CEO Notes

John Murphy, MD
President and CEO, WCHN

Spring is here – a time of growth and change. Given all the activity underway across the Network, I want to pause to reflect on our shared purpose of caring for others and helping those in need. While it’s easy to get bogged down in burdensome paperwork and busywork associated with new payment models, compliance regulations and quality reporting, let’s not lose sight of the reason we all got into health care – to help others. Granted, many of us may have assumed that we would be practicing in a stable environment for our entire career and nothing could be further from the truth.

Change is everywhere. As we transition to value-based care, pursue clinical integration and adopt a signal electronic health record, we have a choice. We can be part of the solution by actively engaging in the dialogue and participating in the transformational work that must be done or wait on the sidelines to see what others decide and design for us. Naturally, I hope we all find ways to embrace change and help shape our collective future.

On the budget front, in late March, lawmakers negotiated a deficit migration plan which restored approximately $140 million of cuts to CT hospitals, of which $11 million would return to WCHN. Unfortunately, this still leaves us with a tax of $44 million to deal with. Most recently, believe it or not, the Governor defied the legislative assembly and announced in his proposed State budget effective July 1, 2016, the $140 million restoration is eliminated which brings WCHN back to $55 million a year in taxes. What’s happening in Hartford isn’t a financial issue, it’s a moral one. These cuts threaten our existence and place the state’s most vulnerable patients at great risk. We owe it to our founders and our communities to defend what’s best for the people we serve and will continue pursuing our legal options to get the funding restored.

Despite the challenges facing health care, one thing remains constant - our unwavering commitment to our mission to improve the health of every person we serve through the efficient delivery of excellent, innovative and compassionate care. Regardless of the never-ending challenges at the State level, I applaud you for continuing to deliver excellent patient care. Across the network, we continue to measure how our patients view their experience. All three hospital inpatient services are posting higher HCAHPS scores than last year and all three Emergency Departments have met or surpassed their Press Ganey patient satisfaction goals year-to-date. Congratulations on these wonderful accomplishments. Your efforts and commitment to patient care, despite the environmental turbulence, are inspiring.

With great appreciation,

John

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