Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1527097
HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 23 force shortage; financial hardship; historic inflation in the cost of drugs, supplies, electricity, heat, infra- structure, and labor; sicker patients with more severe health needs; burdensome commercial insurance practices; increasing state adminis- trative burdens; and Medicare and Medicaid underpayments)." That legislation (Senate Bill 9) failed to pass through the legislature this year. Over the past few years, Middlesex Health has added several services, including becoming 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 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 university. Kurt Barwis A nother one of the few inde- pendent hospitals remaining in Connecticut is Bristol Hospital, led by Kurt Barwis, who has been CEO for the past 18 years. The parent company, Bristol Health, which Barwis also oversees, includes the 164-bed Bristol Hospital in addi- tion to a medical group, long-term care facility and home and hospice care services. The past few years haven't been easy for the hospital, which was hit hard by the pandemic. Bristol Health has been working with consultants to get advice on how to turn around its struggling financial position. Those experts have made multiple recommendations, from fixing inefficiencies to using artificial intel- ligence to quickly appeal insurance claim denials. In March, Barwis announced that Bristol Health eliminated 60 positions as part of a broader cost-cutting effort. The staff reductions were esti- mated to result in approximately $6.1 million in savings, and they came after Bristol Health reported a $12.8 million operating loss in fiscal 2023. "These decisions were extremely difficult and painful to make," Barwis said in March. "They were made after careful consideration of alter- natives and with the best interest of our patients and the community we serve. It is important to note that these changes did not include any reduction in core services, nor will they impact the safety or quality of the services we provide." Connecticut's hospital industry has faced headwinds coming out of the pandemic, including dramatically rising costs, work- force shortages and a sicker patient population. Barwis has expressed confidence his health network will success- fully make it through its current financial challenges. However, a future merger with another health- care system isn't off the table, he has said. Before joining Bristol Hospital in 2006, Barwis served as senior vice president and chief operating officer of St. Mary's Hospital of St. Mary's County in Leonardtown, Maryland, from 2003 to 2006. Barwis, who was also a CPA in Pennsylvania, received an MBA from La Salle University in Philadelphia, and a bachelor's degree in accounting from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Lynn Ricci L ynn Ricci, president and CEO of New Britain-based the Hospital for Special Care (HSC), recently announced she plans to retire next year. She'll be missed because she's been a top healthcare executive in Connecticut. The hospi- tal's board credited Ricci with signifi- cantly growing program services, as HSC has become the fourth-largest free- standing, long-term acute care hospital in the U.S., and one of only two in the nation that serves both adults and children. It now serves patients from the entire state of Connecticut as well as 24 other states throughout the country, providing advanced care and rehabilitation in pulmonary care, acquired brain injury, medically complex pediatrics, neuromuscular disorders including ALS research, spinal cord injury, comprehensive heart failure, and comprehensive inpatient and outpatient treatment for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Ricci has been with the hospital since 2004, and was elevated to CEO in 2015. She will retire once a successor is chosen and onboarded. Ricci holds a bachelor's, master's and sixth-year degree in psychology. Annie Lamont C onnecticut's First Lady Annie Lamont is considered one of the U.S.' top healthcare investors, according to Forbes, which named her to its 2024 Midas List, a ranking of the world's top tech investors. Lamont, who co-founded Stam- ford-based investment firm Oak HC/ FT in 2014, ranked No. 86 on the list, which she has been on five times. Forbes cred- ited her with making early bets in the healthcare and fintech space, including a roughly 20x return from her 2001 initial investment in AthenaHealth, when the company was sold to two private equity firms 20 years later. She also invested in an Athen- aHealth co-founder's later venture, Devoted Health, now valued at $12.9 billion. Her initial $20 million invest- ment is worth $1 billion to her and her backers at Oak HC/FT, according to Forbes. Lamont also made early bets on primary care provider VillageMD. Lamont said the secret to her sustained success is "an ability to spot and embrace new tech cycles," the publication reported. Oak HC/FT is only the latest chapter in her more than 40-year investment career. She began working as a paralegal at a small law firm after graduating from college in 1979, but quit after six months and took a job at a small venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, according to Forbes. Later, she joined Oak Investment Partners and established its life sciences and healthcare arm. As the internet gained traction, she pivoted to investing in tech-based healthcare services by 2000. She appeared on the Midas List for the first time in 2008. Forbes said her inclusion reflects "the long game approach that Lamont takes to startup investing." Recently, Lamont has backed healthcare companies that are focused on generative AI, including Notable, which provides automation tools for patient check-ins and autho- rizations, and Trovo Health, which sells AI assistants for clinicians. Forbes estimates Lamont's net worth at $650 million, ranking her tied for No. 54 on the Self-Made Women List in May. POWER 25 | Healthcare Sunday, October 27 Bushnell Park, Hartford, CT Ending breast cancer needs All of Us. Connecticut MORE THAN PINK Walk ® komen.org/ConnecticutWalk #MoreThanPink Register now