Rep. Klarides-Ditria Applauds Bond Commission Grant to Derby’s Griffin Hospital

State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria (R-105) applauded the state bond commission for its approval of a grant-in-aid to Derby’s Griffin Hospital for replacement of the facility’s emergency generator system.

Griffin Hospital President and CEO Patrick Charmel first brought the issue to Rep. Klarides-Ditria’s attention, who then asked the rest of the Valley delegation for support.  The $1,349,700 grant-in-aid to the Griffin Hospital will be used to replace a generator system to make sure the hospital has a safe, reliable backup electrical power system for years to come.

“I’m pleased the Bond Commission included this item and look forward to these important improvements being installed and operational,” Rep. Klarides-Ditria said. “Investments in the safety and security of the facilities that our neighbors rely on are investments in the people of the community and Griffin Hospital has always been an active, eager and willing partner in the Valley.  This is great news and will mean continued access to world-class medical care for people across the entire Valley region and beyond”

The grant was part of a much larger $55,815,129 request by the State’s Office of Policy and Management (OPM) “for urban development projects including economic and community development, transportation, environmental protection, public safety, children and families and social service projects …”

We greatly appreciate State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria’s effort to bring the request for a $1.3 million grant-in-aid for the replacement of an essential emergency generator before the state’s Bond Commission on behalf of Griffin Hospital. Rep. Klarides-Ditria also facilitated bipartisan support by the Valley Legislative Delegation for the grant-in-aid which helped ensure that Griffin Hospital has a reliable Essential Electrical System,” Pat Charmel, President and CEO of Griffin Hospital said. “An Essential Electrical System provides uninterrupted electrical power to service life safety loads, critical function loads and equipment loads, which for Griffin Hospital total approximately 2,300 kilovolt-ampere, is required for all healthcare facilities including general acute care hospitals. This grant-in-aid allows us to implement a cost-effective approach to provide adequate on-site generating capacity with a new 1,250 kilowatt generator to operate in parallel with our existing 1,250 kilowatt generator. An advantage of having two generators operating in parallel is that the system provides sufficient capacity to feed life safety and critical branch loads should one generator fail to operate. The reliability of two-paralleled generators is in excess of 99%. This grant-in-aid will ensure that Griffin will be ready to provide exceptional patient care to the Lower Naugatuck Valley and surrounding communities in the event of an emergency.”

The full Bond Commission agenda can be found at: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/OPM/Bud-Capital-Budget/Agendas/CY-2022/Agenda_July29_2022.pdf