Danbury Hospital

Christopher A. Sullivan, MD, has been named director of maternal and fetal medicine. Maternal-Fetal Medicine is the branch of obstetrics that focuses on high-risk pregnancy management. Previously he served nine years in a similar post at Stamford Hospital and a year at White Plains (N.Y.) Hospital Center. He is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology as well as in maternal-fetal medicine by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is a fellow in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a member of the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, American Medical Association, Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, and the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine. He served as president of the Fairfield County Society of Ob/Gyn from 2002 to 2004. Dr Sullivan is an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City. He has just been appointed to serve on the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Nuchal Translucency Oversight Committee, which certifies physicians to perform a new screening test for genetic disease.

David Paul Treece, MD, a pediatrician specializing in the treatment of sick or premature newborns, comes to Danbury Hospital from Norwalk Hospital where he served as a staff neonatologist and was actively involved as a teacher in the physician assistant programs. Earlier he was a staff neonatologist at a practice in Fairfield, Calif., and director of newborn services for the 60th Medical Group, Travis Air Force Base. Board certified in pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of its perinatal section of the academy. His special interests include neonatal cardiovascular development.

Theresa Champagne, RN, BSN, of Newtown, has been appointed nurse manager of the operating room at The Regional Heart & Vascular Center at Danbury Hospital. She has worked at the hospital for 27 years, most recently as nurse manager of several surgical departments, including the operating room, the post anesthesia care unit and the ambulatory surgical unit. She has been an active member of the Performance Improvement Committee, team leader of the main operating room, specialist in chest and vascular surgery, and chairman of the Perioperative Nursing Practice Counsel. She has received certification in the operating room (CNOR) by the Association of Operating Room Nurses. She is also a member of the Connecticut Hospital Association and the Cardiothoracic Surgery Special Assembly.

Steven B. Toplitz has been appointed a perfusionist at The Regional Heart & Vascular Center at Danbury Hospital. He is certified by the American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusionists and is a licensed respiratory therapist. Perfusionists are members of the open-heart surgery team and are mainly responsible for operation of the heart-lung machine. He came to Danbury Hospital from Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y., and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Englewood, N.J., where he was a clinical perfusionist. He was also administrative coordinator, clinical and didactic instructor, and director of didactic education of the School of Perfusion Technology at Montefiore. He was also a clinical instructor at Quinnipiac College, School of Health Sciences, Department of Cardiopulmonary Science Cardiovascular Perfusion Program.

Catherine L. Brown, PA, has been appointed staff physician assistant, joining the multidisciplinary team led by Keith Zuccala, MD, medical director of the Center for Weight Loss Surgery, to ensure optimal care and support of patients undergoing bariatric or weight loss surgery. She previously was an RN in the emergency department, the ICU and Med-Surgical units at the Hospital of St Raphael, then earned a master of health science degree, with distinction, and a PA certification from Quinnipiac University.

Lisa Scafidi, RN, and Julie MacMillan, RN, recently received critical care certification, joining ICU nurses Dympna Bowers, Cathy Hunt, Axel Ampeloquio, and Donna Duris who have also achieved this official recognition in advanced clinical skill in caring for critically ill patients. Ms Scafidi is president-elect of the local chapter of the Association of Critical Care Nurses.

Hall-Brook Behavior Health Services

Joyce A. Platz, a member for 17 years of senior management at Hall-Brooke, has been named to the organization’s new position of executive director of the Community Residential Services Division. Hall-Brooke is at 47 Long Lots Road, Westport. The division includes the Homestead Residential Program, funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, which provides permanent housing and supportive services to adults and single-parent families with behavioral health disorders. Ms Platz played a key role in the development, implementation, and administration of Hall-Brooke’s award-winning residential programs for almost two decades. Hall-Brooke is a wholly owned subsidiary of St. Vincent’s Health Services of Bridgeport and is affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry of Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons.