$1M gift creates WCHN first Endowed Primary Care Chair

Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN) announced a $1million gift from Eric Moskow, MD, a primary care physician and healthcareentrepreneur, and his family. This transformational gift will establish theNeligan-Safford Endowed Chair in Primary Care, the first chair in primary careat WCHN.

Once named, the chairperson will work to establishinnovative approaches to patient care, engage in robust research, attracthigh-quality providers and medical students, and bolster WCHN’s reputation.

The Moskow’s gift comes amid a major primary care shortage.Connecticut currently needs 149 primary care providers to meet the recommendedpopulation-to-physician ratio, which was established to improve communityhealth standards. 1 Nationally, nearly 15,000 new primary careproviders are needed to meet recommended ratios based on the currentpopulation.1 According to recent studies, Americans with primarycare providers receive more preventive care (like cancer screenings and flushots), and report having better access to care and overall experiences thanthose who do not have a primary care provider.2

“Studies show that primary care providers serve as thegateway to healthy lives for people while improving outcomes and reducinghospitalizations,” said John M. Murphy, MD, president and CEO of WCHN. “Withthis newly established chair, WCHN will be better prepared to recruit, trainand retain the very best providers who will deliver cutting-edge care to ourpatients.”

As community donors and WCHN continue to invest in enhancingprimary care, training opportunities could include team-based practice modelsin both the local and global communities; increasing use of simulation for safemedical practice and physician-patient communications skill-building, andfurther embracing new technologies to streamline the patient care experience.

The Neligan-Safford Endowed Chair in Primary Care is named in honor of Patrick Neligan, MD, and Theodore Safford, Jr., MD. These late primary care providers mentored Dr. Moskow early in his career. Described as genuine family physicians, Neligan and Safford had mutual respect for each other. For decades, they provided Connecticut families with compassionate and reliable medical care.

Neligan and Safford were involved with several community health initiatives that remain active today, including a visiting nurse program, an annual community health day, and Dr. Neligan co-founded the Norwalk Community Health Center. Dr. Safford was also part of a national effort to get Family Practice approved as a medical specialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). He was in the first group of physicians to be board certified in the specialty of family practice.

In addition to attracting world-class providers andresidents, the enhanced emphasis on primary care will allow WCHN to participatein national research initiatives with the network’s Rudy L. Ruggles BiomedicalResearch Institute. The future chair of primary care services will also helpWCHN establish new collaborations and alliances that will drive innovation.

The Neligan-Safford Endowed Chair in Primary Care will beWCHN’s 13th overall endowed chair.

1) According to The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, anorganization that focuses on major healthcare issues facing the nation and theUnited States’ role in global health policy, December 2018 data: https://bit.ly/2gtA56j

2) According to a study published in The Journal of theAmerican Medical Association (JAMA), January 2019: https://bit.ly/2JWMsF0