Message Archive

July 23, 2009

Financial Update: Dean’s Task Force on UMG

While we are certainly hopeful about the Partnership with Hartford Hospital, we are taking the necessary steps to get our financial house in order here at the Health Center.

This summer and fall a great deal of work will center around the UConn Medical Group. Managing costs, maximizing productivity and improving billing efficiencies are just a few of the important goals of the newly established Dean’s Task Force on UMG. The group is being led by Dr. Denis Lafreniere, chief of the Division of Otolaryngology, and was formed to address UMG performance improvement opportunities identified by LarsonAllen.

I’m pleased to say the task force has embraced an ambitious timeline. By the fall, they expect to complete a report including realistic action-steps to help UMG reach more solid financial ground.

I am very confident that this physician-driven task force, and its work groups, will thoughtfully identify ways to gain efficiencies and at the same time, improve patient satisfaction and uphold our academic mission. These are lofty goals but they are fundamental to our mission. As many of you know, UMG is the largest, and certainly one of the most accomplished, multispecialty practices in the region. It is truly a source of pride for the university. Our faculty are fully engaged in finding lasting solutions to issues affecting them. I want to personally thank each and every faculty member who has volunteered to be a part of the task force.

Below is a listing of all faculty involved in this endeavor:
Dr. Peter Albertsen
Dr. Patrick Coll
Dr. Douglas Fellows
Dr. Jane Grant-Kels
Dr. Bruce Liang
Dr. Jay Lieberman
Dr. Mark Metersky
Dr. Joseph Palmisano
Dr. Carolyn Runowicz
Dr. Adam Silverman
Dr. Richard Simon

The list can also be found at the following link: http://www.uchc.edu/vicepresident/documents/deans_taskforce.pdf

We welcome input from other faculty members as well. To participate, please contact Dr. Lafreniere at lafreniere@nso.uchc.edu.

I look forward to sharing more information about the work of the Dean’s Task Force on UMG in the weeks and months ahead.

Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.
Vice President for Health Affairs
Dean, School of Medicine