Windham Hospital Physician Honored as a “Healthcare Hero”
WILLIMANTIC, CT, June 24, 2009 –Dr. Herbert Ridyard of Windham Hospital was honored at the Connecticut Hospital Association’s 91st Annual Meeting on June 23 at the Aqua Turf in Plantsville, CT, receiving the coveted Healthcare Heroes Award. CHA Board Chair Marna Borgstrom bestowed the honor before a crowd of nearly 500 healthcare professionals from hospitals throughout Connecticut, noting that physicians dominated this year’s honor roll of caregivers. Dr. Ridyard was nominated by Sharyn Mathews, Director of Marketing at Windham Hospital. Mathews says she was moved to make the nomination based on the surgeon’s recent service in the Army Reserve Medical Corps in Tikrit, Iraq, and notes, “there was no requirement for him to do this—it was strictly voluntary.”
Ridyard says that his service in Iraq “both humbled and amazed” him, and he commented that, “there aren’t enough surgeons for our soldiers; I’m glad I could be of help.”
Each year since 2001, CHA has sought nominations in celebration of the invaluable contributions of healthcare workers, both to their fields and to the community at large. Of the numerous nominations reviewed by the panel of judges, just 10 are selected for the honor. Previous Healthcare Heroes from Windham Hospital have included Ellen Schreiber, RN (2002), Karla J. Beckert, RN (2003), Susan Quimby, RN and Chris Reddy, EMT (2007), and Edward Sawicki, MD (2008).
To read the nomination for Dr. Ridyard, visit the Windham Hospital website at www.windhamhospital.org and follow the Healthcare Heroes link. To read all of the winning entries, follow the CHA link provided on the Windham Hospital website.
Windham Hospital is an acute care hospital providing a wide range of health and community services to 19 towns in northeastern Connecticut, and recently affiliated with Hartford Healthcare. For more information about Windham Hospital, visit www.windhamhospital.org.
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