NewHavenBIZ

20 n e w h a v e n B I Z | J u n e 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Healthcare 2022 Christopher O'Connor, CEO, Yale New Haven Health As the new CEO of the Yale New Haven Health system, Christopher O'Connor has several priorities he wants to tackle. ey include improving patient care, ensuring the system's financial stability and growth, attracting talent, and building the system's partnerships with the Yale School of Medicine and Yale University. O'Connor officially took the reins from longtime CEO Marna Borgstrom in late March, and now leads an organization with more than 28,000 employees. e system, which reported $5.3 billion in net revenue for fiscal year 2020, includes Yale New Haven Hospital, Bridgeport Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, and Westerly Hospital in Rhode Island. O'Connor has a lengthy history in health care. Before his promotion, he had various roles, including president, executive vice president and chief operating officer. He previously was president and CEO of the Hospital of St. Raphael before it joined Yale New Haven Hospital. O'Connor has been instrumental in guiding the health system through the pandemic. He has led initiatives for the system's growth, including bringing Yale New Haven Hospital and the Hospital of St. Raphael together in 2012. He played a role in the affiliation with Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in 2016 and Bridgeport Hospital's acquisition of Milford Hospital in 2019. Looking forward, O'Connor will be overseeing the system's plans for a new neuroscience center at the St. Raphael campus. He is also involved in the system's efforts to buy two health networks that include three hospitals now owned by Prospect Medical Holdings. e purchase is currently under regulatory review. According to O'Connor, the acquisition of Manchester Memorial, Rockville General in Vernon and Waterbury Hospital would mean better care for patients statewide. Dr. Latha Alaparthi, President, Digestive Health Physicians Association While Dr. Latha Alaparthi is a local gastroenterologist who practices in the New Haven re- gion, she is set to have a widespread impact in her new national role. Locally, Alapa- rthi is the director of committee op- erations at PACT Gastroenterology Center in Hamden, where she treats patients with ailments such as Crohn's disease and gastroenteri- tis. She was named in March to the role of president and board chair of the Digestive Health Physicians Association (DHPA), aer previously serving as its vice president. Alaparthi and members of DHPA's 12-member executive committee will lead the organization's health policy efforts on a national level. Alaparthi is the first woman presi- dent of DHPA, and she took over for Dr. James Weber, who remains on the DHPA executive committee as immedi- ate past president. Weber has called Alaparthi "the perfect person" to continue DHPA's growth and advocacy. e organization has grown to include about 105 GI practices in 39 states, representing more than 2,500 phy- sicians who provide care to more than 3 million patients annually. Alaparthi will lead DHPA as it works to promote accessible, high-quality and cost-efficient care in the independent gastroenterological medical practice setting. DHPA has helped ensure that private practices obtained support from the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic. e organization also has a committee for diversity, equity, and inclusion to focus on eliminating health disparities. When she started as president earlier this year, Alaparthi said she would focus on increasing the representation of wom- en and physicians of color in leadership positions. Dr. Justin Lundbye, President & CEO, Waterbury HEALTH Dr. Justin Lundbye took over as CEO of the Waterbury HEALTH network this

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