Hartford HealthCare wins top prize from American Hospital Association
The Connecticut health system wins the group’s 2025 Quest for Quality Prize. CommonSpirit Health in Chicago was named a finalist.
Hartford HealthCare acknowledges that several years ago, the Connecticut hospital system had room to improve in patient safety.
Hartford HealthCare has earned the American Hospital Association’s 2025 Quest for Quality Prize. From left: Stephanie Calcasola, Hartford’s chief quality officer; Jeffrey Flaks, Hartford HealthCare’s president and CEO; and Ajay Kumar, MD, the system’s chief clinical officer.
But the health system has made important strides in recent years. Hartford reduced healthcare-acquired infections by 70% from from 2015 to 2023. The system has also earned high marks in the Leapfrog Group’s report cards on patient safety, with each of Hartford’s hospitals getting an “A” grade.
Now, Hartford has earned the American Hospital Association’s 2025 Quest for Quality Prize. The association made the announcement Tuesday, and the health system will be honored at the AHA’s Leadership Summit in Nashville next week.
Jeffrey Flaks, Hartford HealthCare’s president and CEO, said in a news release Tuesday that the system is focused on being “the best at getting better.”
“We are obsessed with continuous improvement and our 45,000 colleagues who produced these really extraordinary results challenge ourselves to learn from others, to identify new and better ways to do things and to work to reimagine health care constantly,” Flaks said in the statement.
Hartford has engaged in training all employees, including those who aren’t in clinical roles, about the importance of safety, in a program dubbed “Safety Starts with Me.”
The hospital association noted that Hartford has seen a 48% increase in staff employees reporting potential safety events from 2021 to 2023.
The system says its focus on patient safety extends to its hiring process, with job candidates evaluated to determine if they fit into Hartford’s safety-conscious culture.
Flak credited Stephanie Calcasola, Hartford’s chief quality officer, and Ajay Kumar, MD, the system’s chief clinical officer, for playing key roles in the organization’s improvement.
Hartford also has posted signs across the system with a message: "You are not alone." The system says it's meant to show support for patients and staff.
A nonprofit system, Hartford HealthCare operates eight hospitals and hundreds of clinics across Connecticut.
CommonSpirit Health, the Catholic system based in Chicago, was recognized as a finalist for the Quest for Quality Prize.
The hospital association lauded CommonSpirit’s commitment to innovation and using advanced analytics to improve patient care. CommonSpirit examined data throughout the system to improve maternal care and had success in reducing hypertension and eclampsia, the AHA notes. CommonSpirit operates 157 hospitals and more than 2,000 clinics.
Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, said Hartford and CommonSpirit serve as “role models for excellence in patient care for the entire hospital field.”
“They have demonstrated a deep dedication to creating a culture enabling quality practices to flourish while connecting with their communities through new approaches, techniques and technologies,” Pollack said.
WellSpan Health, based in Pennsylvania, received the Quest for Quality Prize in 2024. Main Line Health, a system in the Philadelphia suburbs, claimed the prize in 2023.
