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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n1) Managed Care<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
As you are aware we engaged Huron to help us negotiate with four health plans: ConnectiCare, United Healthcare, Aetna, and Cigna. The negotiations were difficult, as illustrated by the fact that we terminated and went fully out of network with Aetna,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We also terminated and went into a 60-day cooling off period with ConnectiCare, and We went right up to the final day with Cigna. We were however ultimately successful and I would like to thank our CFO Jeff Geoghegan, and his team members Sarah Ginetti and Christine Masotti for their great work in pressing for fair reimbursement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2) Philanthropy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This is another good news story. If you recall, we partnered more closely with the UConn Foundation and invested in additional fundraiser positions to bolster UConn Health\u2019s fundraising. Our aspirational goal was to raise $19 million in FY 2026, increasing to $50 million in FY 2030. As you can see from the graph below, in FY 26 we are at $25.4 million, which is more than double where we were in FY25 and represents our most successful fundraising year on record. Recent wonderful news is that last week a donor made a pledge of $10 million for our soon-to-be-launched Institute for AI Healthcare Innovation. I would also like to highlight two other gifts, namely:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- $3 million gift to establish the Barbara C. Setlow Health Careers Opportunity Program<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- $1 million gift to establish the Chase-Bear-Dyer Advanced Triage Unit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The latter gift was made by Cheryl Chase, vice chair of our Board of Directors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I would like to sincerely thank the entire team at the UConn Foundation, and particularly Daniel Sullivan, senior associate VP for development, Michael Van Sambeck, VP for principal giving, and Amy Yancey, president and CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\n3) Project Thrive and the FY 26 Budget<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I know that you likely don\u2019t need a reminder that we started the year with a $46.7 million gap in our budget due to state cuts in funding. With your help, both on the revenue generation and cost-saving side, we were able to find the $46.7 million and balance the budget. My thanks to you, the deans, and my senior executive team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4) Institute for Healthcare AI Innovation<\/h2>\n\n\n\nI mentioned the AI institute in my last update and in the update on philanthropy, so I won\u2019t go into detail here. You can see the high-level strategy below. We are very excited about it and I will keep you updated as we move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n5) Organic Clinical Growth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6) 23 additional beds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The below graphic for John Dempsey hospital shows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Our Inpatient discharges were 11% greater than budgeted.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Other key growth metrics were at or above budget except for the Outpatient surgery center, which although busy was 4% behind budget.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Not on this graphic is UConn Medical Group (UMG), which grew by 3.7%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPartnerships:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
7) UConn Health-Waterbury<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
UConn Health Waterbury Hospital, which is part of our partnership (the UConn Health Community Network), is seeing three-month average hospital discharges, ED visits, and total surgeries increasing compared to last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8) Bristol Hospital<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Bristol Hospital has signed a letter of intent and we hope to be able to bring them into the UConn Health Community Network by end of this calendar year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
9) Day Kimball Hospital<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Day Kimball Hospital has also signed a letter of Intent and like Bristol we hope to be able to bring them into the UConn Health Community Network by end of this calendar year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
10) Solnit Hospital<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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- On April 15, 2026, the hospital license for the Albert J. Solnit Hospital in Middletown was successfully transferred from the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) to UConn John Dempsey Hospital\u2019s license.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Solnit is a state-administered psychiatric facility in Middletown for Connecticut\u2019s adolescents 13-17 years old.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The hospital is licensed for 50 beds, but routinely has a census of 25 to 30.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
A key difference between the Solnit partnership and UConn Health Waterbury is that Solnit is part of JDH, the public hospital, not the UConn Health Community Network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So again thank you everyone for a great FY 26.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turning now to FY 27, which will begin on July 1. From our strategic plan we completed this year, we have 13 enterprise-wide initiatives<\/a> and 90-plus department-specific initiatives<\/a>. Fortunately many of these initiatives, particularly at the departmental level, are already underway. I also want to emphasize that we have another, even larger \u00a0Project Thrive initiative, as we are facing a projected budget shortfall of $54.3 million. This is largely related to the state approving collective bargaining increases but not funding them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also extending into FY 27 is our master planning effort to make the best use of our space throughout our campus as we continue our growth. Our VP for Facilities Tom Vaccarelli is working with the firm HKS on an assessment that could lead to some combination of building, leasing, relocating, and otherwise optimizing our space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nFY 27 will bring its challenges, but also, much to be excited about, especially as we continue to grow the UConn Health Community Network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you missed the town hall, or would like to go back and hear something again, you can find the video on The Hub<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nMonday we\u2019re holding a grand opening at our new Torrington office<\/a>, at 507 E. Main St. As you may know, we had a soft opening in April, when we relocated our internal medicine practice, led by Dr. Jonathan Moseley, from our previous Torrington location. We have a number of rotating specialties there, including orthopedics and sports medicine, spine, and vascular medicine, plus radiology and now blood draw too. We\u2019re very excited about our expansion in this location and look forward to continued growth and service within this community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course a great deal of work goes into relocating several practices, including renovating the space to accommodate them. Special thanks to Anne Horbatuck, our COO of UMG and AVP for ambulatory operations, project managers Kevin Norton and Dave Riggles, and, from UMG, Alexandra Schmitt, Amy Chmielewski, Katy Coyle, Kelly Motowidlak, Linda Manzelli, and so many more. Developing a new site is truly a team effort including IT \/ Epic, our pharmacy, our call center and telecom, and our teams from facilities, regulatory and compliance, finance, supply chain, marketing, and communications. We thank you all for your detailed quality work, diligence and painstaking efforts to make this happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nThis week I had the pleasure of speaking at our 11th<\/sup> annual Emergency Stroke Care Symposium. Over these 11 years we have grown into a regional \u2014 I\u2019d even say national \u2014 leader in stroke care prevention, and this conference brings together clinicians and first responders from beyond UConn Health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWe are proud that our stroke program continues to be recognized by the American Heart Association\/American Stroke Association. Since 2015, we have received the Get With The Guidelines\u00ae Stroke Gold Plus Award, reflecting our ongoing commitment to excellence in stroke care. And for the last four years now and counting, we also have made the AHA\u2019s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, The Joint Commission just recertified us as a Primary Stroke Center Performing Mechanical Thrombectomy. Our thrombectomy program continues to expand, and through new partnerships we are able to provide this life-saving treatment to patients throughout the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our stroke program, under the leadership of Dr. Priya Narwal (right in photo, along with, from left, Dr. Gracia Mui, Brooke Medel, and Mary Kate Buckley), is most certainly a point of pride for our institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nOur UConn Health Half Marathon, 10K & 5K, was last weekend, and estimates are it drew more than 2,700 people to Simsbury, on top of the 2,300 people who participated in one of the races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThank you to the 60 employee volunteers and to those representing different areas for some important community outreach, which included free skin cancer screenings and education and advice around topics including women\u2019s health, orthopedics and sports medicine, neurology, and dental medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nI briefly mentioned this last week, Dr. Christopher Conner is a 2026 Connecticut Hospital Association Healthcare Hero, and this week we honored him at CHA\u2019s annual meeting. Dr. Conner (pictured with his wife, Chelsea) is a neurosurgeon and pioneer in vagus nerve stimulation therapy for stroke recovery and also for treating pediatric epilepsy. He also was instrumental in advancing legislation to establish the UConn Health Center for Neuromodulation, which will focus on treating veterans and first responders, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Conner exemplifies the very definition of a healthcare hero through his innovation, leadership, and unwavering commitment to advancing patient care. His work is transforming lives and expanding access to treatments that were previously unavailable in Connecticut. Please read more on UConn Today<\/a>, and join me in congratulating Dr. Conner on this well-deserved honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSpeaking of honors, I\u2019m pleased to share that this week our video team won a regional Emmy Award! It was for the video \u201cUConn\u2019s Human Anatomy Lab: Honoring Life Through Learning,\u201d which won in the \u201cEducation\/Schools \u2013 Short and Long Form Content\u201d category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Please join me in congratulating (from left) Ryan Bernat, Ethan Giorgetti, and Carolyn Pennington for their award-winning work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n