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On Tuesday, the Town of Greenwich made it official when it renamed a section of Perryridge Road in front of the hospital as Frank A. Corvino Way for the departing president and CEO in a noontime ceremony.
Corvino couldn't resist making a joke about the street sign.
"What a great honor: Me and Mariano Rivera have our own street sign," he joked about the former Yankee star to the crowd of staff, politicians and general public who gathered in front of the hospital for the street sign unveiling.
Corvino became the hospital's leader in 1991, after arriving there in 1988. But he said the honor should be shared with the people he worked with and led.
"This is really a group honor, a group award," he said looking at staff members gathered for the ceremony. "You always remembered that the patient came first."
Corvino said the major secret to Greenwich Hospital's success was in choosing the right people to work there.
"I was fortunate enough to always try and hire people who were smarter than I was, and I think that has really paid of for our community," he said.
The honor didn't stop with the street sign as First Selectman Peter Tesei declared Oct. 21 as "Frank A. Corvino Day" in Greenwich.
"It's because of the leadership that Frank has provided over a quarter of a century that has allowed us to champion this as one of the jewels that's given value to being a resident of the town of Greenwich," Tesei said.
State Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-36th District, called Tuesday a bittersweet day as the town was losing one of its most prominent leaders.
"It's bittersweet because while we know we're losing one of Greenwich's greats to greener pastures, we should also not hesitate to remind ourselves that we have an incredible, world-class institution," Frantz said. "It's amazing what this place used to be and what is today. The difference is absolutely transformational."
He presented Corvino with state General Assembly citations for his service.
A successor for Corvino at Greenwich Hospital is expected to be chosen before the end of the year.
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