UConn Health center to be studied for strategic future

Faced with a long history of financial problems, the UConn Health center will undergo a strategic evaluation to determine its future direction, officials said Wednesday.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced that a healthcare investment consulting firm will be hired to examine the operations of John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington and all aspects of the UConn Health complex, including its academic, research and public service missions.

“UConn Health is one of the leading medical centers in the Northeast, and the research and developments being performed there are transforming modern healthcare,” Lamont said. “The formation of this strategic vision will help this institution successfully thrive and lead in this field for another generation.”

The financial problems at the health center have been a long-running issue with the Connecticut legislature, dating back at least to 2000 and have continued for the terms of the past four governors. The health center sought millions in additional funding as lawmakers said for years that the fringe benefits for state employees at the John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington have traditionally been far beyond those at similar hospitals.

“I am proud of the dramatic strides UConn Health has made over the past several years to grow revenues and improve our fiscal outlook,” Maric said in a statement released by Lamont’s office. “We are confident we can meet the state’s objective to operate with increasing efficiency while continuing to successfully carry out our core missions. We will work cooperatively to inform the consultant’s work, and we are always open to ways to enhance and grow the enterprise while also ensuring long-term fiscal sustainability. Our leadership team is extraordinary and our workforce second to none.”

Finances have long been an issue. One of the key problems for UConn was that a Superior Court judge ruled in 2021 that a Bristol couple should receive $37.6 million from a medical malpractice lawsuit after an insemination procedure went wrong at UConn Health. One child died in utero in January 2015, while her twin brother will need lifelong medical care after sustaining a brain injury, according to the lawsuit.

Superior Court Judge Mark H. Taylor, a well-known former attorney for the state Senate Democrats before ascending to the bench, wrote in the 107-page ruling that the court “agrees with the vast majority of Superior courts, concluding that a physician providing obstetric care owes a direct duty to a mother to prevent harm to her child during gestation and delivery.”

UConn officials said the size of the ruling, which included both economic and non-economic damages, had been unexpected.

The ruling has been appealed and is awaiting a decision by the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com