PUTNAM — July 7 First Fridays will return to the streets of downtown Putnam, celebrating classic films. From 6 to 9 p.m., the outdoor art festival will see more than 50 art vendors, live music, family friendly activities, and art installations. Like all First Fridays, the event is free to the public and visitors are invited to discover the festival and the offerings of Putnam’s downtown, including al fresco dining, galleries, boutique shopping, and more. 

July’s event will explore the iconic characters and stories from classic films. One of six movie genres celebrated with the season-long theme, First Fridays Feature Films: A Celebration of Cinema, the July event invites visitors to revisit such films as The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Casablanca and more! As with all First Fridays events, creative cosplay is welcome and encouraged.

On Main Street, Chris MacKay & The Tone Shifters will grace the main stage from 6 to 9 p.m. This band combines blues, swing, country, rockabilly and funky swamp rock with a mix of originals and interesting covers into a tasty blend of danceable music. Over in Union Square Don Loghry will entertain the crowds, covering such classic crooners as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

New for the 2017 season is First Fridays Art Installations, which features local artists creating original work throughout each evening of the festival. During the July event, there will be installations from artists Kyle “The Copper Kid” and Clara Costabile.

The fun continues at the Community Arts Table with an art project for all ages. With inspiration from the Disney film, Wall-E, which features a junk robot who cleans an empty planet by day and watches and mimics scenes from the classic film Hello Dolly on repeat by night. Children and adults can create their own classic film-loving robot to take home. 

Above all else, First Fridays remains an art-based festival, and the July 7th event will see a record number of art vendors lining Main Street and Union Square in downtown Putnam. Patrons are invited to peruse the wide variety of artisan wares while enjoying the early summer weather.

For more info, go to http://www.discoverputnam.com/firstfriday.   

 

Summer Mix

clockwise from upper left:

 

Hosta

 

Poppy after petals fall.

 

Roses on rail fence in Woodstock.

 

Red Hot Poker

 

 

 

 

PUTNAM — Day Kimball Healthcare’s newest CEO and president will begin in late August. 

After a seven-month national search, the Board of Directors of Day Kimball Healthcare (DKH) have announced that Anne Diamond, J.D., C.N.M.T., has been selected as the next president and CEO of the integrated hospital and healthcare system.

Diamond, who is currently the CEO of UConn Health’s John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington, Her selection was made by a subcommittee of the DKH Board of Directors that included physicians, administrators and other members, with input from senior management, department directors, medical staff leadership and medical staff.

Diamond brings to DKH more than 30 years of healthcare experience across a multitude of roles. In her most recent role as CEO of John Dempsey Hospital for the past four years, Diamond has focused on improving the hospital’s quality of care, operations and financial performance, with positive results.

The hospital realized a positive net margin for the past two years and is on track for another positive year. During Diamond’s tenure as CEO the hospital has also been recognized by the American Hospital Association as an organization improving quality at a faster rate than other hospitals nationally and by the CT Hospital Association’s John D. Thompson Award for Excellence in hospital administration for the use of data in improving quality and clinical processes. Diamond has also led UConn’s John Dempsey Hospital to three “A” scores for patient safety from Leapfrog and raised Consumer Reports scores to among the top in the state and nation.

“My time at John Dempsey Hospital has been immensely rewarding. I’m proud of all that has been accomplished by the team here over the last four years as CEO and I’m confident that that great work will continue,” Diamond said. “I’m ready now for a new challenge and to help foster that same kind of momentum and innovation at another hospital and healthcare system.”

She added: “I’m so impressed with the achievements in quality of care at Day Kimball Healthcare and the organization’s ability to weather an extremely difficult time for healthcare in our state and nation over the last several years. Day Kimball’s Board of Directors, administration and staff have consistently risen to those challenges in service to their patients and community; that’s the kind of organization I want to be a part of strengthening, and I look forward to helping to lead efforts toward further growth and success in the future.”

With Diamond’s arrival at DKH in late August, current Interim President and CEO Joseph Adiletta will step down and resume his prior role as chairman of the board.

“It was my privilege and pleasure to serve as interim CEO of Day Kimball Healthcare while the search for a permanent new CEO was underway. I’m proud to have been involved with Day Kimball through participation on the Board of Directors for many years, but being so closely involved on a day-to-day basis has provided me an even deeper understanding and appreciation of the hard work, dedication and commitment that is shown by the people that make up this organization,” Adiletta said.

“I look forward to continuing to support their efforts as chairman of the Board,” Adiletta continued. “I’m also looking forward to working with Anne, who I think brings the perfect combination of skills, values and perspective about what healthcare should be to Day Kimball and the communities we serve. I have no doubt that she will be successful in working with our team to build upon the accomplishments Day Kimball has attained in recent years and to fuel future success.”

Prior to her role as CEO at John Dempsey Hospital, Diamond served as the hospital’s chief operating officer and associate vice president of Operations. Before that, she spent five years at Salem Health in Oregon, serving as senior director, Cardiovascular, Cancer and Imaging Services and then vice president, Service Lines and Operations. Diamond began her career as a nuclear medicine technologist, working her way up through the ranks of management and hospital administration over the last three decades.

Diamond is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Health Lawyers Association and the American Society of Healthcare Engineers. She sits on the Connecticut Hospital Association’s (CHA’s) Board of Trustees and serves as chair of CHA’s Statewide Asthma Initiative. She is a board member of the Leo and Anne Albert Institute of Bladder Cancer and the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Luncheon and its Heart Ball. Diamond is also an industry executive advisor for various organizations in healthcare security and patient experience.

Diamond holds an executive juris doctor degree with a concentration in health law from Concord School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in nuclear medicine technology from Cedar Crest College. She retains her certification as a nuclear medicine technologist and is certified as a LEAN process master. She is also an accomplished presenter at healthcare forums and conferences across the country and a contributor to a number of healthcare journals and publications.  She is married with a 17-year-old son and lives in W. Hartford.

 

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PUTNAM — A Putnam man was arrested June 14 after police found him inside Antique Marketplace, naked, wrecking the inside of the business.

Sean Morissette, 50, of 28 Battey St., was charged with third-degree burglary and first-degree criminal mischief.

Around 12:30 a.m. Putnam Police responded to the Antique Marketplace for a report of suspicious activity. Police found glass on the sidewalk and saw damage to multiple windows of the Antique Marketplace, 109 Main St., downtown. State Police arrived to help secure the building’s perimeter. Police said when they entered they found Morissette. Morissette was seen by officers knocking over display cases and smashing items inside. He was held $10,000 cash bond and was presented in Danielson Superior Court June 14.