Hartford Business Journal

22 Hartford Business Journal • October 5, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com 2020 POWER 25 — HEALTH CARE Ned Lamont Gov. Ned Lamont didn't run for of- fice on much of a healthcare platform, but coronavirus has certainly made him a healthcare governor. He's had no choice but to lead the state through a once-in-a-century pandemic. And by most accounts he's done an admirable job, taking and maintaining strict measures — including shutting down non-essential businesses for a period of time, ramping up testing and contact-tracing efforts, enact- ing quarantine and mask require- ments as well as travel advisories — to control the spread of the virus. Still, the toll from COVID-19 has been significant: more than 57,000 positive cases and 4,500-coronavi- rus-related deaths in the state as of Sept. 30. Lamont has also faced some criticism for a significant number of deaths occurring at Con- necticut nursing homes, and from the restaurant industry for limiting indoor dining capacity during the summer to 50%, even though the in- fection rate has hovered around 1%. As we head into the fall the Demo- cratic governor may face an even big- ger challenge in controlling the virus as we hit flu season and people spend more time indoors. The health crisis will remain a top issue for Lamont going into the 2021 legislative session and until a vaccine is able to create widespread immunity to the disease. Jeffrey Flaks Whether you're a health insurer negotiating rates or a competing medical provider trying to maintain market position in a quickly consoli- dating healthcare industry, Jeffrey Flaks holds power. Named CEO of Hartford Health- Care (HHC) last year, Flaks oversees a statewide health system that re- corded $3.5 billion in operating reve- nue in fiscal 2019, which represented nearly one of every four operating dollars collected by all Connecticut health systems combined. While he's new to the corner office, Flaks played a key part in helping build out the HHC system, climbing the ranks for years into bigger leadership roles, where he was groomed as a suc- cessor to former CEO Elliot Joseph, who retired last year. HHC is the second-largest health system in Connecticut, behind Yale New Haven Health, and its Connecti- cut market share has grown of late to within just a few percentage points of the New Haven-based system. As the state's healthcare sector further concentrates, HHC, with Flaks at the helm, is almost certain to continue to be an acquiring force. First, HHC and its fellow systems must get through the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Flaks has been front-and-center in the response to the outbreak, appearing in the media constantly to update the public on the pan- demic and his system's response to it. Hartford Hospital was among the first hospitals in Connecticut to launch drive-up testing and Flaks was one of three health-system CEOs that Lamont selected early on to advise him on the ongoing crisis. Jennifer Jackson With $13 billion in annual revenue and more than 52,000 full-time employees, hospitals are a mighty piece of Connecticut's economy. Playing point for the industry is Jennifer D. Jackson, president and CEO of the Connecticut Hospital As- sociation, who for the past 20 years has coordinated relations between her hospital members and state and federal governments — both crucial sources of patient revenues. Most recently, Jackson has helped press lawmakers for funding to make up for plunging patient billables dur- ing the COVID-19 pandemic, as hos- pitals froze non-emergency surgeries and procedures to brace for an April spike in hospital- izations. In the year before the pandemic struck Connecti- cut, Jackson oversaw the industry's negotiating strategy in talks with the state that ultimately led to a $1.8-billion settlement over a hospital tax implemented by former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, as well as the end of a four-year legal battle that state of- ficials feared could cost Connecticut as much as $4 billion if it proceeded to trial. CHA has sought a less conten- tious relationship with Gov. Lamont than with his predecessor, who de- fended funding cuts by highlighting multimillion-dollar hospital CEO salaries, charging that hospitals wanted taxpayers to subsidize those pay packages. During the peak of that fight in 2015, Malloy alluded more than once to Jackson's own pay and benefits, which totaled ap- proximately $840,000 that year. Jackson, who has a bachelor's degree in nursing, joined CHA in the late 1980s after working in hospital nursing and insurance roles. Prior to becoming CEO in 2000, she was CHA's general counsel and a vice president. Reginald Eadie It's been a challenging year for all Connecticut hospitals as they deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and it's been no different for Trinity Health Of New England, the parent compa- ny of three in-state hospitals, includ- ing flagship St. Francis Hospital. Reginald Eadie leads Trinity's New England region — which also includes Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, St. Mary's Hospi- tal in Waterbury and Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Mass. — and he brings a unique background to the job because he's a doctor and holds an MBA from Michigan State University, giving him both a medical and business background as he navigates the chop- py waters of a pandemic and industry consolidation. He recently was named co-chair of Gov. Ned Lamont's COVID-19 Vac- cine Advisory Group, which will help develop a distribution strategy once a vaccine is readily available. Trinity's $1.59 billion in fiscal 2019 operating revenue ranked third highest among Connecticut health systems, behind crosstown competitor Hartford HealthCare and Yale New Haven Health.. Eadie is facing a number of headwinds. In April, Trinity Health furloughed an undisclosed num- ber of non-clinical staff due to the pandemic canceling most elective surgeries and people not going to the emergency room, and laid off additional employees in June. Eadie has been on the frontlines of urging patients who need critical care to return to the hospital — and they have, which should help Trin- ity's bottom line begin to recover. A Detroit native and published author, Eadie has been named a "100 Physician Leaders to Know" by Becker's Hospital Review. Deidre Gifford Deidre Gifford began the coronavi- rus pandemic as head of the state De- partment of Social Services but was appointed in May as interim commis- sioner of the Department of Public Health, making her one of Gov. Ned Lamont's closest advisors on CO- VID-19 and how to prevent the disease from spreading. Gifford replaced Renée D. Cole- man-Mitchell, who was suddenly ousted from her role in May without 1 2 3 4 Jeffrey Flaks, CEO, Hartford HealthCare Jennifer D. Jackson, President and CEO, Connecticut Hospital Association Reginald Eadie, President and CEO, Trinity Health Of New England Gov. Ned Lamont 5

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