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September 30, 2024 / 2024 Power 25 Health Care

2024 Power 25 Health Care: Kurt Barwis

Kurt Barwis
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Another one of the few independent hospitals remaining in Connecticut is Bristol Hospital, led by Kurt Barwis, who has been CEO for the past 18 years.

The parent company, Bristol Health, which Barwis also oversees, includes the 164-bed Bristol Hospital in addition to a medical group, long-term care facility and home and hospice care services.

The past few years haven’t been easy for the hospital, which was hit hard by the pandemic.

Bristol Health has been working with consultants to get advice on how to turn around its struggling financial position. Those experts have made multiple recommendations, from fixing inefficiencies to using artificial intelligence to quickly appeal insurance claim denials.

In March, Barwis announced that Bristol Health eliminated 60 positions as part of a broader cost-cutting effort.

The staff reductions were estimated to result in approximately $6.1 million in savings, and they came after Bristol Health reported a $12.8 million operating loss in fiscal 2023.

“These decisions were extremely difficult and painful to make,” Barwis said in March. “They were made after careful consideration of alternatives and with the best interest of our patients and the community we serve. It is important to note that these changes did not include any reduction in core services, nor will they impact the safety or quality of the services we provide.”

Connecticut’s hospital industry has faced headwinds coming out of the pandemic, including dramatically rising costs, workforce shortages and a sicker patient population.

Barwis has expressed confidence his health network will successfully make it through its current financial challenges. However, a future merger with another healthcare system isn’t off the table, he has said.

Before joining Bristol Hospital in 2006, Barwis served as senior vice president and chief operating officer of St. Mary’s Hospital of St. Mary’s County in Leonardtown, Maryland, from 2003 to 2006.

Barwis, who was also a CPA in Pennsylvania, received an MBA from La Salle University in Philadelphia, and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

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