Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • December 17, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Agwunobi fields UConn Health partnership proposals By Matt Pilon mpilon@hartfordbusiness.com H eaded into 2018, one of UConn Health CEO Andrew Agwunobi's biggest priorities was to find the right partner to strengthen the health system's future financial and clinical profile. As the year draws to a close, much has been done toward that effort, though it may still be a few more months until the public learns of the results. UConn Health's board of directors informed lawmakers in April that a public-private part- nership may be the system's best chance at long-term sustainability. UConn Health, staffed by unionized, state employees, struggles with a high cost structure and ever-evolving competi- tive threats from area health systems that are growing through hospital acquisitions. UConn Health has been vague about what exact structure a deal might entail, but it could involve a merger or joint venture, and any partnership would likely help support UConn Health's clinical operation and include a sizable cash payment to the system. The Commission on Fiscal Stability and Eco- nomic Growth wrote recently that a deal could also reduce UConn Health's drag on the state budget by nearly $100 million a year. In October, UConn Health took the next step, requesting proposals from health providers and other entities interested in a partnership with its clinical operation, which includes the 234-bed John Dempsey Hospital and UConn Medical Group. Responses were due to UConn's financial advisor, Cain Brothers, in early December. Several days after the due date, the Hartford Business Journal filed a Freedom of Informa- tion request for any submitted proposals. UConn Health denied the request, citing an exemption in the law that covers responses to solicitations prior to a contract being negoti- ated or executed. As a result, it's unclear who the suitors may be, but a UConn official confirmed the solicitation received more than one proposal. Agwunobi has said UConn Health could sign a nonbinding letter of intent with a partner by early 2019. While the system is budgeting for an $18 million operating loss this fiscal year, Agwunobi said UConn Health has improved in ways that would matter to a potential partner. For example, Dempsey has grown its market share in the Farmington Valley, and its 2018 patient admissions grew by 9 percent compared to 2017, Free leads Univ. of St. Joseph through year of firsts By Joe Cooper jcooper@hartfordbusiness.com I n her third year on the job, University of St. Joseph President Rhona Free oversaw the transformation of the private Catholic college into a co-ed institution. Based in West Hartford, USJ for the first time admitted male under- graduate students this past fall, with most of those 96 enrollees playing on four new men's sports teams. The 86-year-old school this year also rolled out four new academic programs — sports management and promotion, bioinformatics, computer data science and health sciences — and several new clubs. The new majors are already gaining popularity, Free said. Free's push for co-ed programming has raised the school's enrollment to a five-year high (910 undergraduates). The 11.2 percent enrollment gain, she says, has also boosted club participation and attendance at its dining hall, recreation center and athletics games. USJ is also becoming less of a commuter school, with more students staying on campus during the weekends. And those trends are expected to continue. School officials will have a larger pool of ap- plicants to choose from as they reach a pro- jected enrollment peak of 1,100 students in the coming years. Applications this fall were up more than 20 percent. "We are always doing something new to try to keep up with changing student interests and what employers need," said Free, adding USJ will unveil new men's lacrosse and women's field hockey teams in 2019. "I think it brings a whole new group of students to campus, in terms of another group who would be inter- ested in some of these new majors." In addition to spearheading USJ's co-ed expansion, Free also spent the year as chair of the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education, a regional leadership group promoting the Capital City as a college town. The 11-member consortium — including school officials from Trinity College, University of Hartford, UConn Hartford, Central Connecticut State University and others — met several times this year to lay the groundwork for new intern- ship and career fairs to better connect the region's students with employers. Free says members also developed a branding competition, in which groups of students early next year will collaborate to develop marketing campaigns to better market Hartford. UConn Health CEO Andrew Agwunobi is also executive vice president for health affairs. University of St. Joseph President Rhona Free spent the year chairing the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education. Five We Watched in 2018 Continued on page 10 >> Continued on page 10 >> PHOTOS | HBJ FILE H ere is a look back at the five business, nonprofit and higher-education leaders we watched in 2018.

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