Pilot Site Profile
Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut
Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center
80 Seymour Street
Hartford, CT 06102-5037
Web sites:
Hospital: www.harthosp.org
Cancer Center: www.harthosp.org/cancer
John Meehan, President and CEO, Hartford Hospital
Andrew L. Salner, MD, Principal Investigator/NCCCP Pilot Leader
Laurine M. Bow, PhD, Vice President for Research, Hartford Hospital
Background
Hartford Hospital is the one of the largest providers of healthcare services in Connecticut, serving a population of more than 1 million people in the city of Hartford and surrounding central and northern parts of the state. The hospital is the largest of three hospitals in the greater Hartford area and is the only one in the region with a Level 1 Trauma Center, air ambulance, and transplant program. The hospital serves as a major referral center and teaching hospital of the University of Connecticut Medical School. The Helen & Harry Gray Cancer Center operates one of two of the largest cancer programs in the state, with approximately 60,000 patient visits annually. The hospital treats approximately 2,500 new cancer patients annually.
Patient Service Area
Hartford Hospital serves a sizably diverse population, including the city of Hartford, which has several underserved communities. Paradoxically, as the capital of the state that has the highest per capita income in the nation, Hartford ranks as the ninth poorest city in the United States. Almost 80 percent of Hartford residents are African American or Hispanic, with the remaining predominantly White. The median income in Hartford is $24,800, compared to a national average of $36,276, with 30.6 percent of the population living below the poverty line.
Access and Outreach Initiatives
The Gray Cancer Center participates in the Prostate Cancer Outreach Project with St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport and the Yale Cancer Center, to reach the three largest populations in the state. The project works with barbers in the African American community to provide basic training about prostate cancer risks. In addition, the cancer center is now reaching out to a growing number of cultures that make Connecticut home, including South American, Bosnian, and Asian.
