In response to inquiries from the public and media, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office is providing this information concerning the hospitalization of Sheriff Donald B. Smith.

This past Saturday, July 22^nd, the Sheriff attended a fundraising event held in Patterson to benefit the family of recently deceased Sheriff’s Senior Investigator Mark Gilmore and for Deputy Sheriff Michael Schmidt, who is battling cancer. After making remarks to persons gathered at the fundraiser, the Sheriff was not feeling well, so he went to the emergency room at Putnam Hospital Center (PHC) on Saturday afternoon. He was admitted to PHC and stayed there overnight.

On Sunday, Putnam Hospital Center doctors referred the Sheriff to Yale-New Haven Hospital and he was transported to that facility by ambulance. He was admitted to the Yale-New Haven Cardiac Intensive Care Unit on Sunday afternoon, and he remains in the Cardiac ICU at this time.

Sheriff Smith has conferred frequently with members of his staff while in the hospital, where he is in very high spirits. He expressed his deep gratitude for what he described as “the outstanding, professional and kind care” that he was given by the doctors, nurses and other staff of Putnam Hospital Center and is thankful for their referral to Yale-New Haven Hospital, which he said was “one of the best hospitals on the planet for the kind of specialized level of care” that he was receiving. The Sheriff added that the medical team at Yale-New Haven was “extremely skilled and caring” in his treatment.

The Sheriff said that he and his doctors expect him to make a full and complete recovery to health and that he is looking forward to being back to work serving the people of Putnam County in a 100% capacity in the very near future. The Sheriff also related his sincere appreciation for all the people who have expressed concern and well-wishes for him.