2004 Hartford Hospital Annual Report

A hospital must address many of the same
issues that face any large corporation.
A hospital is a unique institution. It plays a singular role in the community because, as the
source of health care and a center for research and education, its mission is to serve the public
good. But it is also a complex business organization. A hospital must address many of the same
issues—fiscal, strategic, technological, personnel and more—that face any large corporation.
Hospital administrators must be able to achieve a delicate balance, supporting the hospital’s
unique mission while operating an efficient and fiscally sound organization.
Hartford Hospital has always been fortunate in the quality of its administrative
leadership. Those who guided the hospital in its early years were navigating uncharted waters,
yet they built the foundation that enabled the hospital to grow into one of the most respected
medical centers in the world.
Today’s administrators, in concert with the Board of Directors and Medical Staff, are
managing the hospital in a difficult health care environment. Costs are rising, while reimbursement
from government programs and private insurers is plummeting. The ranks of the uninsured
and impoverished continue to swell. Skyrocketing costs of professional liability insurance are
burdening hospitals and practitioners alike. Meanwhile, the hospital is committed to providing
the finest care for its patients and competitive compensation and benefits for its employees.
Yet the administrative team is unfailingly optimistic about the future. Hartford
Hospital has innumerable attributes in its favor, including a strong fiscal and philosophical
foundation, a fully engaged Board, a gifted Medical Staff, loyal employees and the support of
thousands of generous donors and volunteers. With so many committed people working with
them for the hospital’s good, today’s administrators look to the future with confidence.
Administration
HARTFORD HOSPITAL