www.HartfordBusiness.com • February 19, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 3
Newsmakers
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Energy deficiencies
"I'll be the first to admit
I did something last year I
wasn't proud of. I understand
why our leadership felt
compelled to find some way to
close the budget gap, but this
was not the way to do it."
State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg (D-Westport)
on his plea to lawmakers to at least partially
restore a $175 million raid from the state's energy
efficiency programs. Steinberg was among the
lawmakers who approved the raids last October.
MetLife's mea culpa
"We can and will do
better. We are rigorously
addressing the situation and
are committed to significantly
improving our operational
performance to better serve
our customers and strengthen
shareholders' confidence in our organization."
MetLife CEO, President and Chairman Steven
A. Kandarian on the insurer's disclosure that it
failed to pay thousands of annuity policyholders
their monthly benefits over an 11-year period.
Dr. Rina Garcia | Physician, Iora Primary Care
By John Stearns
jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com
Few people locally outside Hartford HealthCare
(HHC) may know about Iora Health, which provided
care for HHC employees and their families from
2015 to Aug. 2017, but now
serves the broader public,
albeit a focused niche.
Iora Primary Care, part of
Boston-based Iora Health,
opened its first public
office in Connecticut last
September to serve patients
65 and over on Medicare.
It's in Hartford's Avery
Heights senior community,
but is not exclusive to those residents.
Dr. Rina Garcia, with Iora since 2015 and on
Yale's internal medicine faculty before that, is
the office's sole doctor for now. The team also
includes health coaches, a behavioral health
specialist, nurse and more.
While Iora's contract with HHC expired, Iora
maintains a good relationship with HHC and
connects to its electronic medical records,
Garcia said.
"Providing our patients with access to the best
hospitals and specialists, and tightly coordinated
with them, is vitally important to our high-impact,
relationship model," she said. That model has driven
high satisfaction rates, fewer hospitalizations and,
often, lower patient costs, she noted.
Iora — named after a colorful songbird in
Sri Lanka where Iora's co-founder and CEO is
from — hopes to spread its wings with more
Connecticut offices for older adults. Iora Health,
founded in 2010, has 24 offices in seven states.
What makes Iora different than other providers?
We have a team to support patients and their
needs that are often beyond a typical doctor's
definition of primary care. We spend more time
with patients to get to know them and help
them live better lives versus just focusing on a
symptom. We treat the full person with groups
and classes and other activities.
Why did Iora focus on Medicare patients over 65?
Because these people often need more support
and time that we can give.
What's the biggest challenge facing Iora?
Getting the word out about us and the
differences in what we provide.
What's the competitive landscape like?
There are other primary care doctors, but I'm
not sure if there's anyone quite like us, focused
on serving the older generation's needs.
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SimsburyBank_QtrHoriz_HBJ_FEB2018.indd 1 2/8/18 2:07 PM
Dr. Rina Garcia
