About Us

At Community Health Network of Connecticut, Inc.® (CHNCT), we believe that a company is more than the sum of its parts. Help us make a difference.

Employees

500+

Join our team

Established

1995

See our story

Our Story

  • Stronger Together

    In 1995, a group of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) came together to form Community Health Network of Connecticut, Inc.® (CHNCT), a not-for-profit managed care organization dedicated to improving medical services and health outcomes for Connecticut’s Medicaid-eligible residents.

    They had a clear vision, to create a model that would bring managed care to underserved populations in the same way that federally qualified health centers bring them medical services.

  • Growing Managed Care

    Over the organization’s first 17 years, CHNCT transformed from a small group’s dream into a premier health plan, recognized on both local and national levels. The leadership and staff of CHNCT had a passion to serve Connecticut’s population, unmatched by any organization. During this time, CHNCT grew from an underdog company into the largest managed care organization in the state, serving over 300,000 members.

  • Person-Centered
    Approach to Care

    From the beginning, people have been at the core of the work that CHNCT does. Person-centeredness is the guiding principle that we follow when working with members and healthcare providers. It is a way of thinking and doing things that sees the whole person. It is an approach that brings the person into the planning, developing, and monitoring of care to ensure that it meets the person’s needs.

  • Shift to the Administrative Services Organization

    After announcing it would move to an innovative self-insured administrative services organization (ASO) model, the Department of Social Services selected CHNCT as the sole medical ASO. CHNCT has helped the state to improve health outcomes for members, reduce costs for both the State of Connecticut and healthcare providers, and improve transparency and accountability. Under the ASO model, CHNCT proudly serves nearly 1,000,000 members.

What We Do

We work with patients, healthcare providers, community organizations, and governments to solve complex healthcare problems. It is through our work with Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) recipients that we improve the health and lives of Connecticut residents.

Our Goals:

  • Ensure members receive the care they need at the right time, in the right amount, and in the right place
  • Retain and grow the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CMAP) provider network, expanding availability of services in each of the state’s five regions
  • Continuously examine local and national data to create ways to improve our business, our network, and our members’ quality of life

Why We Do It

Mission

CHNCT is dedicated to improving the health of underserved and vulnerable populations by providing equitable and culturally appropriate access to high quality and comprehensive health care to all Connecticut residents.

Vision

Our members, providers, policymakers, community organizations and others will recognize CHNCT as a leader in building healthier communities in which demographics do not impact health outcomes. This includes race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and economic status. They will know us for putting our members first, by our organizational integrity, the quality of our services and innovation and success in collaborating with community health centers, other providers, and various organizations.

Values

At CHNCT, we take pride in our integrity, teamwork, excellence in all areas of our business and in being a diverse and inclusive organization. We recognize the importance of what we do and how it impacts the individuals and communities we serve. We also acknowledge that inequities in health and health care, limit the continued improvement in the quality of care and overall health of the population.

The values that are most important to us are:

  • Supporting community health centers in our joint commitment to improving the health status of underserved and vulnerable populations;
  • Demonstrating respect, dignity and integrity in serving our members;
  • Being culturally responsive to our members’ cultural, language, and literacy needs;
  • Identifying and working to reduce health inequities in care provided to our members and to address social determinants of health and health-related social needs;
  • Pursuing quality improvement, innovation and opportunities for partnerships and collaboration to support better health and reduce inequities of care;
  • Ensuring organizational accountability through measureable outcomes, and
  • Improving access to care by developing and maintaining a strong and diverse network of primary care and specialty providers to serve our members.

Who We Are

We are a team of professionals with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise who aim to improve the lives and health of Connecticut residents as much as possible.

Community Health Network of Connecticut, Inc.® Holdings Board of Directors

Suzanne Lagarde, MD – Chair

CEO
Fair Haven Community Health Care

Michael R. Taylor – Vice Chair

CEO
Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center

Don Thompson – Treasurer

President & CEO
StayWell Health Center

Mollie Melbourne – Secretary

President & CEO
Southwest Community Health Center

Vacant

Charter Oak Health Center

Melissa Meyers

CEO
Generations Family Health Center

Karen A. Daley

CEO
Optimus Health Care

Sylvia B. Kelly (Ex Officio)

President & CEO
Community Health Network of CT, Inc.

Shawn K. Frick (Ex Officio)

CEO
Community Health Center Association of Connecticut


Community Health Network of Connecticut, Inc.® Board of Directors

Suzanne Lagarde, MD

Chair

Sylvia B. Kelly

Vice Chair

Carl A. Mikolowsky, DDS

Treasurer/Secretary

Ronald E. Coursey II

Director

John H. Senechal, MD

Director

Tarsha Calloway

Consumer


Community Health Network of Connecticut, Inc.® Executive Leadership Team

Sylvia B. Kelly

President & Chief Executive Officer

Lawrence Magras, MD, MBA, FAAPL, FHM

Sr. Vice President, Population Health &
Chief Medical Officer

Abe Benitez

Sr. Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Cory Ludington

Sr. Vice President, Administration &
Chief Compliance Officer

Maryann G. Keaveney

Chief Human Resources Officer &
Vice President, Human Resources

Gregory P. Barbiero

Vice President, Population
Health Management

Steve Bartolotta

Vice President & Chief Information
Security Officer

Dina Blaney

Vice President,
Finance

Ray Connelly

Vice President &
Chief Information Technology Officer

Carolyn Grandell, MSN, RN, CCM

Vice President, Care Management

Kristine Lisi, MD

Vice President, Clinical Affairs

Tracey Saucier

Vice President, Operations

Tressa Spears Jackson

Vice President, Community Affairs &
Corporate Communications