Owner of CT hospitals adding oversight following problems. What to know.

Hartford Courant – Thursday, April 16, 2026
By Livi Stanford

The parent company of Trinity Health of New England is bringing additional leadership from a neighboring state to oversee its hospitals following financial struggles at several of its facilities, two patient deaths, inadequate staffing and fines from the state Department of Public Health at one of its hospitals in Hartford.

In an email sent to the board of directors and medical staff for both Trinity Health of New England and Trinity Health of New York that was obtained by the Hartford Courant, Trinity Health said its company has “faced challenges,” without elaborating.

“Dr. Steven Hanks, president and CEO of Trinity Health New York, will assume expanded system leadership responsibilities that include Trinity Health of New England,” said Trinity Health of New England in a statement. “Montez Carter will continue to serve as president and CEO of Trinity Health of New England, reporting to Dr. Hanks.”

Trinity Health of New England and Trinity Health of New York will continue to remain separate entities, according to the same email.

The email to medical staff at Trinity said, “adding Dr. Hanks’ leadership is a deliberate and positive investment in THONE’s future.

“It brings more focused attention, added bench strength and a specific depth of experience to support Montez and the entire team,” the email said.

Trinity Health New England operates Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital and Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford and Saint Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury.

Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford has struggled over the last several years with the state Department of Public Health extending a contract this past February with an independent monitor to provide additional oversight to the hospital. The six-month extension is “to ensure substantial compliance with applicable federal and state statutes and regulations,” according to a letter from DPH.

While some lawmakers said the move is a step in the right direction to provide an extra layer of oversight for the hospital, they said they were cautiously awaiting progress at Saint Francis Hospital in addressing concerns about patient safety raised by physicians and nurses at the hospital.

Sen. Jeff Gordon, a Woodstock Republican and a physician serving on the Public Health Committee, said while the move was a “good first step,” he also had reservations.

“One thing that I would be concerned about is that this is just a maneuver to kind of rearrange the deck chairs to look like something’s being done but nothing really is,” he said.

Sen. Saud Anwar, also a physician and co-chair of the Public Health Committee, said the additional oversight is perhaps in “response to a recognition that interventions are necessary.

“The hope is that there may be a plan to intervene and look at the current situation of Saint Francis Hospital in the New England region,” Anwar said.

Anwar said Carter reporting to Hanks instead of hospital leadership in Michigan may provide “more stability to the hospital.”

He said he is “watching the progress closely and carefully.”

A nurse at Saint Francis Hospital was skeptical.

“It is just another chief to report to,” she said. “We need support and boots on the ground. And just having to report to one more person is not going to help or solve the problem.”

Dr. Steven Hanks

Carter said in an email statement that “having worked with Dr. Hanks, I have seen his passion for high-quality care firsthand. We have a dedicated team here and I am confident his leadership will help us go further even faster.”

Dr. Hanks is expected to be on site regularly, according to the email to the board of directors and medical staff at Trinity’s two branches.

“His goal is to strengthen performance and understand what is needed for future growth to deliver the exceptional care your communities deserve,” the email said. “Dr. Hanks grew up in Rhode Island has spent a significant part of his career serving communities across central Connecticut. He has firsthand understanding of the New England health care landscape and community needs.”

Trinity Health of New England declined a request to speak with Hanks.

A spokesman for the Catholic health care system said Hanks’ “rare combination of transformational leadership and genuine regional roots” make him a “perfect addition to the Trinity Health of New England team.”

In December 2025, St. Peter’s Hospital, of which Hanks is president and CEO, received its fifth Magnet nursing recognition, according to St. Peter’s Health Partners, a member of Trinity Health.

“This credential is the highest national honor for professional nursing practice,” according to St. Peter’s Health Partners. “St. Peter’s Hospital is one of only 112 hospitals in the United States – less than two percent of hospitals nationwide – to achieve five consecutive Magnet designations.”

$102 million loss

The Office of Health Strategy’s latest annual report on the financial status of Connecticut hospitals reported that Trinity Health of New England’s expenses were over $1.8 billion with a loss of $102 million and a negative operating margin of 5.96%.

Saint Francis Hospital’s total expenses were $914 million with a loss of $54 million and a negative operating margin of 6.4%.

Johnson Memorial Hospital posted losses of $4.3 million. Saint Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury was the only hospital owned by Trinity Health of New England in Connecticut to have a positive operating margin of 4.4%.

Anwar has said that Saint Francis Hospital serves a large number of patients on Medicaid and the program’s reimbursement “does not keep the hospital’s financial status healthy.”

Trinity Health of New England has said that its hospitals “face some of the most significant pressures in Connecticut, driven by a payer mix that creates substantial reimbursement challenges.

“More than 30% of the patients we serve are covered by Medicaid or are uninsured, and fewer than 19% are covered by commercial insurance,” a Trinity Health spokesman said.

Patient care

Anwar has said physicians and nurses at the hospital have shared concerns with him about patient safety.

Nurses at the hospital continue to report staffing issues and high turnover rates while saying medication errors and delays in patient care are continuing to occur. They also reported several elevators are not working since January, including the trauma elevator.

Changes to patient’s meals are planned to reduce overall costs, according to an email notification from the hospital.

A nurse at Saint Francis said there are still concerns about staffing in the ICU where they are tripling shifts at night.

The nurse said management is still tripling assignments in the ICU and that the hospital is pulling nurses from other units to cover the shortfall who are not trained to work in the ICU.

Last month, 40 radiologists from Advanced Imaging Specialists left Saint Francis after the group sued the hospital for mismanagement and lack of equipment.

At Johnson Memorial Hospital in January of last year was identified for immediate jeopardy, which “represents a situation in which noncompliance by providers, suppliers or laboratories has placed the health and safety of recipients in its care at risk for serious injury, serious harm, serious impairment or death,” according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

This followed an incident on Jan. 28, 2025, when the hospital “failed to ensure a patient was transferred to the ICU when assessed to be in respiratory distress,” according to an inspection report from the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

The hospital was also fined $3,500 in February 2025 as it “was determined that the hospital failed to post its nurse staffing plan on each patient care unit,” in violation of the Hospital Staffing law, according to a memo from DPH.

Saint Francis Hospital earned a two-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Johnson Memorial Hospital and Saint Mary’s Hospital earned a three-star rating from CMS.

“The overall star rating is based on how well a hospital performs across different areas of quality, such as treating heart attacks and pneumonia, readmission rates, and safety of care,” according to information from CMS.

Access this article at its original source.