From the desk of Dr. Andy
Andrew C. Agwunobi, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer, EVP for Health Affairs, UConn Health
Dear Colleagues,
I am happy to announce that, following months of constructive negotiations, we have reached a fair agreement with Cigna, and as such will avoid a situation in which our patients will be out of network. The multi-year agreement, effective today, continues full in-network access to UConn Health's physicians, hospitals, and clinical services for individuals covered by Cigna plans.
This agreement provides fair reimbursement, which ensures continued access to high-quality, academic medicine for the patients we serve. It reflects our shared commitment to delivering exceptional care and reinforces our mission to serve the people of Connecticut.
Cigna members can schedule appointments and receive care at UConn Health with in-network coverage. Patients whose appointments were previously postponed during negotiations may now contact their provider's office to reschedule.
This week President Maric and I continued our meetings with legislators at the state Capitol on our legislative priorities. As a reminder, UConn Health has one main ask during this short legislative session, namely that UConn Health (and UConn) receive funding to pay for the 4.5% SEBAC (State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition) negotiated wage increases for FY 26 and FY 27. For UConn Health this increase totals $55.7 million, and for UConn Storrs $37.1 million.
I will update you on the final budget outcome once the legislative session adjourns on May 6 at midnight.
This week I hosted a two-part senior leadership retreat in the Sandy Cloud Jr. Boardroom at 16 Munson Road. The first part of the retreat included just myself and the UConn Health senior team, the second part included UConn Health Waterbury senior leaders. In the first part we level-set on the vision we crafted in 2024.
I explained that three key aspects of this vision are (1) Growth (2) Decreasing reliance of the clinical enterprise on state financial support and (3) Direct relevance to the state.
The graphic below shows the many new initiatives we are engaged in using the lens of these three aspects of the vision.
RISP refers to the Rapid Inclusive Strategic plan, of which there are over 90 department level initiatives. The 23 beds refers to the increase in bed capacity we received for John Dempsey hospital in February 2025. DOC is the Dept of Corrections. WTBY, Bristol, DKH and Solnit refer to hospitals, and managed care refers to our negotiations with payers.
In the second session with the UCH-Waterbury leadership team, our consultants E-Y educated both teams on Matrix management. This type of management is necessary now that we have a community network. By the way for those not familiar with it, Matrix management is an organizational structure in which employees report to more than one manager. For example a person may have a direct reporting line to one manager and a dotted line to another. It is designed to improve flexibility, resource sharing, and cross‑functional collaboration, but it requires strong communication and clear role accountability to manage competing priorities effectively.
As you may have seen reported in the media this week, we have signed letters of intent with both Bristol Health and Day Kimball Hospital to join our UConn Health Community Network. This represents another milestone as we partner with these organizations to expand access to care and bring the expertise of an academic medical center closer to the communities we serve.
Final agreements and required state approvals are still pending, but this is an important step in strengthening these partnerships.
This week we celebrated the opening of our newly renovated sterile processing department, located on the basement level of the Connecticut Tower.
An extremely dedicated team works to ensure that all instruments and supplies are sterilized and ready for use. This is an example of the people whose quiet work behind the scenes enables our providers and clinical staff to deliver the safest and highest-quality care that has become our standard.
Nearly three years ago we closed the sterile processing department in the Connecticut Tower to renovate it and replace outdated equipment. During that time all the operations were running out of the University Tower, in space that originally was designed just for the ORs there. I'm happy to say, we have reopened the Connecticut Tower space, now fully updated with state-of-the-art equipment. I'd like to thank Ellen Benson, our university director who oversees Central Sterile, as well as her amazing group of remarkably dedicated employees.
You often hear us talk about the recognition our UConn John Dempsey Hospital continues to get for patient safety and quality, whether it be accolades from Newsweek, Healthgrades, or our straight A's for patient safety from the Leapfrog Group 10 times (and counting!), none of it would be possible without our outstanding providers on the front line and all our staff members whose work puts them in the position to excel. I want to take a moment today to specifically acknowledge our nurses.
This year we are observing Nurses Week May 3-9. The theme this year is Teamwork/Power of Nursing. Each day itself has a different sprit theme (e.g., Tropical Day, Superhero Day, UConn Spirit Day) and throughout the week we'll have activities and events to celebrate the contributions of our more than 1,200 RNs, nurse practitioners, and nurse anesthetists.
In 2025:
- 28 new graduate nurses completed our Transition to Practice Program.
- 36 nurses advanced from CN2 to CN3.
- Four nurses advanced from CN3 to CN4.
- 18 nurses accepted PAWS awards.
If you drive by our campus at night, you'll see we're lighting red in honor of Nurses Week. Tuesday evening is the annual Nightingale Awards ceremony at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, where our 2026 Nightingale Nurses (Kristen Cannata, Domenic Cote-Roy, Laura Glynn, Shiela Lafleur, Toni Ann Ryan, and Melissa Revicki) will accept their well-deserved awards.
Speaking of awards, I have the honor of being invited to be part of our annual Nursing Excellence Recognition Ceremony next Friday. We will have many honorees to recognize and celebrate. This is always one of my favorite days of the year, and I am grateful to Caryl Ryan, our CNO and John Dempsey Hospital COO, not only for inviting me to be a part of the ceremony, but also for her incredible leadership and making nursing a point of extreme pride for our institution.
