Amid an exodus of senior staffers, new CEO Jamesina Henderson vowed to “reinvigorate” New Haven’s oldest and largest community health center.
Henderson took the reins of the Cornell Scott Hill Health Corporation in July, less than a year after the death of founder Cornell Scott. Over 35 years, Scott had expanded the center to 10 locations and 500 employees.
Under the supervision of Henderson and interim CEO Carolyn Holmes, who directly preceded her, at least eight members of the organization’s senior staff resigned, retired, or were fired. Several had been at the top of the organization for decades.
Henderson acknowledged that the staffing shakeup has had an impact on her new leadership. But it’s not unusual for there to be such changes when a new CEO comes in, she said.
“I think things are going really well,” Henderson said in an interview Tuesday afternoon. She was seated at a conference table in her spacious second floor office at 400 Columbus Ave.
Henderson recently relocated from Los Angeles, where she was head of To Help Everyone Clinic, Inc, a large community health center. Originally from Washington D.C., Henderson said that she was drawn to Hill Health by the opportunity to be a part of “legacy institution” with a national reputation.
As part of her first duties as CEO, Henderson said, she has been overseeing the ongoing renovation of several Hill Health locations, including the main clinic on Columbus Avenue. Infrastructure improvements, as well as consistent branding at all the locations, top her list, she said.
The look and feel of a health center are keys to creating a welcoming and professional atmosphere, Henderson said. Pointing out the new trees that have been planted outside, she said, “It’s all important.”
She said that she is also focusing on building relationships with important local health care institutions.
Henderson called the resignations of public relations head Bob Kilpatrick, Chief Operating Officer Gary Spinner, and Chief Financial Officer Charlie Rose “coincident with my coming.” Kilpatrick had been with Hill Health for 30 years, Spinner for 20.
“I wouldn’t say that was part of a design,” she explained. Rather, she called the departures part of the “natural evolution of an organization.”
Henderson said Human Resources Director Heidi Foster-Cho “separated” with the company before she arrived, and Dental Director Dr. Alexandra Chan has since “separated,” too. Henderson declined to comment on whether the women had resigned or been fired.
During and immediately preceding Henderson’s tenure, Hill Health also lost Head of Payroll Judi Diorio, Senior Development and Marketing Officer Mimi Fahy, and Medical Director’s Secretary Linda Piscatelli.
“But I think that’s not uncommon,” Henderson said of the staffing shakeup; new leadership often coincides with staff turnover.
Staff who have separated from Hill Health declined to speak on the record for this article.
An anonymous current employee of Hill Health said employees were shaken by the rapid turnovers that accompanied Henderson’s arrival.
“My sense is that people were shell-shocked by the speed and intensity with which Ms. Henderson took over the reins,” the employee reported. “The leadership of HHC has, for better or worse, not seen a lot of turnover in the past decade. So, the shake up in the upper echelons was a new experience for those used to working in a community health environment. But now we know how things can be when new leadership comes to town.”
A New Team
Henderson said she has brought in new staff to “reinvigorate the team.”
“We would like our staff to say that we are an employer of first choice,” she said later.
One new hire is Terry Goodwin (at right in photo, with Resource Developer Rose Swift), the chief of clinical and administrative services. Goodwin is a former vice-president at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. She has been working on improving efficiency at Hill Health.
Joining Henderson in her office on Tuesday, Goodwin said that a new emphasis on “evidence-based medicine” will help Hill Health to better track the progress of its patients. The initiative includes improved electronic record-keeping that will help avoid duplicate tests, and improved communication and referrals with area specialists.
These improvements were already underway at Hill Health before she came aboard, Goodwin explained. “We’re just increasing the speed of the evolution.”
“We’ve stepped everything up a notch,” Henderson said.
State Sen. Toni Harp, who works as Hill Health’s project coordinator for homeless healthcare, expressed similar sentiments.
The new leaders are “asking us to become more efficient,” she said. They’re “trying to improve the manner in which we provide services.”
“There’s a sense that we’d gotten a little lapsed on some of the technical issues,” Harp said. She said that the staffing changes at the top haven’t affected the mission of the center.
The changes described are welcomed and were badly needed. The comment by the annonymous current employee is very telling. She/he like so many of the other employees had grown accustomed to the status quo. Even good and innovative employees lose sight of what they can contribute when those at the top provide no leadership. No one should occupy a position for 20 or 30 years without having significant contributions to show for those years. The Hill Health Center is an institution that had not been living up to its potential for a long time.
We hope that with new insightful, skilled and invigorated leadership the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center will again become the place it once was before Cornell Scott's long illness. If any place in CT needs a dynamic, efficient and skilled health care facility it is the Hill neighborhood.