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September 30, 2024 / 2024 Power 25 Health Care

2024 Power 25 Health Care: Christopher O’Connor

Chris O'Connor
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Christopher O’Connor, CEO of the Yale New Haven Health system, has been in the middle of one of the most significant hospital merger deals in Connecticut over the last year.

And it has been a challenging path that’s led to court battles and political intrigue.

In May, YNHH asked the Connecticut Superior Court to be let out of its $435 million purchase of Manchester Memorial, Rockville General and Waterbury hospitals, all owned by Prospect Medical Holdings. Yale asked out of the deal after failing to renegotiate a lower purchase price following a cyberattack that financially devastated operations at the three Prospect-owned hospitals, as well as revelations that Prospect owed tens of millions of dollars to vendors, physicians, and local and state governments.

Prospect countersued in June, claiming YNHH breached its contract and failed to make “reasonable best efforts” to complete the deal.

The cases remain ongoing.

O’Connor oversees the largest health system in Connecticut, which reported $6.1 billion in net revenue in fiscal year 2022. It includes Yale New Haven Hospital, Bridgeport Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, and Westerly Hospital in Rhode Island.

O’Connor has a lengthy background in health care. Before becoming CEO of the Yale health system, he held several key roles, such as president, executive vice president and chief operating officer. O’Connor previously was also president and CEO of the Hospital of St. Raphael.

Yale New Haven Hospital acquired the Hospital of St. Raphael in 2012, to form one New Haven-based hospital with two campuses. O’Connor helped bring the two hospitals together. He also played key roles in the affiliation with Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in 2016, and Bridgeport Hospital’s acquisition of Milford Hospital in 2019.

In August 2022, Yale New Haven Hospital broke ground on an $838 million, 505,000-square-foot project that includes building a new neurosciences center on the St. Raphael campus.

When he took over the job, O’Connor said his priorities would be to improve patient care, ensure the system’s financial stability, attract talent, and build upon partnerships with the Yale School of Medicine and Yale University.

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