NewHavenBIZ

12 n e w h a v e n B I Z | M a y 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Leadership Transition O'Connor looks to stabilize finances and grow as new CEO of Yale New Haven Health By Liese Klein H e's got the title, but the office had to wait. Several weeks into his tenure as the CEO of Yale New Haven Health (YNHH), Chris O'Connor was still working out of the office he had occupied as president of the system, located in an administrative building at 789 Howard Ave. His predecessor, Marna Borgstrom, had occupied the CEO's sanctum for 17 years, and the space needed a bit of HVAC updating and other work. "I'll be in there soon enough," O'Connor said. "But for now, it does kind of feel just status quo. I'm coming to work and doing the things I need to do." ose things include convening with the system's board and taking meeting aer meeting to establish his new relationships with stakeholders. "I feel pretty confident about my ability to kind of keep everything going and make sure that we're focused and successful," O'Connor said. His first overall goal is stability: Ensuring that the transition to new leadership happens smoothly, O'Connor said. Borgstrom, who made nearly $2 million a year in salary and benefits as of 2019, spent 43 years in the YNHH system and was recognized as a regional healthcare leader. O'Connor has got big shoes to fill. "Marna Borgstrom had an indelible mark on this system and in our communities," O'Connor said in an April interview. "It's not trying to be Marna Borgstrom but trying to be Chris O'Connor and focus on what are our core elements as a health system." Key focus areas Beyond the transition, O'Connor has outlined five core priorities for his first months as CEO: Maintaining and improving the quality of patient care, financial stability, continuing to grow the system, workforce issues and strengthening YNHH's partnership with the Yale School of Medicine. In terms of patient care, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to play out at Yale New Haven Health, with sicker patients staying longer in hospitals with more complex needs due to delays in treatment during the crisis. A dire staff shortage affecting all of the state's hospitals makes meeting those needs even more challenging. In addition, the volume of revenue- generating surgical and other procedures at the system's five hospitals and 130 clinical sites that are part of its Northeast Medical Group have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, worsening an ongoing financial squeeze — YNHH reported a $45 million loss in the month of February 2022 alone. "at's something that's not sustainable for the long term," O'Connor said. "Luckily, we've put a few dollars away in the bank to help support the needs that we have right now. But overall, we're going to have to find our path to financial stability. at's going to mean making some expense reductions, but also, how do we grow our services back to the levels where they were pre-pandemic?" Adding to expenses are the incentives and programs needed to retain a systemwide workforce of 26,000, many of whom have been pushed to the limit and beyond during the COVID-19 pandemic. YNHH had 3,700 open positions as of April and recruitment challenges continue to limit growth across the healthcare sector. "eir response and their continued resilience is humbling in terms of just how amazing they've been through the COVID-19 pandemic," O'Connor said of the YNHH staff. To keep workers on the job even as pandemic concerns persist has been a challenge, he added. "We've implemented short-term incentive plans that are expensive, but we've felt it critical that we staff the units in an appropriate manner," O'Connor said. "We're going to pull every rabbit out of the hat that we need to do to meet the needs. … It's both trying to give everything that we can to the workforce, but also create a sustainable financial model for us." Leadership on statewide issues Workforce issues and the pandemic's ongoing impact are common challenges to all of the state's hospitals, said Jennifer Jackson, CEO of the Wallingford-based Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA). As chairman of the group's board, O'Connor took an active role from the start in organizing its response to the health emergency. "He was a key part of our pandemic response," Jackson said. "In Connecticut, we really did so much of the work collectively and continue to, sharing clinical best practices and sharing resources. at's really reflected Chris' leadership style — he's very collaborative, very focused on the Chris O'Connor took over as CEO of Yale New Haven Health in late March PHOTO | GARY LEWIS Jennifer Jackson Chris O'Connor President & CEO Yale New Haven Health Education: Bachelor's degree, economics, George Washington University; Master's, health services administration, George Washington University School of Business Age: 51

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