Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1527097
HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 9 ON THE RECORD | Q&A So, it was very important to me. Q. How does the central region in Connecticut compare to the Midwest? A. The system that I came from covered three states. … Huge geography, but much less densely populated and a lot more rural communities. So, the market I was responsible for was not as populated as the central region and not as diverse. It absolutely is becoming more diverse, but not in the same way as we have here in the central region, with many other languages spoken in addition to English, and with people from many different national origins. I think the other difference is the way the BJC Health System is struc- tured; it's much more of a hub-and- spoke model. You had a very large academic medical center that most of the (highly specialized) care was based out of. And you often had our other hospitals transferring patients that needed a higher level of care into that center. At Hartford HealthCare, we really make sure we have what the commu- nity needs right where the community is. … To me, that just reflects better where we want to go in health care, how much more integrated we want to be and how much more connected to our community we need to be. Q. What are your early priorities? A. So for me, being brand new, (a key priority) is getting to know everybody. It's making all those connections. It's building all those relationships with the colleagues who are in the central region and do this amazing work, serving our community every day. But it's also our community. It's our partners, it's all my colleagues across Hartford HealthCare, and just folks in the space of health care in general. I'm really just excited about getting completely plugged into the commu- nity here in Connecticut. That is definitely one of my priorities, building relationships, and then also being able to reconnect with folks that I've had relationships with. Q. What's the biggest challenge in your new role? A. So, I would say the biggest chal- lenge is really the stability of our colleagues. How are we supporting our colleagues? How are we making sure they have the tools that they need to serve every day? How are we stemming some of the outflow (of workers) from health care? I think we've seen that really begin during COVID and continue, where people recognize how difficult this work is, even though it's very mean- ingful, it's very impactful. But it's not always easy, and I really want to understand how we can better support and wrap our arms around our colleagues, how we can continue to give them additional skills and strengths that are really going to support them to be able to be successful in the care of our commu- nity, support their aspirations in terms of their career goals, and then also create pathways for people to come into the healthcare space. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19 Run, walk, volunteer or cheer at Connecticut's largest race day! Boosting local business, engaging communities and supporting charities since 1994. HartfordMarathon.com MARATHON /// HALF MARATHON /// TEAM 26.2 RELAY /// CHARITY 5K SEE YOU AT THE ARCH THE HOSPITAL OF CENTRAL CONNECTICUT (2023) OPERATING REVENUE $706.5M LICENSED BEDS 446 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISITS 91,292 EMPLOYEES 2,750 PHYSICIANS ON STAFF 1,002 Source: Hartford HealthCare MIDSTATE MEDICAL CENTER (2023) OPERATING REVENUE $451M LICENSED BEDS 156 EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISITS 52,942 EMPLOYEES 1,532 PHYSICIANS ON STAFF 896