More than 125 people attended Milford Regional Medical Center’s January 23 Annual Meeting of the Corporation, held via Zoom. In addition to discussing the recent challenges within the healthcare care industry and Milford Regional’s Year in Review, the hospital’s 2023 Milford Regional Medical Center and Milford Regional Physician Group Board of Trustees officers were introduced by outgoing Board chair Laura Mann. 

“These are difficult times for hospitals everywhere and having involved and dedicated Board members to assist the leadership of the hospital is so very critical,” said Mann, who served on the Board for the last nine years and was the first woman chair. “I’m proud of the steps the Board has taken in recent years to diversify and involve so many new community members and the success of our hospital is the result of the hard work of our employees, our leadership and the Board.” 

The 2023 Milford Regional Medical Center and Milford Regional Physician Group Board of Trustees slate of officers include Chair Anthony M. Consigli (Consigli Construction Co., Inc.), Vice Chair Brian J. Earley (NPP Development/Kraft Group), Clerk Denise Brookhouse (Koopman Lumber Company), and Treasurer Gordon A. Lewis III (Altman and Company).  

Consigli is the chief executive officer of Consigli Construction Co., Inc., one of the largest general contractors in the northeast and headquartered in Milford. He has served on the Milford Regional Medical Center and Milford Regional Physician Group Board of Trustees since 2019 and on the Milford Regional Healthcare Foundation Board of Trustees from 2004 through 2016. Recently, Consigli and his wife, Susan, chaired the hospital’s Mélange 2022 Gala benefit, which raised a record-breaking $1.1 million.

“I’m very proud to be serving as Board chair,” Consigli said. “Milford Regional is fortunate to have so many valued community members who have supported the hospital since its founding nearly 120 years ago.”

In addition to the Board officer slate announcement at the meeting, President and Chief Executive Officer Milford Regional Medical Center and Healthcare System Edward J. Kelly reflected on the challenges the healthcare industry has faced over the last year, explaining COVID-19 continues to be at the forefront of those challenges. Consequently, like most hospitals, Milford Regional faced high patient acuity and volume and staffing issues throughout 2022.

According to Kelly, the pandemic also caused significant financial impacts to the hospital, resulting in a $14 million operating loss in 2022. “Many of the contributing factors of this loss were out of our control,” he explained. “So, our focus was to look at what we could control, and largely it was to take care of our community in the COVID-19 era.”

Despite those challenges, Kelly highlighted a number of Milford Regional’s accomplishments in 2022.

In addition to Kelly, Chief Medical Officer Peter Smulowitz, MD, MPH and Milford Regional Physician Group President Patrick McSweeney, MD presented at the meeting.

Smulowitz reflected on the difficulties both patients and medical staff faced in 2022 as the third year of COVID comes to an end. He also spoke on this winter’s “tridemic” of COVID, influenza and RSV, which severely impacted emergency department wait times and placed a difficult burden on the clinician workforce. McSweeney discussed clinician recruitment efforts over the last year, naming more than 30 new providers who have joined the Milford Regional team. 

To view a recording of Milford Regional’s Annual Meeting of the Corporation, visit foundation.milfordregional.org. To view Milford Regional’s FY 22 Annual Report, “Community at Our Core,” visit milfordregional.org