04/22/2026
NORTHEAST NEWSREEL - (Putnam CT)
DAY KIMBALL TO SIGN UCONN HEALTH DEAL
UConn Health set to strike deals with Day Kimball, Bristol to expand its new hospital network statewide
By Liese Klein
CT Insider
Staff Writer
April 20, 2026
At least one financially troubled hospital is set to announce a formal agreement to join the new UConn Health Community Network, according to Gov. Ned Lamont.
Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam hosted the governor on Friday and CEO Kyle Kramer said at a news event that a formal deal would be signed this week.
"Day Kimball Health and UConn Health continue to make progress toward a Letter of Intent for affiliation," Kramer said in a statement on Monday. "As a rural health provider, Day Kimball is excited about the potential of affiliating with the UConn Health Community Network to strengthen workforce development, expand clinical programs, and advance population health efforts.
“We made an announcement about Day Kimball, we’re going to help (it) merge with UConn Health, really keep that hospital vibrant and here forever,” Lamont said in an interview on Friday on WINY radio.
Bristol Hospital, which has also been named as part of a future statewide UConn Health system, may announce a similar deal with the state in coming days, CEO Kurt Barwis said on Monday.
“We should have something in terms of an update later this week, early next week,” Barwis said in an email.
Waterbury Hospital, formerly owned by for-profit Prospect Medical Holdings, was the first to join the UConn Health Community Network, envisioned as a lower-cost alternative to the state’s larger hospital chains. Comptroller Sean Scanlon has said that state employees would be incentivized to seek care at UConn Health hospitals.
UConn Health formally took over in Waterbury on March 1.
Legislators approved $390 million in new state bonds late last year to fund UConn Health’s expansion, with hospitals joining the system becoming part of a new private, nonprofit subsidiary. Unlike workers at flagship John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington, workers at hospitals joining the UConn Health Community Network will not be state employees.
UConn Health needed to expand to ensure it stays afloat in a time of rising expenses and federal cutbacks, according to a consultant’s study cited by multiple lawmakers. Smaller independent hospitals facing mounting losses could also be kept open as part of the larger system, the study concluded, ensuring access to medical care in relatively remote areas of Connecticut.
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