Mission, Vision, Values and History

ECHN’s Manchester Memorial Hospital received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®–Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. This award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

Manchester Memorial Hospital celebrated its centennial year. One hundred years ago, on Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1920, Manchester Memorial Hospital opened its doors to fulfill a community vision born during the great influenza epidemic of 1918 for a local hospital to treat those needing care. The hospital was dedicated in memory of the 45 Manchester men who lost their lives in World War I. Today, ECHN is a nationally recognized network of hospitals, outpatient healthcare service centers and hundreds of medical providers and specialists in dozens of locations serving eastern Connecticut residents.

Manchester Memorial Hospital obtained a new Canon Vantage Orian™ Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine that has the largest portfolio of non-contrast imaging sequences. The new MRI allows for patient comfort, clinical confidence and high productivity. In addition to the MIR, Manchester Memorial Hospital has a newly renovated department and furnishing and a partnership with Jefferson Radiology.    

ECHN began a new partnership with Jefferson Radiology to provide new and expanded comprehensive diagnostic and interventional radiology services at Manchester Memorial Hospital, Rockville General Hospital and ECHN’s ancillary healthcare facilities on a 24/7 basis. As part of the partnership, Jefferson Radiology provides experienced sub-specialists such as neuro-radiologists, pediatric radiologists and oncology radiologists to read patients’ imaging tests, including X-rays, CT scans and MRI scans, and consult with the patients’ physicians.

ECHN acquired new High Definition 3D Mammography equipment at the Women’s Center for Wellness and Tolland Imaging Center. The 3D mammography using the Siemens Mammomat Revelation equipment, and features a wide-angle, high-definition technology that captures more detail. This helps uncover abnormalities that might otherwise be hidden by breast tissue. 3D mammography appears to lower the chance of patients being called back to the office for follow-up testing. It also appears to find more breast cancers, and several studies have shown it can be helpful in women with more dense breasts.

ECHN’s Manchester Memorial Hospital and Rockville General Hospital received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes our commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

Manchester Memorial Hospital’s John A. DeQuattro Cancer Center has proudly earned the Commission on Cancer (CoC) 2018 Outstanding Achievement Award. Manchester Memorial Hospital is one of two Hospitals in CT and one of 24 Hospitals in the United States to have earned this recognition.

ECHN’s Center for Weight Loss Achieves National Accreditation from the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP^®). The Center for Weight Loss meet all criteria as a Comprehensive Center according to national quality standards established to deliver safe, high quality bariatric patient care.

ECHN’s Women’s Center for Wellness (WCW) celebrates its 25 anniversary.

Prospect Medical Holdings, on October 1, 2016, completed its acquisition of Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN), helping ensure the longstanding community healthcare system’s future.

ECHN and Walden Behavioral Care, LLC of Waltham, Massachusetts, a leading hospital for treating eating disorders, open a 30-bed inpatient eating disorders unit at Rockville General Hospital. The Eating Disorders Center at Rockville General Hospital is the first of its kind in Connecticut that is dedicated to treating both adults and adolescents with advanced eating disorders. This is the second venture for the ECHN Walden partnership. Walden has been operating a clinic that provides outpatient treatment for eating disorders at ECHN’s South Windsor medical office campus, 2400 Tamarack Avenue, since 2012.

Manchester Memorial Hospital Receives 5-year Accreditation for its Family Medicine Residency Program. The American Osteopathic Association Program and Training Review Council, a professional organization that reviews and accredits institutions that sponsor residency training programs, has extended Manchester Memorial Hospital’s accreditation for the maximum period of 5 years. Manchester Memorial Hospital is approved for 24 residents.

ECHN Rehab Services Offers Ground-Breaking Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease – Let’s Get Big and Loud. The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) is designed specifically for individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders.

Rockville General Hospital Receives ACR Accreditation for Mammography Services. The Medical Imaging Department at Rockville General Hospital has been awarded another three-year term of accreditation for its mammography services as the result of a recent on-site review by the American College of Radiology.

ECHN cuts the ribbon to its new Women’s Center for Wellness on the outpatient campus at Evergreen Walk in South Windsor, providing a full-array of women’s health services under one roof.

ECHN becomes the first medical teaching site east of the river when 16 third-year medical students from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM) arrived at ECHN for a year of academic and clinical training.

ECHN celebrates the opening of the new John A. DeQuattro Cancer Center, home of the Eastern Connecticut Cancer Institute, on the Manchester Memorial Hospital campus located at 100 Haynes Street.

ECHN purchases the daVinci Surgical Robot System to bring robotic surgery to the community.

Manchester Memorial Hospital is among the nation’s top five percent of hospitals, according to an independent study of mortality and complication rates for nearly 5,000 hospitals released by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading health care ratings company. In addition, both Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospital’s were recipients of the HealthGrades’ Pulmonary Care Excellence Award.

A new fixed-site MRI unit arrives at Rockville General Hospital.

ECHN’s Diabetes Self-Management Program is awarded the American Diabetes Association Education Recognition Certificate.

The Verispan Integrated Health Network lists ECHN on the “Best of the Rest” list for the top 100 Integrated Health Networks in the nation.

ECHN opens medical offices in Ellington, Tolland and Manchester.

The Sleep Disorders Laboratory is expanded.

ECHN implements an electronic health record system at the Manchester Memorial Hospital and Rockville General Hospital Emergency Departments, improving efficiency and information flow within the ED and throughout the organization.

ECHN opens buildings in Tolland and Coventry that house various medical services and doctors’ offices.

The ECHN medical building at Evergreen Walk opens, featuring state-of-the-art medical imaging services, a wide range of rehabilitation services including a special aquatic therapy pool, and doctors’ offices; the Women’s Center for Wellness also moves to this new building.

ECHN introduces neonatology services to the community, to provide another dimension of care for babies born with special health challenges.

The Wound Center for Healing at ECHN is established within Manchester Memorial Hospital for patients whose wounds have had trouble healing.

Phase One of the plans to expand and improve inpatient and outpatient services at Rockville General is completed. The goal of this ambitious project is to create a larger and more comprehensive emergency department and clinical observation unit, a special preparation and recovery area for outpatient services, a step-down unit for patients who move from intensive care, and much more.

The SBM Charitable Foundation Family Birthing Center at Manchester Memorial Hospital is opened, offering state-of-the-art LDRP rooms and an enhanced level of services.

ECHN and Community CancerCare begin virtual simulation services for cancer patients at The John A. DeQuattro Community Cancer Center.

High-tech digital mammography services are introduced at the Women’s Center for Wellness. This revolutionary equipment provides more-detailed images than with standard mammograms and reduces the need for women to return for additional views.

The ECHN Board of Trustees votes to approve proceeding with a capital campaign with a goal of between $6 million and $11.7 million on behalf of three capital expansion projects in the system: the Manchester Memorial Hospital Maternity Project, the Rockville General Hospital Facility Upgrade, and the Woodlake expansion.

The first cardiac catheterization procedure is performed in the new Rockville General Hospital Cardiac Catheterization Lab.

The new Centralized Sterile Processing facility, located at 460 Hartford Turnpike, becomes operational in late October, initially serving Manchester Memorial Hospital and subsequently serving Rockville General Hospital. This facility is equipped with some of the most modern sterilization technology available, becoming one of the top three such facilities on the Eastern seaboard.

ECHN’s comprehensive cancer services based at Manchester Memorial Hospital are granted approval by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, a designation given only to those facilities that have committed to providing the best in diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

ECHN introduces PET scanning services through a mobile unit that is at Manchester Memorial Hospital every Monday; PET (positron imaging tomography) is a revolutionary imaging technique used for early detection of cancer, heart disease, and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and is particularly effective for the diagnosis of lung cancer.

Woodlake at Tolland becomes the new home to the adult day center operated by Visiting Nurse & Health Services of Connecticut, Inc.

The ECHN Sleep Disorders Laboratory at Manchester Memorial Hospital is granted accreditation by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and later expands from two beds to six.

ECHN signs an affiliation agreement with Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) in Hartford to build upon the ECHN pediatricians’ long-standing relationship with the specialists at CCMC.

A new hospitalist program is introduced at Manchester Memorial Hospital and is expanded several months later to Rockville General Hospital.

The John A. DeQuattro Community Cancer Center opens on the Manchester Memorial Hospital campus.

ECHN introduces Medical Matters, a free 24-hour doctor referral line and program registration service.

A regional radiation therapy service for cancer treatment is approved by state regulators; it will be a joint venture between Manchester Memorial Hospital, Rockville General Hospital, Hartford Hospital and Johnson Memorial Hospital.

The Glastonbury Wellness Center opens, offering a Healthtrax fitness center, doctor office practices, and ECHN services, including CorpCare occupational health, behavioral health, and a variety of diagnostic tests.

PromptCare at Rockville General Hospital opens.

The medical staffs of Manchester Memorial Hospital and Rockville General Hospital combine to create a single ECHN medical staff.

Incorporators of Manchester Memorial Hospital and Corporators of Rockville General Hospital (several hundred community residents) vote to merge the corporate parents of the two hospitals to form Eastern Connecticut Health Network; these individuals become ECHN “members” and later “corporators.”

The state Office of Health Care Access (OHCA) agrees to the merger of the hospitals’ corporate parents; this is the first case in Connecticut of two financially sound institutions taking this step (other mergers in the state occurred because one of the partners was in financial distress).

Manchester Memorial Hospital opens the first of three School-Based Health Centers in East Hartford. Discussions begin on affiliating Manchester Memorial Hospital and Rockville General Hospital.

Maternity Department at Rockville General Hospital renovated to align with the LDRP concept of care, providing women with labor, delivery, and recovery in the same suite.

Manchester Memorial Hospital’s Family Support and Resource Center begins operations. The center is a fully funded grant program offering parent education programs and family support services.

Woodlake at Tolland nursing home opens on Shenipsit Lake Road in Tolland.

The Women’s Center for Wellness opens.

Rockville General Hospital becomes the first hospital in eastern Connecticut to introduce bone densitometry equipment designed to detect osteoporosis at its earliest stages.

Manchester Memorial Hospital establishes the CorpCare Occupational Medicine Service.

Manchester Memorial Hospital participates in the creation of a town-wide emergency medical system for the town of Manchester, leading to the establishment of a paramedic service.

The Women, Infants, and Children program (WIC) begins at Rockville General Hospital. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program provides nutritious food and nutrition education to area residents in difficult financial circumstances.

The film “Promises in the Dark,” starring Marsha Mason, is filmed partly on location at Manchester Memorial Hospital.

The Rockville General Hospital Maternity Care Center is established to provide pregnancy-related medical and social services to pregnant women and teens, with fees charged on a sliding scale based on ability to pay.

Manchester Memorial Hospital opens some of the first birthing rooms in a community hospital setting and is one of the first U.S. hospitals to offer the Lamaze method of childbirth.

The name of Rockville City Hospital is changed to Rockville General Hospital.

The first physical therapy service in the Rockville region is offered at Rockville City Hospital.

Visitors from 20 states and 16 foreign countries visit Manchester Memorial Hospital to observe its “Progressive Patient Care” plan, which introduced the concept of an intensive care unit and step-down care to the hospital world.

Rockville City Hospital moves to the Maxwell mansion on Union Street, where it remains today.

The Women’s Auxiliary, known today as the Rockville General Hospital Auxiliary, is formed.

The Women’s Auxiliary, known today as the Auxiliary of Manchester Memorial Hospital, is formed.

Rockville City Hospital opens on Prospect Street. Patients were charged $2 a day.

Manchester Memorial Hospital opens on Haynes Street and is dedicated to the 45 Manchester men who lost their lives in World War I.

C. Elmore Watkins heads a community campaign that raises over $165,000 in less than a week for the construction of a hospital in Manchester.

Spanish influenza strikes across the United States, affecting about one in four of the entire population. Many communities, including Manchester and Rockville, respond by establishing temporary emergency hospitals, at Cheney Hall in Manchester and at the high school in the city of Rockville.

William Henry Prescott of Rockville donates $50,000 to establish the William Henry Prescott Fund, designed to begin the financing for a Rockville City Hospital.