Hamden recognizes local healthcare heroes
HAMDEN, Conn. (WTNH) — First responders, healthcare workers, volunteers, educators and more in Hamden were awarded for their hard work and dedication Wednesday as part of the 2025 Hamden Healthcare Warrior Awards.
News 8's Kathryn Hauser emcee'd the event, which presented the award to 13 recipients.
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'There's so many incredible stories about Hamden's heroes,' Hauser said. 'You are making this community a better place by creating impact.'
Ann Marie Anderson, a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Clelian Adult Daycare Center, was among the recipients. She cares for seniors, many of whom live with short-term dementia.
'My boss comes to me and says 'Guess what? You got nominated.' I'm like, 'For what?' She said for the award. I said 'Which award?' cause I was surprised. But it was an honor, it was a pleasure,' she said. 'It's a very calming situation working with the elderly. You have to have that compassion, that love.'
It's that compassion and love that is at the center of why Anderson was nominated for the award by 96-year-old Jenny McLean and her son, Len Matteo.
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'She comes each day to pick up my mom in the morning, make sure she's ready, drives her there, my mom will take the bus home. Then her mom, Tati, will come in, take care of her until she goes to bed at night,' Matteo said. 'They're more like family to us.'
As for McLean, the 96-year-old told News 8 Anderson is 'one of my best friends.'
Other award recipients include those whose jobs involve responding to tragedy. Officer Michael Vivenzio is no stranger to that. Last August he was there when Isaac Freeman- better known as 'Fatman Scoop'- died after collapsing on stage at a town concert.
'It was a little crazy. One minute you're just doing traffic, another minute, people are calling for your help and you gotta run over and step into that different role,' he said. 'It's just an honor. We all come out and try to do the best we can.'
'They're working really hard to make Hamden safe and we want to show them that we have their back as well,' Mayor Lauren Garrett said.
Dr. Pina Violano is a clinical associate professor and director of community engagement in the School of Nursing at Quinnipiac University. She was recognized for her planning and implementation of countless community health events, including a free youth screening event on campus that helped nearly 300 children in adults.
Her work also involves efforts to reduce gun-related injuries and death with gun buyback and safe storage programs. She is the cofounder of Swords to Plowshares Northeast, a non-profit violence prevention organization that repurposes guns into gardening tools.
'I've just seen so many people die from gunshot wounds and they're all preventable accidents so if I can provide a safe venue to turn in guns and do something productive with them, to take something that was life-taking into life-making, it's powerful,' she said.
'I'm incredibly proud to have this award and be recognized for this award. You just get so humbled and I don't have words for it,' she continued.
Christopher Dosin is a Hamden firefighter and paramedic, an adjunct professor for the University of New Haven and mentor for new paramedics and field instructor.
He has used his experience to educate and save lives. In 2022, he resuscitated a patient that had a Left Ventricle Assist Device. LVAD patients who suffer a cardiac arrest event a less than 1 percent survival rate.
At the time, Dosin's resuscitation of the patient was the only documented field resuscitation of an LVAD patient in the state. The patient survived and is healthy.
'We're all working together to help whoever needs our assistance. Best job in the world, best job on the planet,' he said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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