University of Connecticut, Health Center Records

The University of Connecticut Health Center is a vibrant organization composed of the School of Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, John Dempsey Hospital, the UConn Medical Group and University Dentists. Founded in 1961, the Health Center pursues a mission of providing outstanding health care education in an environment of exemplary patient care, research and public service. The Health Center's main campus is situated on 162 acres of wooded hilltop in the beautiful, historic community of Farmington. From this vantage point, the skyline of Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, can be seen about eight miles to the east. The University's main campus is in Storrs, about 30 miles east of Hartford. With approximately 3,900 employees, the Health Center is Farmington's largest employer and an important contributor to the local and regional economy.

Health Care Services

Through John Dempsey Hospital (204 general acute care beds and 20 nursery beds), the Health Center provides specialized and routine inpatient and outpatient services. John Dempsey Hospital has long been regarded as the premier facility in the region for neonatal intensive care and high-risk maternity. It is also widely recognized for its comprehensive cardiovascular, cancer and musculoskeletal services. Additionally, John Dempsey Hospital is home to the only Emergency Department in Connecticut's fast-growing Farmington Valley.

In June 2004, John Dempsey Hospital was awarded a prestigious silver Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Innovation Prize for its volunteer staff support of American Red Cross blood drives. Since 1987, the Connecticut Quality Improvement Awards have recognized Connecticut organizations that excel in managing quality improvement for success and growth.

Also offered are a wide range of ambulatory and primary care services on the Health Center campus in Farmington and in physician offices conveniently located in West Hartford, Simsbury and East Hartford. The UConn Medical Group is the largest medical practice in Greater Hartford, offering patients access to health care services from more than 350 Health Center physicians in more than 50 specialties.

Educational Programs

Dedicated to providing broad educational opportunities in the biomedical sciences, the Health Center offers degree programs in medicine (M.D.), dental medicine (D.M.D.), and biomedical science (Ph.D.); master's degree programs in public health and dental science; postdoctoral fellowships; residency programs providing specialty training for newly graduated physicians and dentists; and continuing education programs for practicing health care professionals. Combined degree programs, such as the M.D./Ph.D., D.M.D./Ph.D., Dental Clinical Specialty/Ph.D. and M.D./M.P.H. are also offered.

The UConn Health Center is the only academic health center in the nation where a medical school was founded concurrently with a dental school. As the schools took shape during the 1960s, their planners took advantage of their simultaneous evolution to forge strong links between them. Most notably, medical and dental students share an essentially common curriculum during the first two years of their four-year degree programs. During this period they study the basic medical sciences together. This experience provides UConn's dental students with an especially strong foundation in the biomedical sciences that undergird the dental profession. Reflecting its close ties to medicine, the dental school awards its graduates the D.M.D. - doctor of dental medicine.

Each year in Farmington, about 320 students work toward their medical doctor's degree and 160 toward their doctor of medical dentistry degree. Admission to each school is highly competitive, but both schools offer preferential consideration to qualified Connecticut residents in their admissions policies. School of Dental Medicine students have a long history of outstanding performance on the National Boards, ranking first among the country's 55 dental schools on these examinations in 2001 and again in 2003. In the years since the Health Center graduated its first students in 1972, 1,459 men and women have received their D.M.D. degree; 3,061 their M.D. degree.

Through a variety of residency programs, the School of Medicine provides postgraduate training for more than 550 newly graduated M.D.s each year. These physicians come from all over the country to acquire advanced skills in fields such as the surgical specialties, internal medicine, and primary care. Some of the residency training occurs on the Health Center's main campus, but much of it takes place in community hospitals in Greater Hartford - thus extending the Health Center's influence far beyond Farmington.

Research Programs

Since the Health Center's inception, its administration and faculty have been committed to maintaining high-quality research programs as part of the institution's fabric. This commitment has enabled the Health Center to recruit distinguished researchers with expertise in neuroscience, molecular biology, molecular pharmacology, biochemistry, cell physiology, toxicology, and endocrinology, among other fields. The Alcohol Research Center, is one of only 14 such federally supported centers in the nation; the Connecticut Clinical Chemosensory Research Center, one of five.

Clinical research is facilitated by the Lowell Weicker General Clinical Research Center and the Clinical Trials Unit. Intellectual endeavors of all kinds are supported by the Lyman Maynard Stowe Library.

Connecticut Health

UConn Health Center faculty, staff, residents, and students, participate in a variety of joint efforts to address public health and community health needs of citizens throughout our state. Under the umbrella of Connecticut Health, hundreds of projects have been developed in collaboration with other state agencies, city and town governments, community based organizations and the public to serve the poor and uninsured by providing better medical care, health education, and research.

Connecticut Health also strives to build and enhance relationships with the state legislature to bring health-conscious legislation, improved health care and a better quality of life to all our citizens. The development of new initiatives, projects and proposals are supported by Connecticut Health staff through brainstorming, data gathering, grant writing, and relationship building.

Our Campus

Construction of the Health Center's main campus began in 1966. The main complex occupies a prominent hilltop overlooking an interstate highway (I-84). This massive, circular building originally contained about 1.2 million square feet, seven miles of corridors, and 2,000 rooms. Its first major addition, the Andrew J. Canzonetti, MD Building, was dedicated in 1994. It added 94,000 square feet next to John Dempsey Hospital. The Health Center's Academic Research Building was opened in 1999. The impressive 11-story structure provides 170,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratory space.

Construction of a new 4-story, 99,000 square-foot musculoskeletal research and outpatient surgery facility began in late 2003, with completion and occupancy expected in early 2005. All told, the Health Center campus consists of 35 buildings totaling over 2 million square feet.

Additional information about the Health Center Campus is available on its website.