Deirdre DiCara to Lead Health Center Foundation

Deirdre Houlihan DiCara has been selected to be the next Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Winsted Health Center Foundation and the Winsted Health Center, Inc. Ms. DiCara is well known as a community activist, leader of nonprofit organizations, board member, and supporter of many different community activities throughout northwestern Connecticut.

Ms. DiCara, who also serves as the Executive Director of the Girl Scout Council of Northwestern Connecticut and is a resident of Winchester, will lead the Foundation and Health Center on a part-time basis. It is expected that the position of an executive assistant, to provide an appropriate level of support and to staff the office during regular business hours, will also be filled in the near future.

Announcement of the appointment came after a special meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation. More than forty resumes were received and seven interviews took place, including additional interviews by the entire Board of the two finalist candidates.

Ms. DiCara, who had previously been a member of the Board of the Foundation, said, "We have an important challenge coming up, which is the reexamination of the certificate of need for health services at the Winsted Health Center, initiated and undertaken by the Office of Health Care Access of the State of Connecticut. We are confident that, after examining utilization of the Health Center, the State will conclude that all of those services we now have should continue, and that indeed we should be encouraged to develop additional services. We have a bright future."