NewHavenBIZ

24 n e w h a v e n B I Z | J u n e 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m P O W E R 2 5 : H e a l t h c a r e 2 0 2 1 patients and vaccinated thousands in the community to prevent infection. e Catholic, not-for-profit, acute care, community teaching hospital has been serving the Waterbury region for more than a century. It is part of Trinity Health Of New England. St. Mary's, which is licensed for 347 beds, is a level two trauma center, offering cardiac and stroke care and the region's only pediatric emergency care unit. e hospital also offers the daVinci Robotic Surgery System. Before taking the president's role, Schneider served as St. Mary's chief medical officer and president of Franklin Medical Group, the hospital-owned physician group, for seven years. As an administrator, Schneider has worked to expand and increase healthcare services. He recruited the hospital's first subspecialists in endoscopic ultrasound procedures and in colorectal surgery. While leading Franklin Medical Group, he grew the provider roster and helped establish five urgent care centers, including in Cheshire, Naugatuck, Wolcott and two in Waterbury, with the aim of making care available close to patients' homes. Anne Diamond, President, Bridgeport Hospital Anne Diamond joined Bridgeport Hospital in September 2019 as its new president, following a nationwide search. At the time, hospital administration cited her skills, ability to foster relationships, and background of improving patient care quality and experience as reasons for her selection. Diamond oversees Bridgeport Hospital, which is part of the Yale New Haven Health system, and encompasses a 501-bed acute care hospital with two campuses, in Bridgeport and Milford. e hospital admits some 23,000 patients annually, and its Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital is the only burn center in the state. roughout the pandemic, Diamond has overseen Bridgeport Hospital's care of COVID-19 patients, and its testing and vaccination efforts, which included a vaccination site at the University of Bridgeport. Since joining Bridgeport Hospital, Diamond has been heavily involved in ongoing improvements at its Milford campus, including upgrades to infrastructure and equipment. is past fall, Bridgeport Hospital enhanced its stroke center to expand services for stroke victims who need immediate on- site care. Before coming to Bridgeport Hospital, Diamond had been president of Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam. Before that, she spent seven years at UConn Health's John Dempsey Hospital, with four of those years as its chief executive officer. Michael Sernyak, CEO, Connecticut Mental Health Center Dr. Michael Sernyak, who has been chief executive officer of the Connecticut Mental Health Center since 2009, focuses on getting services to people who need them — wherever they may be. e center cares for some 5,000 people annually, including individuals dealing with psychosis, depression, anxiety, addictions, and other mental health issues. Sernyak specializes in the treatment of those suffering from severe mental illness such as schizophrenia. Under Sernyak's leadership, the center has been routinely doing outreach efforts to the homeless community via its Street Psychiatry team, with a goal of providing much-needed mental health services to a typically underserved population. e aim is to help people who don't have or don't want access to services, but can benefit from them. Sernyak has described this approach of going out into the community to reach those who need it as the "future of public psychiatry." roughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the center had to adapt to continue to provide essential clinical services, to ensure it maintained its inpatient unit and continued to see patients on an urgent basis through in-office visits and via its mobile crisis team. Sernyak is also the deputy chair for clinical affairs and program development in the Yale Department of Psychiatry. Suzanne Lagarde, CEO, Fair Haven Community Health Care Dr. Suzanne Lagarde is CEO of Fair Haven Community Health Care, which provides comprehensive health services to roughly 18,000 residents in the New Haven area. During her tenure, the organization has grown to offer additional clinical sites and services. Lagarde is well-known for her advocacy aimed at improving health care to the underserved. She is a founding member and past president of the nonprofit Project Access-New Haven, which helps the uninsured get access to much-needed specialty health care. Lagarde and her organization were part of a consortium that launched a new primary care center on Sargent Drive in New Haven last October. At the time, Lagarde hailed it as an "unprecedented opportunity" to provide care to low- income and minority residents. Her advocacy has prompted her to serve on several committees aimed at helping the underserved, such as the Steering Committee of Connecticut State Innovation Model, charged with statewide healthcare reform. Her efforts have garnered her accolades, including in 2015, when the Connecticut State Medical Society honored her with the "Healthcare Leadership and Innovator Award." In 2018, she received the American Cancer Society's Lane Adams Quality of Life Award. Lagarde is also an attending gastroenterologist at Yale New Haven Hospital. She was a founding member of CT Gastroenterology Consultants. Diane P. Kelly, President, Greenwich Hospital Diane P. Kelly is president of Greenwich Hospital, a 206- bed community hospital that is part of the Yale New Haven Health system. Kelly took over in the role in June 2020, filling a vacancy caused by the retirement of Norman Roth. Kelly previously had been serving as the hospital's chief operating officer since 2018. When Kelly assumed the president role, Roth described her as an extremely effective leader, who "demonstrated exceptional talent" in guiding the hospital through a historic pandemic. Her peers have lauded her for not only assuming the role of president "without missing a beat" in the middle of the crisis, but also increasing employee satisfaction scores. During the COVID-19 crisis, Kelly has led physicians and staff as they took care of COVID and non-COVID patients. Once a vaccine became available, Kelly called it a "new weapon" in the war against the virus, and led vaccination efforts throughout the region. Marna Borgstrom, CEO of Yale New Haven Health, noted Kelly has many years of experience not just in hospital operations, but in direct patient care. Kelly began her career at the Berkshire Medical Center, starting in frontline nursing roles and ultimately working her way up to chief operating officer, a role she had at BMC for a decade. Kelly is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Alice Forrester, CEO, Clifford Beers Alice Forrester is chief executive officer at the New Haven- based Clifford Beers, which offers programs throughout the region aimed at meeting the mental and emotional needs of children and families. Under her leadership, the agency provides assistance to people dealing with an array of issues, such as trauma due to abuse, neglect or the loss of a loved one. It also helps people suffering from depression, behavioral disorders and family conflict. The agency provides diagnostic testing and therapy. It provides services not only to address mental and physical health, but social determinants of health. Forrester is viewed as a leader in her field, and she has testified before state lawmakers about how negative childhood experiences significantly increase the risk of a lifetime of health and mental health disorders. Because of her knowledge and experience, she is often sought after by government leaders for her input. Following the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, then- Gov. Dannel Malloy appointed her to the Sandy Hook Commission. State leaders wanted her to be involved in the commission's investigation and to recommend changes and prevention strategies. Forrester has served on many other boards with a goal of improving lives, including the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Steering Committee, state of Connecticut Behavioral Health Partnership Oversight Council, Tow Youth Justice Institute Advisory Council, and City of New Haven Substance Abuse Council. Her background has also made her an in-demand public speaker, and she has spoken to audiences nationwide on topics such as trauma and resiliency. Jon-Paul Venoit, President and CEO, Masonicare Jon-Paul Venoit started his career at Masonicare working as a waiter, and gradually worked his way up to president and CEO, a role he has had since 2016. The Wallingford-based company cares for approximately 5,000 Connecticut patients and residents a day. Masonicare has three retirement communities, a skilled nursing center that includes a senior behavioral health hospital, and a statewide home health care and hospice program. Venoit started at the company while he was in high school, and has been there for more than 25 years. During his tenure, he has guided the company through turbulent times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Venoit strategically plans for the future. With occupancy rates dropping in the nursing home industry, Venoit has seen an opportunity to pivot. Masonicare has asked the Department of Social Services to permanently reduce the number of beds at its skilled nursing facility, with a goal of converting four- person rooms to double rooms, and Continued from previous page

• Cover