Hospital Announces Hartford Healthcare Partnership, Plans for Future
By Robin Vinci at March 30, 2024 | 3:21 pm | Print
Calling it an historic night, the Hospital of Central Connecticut (HCC) and Hartford Healthcare announced their partnership and future plans, transitions and hopes at a chamber meeting Tuesday night.
“This is a process, journey that took well over two years. It needed approval of different agencies,” said Clarence Silvia, president of the HCC. “We began this process because we were looking out into the future and the uncertainty in terms of where healthcare is going. We were looking to make sure we were going to be here far into the future to care for our community. We had no idea before that this would be the most uncertain times in healthcare…We have no idea what our delivery model will be, but it will different. We went with Hartford because of their vision”
Hartford Healthcare President and CEO Elliot Joseph said it was a labor of love to get the difficult process done.
“We’re in an extraordinary exciting time and I believe together this is a moment for us,” said Joseph. “Yes, there will be difficult decisions to make. But, we come together to insure as we tackle difficult decisions like any business that we have choice. This affiliation provides us with great choices.”
He said right now the healthcare system is unaffordable.
“Across America there is a tremendous variation in the quality of care. I assure you in Connecticut the variation and outcome when you are treated with pneumonia, treated with virtually any kind of diagnosis, depends on where you go and who you see,” said Joseph. “Some do high quality at a high cost. Some do high quality at a low cost. As an industry we need to know how to grab hold of the highest quality and lowest cost ways of delivering healthcare and spread those best practices to reduce the unnecessary costs imbedded in the healthcare system.”
He said answers to questions the hospital faces are not going to magically appear.
“We are going to have to invent them,” said Joseph. “I believe this affiliation will help us move forward.”
He said in the top 12 developed countries in the world, US per capita spending is 2-4 times more than any other developed country in the world.
“So, there is enough money in the system,” he said.
In quality health expenditure rankings, the United States was worst or next to worst in 9 of 12 categories.
He said the vision is to be nationally respected for excellence in patient care and most trusted for personalized coordinated care.
He said the organization wants to remove the variation of care patients receive.
“We want to be the GPS for healthcare. To be the organization that most personally trusted for coordinated care,” said Joseph. “We have miles to go before we achieve this. This is a long-term ambition.”
Mayor Timothy Stewart said this affiliation is good for the city.
“Just like in government, were we are looking for ways to do business better, consolidate our services, the same thing is happening here at the hospital,” said Stewart. “It’s a bigger product that will be here right in the heart of our city.”
“This really about the future,” said William Millerick, New Britain Chamber President. “The future of insuring that this great institution, that people hold so personally in the city, will be with us for generations to come.”
