Fairfield Caregiver Honored as Healthcare Hero

Griffin Health Nurse Michael Fusaro, LPN, of Fairfield, was recently recognized for his heroic actions to save a life with the 2025 Connecticut Healthcare Association’s Healthcare Heroes Award.

The Award celebrates and recognizes the invaluable contributions of exceptional healthcare workers, both to their field and to the community at large.

After finishing an overnight shift at Griffin Hospital, Fusaro was headed home when he saw a car crash near the hospital entrance. Without hesitation, he ran toward the wreck. Seeing that the driver was unresponsive, he pulled the man from the car, checked for a pulse, and immediately began CPR in the hospital driveway. As the Griffin Hospital Emergency Department (ED) team rushed a gurney to the scene, Fusaro never stopped performing CPR, climbing onto the gurney and continuing chest compressions while the patient was being moved through the parking lot, the hospital lobby, and into the ED.

The team fought to stabilize the patient’s failing heart. When several interventions didn’t restore the patient’s heartbeat, they made one final effort - administering medication to dissolve clots blocking blood flow. Moments later, the patient’s heart began to beat again.

“Mike’s actions, driven by compassion and instinct, were not part of his shift that day - they are part of who he is,” the nomination for Fusaro stated. “Mike’s commitment to putting patients first doesn’t end when he’s off the clock, or even when help arrives on the scene.

“Thanks to Mike, and the dedicated caregivers who continued his heroic work in the ED, a family was able to share the holidays. As the patient’s wife said, ‘Because of Griffin, we were able to celebrate Christmas together as a family. You saved my soulmate.’”