Partnership seeks to bridge health care gap

Pediatric Care Alliance spans infancy to young adulthood

HARTFORD — The top executives of Hartford HealthCare and Connecticut Children’s on Monday signed an agreement broadening a 25-year partnership to combine pediatric services with the hospital system’s extensive network across Connecticut.

The Pediatric Care Alliance will span infancy, childhood, adolescence and young adulthood and transition to adult care.

“This is a continuation and expansion and formalization of an existing relationship,” James Shmerling, president of Connecticut Children’s, said at an announcement outside Hartford Hospital.

Jeffrey Flaks, president of Hartford HealthCare, promised investments and modernization of services at neonatal intensive care units as Connecticut Children’s services are moved into Hartford HealthCare facilities.

“We’re going to work to perfect the handoff when children become adolescents and adolescents become adults for their health care,” he said.

Hartford HealthCare, with 30,000 employees and operating revenue of $4.3 billion, serves 185 towns and cities. The health care system is within 15 miles of every Connecticut resident, Flaks said. Children’s is a 187-bed not-for-profit hospital.

“We’re going to ensure that we bring even greater access through this partnership and help facilitate bringing Children’s to more places,” he said.

Hartford HealthCare includes two tertiary-level teaching hospitals, an acute-care community teaching hospital, an acute-care hospital and trauma center, three community hospitals, a behavioral health network and a multispecialty physician group.

Hartford HealthCare owns Hartford