Hartford Business Journal

36 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | October 10, 2022 Hartford Strong. Hartford Healthy. Proudly supporting our city and communities. We congratulate the healthcare Power 25 for their outstanding achievements. 18552 HHC_Health Equity_Hartford Strong with text_HBJ ad_10x6.75.indd 1 18552 HHC_Health Equity_Hartford Strong with text_HBJ ad_10x6.75.indd 1 9/27/22 4:43 PM 9/27/22 4:43 PM POWER 25 IN HEALTHCARE all over the country and will make Con- necticut a destination center for these types of illnesses." Shmerling, who joined Connecticut Chil- dren's in late 2015, is not new to major expansions. He previously oversaw hospital construction at Vanderbilt Children's Hospi- tal and the Children's Hospital of Colorado. In 2017, Shmerling also led the reloca- tion of about 400 Connecticut Children's non-clinical employees to the Candy Cane building in downtown Hartford, a move that freed up clinical space at the hospital's main campus. The Nashville native is well-known in the industry, having held management roles at children's hospitals in five states since 1979. He also chaired the board of the national Children's Hospital Association in 2014. VINCENT CAPECE JR. Vincent Capece Jr. leads Middlesex Health and its flagship Middlesex Hospital, which has traditionally been one of the best fi- nancially performing hospitals in the state. In fiscal 2021, the hospital reported a $7 million operating surplus on $447 million in revenue, accord- ing to the Office of Health Strategy. However, fiscal 2022 has been a greater challenge. Many Connecticut hospitals, including Middlesex Hospital, saw operating losses driven by the evaporation of COVID-19 grants, coupled with an inflationary econo- my and rising expenses. "We've got costs going up for a whole variety of reasons, much of which have to do with the impact of the pandemic," Capece said recently "It's kind of thrown all the supply chain into a frenzy. And then I don't know that anybody really has an ex- planation as to what's going on with labor, but there just doesn't seem to be enough people out there." Patient volumes, a main revenue driver, were higher in fiscal 2022 than in the prior year, but still below pre-pandemic levels in many departments, he said. Over the past year, Middlesex Health has added several services, including be- coming the basic life support ambulance provider for the town of Durham. It also created the Middlesex Health Center for Golf Performance, located in Middletown, which assesses and addresses a golfer's biomechanics, helping players of all ages better understand how their body relates to their golf swing Capece is a UConn grad, having received both his bachelor's degree in accounting and MBA from the state's flagship univer- sity, according to his LinkedIn profile. KURT BARWIS Another one of the few independent hospitals remaining in Greater Hartford is Bristol Hospital, led by Kurt Barwis, who has been CEO for the past 16 years. The parent compa- ny, Bristol Health, which Barwis also oversees, includes the 164-bed Bristol Hospital in addition to a medical group, long-term care facility and home and hospice care services. It employs more than 1,700 people. The past few years haven't been easy for the hospital, which has been hit hard by the pandemic. It recorded a nearly $14 million loss in fiscal 2021, largely from declines in admissions, emergency room visits and surgeries. That led the hospital to make layoffs in June. About 10 employees – primarily management and all non-medical staff – were let go. The hospital has also not filled about 20 open positions. Meantime, Bristol Health's executive team, including Barwis, all took 8% salary reductions. Barwis said the moves led to $4 million in immediate savings. The financial pressures have forced the hospital to think more seriously about potential partnerships or mergers, Bar- wis said. "How hard was it to let those people go? Brutally hard," Barwis told Hartford Busi- ness Journal in August. "It's not easy to do and it's gut-wrenching. But, the reality is, as the leader of the organization, I have to make decisions for the overall mission of the hospital." Bristol was set to be acquired by Tenet in 2014, along with several other Connecticut hospitals, but the deal fell apart. Barwis has kept the hospital operating on its own since then, continuing to invest in capital projects like a 60,000-square-foot ambu- latory care center completed in 2019, and a $15-million overhaul of its emergency department that began just months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. For the past few years, Barwis' focus has been on handling the pandemic. Vincent Capece Jr. Kurt Barwis

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