

2025 AHA Quest for Quality Winner | Hartford HealthCare

鈥楢spiring to be the best at getting better鈥
Hartford HealthCare鈥檚 seven hospitals were far from leading in safety when the Connecticut health system set an ambitious goal: Every hospital would achieve an A rating in safety from the Leapfrog Group.
Within five years, each of the hospitals earned an A grade. But Jeffrey Flaks, the system鈥檚 president and CEO, was not content to leave it at that.
鈥淲e talk every day, not about aspiring to be the best, but aspiring to be the best at getting better,鈥 he says. 鈥淲e are obsessed with continuous improvement, and our 45,000 colleagues who produced these really extraordinary results challenge ourselves to learn from others, to identify new and better ways to do things and to work to reimagine health care constantly.鈥
Continuous Improvement Is Contagious
That focus on patient safety generated a 70% reduction in health care-associated infections between 2015 and 2023. At the end of fiscal year 2023, Hartford HealthCare鈥檚 Serious Safety Event Rate was an exceptional 0.21 per 10,000 adjusted patient days.
This is one of many reasons Hartford HealthCare recently was named the AHA鈥檚 2025 Quest for Quality Prize winner. The award recognizes hospitals and health systems that are committed to and are making significant progress in providing access to safe, timely, effective, efficient patient- and family-centered affordable care of exceptional quality.
Flaks attributes the progress in patient safety to a culture change supported by new leaders 鈥 partners Stephanie Calcasola, R.N., chief quality officer, and Ajay Kumar, M.D., chief clinical officer 鈥 who were given the mandate and the freedom to do what was necessary.
3 Keys to Hartford HealthCare鈥檚 Success
1 | Recruit for a safety culture.
The system鈥檚 recruitment process was changed to include questions about safety behaviors and emotional intelligence in candidate interviews to ensure that new hires were aligned with Hartford HealthCare鈥檚 safety culture. All employees, clinical and nonclinical, undergo high-reliability organization training 鈥 dubbed 鈥淪afety Starts With Me鈥 鈥 as part of their onboarding process.
Takeaway
Consistent messaging is essential to drive culture change, Kumar says. 鈥淪tephanie has clearly communicated goals and expectations across the system and has been a strong advocate for a just culture. Her leadership has fostered an environment in which safety events can be reported comfortably and constructively.鈥
2 | Recognize staff who self-report safety events.
Calcasola celebrates the fact that staff members self-reported more than 8,000 safety events in 2023, a 48% increase over those of 2021. Leaders highlight colleagues who have experienced a near-miss event and mitigated harm and showcase when bad things happen.
Takeaway
鈥淵ou learn from errors and our colleagues believe that by reporting events, we are putting the patient at the center, and the organization is going to address the situation from a systematic point of view,鈥 Calcasola says.
3 | Leverage the value of education, simulation and innovation.
Hartford HealthCare鈥檚 Center for Education, Simulation and Innovation (CESI) is one of the largest and best-equipped medical simulators in the country. Supporting both internal and external learners and medical device developers, CESI attracts more than 21,000 individuals and trainers each year.
Takeaway
When Calcasola and Kumar set out to minimize catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), CESI was equipped with mannequins that featured a range of enlarged prostates to allow nurses to practice real-life situations. Kumar notes that 96% of the critical care nurses were trained with simulation, and CAUTIs were reduced by 30% in a five-month period.
2025 AHA Quest for Quality Finalist | CommonSpirit Health
Standardizing Care to Improve Systemwide Performance
Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health was named a finalist for the AHA鈥檚 2025 Quest for Quality Prize for its ability to standardize care to boost performance across its system.
CEO Wright Lassiter III says his organization鈥檚 journey to become 鈥淥ne CommonSpirit鈥 has driven consistent improvements in quality and patient outcomes across the organization.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about a single program but a shift toward a standardized approach that supports our ability to deliver high-quality care for all,鈥 he says.
For example, when leaders in CommonSpirit鈥檚 Pacific Northwest region reported their success with artificial intelligence-enabled tools that notify a provider prior to a patient鈥檚 visit which cancer screenings should be ordered, the organization rolled out the technology systemwide.
When a system level of quality or safety priority is identified, CommonSpirit uses an eight-step process to cascade changes throughout all hospitals in the system. In the past three years, the process has been used on nearly 20 metrics to elevate the system鈥檚 performance from below the national median to the top third or better.
Learn More
To get the full story on Hartford HealthCare and CommonSpirit Health鈥檚 success, download the honoree booklet. For more about the Quest for Quality Prize or to download an application for the 2026 prize, visit the AHA鈥檚 application webpage. Applications are due Sept. 9.