Middlesex Supports Dr. Crain and Compassionate Health Care

Since 1988, Dr. Michael Crain has given so much of his time, energy and expertise to Middlesex Health. He worked full-time as a radiologist for Radiologic Associates of Middletown, cared for patients at Middlesex Health and even served as Middlesex Health’s chair of Radiology. The move to a per diem schedule in 2022 was a step toward retirement, but believing that Dr. Crain now has free time would be a misnomer. Dr. Crain remains steadfast in his commitment to compassionately caring for all patients, and he finds himself plenty busy as a patient advocate.

Dr. Crain serves as president and executive director of The Patient is U Foundation (TPIU), a nonprofit public charity founded in 2017 that makes it its mission to empower patients to receive compassionate care and health care workers to practice greater compassion toward patients, colleagues and themselves. His role is volunteer, but it is one he takes seriously. He is particularly focused on ensuring that compassionate health care is provided in outpatient settings. 

“Compassionate health care has been shown to improve patient outcomes at a lower overall health care cost,” he says. “It decreases provider burnout and malpractice claims. Ultimately, compassionate health care should be provided to all patients, regardless of their socioeconomic status.”

What does compassionate health care mean? Dr. Crain says compassion is “empathy with action and should be part of the entire outpatient experience — from making the appointment, to the receptionist, to the physician who answers when a patient calls their office, to the nurse or technologist, to the provider and to the billing system.” 

Through his involvement with TPIU, Dr. Crain is now working to see health care change through the government. This, however, is not his first time assuming an advocacy role. In the past, he was president of the Radiological Society of Connecticut and lobbied for many issues, including government funding for tomosynthesis mammography and breast ultrasound. 

For TPIU, it is a time for growth. The organization recently hired a lobbyist, and they are seeking donations to pay for this service. That’s where Middlesex Health comes in. Part of Middlesex Health’s own mission is to provide compassionate care to every patient. It can relate to TPIU, and it supports Dr. Crain, a long-time member of its Medical Staff. It donated $5,000 to the cause. 

“Middlesex Health also firmly believes in the importance of providing compassionate care in both inpatient and outpatient settings, and we are happy to support Dr. Crain and TPIU as they advocate to ensure that all patients receive the care they deserve,” says Middlesex Health President and CEO Vincent G. Capece, Jr. 

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