As Dr. Liang announced Wednesday, the state is hiring a consultant to assess Connecticut's health care market to help develop a future strategic vision for our clinical enterprise. Learn more by way of this Q&A, which includes Gov. Lamont and President Maric's announcement.

Jeff Morse is looking to join the senior pro pickleball circuit. And he's well on his way, thanks to Dr. Robert Arciero, who rebuilt a damaged knee from a complicated injury going back decades, enabling him to win this year's national indoor championships, in both singles and doubles! Watch Jeff's story and find out why he says Dr. Arciero has been "absolutely instrumental in everything that I've been able to achieve since I've had that injury."

With temptation surrounding us this time of year, how do we navigate those holiday parties, pot lucks and happy hours so we can be reasonably healthy and still be festive? In our latest podcast, we bring in registered dietitian Linda York for some tips on how to "brave the buffet" and still share in the merriment. Listen now.

We close the year with the December value of courage. This month we meet Katherine Wollenberg, who is in a line of work where courage is absolutely essential. But she'll be the first to tell you, it's not just firefighter/ paramedics who are courageous — find out what courage means to her, and who else among us she believes exhibits this trait.

Unless caught incidentally, thyroid cancer is difficult to detect early because it seldom causes symptoms before it grows. That's why it's important to pay attention to swelling or other changes in your neck or throat, especially if you're a woman, as Dr. Giao Phan explains in our latest UConn Health Minute on CPTV.

We are ready to start a new initiative, establishing employee resource groups (ERGs) at UConn Health, and we'd like to hear from you! ERGs will offer events and programming for our workforce to build cultural competency, pride, and awareness. They value diversity, inclusive work environments, and belonging within our organization. Some suggestions from this year's employee appreciation celebration included a parent group, a social justice group, and an affinity group for Latinos, to name a few. What group would you like to see?

Congratulations to Natali Collins, a medical assistant in our Simsbury office's multispecialty group, who took the Oath of Allegiance at her naturalization ceremony Dec. 1! "Becoming a citizen of this great nation means I am now part of a country that values freedom, opportunities and the ability to be the best citizen I can," says Natali, who moved to the U.S. from Brazil in 2001 and joined us earlier this year. "I love America because it is a melting pot of many cultural backgrounds, and because of the inclusion, aspiration, equality and opportunities available to anyone who is willing to take them."