Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • March 18, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Reporter's Notebook Matt Pilon | mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com Health Care/Bioscience, Startups & Entrepreneurs, Government/Law and Energy HEALTH CARE Gaylord Healthcare tests AI for scheduling, care insights G aylord Specialty Healthcare is stepping into new territory, exploring machine learning, artificial intelligence and automation software in the hopes of finding new efficiencies and even identifying challenges (and solu- tions) it didn't know existed. Wallingford-based Gaylord, one of two long-term, acute-care hospitals in the state, recently hired Groton-based Decision Options, which will put its software to work analyzing the hospi- tal's reams of data on medical care and outcomes, as well as patient appoint- ment scheduling. The dual aim for the 137-bed hospital, which also has outpatient facilities, is to produce insights that lead to better business and care decisions. Trying to predict the future is part of the goal, such as identifying patients who are more likely to miss an appointment or need to be trans- ferred to a regular hospital, said Peter Grevelding, Gaylord's vice president of clinical operations. Traditional tools like spreadsheets can be helpful in analyzing data and trends, but Grevelding said Decision Options' software platform works on another level, with the potential to analyze a much more complicated universe of data from multiple sources and systems. The next few months will be spent importing Gaylord data and making other tweaks before going live with the platform. The partners plan to start small, with one specific project, but Gaylord already has plenty of ideas about what to investigate. One focus area is analyzing ways to reduce the number of times Gaylord inpatients — who often have long, slow recoveries ahead — are transported back to a traditional emergency hospital for more intensive care. Decision Options' prediction models could lead to customized-care interventions before a poten- tially avoidable problem arises. Another focus is developing more efficient scheduling. Certain patients may take longer with their doctors than others, or cancel more often, and scheduling practices may not account for it. That also affects staffing levels and needs. "Ideally, we want our staff busy and pro- viding care and we don't want big open- ings in the schedule," Grevelding said. First hospital client Gill Eapen, who during his time as a Pfizer executive in the late 1990s helped decide the best balance for the phar- maceutical maker's R&D investments, founded Decision Options in 2001 as a boutique advisory firm that helped companies make better decisions. That experience led to the develop- ment of its software, which the company markets to a broad range of industries, including health care, manufacturing and professional-service firms. Though Decision Options counts some Michigan behavioral clinics as customers, Gaylord represents its first foray into a hospital. The company has helped behavioral-health clinics predict patient volumes and make better patient- therapist matches, said Eapen, who is CEO. What if the platform spits out strange insights about patient care at Gaylord? Could it be dangerous? Decision Options could certainly make some wrong calls, but Eapen said those will decline over time because the software will learn from prior experiences and outcomes, and incorporate them into future predictions. Patients and their families need not worry, Grevelding said, as physicians will be scrutiniz- ing the insights and whether or not to act on them in some new way. The humans are very much still in charge. "It's a decision-making guide, more than any- thing," he said. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Eversource tends to its gas (worker) pipeline C ontinuing to expand natural gas service in Connecticut, as well as replace older mains and pipes, has created plenty of work for Eversource. As a result, Connecti- cut's largest utility needs to ensure it has a healthy pipeline of up-and-coming workers, especially as retirements accelerate and its competitors and other contractors compete for the same talent. To sate that need, Ever- source recently decided to try an approach it's tested in a few other New England states, but never before in Connecticut. Eversource and Middle- sex Community College last year announced a certificate program to train natural gas field technicians. The first class of 11 stu- dents recently graduated the 13-week program, and Eversource hired nearly every graduate, said Sarah Millot, the utility's man- ager of training programs and compliance. A few didn't work out, but eight have lasted, she said. Most will work as paid ap- prentices for the next two years or so, averaging $24 an hour to start. If all goes well, the ap- prentices will become entry-level journeymen, averaging $35 an hour to start, she said. After five to 15 years of experience, jour- neymen can be promoted to a "lead" or even "chief" position. That's pretty good pay for a program that takes less time to complete than an associate degree. However, the program is more likely to accept applicants with previous mechanical skills and physi- cal capabilities. That meant Darrell Kuhne, who ran a resi- dential construction and renovation business for 18 years, had a leg up. Kuhne, 44, said the Great Recession's effect on the housing market forced him to reduce headcount at his Middletown-based con- tracting business to around seven, down from 24 before the bubble burst. He was looking to make a mid-ca- reer change when his wife came across a flyer for the Middlesex program. With a long list of techni- cal skills and experience in managing employees, Kuhne caught Eversource's eye, and once he graduated the program, the company hired him for a management- track position. He's telling his story to former construction colleagues who might be looking for new options. "I thought so highly of the program," Kuhne said. Based on the success of the program's first year, Eversource said it plans to continue it for a second year this fall. ENVIRONMENT CT toxic releases ticked up slightly in '17 Connecticut manufacturers and other companies released more carcinogenic chemicals in 2017 compared to 2016, but over the past decade, the totals are down, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory, which since 1986 has tracked the man- agement of certain toxic chemicals that may pose threats to human health. "Releases" could be into the air, surface water, landfills or other methods. The four most common carcinogens released in the state include dichloromethane, chromium, trichloroethylene and nickel. 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Toxins released (in lbs.) 743,218 519,880 429,183 353,105 404,689 608,350 588,706 299,970 309,119 327,474 Source: U.S. EPA Toxic Release Inventory Gill Eapen, CEO, Decision Options Peter Grevelding, Vice President of Clinical Operations, Gaylord Specialty Hospital Darrell Kuhne spent 18 years in home construction, but pivoted last year to start a new career in the utility industry. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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