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January 10, 2025

Trinity Health Of NE eliminating president role at Waterbury’s St. Mary’s Hospital

Waterbury Hospital will become the fifth hospital in Trinity Health New England's regional ministry, effective Aug. 1. PHOTO | Contributed St. Mary's Hospital in Waterbury.
By David Krechevsky

The president of St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury is leaving. 

Montez Carter, president and CEO of St. Mary’s owner — Trinity Health Of New England — notified staff in an internal email on Jan. 8 “of the upcoming departure” of Kim Kalajainen, St. Mary’s president. 

In announcing the leadership change in the email, which was shared exclusively with Hartford Business Journal, Carter states that Trinity Health Of New England “must continue to evolve and transform into a leading integrative health system, which will require organizational and leadership change.”

Carter also states that, “over the next several weeks” he will work with Kalajainen and St. Mary’s executive leadership team “on a transition plan,” and that “more details will be forthcoming.”

Sources familiar with the matter say Trinity Health is expected to eliminate the role of president at St. Mary’s Hospital as part of a reorganization.

A spokesperson for Trinity Health Of New England said Friday that the organization declined to comment.

Kalajainen has served as St. Mary’s president since October 2023, or about a year and four months. She previously had served as St. Mary’s chief administrative officer and vice president of operations.

Before that, she spent 13 years at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London.

Carter praised Kalajainen's performance, stating in the email that she “has proudly served in this role as a dedicated and steadfast leader, and we are grateful for Kim’s devotion to the Saint Mary’s colleagues and the local community.”

Garrett F. Casey Sr., who became chairman of the St. Mary’s Hospital board of directors just 10 days ago but has served on the board for 14 years, said Kalajainen remains in her position for now and “will be at her desk on Monday.”

Casey, the founder and owner of a funeral home in Waterbury, said that “anybody in a leadership role in health care knows there is going to be change. That’s just the way it works.”

He added that the president position at St. Mary’s Hospital, as it currently exists, “may be changing,” but did not provide further details.

In addition to St. Mary’s Hospital, Trinity Health Of New England also owns St. Francis and Mount Sinai Rehabilitation hospitals in Hartford and Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs.

St. Mary’s is a Catholic, nonprofit hospital. According to its Form 990 reported to the IRS, it reported revenue of $330.2 million and expenses of $325.3 million, with net assets of $179.9 million, for fiscal 2023, which ended Sept. 30, 2023.
 

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