Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | NOVEMBER 17, 2025 23 POWE R 25 | HE ALTH CARE few remaining independent health sys- tems. Post-pandemic pressures have taken a toll on Bristol Health, which includes the 164-bed Bristol Hospital and a network of medical group practices, among other services. Bristol Health reported operating losses of $21.4 million in fiscal 2023 and $10.9 million in 2024, and announced staff reduc- tions last year to save about $6.1 million. There were more cuts this year. In April, Barwis disclosed the health system eliminated about 60 full-time equivalent positions and instituted other efficiencies, part of a broader set of corrective actions projected to improve operations by more than $14 million annually. The painful decisions, he said, allowed Bristol Health to post a $637,000 surplus in the first five months of fiscal year 2025, its first stretch of positive results after four consecutive years in the red. Executives, including Barwis, also took a voluntary 6% pay cut to help offset staff merit raises. Barwis emphasized that no core services were cut, and patient safety was not compromised. He noted the gains came despite inflationary pressures on wages, drugs and supplies, and amid continued Medicaid funding challenges. A CPA by training and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Execu- tives, Barwis has led Bristol Health since 2006 and remains a prominent voice in state healthcare policy. VALERIE POWELL-STAFFORD V alerie Powell-Stafford has completed her first year as a healthcare leader in the region. In May 2024, she was named Hartford market president for Trinity Health Of New England, for which she leads St. Francis Hospital. She officially started in that role on June 3 last year, when she succeeded Thomas Burke. In addition to leading the 617-bed St. Francis Hospital, Powell-Stafford also over- sees Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital in Hartford. In August, she was appointed to the Connecticut Hospital Association's Board of Trustees. She also serves on the board of the MetroHartford Alliance. Powell-Stafford has more than 25 years of experience in health care. Before joining Trinity Health, she served as president and CEO of HCA Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. During her tenure, HCA was named one of Healthgrades "America's Best 250 Hospitals" and earned the Patient Safety Excellence Award for 2024, ranking among the top 5% of all hospitals for clinical performance and patient safety. Before joining HCA Northside, Pow- ell-Stafford served in a number of lead- ership roles with other HCA Healthcare Florida hospitals, including as CEO of Englewood Community Hospital, chief op- erating officer and ethics and compliance officer at Blake Medical Center and chief operating officer of Doctors Hospital. She received her master's degree in health science administration from the University of Michigan. She is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, currently serving as ethics committee chair. pressures for providers, particularly inde- pendent systems such as Middlesex that do not have the scale of larger hospital networks. In fiscal 2024, Middlesex Heath reported $556.4 million in operating revenue and an operating surplus of $2.2 million, accord- ing to audited financial statements. Beyond the advocacy efforts, Middlesex Health earlier this year partnered with Boston-based Clearway Health to open an outpatient specialty pharmacy in an effort to improve access to specialty medications for community patients. A certified public accountant, Capece earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and an MBA from UConn. He began his career at Arthur Andersen as an audit man- ager before serving as director of account- ing at Bridgeport Hospital. He joined Middlesex Hospital in 1998 and held roles including chief financial officer, chief operating officer and senior vice president before becoming president and CEO. therapy Nurtec ODT, a top-prescribed U.S. migraine medicine in its class. The New Haven-based company won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Ad- ministration in 2020 and launched Nurtec ODT as its first commercial product. The drug's popularity drew the attention of Pfizer Inc., and in October 2022 it ac- quired Biohaven for $11.6 billion in cash. But Coric didn't just take the money and run. Instead, he launched a newly indepen- dent clinical-stage company in New Haven called Biohaven Ltd. His 2.0 version of Biohaven is working to develop 12 therapeutics to treat 21 differ- ent neurological disorders. Three of those drugs have reached the final testing phase before they can be brought to market. Biohaven also expanded its presence in New Haven. In 2022, it bought the former landmark Quinnipiack Club at Church and Orange streets for $4.1 million. And in May last year, it purchased 209 Church St. for $2.35 million, an 8,900-square-foot building located near Biohaven's headquarters at 215 Church St. Coric has decades of drug discovery and clinical development experience, including at the Yale School of Medicine and Bris- tol-Myers Squibb. He earned his medical degree from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and a bachelor's degree in neurobiology and physiology at the University of Connecticut. VINCENT CAPECE JR. V incent Capece Jr. has served as president and CEO of Middlesex Health and its 275-bed Middlesex Hospital since 2010. He leads one of Connecticut's few remaining independent health systems, which provides cancer care, emergency, surgical, urgent and primary care ser- vices, and is a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. Capece has continued to press state leaders on the financial challenges facing hospitals in the wake of the pandemic. In testimony to the General Assembly's Public Health Committee in March, he said the industry is still grappling with higher labor expenses, rising costs for drugs, electric- ity and other supplies, and an increase in patients with more complex health needs. He argued that proposed legislation to expand state oversight of hospital transac- tions would add new layers of regulation without offering financial relief or solutions to workforce shortages. Capece said those factors have created "staggering" GINA CALDER G ina Calder was appointed president of Hartford Health- Care's central region in September 2024. A former hospital president in Missouri, her appointment made her HHC's first Black woman regional president. She succeeded former central region President Gary Havican. HHC's central region includes MidState Medical Center in Meriden and The Hospi- tal of Central Connecticut in New Britain MidState Medical Center this year joined another HHC facility, St. Vincent's Medi- cal Center in Bridgeport, in earning four advanced certifications from The Joint Commission, placing them among only six hospitals nationwide to achieve that distinction. Calder previously served as president of Barnes-Jewish St. Peter's Hospital and Progress West Hospital, both in Missouri and members of the BJC Health System that serves Missouri, Illinois and Kansas. She is a graduate of Yale University, where she earned three degrees — a bach- elor's in psychology, a master's in public health in health policy and administration, and an MBA. She then completed both her administra- tive residency and a fellowship with Yale New Haven Health and worked there for 14 years. That included 12 years at Bridgeport Hospital, where she held various leadership roles, including vice president of ambu- latory services and administrator of the hospital's Milford campus. VLAD CORIC V lad Coric seemingly never rests. He has led one of Connecticut's most successful homegrown bioscience companies, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, which developed the blockbuster migraine KAT KAYSER-BRICKER K at Kayser-Bricker is the chief scientific officer of New Haven biotech Halda Therapeu- tics, and was honored in December as Entrepreneur of the Year in the bioscience industry. The award is given annually by New Haven-based BioCT, the state's bioscience booster organization, and law firm Shipman & Goodwin LLP, which has an office in New Haven. It honors outstanding inno- vators who are "imaginative, passionate and game-changers in Connecticut life sciences." Halda Therapeutics is developing a novel class of cancer therapies called RIPTAC (Regulated Induced Proximity Targeting Chimeras) therapeutics, which are small molecules that selectively target cancer cells and "kill" them. The firm has raised $226.2 million over five funding rounds, including $126 million in August 2024. Before joining Halda Therapeutics as an original team member, Kayser-Bricker spent 10 years as a scientific leader at Continued on page 25

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