Sen. Murphy to Host Griffin Hospital President, CEO Patrick Charmel at President Trump’s Address to Congress

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 -- The office of Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., issued the following news release:

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Monday announced that President & CEO of Derby's Griffin Hospital Patrick A. Charmel will join him in attending President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. Charmel is recognized as a leader of the hospital industry's effort to achieve healthcare's triple aim of improving the patient experience, improving the health of populations and reducing the cost of care. He has been a strong advocate of delivering system transformation to produce higher value health care, which, along with health insurance coverage expansion, is a foundational goal of the Affordable Care Act (the ACA).

President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are threatening to repeal the ACA, which has provided health insurance coverage and new benefits to millions of Americans, and reduced federal health spending.

"Patrick has spent decades working to improve patient care and services for people in Connecticut, and I'm so glad he'll be joining me tomorrow night," said Murphy. "When I talk with people across our state, I can hear the fear in their voices that the insurance they depend on will be stripped away from them. That's why I'm fighting misguided efforts to repeal the health care millions rely on. I'll keep working with Connecticut leaders like Patrick to continue to advance patient care and make the practical changes we need to improve care and control costs."

"The ACA has provided approximately 300,000 additional Connecticut residents with access to medical care and preventive services, with the state's percentage of uninsured adults dropping from 9.4 to 6 percent, one of the lowest in the nation," said Patrick Charmel, President and CEO of Griffin Hospital in Derby. "To increase the positive impact of coverage expansion and to ensure that reforms implemented are sustainable, the state of Connecticut and its healthcare providers have embraced delivery system innovation and transformation with the goal of improving healthcare quality, equity and efficiency. Healthcare providers have developed new capabilities and made significant infrastructure investments and commitments to facilitate the transition to value-based care, which will help achieve the President's stated goals of providing better coverage at a lower cost for all Americans. We hope any modifications or replacements to the ACA would continue to support our effort to ensure healthcare access and quality for all citizens."

Griffin Hospital is a 160-bed acute care community hospital serving more than 130,000 residents of the Lower Naugatuck Valley Region. Griffin Hospital has won numerous awards for their industry-leading patient satisfaction ratings, patient safety, and quality performance, and is the only Connecticut hospital to be named both a Joint Commission top quality performer and receive The Leapfrog Group's "A" grade for patient safety five times in a row.

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