Jeff Flaks Elected Chairman of the Connecticut Hospital Association Board of Trustees
Backus and Windham Hospitals recognized with Connecticut’s Hospital Community Service Award and HealthCare Heroes Honored
WALLINGFORD, Conn. — The Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA) announced the election of Jeff Flaks, president and chief executive officer of Hartford HealthCare, as chairman of the CHA Board of Trustees.
Flaks succeeds to the role following his service as vice chairman, in accordance with CHA’s established leadership succession process. As chairman, he will lead the association’s principal policy-making body, which is composed of hospital and health system leaders from across the state and is responsible for guiding CHA’s advocacy, policy priorities, and strategic direction.
“Jeff Flaks’ election as Chairman of the CHA Board of Trustees reflects his distinguished leadership and deep commitment to advancing healthcare in Connecticut,” said Jennifer Jackson, CEO, CHA. “Throughout his service to the Connecticut Hospital Association, Jeff has been a strong advocate during a period of transformative change, including pivotal changes to the state’s hospital tax structure and broader challenges across the national healthcare policy landscape. As Vice Chairman of CHA, Jeff has focused on the essential role hospitals and the healthcare workforce play in serving our state, elevating quality, supporting communities, and standing united in advocacy for hospitals and the patients they serve.”
During his tenure with CHA, Flaks has played a key role in advancing collaboration among Connecticut’s hospitals and health systems, supporting initiatives to strengthen the healthcare workforce, improve patient outcomes, and ensure access to high-quality care for communities across the state.
The CHA Board of Trustees is the association’s principal policy-making body. Trustees are elected by the CHA Assembly at the Annual Meeting. The board follows a structured succession process in which the vice chairman serves a two-year term before succeeding to a two-year term as chairman.
The announcement of Flaks’ chairmanship was announced at CHA’s 2026 Annual Meeting, which also highlighted the impactful work of Connecticut hospitals and health systems in communities across the state.
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The CHA and the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) also recognized Backus and Windham Hospitals with the 2026 Connecticut’s Hospital Community Service Award for their Community Health Case Management Program.
The award honors a Connecticut hospital or health system that has made an outstanding contribution to its community. The Community Health Case Management Program, operated jointly by Hartford HealthCare’s Backus and Windham Hospitals, provides an innovative, community-based care coordination model that reaches vulnerable populations in nonclinical settings and connects individuals to critical health and social services.
“I thank the team for their dedication, compassion, and unwavering belief that everybody should have the opportunity for health,” said Donna Handley, president, Backus and Windham Hospitals. “Every day they leave the hospital and go into all parts of our community, where they fill gaps in care. I am so proud of and grateful for the work they do.”
The program supports individuals experiencing homelessness, seniors at risk of institutionalization, and underserved populations facing complex medical and social challenges. Since its launch in January 2023, the interdisciplinary team has conducted more than 2,000 in-person encounters and facilitated hundreds of connections to healthcare and community resources.
“CHA is honored to be joined by DPH in presenting this award in recognition of exceptional work to bring together healthcare providers, community health workers, and local partners to address social drivers of health and improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations,” said Jennifer Jackson. “Through patience, kindness, empathy, and persistence, each Community Health Case Management team member has forged deeply trusting relationships with their clients, demonstrating the power of meeting patients where they are.”
The Connecticut’s Hospital Community Service Award has been jointly awarded by CHA and DPH since 1993, recognizing programs that make a meaningful difference in the health and well-being of communities across the state.
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Among those recognized were frontline caregivers and team members whose work exemplifies Hartford HealthCare’s mission and commitment to patient-centered care. CHA’s Healthcare Heroes program celebrates these individuals for their dedication, compassion, and contributions to advancing health and well-being across the communities they serve.
Hartford HealthCare’s 2026 CHA Healthcare Heroes:
Backus Hospital | Carley Warzecha
Charlotte Hungerford Hospital | Josephine Marcellino
Hartford Hospital | Nick Marziale
Manchester Memorial Hospital | Dhanya Poulose
MidState Medical Center | Susan Long
St. Vincent’s Medical Center | Brooke Sullivan
The Hospital of Central Connecticut | Brian Byrne
Windham Hospital | Brady Grotton
These honorees reflect the strength of Hartford HealthCare’s workforce and the organization’s ongoing commitment to delivering access to high-quality care in the community.
This same commitment to meeting patients where they are is also recognized as one of the state’s highest honors for community impact.
About Hartford HealthCare
Hartford HealthCare, a not-for-profit healthcare system, is driven by a mission to improve the health and well-being of every community.
With 48,000 dedicated colleagues and a bold vision for the future, Hartford HealthCare is transforming healthcare across Connecticut and beyond, expanding access, improving affordability, advancing health equity, and delivering excellence in care.
Spanning more than 500 locations across 185 towns and cities, its comprehensive care-delivery system is designed to meet people where they are, every day. From world-class hospitals, including two tertiary-level teaching hospitals, an acute-care community teaching hospital, an acute-care hospital and trauma center, and four community hospitals, to an extensive network of behavioral health services, multispecialty physician groups, urgent and virtual care, surgery centers, home care, senior care, rehabilitation, and mobile neighborhood health programs, Hartford HealthCare is there when and where it matters most.
Each day, Hartford HealthCare touches the lives of more than 28,000 people, delivering coordinated, high-quality care through its unique Institute Model. This approach unites leading experts in neuroscience, cancer, digestive health, heart and vascular care, orthopedics, and urology and kidney health, ensuring patients receive consistent, advanced care at the most affordable cost.
Recognized nationally for patient safety and clinical excellence, Hartford HealthCare is the only health system in the country to receive the prestigious Quest for Quality Prize from the American Hospital Association. As a national leader in patient safety, all Hartford HealthCare hospitals earned ‘A’ Hospital Safety Grades from The Leapfrog Group in both 2023 and 2024, reflecting a longstanding commitment to safe, high-quality care.
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