Hartford HealthCare said Monday it is adopting a new regional executive structure that will consolidate resources and allow for quicker, more flexible decision making.
The change includes adoption of three new regions—East, Central and Hartford— that will be overseen by hospital executives within the Hartford HealthCare network.
Hartford HealthCare is the parent company to several hospitals and other health care facilities including Hartford Hospital, The Hospital of Central Connecticut, and MidState, Windham and Backus hospitals.
The biggest change involves current Hartford Hospital CEO Jeff Flaks, who will drop that title to become chief operating officer of Hartford HealthCare. The health care system previously did not have a COO.Â
Other changes include:
•     Dr. Stuart Markowitz, currently the chief medical officer of Hartford Hospital, will become HHC senior vice president and the president for the Hartford Region, which includes Hartford Hospital, Hartford HealthCare Rehabilitation Network and academics. Markowitz will be the chief executive at Hartford Hospital.
•     Lucille Janatka, HHC senior vice president and president and CEO of MidState Medical Center, will become president for the Central Region, which includes MidState and The Hospital of Central Connecticut. She also will retain oversight of VNA HealthCare and Connecticut Senior Health Services. She will be the chief executive of both MidState and HOCC.
•     Steven Larcen, is HHC’s senior vice president of the HHC Behavioral Health Network, which includes the Institute of Living, Natchaug Hospital, Rushford and other behavioral health affiliates.
•     David Whitehead is HHC’s senior vice president and president of the East Region, making him the chief executive of both Backus and Windham hospitals. In addition, he will assume oversight for Clinical Laboratory Partners. He also will lead the system’s business and ambulatory network development efforts.
•     The HHC Cancer Institute will partner with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and be co-led by Donna M. Handley, a registered nurse and a physician-in-chief. Handley will be the institute’s vice president of operations.
Flaks will be responsible for the three regions and system-wide service lines.
