Hartford Business Journal

25 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 18, 2021 POWER 25 HEALTHCARE a major expansion of UConn Health's John Dempsey Hospital facil- ities during the past decade, backed by more than $250 million approved by state lawmakers at the outset of the Malloy administration in 2011. Vincent Capece Jr. Late this summer Vincent Capece Jr. joined the growing list of local hospital CEOs to mandate vaccines for employees. "As an organization, we believe this is the right thing to do," said Cap- cece, who is the president and CEO of Mid- dlesex Health. "The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effec- tive, and the decision to man- date vaccinations was made with the health and safety of our patients, staff and visitors in mind." Capece has been on the frontlines of shepherding his hospital through the pandemic. And in some ways his job has been harder than others be- cause he leads one of the few stand- alone hospitals left in Connecticut. That means he doesn't have the financial resources available to major health systems like Hartford Health- Care or Yale New Haven Health. But that hasn't stopped Middlesex Health from traditionally recording healthy profit margins. For example, in fiscal 2019, the most recent data available from the Office of Health Strategy, Middlesex Health recorded a $26 million surplus on $473.5 million in total operating revenue. Capece has also continued to in- vest in Middlesex, building a $28-mil- lion medical center in Westbrook in 2014 and expanding it in recent years. Capece was also a driving force be- hind the creation of a partnership with other independent hospitals called the Value Care Alliance, whose members have formed an accountable care organization and used their combined leverage to purchase discounted supplies. Kurt Barwis Another of the few independent hospitals remaining in Greater Hart- ford is Bristol Hospital, where Kurt Barwis has been at the helm as CEO for the past 15 years. For the leader of a one-hospital system, Barwis has not shied away from the spotlight. He's been outspoken, for example, in defending hos- pital executive salaries and on the challenges of staying independent in an ever-consolidating industry. Bristol was set to be acquired by Tenet in 2014, along with several other Connecticut hospitals, but the deal fell apart and Barwis has kept the hospital operating on its own since then, continuing to invest in capital projects like a 60,000-square-foot ambulatory care center completed in 2019, and an ongoing $15-million overhaul of its emergency department that began just months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In fiscal 2019, the latest available data from the Office of Health Strat- egy, Bristol Health posted a $16.6 million deficit on $149 million in total operating revenue. For the past year-plus Barwis' focus has been on handling the pandemic. He also tested positive for COVID-19. Barwis' case, which occurred early during the pandemic, was mild, and he was back to work in less than a week. He is also one of many Connecti- cut hospital CEOs that is requiring his staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in hopes of diminishing the spread of the virus, particularly the delta variant. During a press conference with the governor in early July, Barwis told the media that his hospital system had administered more than 25,000 vaccines to the local community. Jennifer Jackson With $29.8 billion in annual eco- nomic impact and about 109,000 em- ployees, hospitals are a mighty piece of Connecticut's economy. Playing point for the industry is Jen- nifer D. Jackson, president and CEO of the Con- necticut Hospital Association, who for the past 20-plus years has coordinated relations be- tween her hos- pital members and state and federal governments — both crucial sources of patient revenues. Most recently, Jackson has helped lead a push to get Connecticut health- care workers vaccinated against COVID-19. In June Jackson announced that the CHA was backing a policy that would require Connecticut healthcare workers to get the COVID vaccine, a decision that prompted many hospitals to say they were requiring workers to get the shot by this fall, or face termination. "Hospitals are leaders in Con- necticut's response to the pandemic and we believe taking this step is in further support of public health and the safety of our patients and work- force," Jackson said at the time. "The science is clear, vaccines are safe and effective, and are proving to be the best way to eliminate the spread of COVID-19 in our state." Jackson has also worked to help get hospitals extra state and federal funding in the wake of the pandemic, which forced healthcare providers early on to cancel elective surgeries — a key revenue driver. In the year before the pandemic struck Connecticut, Jackson oversaw the industry's negotiating strategy in talks with the state that ultimately led to a $1.8-billion settlement over a hos- pital tax implemented by former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, as well as the end of a four-year legal battle that state officials feared could cost Connecticut as much as $4 billion if it proceeded to trial. 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. Karen Lynch Karen Lynch was a longtime senior executive at Hartford health insurer Aetna, rising to the president position following the company's $69-billion merger with Rhode Island-based CVS Health in late 2018. But it didn't take long for her to impress her new corporate parent company. Earlier this year Lynch took over as CVS Health's new CEO and president, replacing Larry J. Merlo, who retired. Lynch will continue to be a major player in determining Aetna's future presence in Connecticut. CVS has pledged to keep Aetna's headquarters in Hartford for at least 10 years and maintain 5,291 employees here for at least four years. What happens after that is anyone's guess. Lynch took over CVS as it was playing a key role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, setting up testing sites and participating in the vaccine distribution. During her tenure at Aetna she put a spotlight on mental health care, and that focus has carried over to her new job. In August CVS Health announced it was expanding a pilot program that of- fers counseling services in its stores in a few select cities, including Houston, Philadelphia and Tampa, Fla. During her career, Lynch has re- ceived numerous accolades, including being named to Fortune's list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Busi- ness, and one of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare in 2017. David Cordani David Cordani leads one of the country's largest health plans, Bloom- field-based Cigna Corp., and he's an outspoken proponent of private insurance being the best way to make affordable healthcare cover- age more widely available in the U.S. And his company took a step this year to increase its pres- ence in Connecti- cut's health insurance marketplace. In April, Cigna announced it was re-entering the state's small group market, launching a new health plan targeted at employers with 50 or fewer workers. Cigna received regulatory approval from the Connecticut Insur- ance Department to begin offering a new small group plan in partnership with New York-based insurance tech- nology company Oscar. The two joined forces to offer a new fully-insured health plan called "Cigna + Oscar." The timing of the new plan was noteworthy because it came as Con- necticut lawmakers were debating the future of the state's health insurance marketplace, including a plan by pro- gressive Democrats to launch a public health plan that would compete with private insurers. Cordani has been a major opponent of a state-run public option, arguing it could threaten the insurance industry's 50,000 jobs in Connecticut. In 2019, when a similar proposal was being debated in the state legislature, he re- portedly threatened to relocate Cigna's corporate headquarters elsewhere. The legislation died that same day. Cigna denied any threat was made, but the episode still underscored the power health insurers have in Con- necticut, where they are one of the region's largest employers. Cordani oversees about 4,500 em- ployees in Connecticut. Reginald Eadie & Thomas Burke Trinity Health of New England CEO Reginald Eadie and St. Francis Hos- pital President Thomas Burke have emerged as strong leaders in tumultuous times for the health- care industry. St. Francis is the flagship of the Connecticut operations of Trinity, a national Catholic health system. Eadie leads Trinity's New England region — which also includes Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury and Vincent Capece Jr. Kurt Barwis Jennifer Jackson Karen Lynch David Cordani Reginald Eadie Thomas Burke

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