and stroke, to name a few of the many conditions we treat.”
Increasingly, hospitals are becoming part of health-care systems. What are the advantages of such networks?
“There are many benefits to operating as a health system. Danbury Hospital is able to collaborate with cross-functional teams across New York and Connecticut to enhance quality of care, improve patient experience and achieve cost savings. Nuvance Health hospitals and medical practices supported each other during the Covid-19 pandemic by sharing supplies, resources and ideas and protocols, which greatly benefited our patients. We were able to swiftly introduce the latest treatments and stand-up, drive-through test sites and vaccine clinics at multiple locations, because we were working together.
Being part of a health system offers patients convenient and comprehensive care. They can get care at our different hospitals and medical practices and see their complete medical records in their patient portal.”
What do you see in the future for Danbury Hospital?
“Danbury Hospital will continue improving access to health care, which will include executing more digital health strategies. We will also continue recruiting and developing skilled staff, investing in facilities, resources and technology and expanding our institutes and services so individuals in our communities can stay close to home for all their health-care needs.”
For more, visit nuvancehealth.org/locations/danbury-hospital.
