Program areas at Hartford Healthcare
Hartford HealthCare Corporation (HHC) serves as the supporting organization of an integrated health care delivery system (the "System") that includes, but is not limited to, the following entities: Hartford Hospital, MidState Medical Center, Natchaug Hospital, Inc., Rushford Center, Inc., The Hospital of Central Connecticut at New Britain General and Bradley Memorial, Windham Community Memorial Hospital, Inc., The William W. Backus Hospital, The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and SVMC Holdings, Inc., each of which are Connecticut nonstock corporations that qualify as tax-exempt organizations under 501(c)(3) of the Code and as public charities under 509(a)(1) of the Code (collectively, the "Supported Organizations"). The purposes for which the Corporation is organized and operated are to promote and support, directly or indirectly, the interests and purposes of the Supported Organizations.HHC is a fully integrated health system that includes 4 community hospitals, 2 acute care and 1 tertiary-care teaching hospital, the state's most extensive behavioral health network, a large multispecialty physician group, a regional home care system, an array of senior care services, a large physical therapy and rehabilitation network and an accountable care organization. Through its institute model, the HHC system offers high standards of care for cancer, heart and vascular services, neuroscience, orthopedics and urology.HHC collaborates with its Supported Organizations to develop and implement programs to improve the future of health care in Southern New England. This includes initiatives to improve the quality and accessibility of health care; create efficiency in internal operations; and provide patients with the most technically advanced and compassionate, coordinated care. Through its supported organizations (hospitals), the Corporation was designed to provide patients with more convenience to healthcare access in their local communities. The hospitals provide these needed medical services to all patients regardless of their abilities to pay.HHC is further integrating care, and increasing access to high-quality services, through its institute model. The Corporation has established the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute, the first in the nation to be named a member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance; the Bone and Joint Institute; the Ayer Neuroscience Institute, with a renowned Headache Center and Movement Disorders Center; the Heart and Vascular Institute; the Tallwood Urology and Kidney Institute; and the Behavioral Health Network. Our institutes provide clinical support, research, and education for our patients, physicians and communities.HHC works jointly with its Supported Organizations to prepare The Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The CHNA is a systematic, data-driven approach to determining the health status, behaviors and needs of residents in Hartford HealthCare's service areas. The information garnered from the assessment may be used by Hartford HealthCare to inform decisions and guide efforts to improve community health and wellness. Hartford HealthCare operates in five Community Benefit regions Central Region (Hospital of Central Connecticut & MidState Medical Center), East Region (Backus Hospital, Natchaug Hospital & Windham Hospital), Hartford Region (Hartford Hospital), Northwest Region (Charlotte Hungerford Hospital) and Fairfield Region (St. Vincent's Medical Center). Even though all regional hospitals complete their own CHNA process and identify priorities relevant to their respective service areas, the CHNA is strategically guided and overseen by the Hartford Healthcare system to insure alignment with organizational mission and vision for community health improvement. Every hospital within HHC system completes and files their own schedule H to demonstrate the investment in community benefit work. However, all the activities and monetary value presented on individual schedules is directly supported by the system and closely connected to the work of the other hospitals within Hartford HealthCare, while maintaining necessary autonomy to address the needs specific to various communities and demographics served by the system. The collaborative regional approach has been decades in the making across Connecticut. The Hartford HealthCare (HHC) regional approach improves the efficiency of the CHNA process and utilizes essential components of collaborative partnerships including: * Creating a vision that is broadly understood* Working across organizational boundaries* Including those most affected by health challenges in solution-creation* Utilizing ongoing planning and joint accountability to measure changeThe regional approach includes partners within and across regions, hospital services areas, and community-based health equity champions. Recognizing the need to reduce and eliminate health disparities and to increase diversity at the leadership and governance levels of health care and other local organizations is a central and necessary first step in community health improvement. The second step to improving health equity is to collect and use data about race, ethnicity, and language preference to develop a shared understanding of the challenges in the community. Education about cultural sensitivity is also required. The HHC regional teams involved a team of health "Equity Champions" representing multiracial or other marginalized communities to help ensure the research is reflective of the community perspectives.The Hartford HealthCare Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) serves as a component in the overall efforts to improve community health and health equity in each of the seven-hospital service areas. It is a process that provides a means of identifying and collecting community data while engaging community members in both the data collection and the prioritization of collaborative efforts for improving the well-being of the area. The ultimate purpose of the HHC CHNA is to improve community health and to do so in an effective and efficient way. The supporting objectives are to do the following: 1. Enhance Community Engagement and Better Incorporate the Consumer's Voice - CHNA/CHIP process leads to continuous and trusting feedback loops with diverse populations and enhances our methods for on-going engagement with the communities we serve. 2. Grow and Sustain our Community-based Partnerships - CHNA/CHIP process leads to more formalized partnerships with regional and community organizations and collaborations, and more meaningful relationships with key community opinion leaders. 3. Align Community Health with our Equity Value and Across the Regions - CHNA/CHIP process leads to a greater sense of team and purpose within HHC, assures each region is equitably resourced, and that collectively we know and understand more about identifying community health needs and improving health outcomes. 4. Bring Greater Clarity and Social Impact to our Community Health Work - CHNA/CHIP process leads to more effective, justified, measurable, and reportable interventions across our collective CHIPs and inspires and informs our social investment, sponsorship, and donation activities.For FY23, The System Hospitals reported community expenditures of approximately $419M, an approximate 23% increase. Through Hartford Hospital, HHC provides the state's first critical air helicopter service, called LIFE STAR. Our LIFE STAR program has been an integral service for more than 35 years. With nearly 40,417 flights and more than 49,400 patients served, we take pride in knowing countless lives have been saved thanks to our talented crew and extraordinary capabilities.As a system, Hartford HealthCare, is an economic engine for the state of Connecticut. We are the third-largest employer in the state, and our ongoing investment in capital programs and projects provides jobs, enhances access to care and improves the quality of life for all state residents.In all, Hartford HealthCare proudly serves a majority of Connecticut's cities and towns. The Corporation was designed to provide a high degree of access to quality services, offering patients, customers and clients with compassionate, coordinated care, close to home.