Newtowner Named President And CEO At Danbury Hospital

By John Voket

Neurologist and Newtown resident Dr John Murphy, 49, has assumed the role of president and CEO of Danbury Hospital. The promotion completes a logical transition process for the affable physician who formerly served as chairman of Danbury Hospital’s board of directors.

Dr Murphy was anxious to talk about the future, and the role he plans to play making that future brighter for both the hospital and residents of the entire region the institution serves.

He told The Bee that one of his primary goals is to ensure the hospital is positioned to compete and survive in a highly volatile regional health care arena by recruiting and retaining talented staff, making the best use of recently expanded space and services, along with elevating Danbury Hospital’s stature as the facility of choice for specialized elective procedures.

“We want to build on programs so attractive and successful we become a destination,” Dr Murphy said. “That means attracting patients not only from the immediate area, but quite possibly on a nationwide scale.”

He said he plans to achieve this goal by retaining top medical talent already on board at Danbury Hospital, while scouring the globe to recruit the best young physicians, technicians, and medical specialists.

“We understand the importance of our long-tenured and highly respected physicians who have elevated this hospital to where we are today,” he said. “But we must continue adding new, energetic physicians to complement our existing team of doctors, nurses, clinicians, and staff.”

Dr Murphy is also committed to a strategic plan of growth that matches advanced talent with cutting-edge technology investments.

“Bringing in new people is critical, but we must provide them with the technology they need,” he said, adding the hospital is already a cut above many in the tri-state area in the area of clinical technology.

“Danbury Hospital has been a well kept secret, now we need to share it.”

He cited the hospital’s new Medical Arts Center as attracting a substantial new population of patients by making their visits for elective surgery a one-stop process.

“The new expansion was a very expensive proposition, but was very necessary,” Dr Murphy said. “Since the demands of in-patient programs like cardiology, gastrointestinal, and weight loss surgery have grown, occupying more beds and operating rooms, we really needed the Medical Arts Center to increase our capacity to accommodate outpatient services.”

One area of concern for Dr Murphy involves the hospital’s immediate care capabilities.

“Our emergency department saw 70,000 visitors last year, and a substantial number of those patients were under or uninsured. And the numbers continue to grow in our region,” he said.

Acknowledging the need to continue providing urgent medical attention to every visitor requiring it, Dr Murphy is also aware of the intense financial burdens that trend of care puts on his hospital.

“We need an effective solution to the number of illegal immigrants who seek emergency care because they have no insurance,” he said. “The state may believe it is a federal issue, but we need some form of reimbursement. And cutting into Medicaid funding is only making matters worse.”

Dr Murphy said he does not want to see the hospital lose ground on the number of programs available to elective patients, because resources are being expended to compensate in the face of declining public reimbursements.

“It’s getting very competitive because reimbursements are continuing to fall. We’re told our physicians’ Medicare reimbursements will be cut another ten percent this year,” he said.

That means Dr Murphy will be even more hard-pressed to help distinguish Danbury Hospital among the regional competitors, each boasting its own package of specialty or boutique medical services.

“We’ll just keep proving we can provide a higher level of care,” he said. That includes the type of care Danbury Hospital affiliates are gearing up to provide in Newtown. Dr Murphy was pleased to hear a lease was completed this week that will bring an outpatient satellite system to Newtown’s Fairfield Hills campus.

The local resident who has lived in town since 1989 was even more excited at the prospect of Danbury Hospital professionals sharing space with Dr Z. Michael Taweh and Kevin’s Community Center, where Dr Murphy’s wife, Nancy, has been a volunteer for several years.

“Newtown is very dear to us,” Dr Murphy said. “And Dr Taweh and his staff at Kevin’s have done a wonderful job, filling an important niche.”

Dr Murphy said he is very supportive of the free clinic at KCC and is ready to partner with Dr Taweh “any way we can.”

In the big picture, Dr Murphy said he is moving forward in his new lead post at Danbury Hospital with his feet firmly planted but setting his goals high.

“We want potential patients to come to Danbury Hospital, and we want them to consider us on the basis of our positive outcomes,” Dr Murphy concluded. “This hospital is financially and fiscally sound and we’re going to move forward. That’s the only way to survive and thrive in this business.”