WEEKLY UPDATE: 06/16/26
The 2026 Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) Annual Meeting took place on Thursday, June 11, at the Bristol Event Center with the theme Elevating Excellence. CHA welcomed more than 400 healthcare leaders and staff, state health officials, and community partners to celebrate the world-class care delivered in Connecticut hospitals and health systems and reaffirm our mission to do even better for this generation and the next.
As the outgoing chairman of the CHA Board of Trustees, Patrick Charmel, president and chief executive officer of Griffin Health, delivered remarks reflecting on the significance of and the message behind this year’s event theme, Elevating Excellence.
“Excellence in healthcare is never the work of one person or one role. It is the result of thousands of people working together with a shared commitment to doing what is right for patients. Every patient, every day, every time,” Charmel said.
“It is the physicians, nurses, and clinical teams at the bedside. It is the environmental services staff helping maintain safe healing environments. It is the pharmacists, technicians, food and nutrition teams, transport staff, security personnel, administrators, and so many others whose work often happens behind the scenes but is essential to the delivery of quality care. Every role matters. Every person contributes. And every day, those efforts improve outcomes and change lives.”
New CHA Board of Trustees Chairman and Vice Chairman
Jeffrey Flaks, president and CEO of Hartford HealthCare, succeeds Charmel as the association’s next chairman of the board, and Kathleen Silard, president and CEO of Stamford Health, has been elected to serve as vice chairman.
In his remarks, Flaks underscored the importance of close collaboration and embracing opportunities to learn from each other. He spoke about the rapid evolution of healthcare delivery, as artificial intelligence reshapes clinical care, digital innovation creates new ways to connect with patients, and scientific and technological advancements provide tools to make healthcare more responsive to the needs of those we serve.
“Over the past year, we have seen what is possible when Connecticut healthcare speaks with a unified voice,” Flaks said. “During a period marked by uncertainty and complexity, hospitals and health systems across our state came together around a shared purpose. Together, we advanced meaningful solutions, strengthened our collective advocacy, and demonstrated what can happen when we focus on what matters most: ensuring that every person in Connecticut has access to safe, high-quality, affordable care. That spirit of partnership will be even more important in the years ahead.”
“I’m proud to represent the work our teams at Stamford Health do to advance patient care and support our communities and am excited to work with my colleagues across the state to continue to build on the already outstanding quality healthcare that we collectively deliver to our communities,” Silard said of her election as vice chairman.
Learn more about CHA’s legislative advocacy, community health improvement initiatives, expert education offerings, data analytics, and state-of-the-art IT services in the 2026 CHA Annual Report.
CHA Award Recipients Honored
At the Annual Meeting, CHA proudly presented multiple prestigious awards to outstanding teams and individuals.
A cohort of exceptional hospital employees received the 2026 CHA Healthcare Heroes Award in recognition of their invaluable contributions to their organization, community, and field.
Learn About Each Hero | Read Press Release
Backus and Windham Hospitals received the 2026 Connecticut’s Hospital Community Service Award for the joint Community Health Case Management Program.
Watch Video | Read Press Release
Yale New Haven Hospital received the 2026 John D. Thompson Award for Excellence in the Delivery of Healthcare Through the Use of Data for its High-Risk Patient MRSA Prevention Initiative.
Watch Video | Read Press Release
John Murphy, MD, is the recipient of the 2026 T. Stewart Hamilton, MD, Distinguished Service Award to honor his decades of leadership, advocacy, and service to healthcare in Connecticut. Throughout more than 40 years in healthcare, including service as president and CEO of Nuvance Health, Dr. Murphy combined the perspective of a neurologist, clinician, and highly respected healthcare leader with a deep commitment to improving care for patients and communities across the state.
Additionally, CHA honored Grace Napolitan with the Service in Pursuit of Excellence
Award in recognition of her extraordinary dedication, leadership, and service to healthcare in Connecticut. Since joining CHA in 2004, Napolitan has led a broad range of operational, administrative, and strategic initiatives that helped advance the organization’s mission and culture.
Keynote Speaker David Pogue
The keynote speaker for the 2026 Annual Meeting was David Pogue, a New York Times bestselling author, beloved CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, NOVA host on PBS, and New York Times contributor. As the go-to expert on innovative tech and science in a fast-changing world, Pogue provided insights on how technology impacts our health, work, businesses, society, and connections with each other — now and into the future.