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Incoming YNHH President Keith Churchwell.
Keith Churchwell has been tapped to serve as the next president of Yale New Haven Hospital, at a time when the healthcare giant — and the regional system of which it’s a part — grapples with the immediate and long-term consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Churchwell is currently the chief operating officer of Yale New Haven Hospital.
During a Friday morning virtual press conference, top Yale New Haven Health Systems (YNHHS) administrators and clinicians announced Churchwell’s promotion to replace current YNHH President Richard D’Aquila, who has been in the role for the past 15 years and will be stepping down effective Oct. 5.
“It’s been a whirlwind of a time,” Churchwell said about the past few months of helping lead YNHH’s New Haven hospital campuses through the public heath crisis, and about the decision by the regional health care system’s board to name him the next president of the York Street and St. Raphael’s campuses.
YNHHS President and CEO Marna Borgstrom said that, prior to his coming to YNHH in 2015, Churchwell served as the executive director and chief medical officer of the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute. He received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard, his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis. He did his post-graduate work at the Emory School of Medicine before working at Vanderbilt for nearly two decades. (See below for a full bio, as put out in a YNHH email press release on Friday afternoon.)
He takes over the local hospital campuses — two of seven campuses run by YNHHS in Connecticut and Rhode Island — at a time of unprecedented national crisis, with the Covid-19 pandemic transforming so much of how YNHH, and every other health care provider in the country, has operated over the past four months.
YNHHS Chief Clinical Officer Thomas Balcezak said that YNHHS continues to see low numbers of hospitalized patients with Covid-19 when compared to the height of the first wave of the pandemic in late April.
As of Friday, there are only 21 Covid-19 patients system-wide in YNHHS hospital beds. Nine of those patients are in New Haven. Oonly one across the whole system is on a ventilator.
Balcezak (pictured) said that YNHHS as a whole has conducted 127,000 Covid-19 tests and has discharged more than 3,500 people who have been treated for and survived Covid-19. He said the hospital system has had 580 Covid-19 deaths in total.
“This is something that we’ve all lived through and I hope that we all believe that we can maintain our social distance and our mask wearing so that we don’t have to repeat those numbers,” he said.
Churchwell was asked Friday about what role he would like to see YNHH play in the ongoing local and national response to Covid-19, and about his goals when taking over as president amidst the current public health crisis. Churchwell singled out for praise several aspects of the regional health system’s response.
He applauded local health care providers’ innovation in coming up with treatments and therapies for Covid-19 patients; the collaboration across disciplines among administrators, nurses, and clinicians at different YNHHS hospital campuses; the rapid expansion of intensive care unit beds and wings dedicated to Covid-sick patients’ and the well of information about the novel virus that YNHH researchers have developed along with Yale School of Medicine colleagues.
He said this moment presents YNHH with an opportunity to “redefine ourselves over the next six to 12 to 18 months.” He said that not just in regards to Covid-19, but also to how to deliver care and ensure patient health at a time of vast social and economic dislocation — let alone necessary disruptions to everyday life caused by social distancing and mask wearing.
“This is probably something I’ll be able to answer over the next few weeks than over the next few minutes,” he said.
He described himself as “humbled and honored” to take the role. “It’s going to be not only difficult, but also a unique opportunity as we continue to define what health care should be, not only here, but across the whole region and Connecticut.”
Keith Churchwell Bio
The following press release was sent out by YNHH Friday afternoon.
Yale New Haven Hospital photo
Keith Churchwell, MD, has been appointed as the new president of Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) beginning on October 5, 2020. Dr. Churchwell takes over the role from Richard D’Aquila who announced his retirement after nearly 15 years at Yale New Haven Health. Dr. Churchwell most recently served as chief operating officer and executive vice president for YNHH, after spending five years as the senior vice president charged with leadership of the heart and vascular service line.
Board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease, Dr. Churchwell arrived at Yale New Haven Hospital in 2015 from Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he served as executive director and chief medical officer of the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute.
“Keith has the perfect skills to advance Yale New Haven Hospital as a great teaching hospital and a critical resource to the greater New Haven communities,” said Borgstrom. “He has distinguished himself as a strategic thinker, thoughtful colleague and collaborator. We are fortunate to have someone with his level of clinical and administrative excellence serve as the new president of YNHH.”
Dr. Churchwell received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He completed his postgraduate training in cardiovascular disease and nuclear cardiology at Emory School of Medicine.
“I am deeply honored to serve as the next president of one of the nation’s leading, nationally-ranked teaching hospitals,” said Churchwell. “From the moment I arrived here in January of 2015, I knew this was a special place, filled with outstanding talent and individuals who were fully dedicated to the patients we serve. I am extremely enthusiastic about the future and the role of YNHH can play in transforming the delivery of healthcare.”
Dr. Churchwell currently serves on the national Board of Directors of the American Heart Association. He is active in the local community, serving as president of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and he is also known for his “Walk with a Doc” sessions on Saturday mornings in Dixwell and Newhallville neighborhoods of New Haven.
“Dr. Churchwell was the perfect choice to succeed Rick D’Aquila as president of Yale New Haven Hospital,” said Mary C. Farrell, chair, Yale New Haven Hospital Board of Directors. “When we looked around the country for candidates for this position, we saw a number of exceptionally talented leaders. However, it became quickly evident that we already had the best person right here in New Haven. His skills, talents and strategic vision blended with his exceptional clinical background make Keith the smart and obvious choice.”