NewHavenBIZ

10 n e w h a v e n B I Z | N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 2 0 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m O N T H E R E C O R D : Q & A Christopher O'Connor President, Yale New Haven Health Yale New Haven Health System President Christopher O'Connor looks to the future By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo C hristopher O'Connor took over the role of president of the Yale New Haven Health system on Oct. 5. e system includes Yale New Haven Hospital, Bridgeport Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, and Westerly Hospital in Rhode Island. O'Connor most recently served as the system's executive vice president and chief operating officer, a role he had since 2012. Before that, he had been the president and chief executive officer of the Hospital of St. Raphael. O'Connor has been heavily involved in the health system's growth, including bringing Yale New Haven Hospital and the Hospital of St. Raphael together in 2012. He has led other growth initiatives, including the system's affiliation with Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in 2016 and the acquisition of Milford Hospital by Bridgeport Hospital in 2019. e health system has future expansion plans in progress, including for a new $838-million, 505,000-square-foot neuroscience center at its St. Raphael campus. In October, O'Connor spoke to New Haven Biz about the health system, pandemic, and what he hopes to accomplish in his new position. How is the health system navigating the pandemic so far? is has probably been one of the most challenging times for the health system. e initial impact of COVID-19 saw a tremendous surge in our patient volume and put a strain on our system. Now, we are living through the recovery challenges. We are still not at our pre- COVID volumes. ere is a hesitancy to return to the healthcare environment because of the risks that people perceive with going into a space where we are still caring for COVID patients. We are still suffering financial losses at this point. It has been difficult for our staff, who have been working tirelessly. I am optimistic, but we are still in the middle of it, and there is still some road ahead for us to navigate. When do you think patients will return for care at pre-pandemic levels? Right now, it is variable across the system. It is variable by geography — it is different in Greenwich than it is in New London for instance. It is also different for the different services we have. We are not at our pre-pandemic levels. In some areas we have hit those thresholds, but overall we are probably about 85 to 90 percent to where we were in January. Barring any major COVID-19 surge, which obviously is the variable we are worried about, we are hoping we can achieve pre-pandemic levels in the next few months. How do you plan to help the system through the economic challenges brought on by the pandemic? ere are two main focus areas. One is supporting that volume return. We are really focusing on ensuring our patients and staff are safe through this transition process, so folks know if they come to the hospital or any of our facilities, we are extraordinarily focused on cleanliness and protecting our patients and staff. And the other one is — how do we manage expenses in a way that protects our people? We have made a statement to our employees that we are doing everything in our power to avoid furloughs and layoffs. We have been able to reduce things like travel and discretionary spending. We have looked for other opportunities across the system: How do we deliver care more efficiently? Can we consolidate some areas to provide the same level of care, but potentially do it in fewer locations and more efficiently? So those are things we are exploring as we head into our new fiscal year, which started Oct. 1.

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