PUTNAM — Day Kimball Hospital’s emergency department and inpatient behavioral health unit’s mental health worker Kyle Cimochowski was named the Employee of the Month in January.

In Cimochowski’s role he assists the hospital’s behavioral health nursing staff with providing direct patient care and creating a safe healing setting. The team follows the therapeutic milieu model, which believes that every interaction between patient and provider provides potential for personal discovery and learning of new ways of interacting with others in healthy ways. His duties include monitoring patient vital signs; facilitating admissions, transfers and discharges; orienting new patients to their surroundings and the policies of the inpatient unit; and transcribing physician orders and completing necessary administrative forms.

Certified by Crisis Prevention Institute in non-violent crisis intervention Cimochowski also instructs other staff at DKH in proper practices to manage crisis situations. “Kyle makes both the patients and staff feel safe. He is intuitive to the patients and in turn knows how and when to insert himself before an issue escalates,” said Vario.

Cimochowski is also certified by Connecticut Association of Non-Profits Center of Professional Development, Justice Resource Institute in Suicide Awareness Prevention, University of Maryland in Individual Crisis Intervention and Peer Support, and Providers Council in Supervision. He is also East Thompson, CT Assistant Fire Chief, having served as a Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician since 1997, for which he was honored in 2011.

He previously worked with autistic, cognitively disabled children with mixed disorders and diagnosis, eventually opening three therapeutic group homes for young adults with the same disabilities. He is the father of twin daughters, avid fisherman and lives in Pomfret Center.