Hospital President announces transition
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Thomas P. Pipicelli, who has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of The William W. Backus Hospital for 15 years, has announced that he will transition out of that role on July 1, 2009.
After July, Mr. Pipicelli will continue serving the organization as President of Backus Corporation — a position he has also held for the past 15 years — through December 2011. Backus Corporation is the parent company of all Backus subsidiaries, including the hospital.
The decision to implement this succession plan was developed following several months of discussions and planning with Board leadership, and was approved Monday evening by the Board of Directors/Trustees. It was announced Tuesday morning to senior leadership and department heads, and communicated immediately to employees, medical staff and volunteers.
“The Backus family has a very dear place in my heart, and it is important to me that my transition from hospital President and CEO be as smooth as possible,” Mr. Pipicelli said. “This has been a great 15 years and I am looking forward to the next three years of success at Backus, as well.”
Mr. Pipicelli has more than 39 years’ experience in healthcare management, including positions at New Rochelle Hospital and Medical Center in New Rochelle, N.Y., Middlesex Hospital, Meriden-Wallingford Hospital and the University of Connecticut Health Center, and has served as a medic and OR Tech in the U.S. Army.
“I have seen Backus transformed from a community hospital to a true regional healthcare provider under Tom’s leadership. We have had an incredible 15 years of progress and success,” said Peter V. Disch, Chairman of the Board. “I’m so pleased that Tom will continue as part of the Backus team.”
Longtime Medical Staff member Franklin P. Friedman, MD, praised Mr. Pipicelli for “visionary leadership.”
“I was on the committee that brought Tom here, I worked with him for five years as Medical Staff President and Acting Medical Director, as a Board member for nine years and a member of the Medical Executive Committee for the last 15 years,” Dr. Friedman said. “Through it all, Tom has made the tough decisions that have created the caring, thoroughly modern hospital our community enjoys today. This is a credit to his leadership.”
The Board has appointed a transition committee to seek candidates for the position. In addition to Mr. Disch, the committee is comprised of immediate past Board Chairman Richard H. Strouse, Treasurer James P. Cronin, Vice Chairman Attorney Ronald A. Goldstein, Medical Staff President Stephen T. Briggs, MD, and Board member and past Chairman Robert T. Ramsdell.
“Backus Hospital has a solid foundation, and I am confident we will continue our track record of success,” Mr. Disch said.
15 years of growth
The average tenure of a hospital Chief Executive Officer is five years, but Thomas P. Pipicelli has spent 15 at the helm of The William W. Backus Hospital. In that time, Backus has been transformed from a community hospital to a true regional healthcare leader.
Backus has a reputation as one of the most progressive community hospitals in the Northeast, with more than 2,500 employees, medical staff members and volunteers on the main hospital campus and off site locations in Colchester, Gales Ferry, Groton, Jewett City, Mashantucket, Montville and Plainfield.
Here are some of the highlights:
- Fifteen consecutive years of positive financial results. "Backus is one of only a few hospitals in Connecticut that can boast this accomplishment," Mr. Disch said.
- Effectively doubling the size of the hospital campus with the purchase of 11 acres off Matlack Drive. Currently used for employee parking, this strategically important space adjacent to the hospital could be used for expansion in the future.
- Completing a $50-million expansion - the most extensive and expensive in the hospital's history. The BackusCare project included doubling the size of the Emergency Department, expanding Same Day surgery, providing two new inpatient floors that include mostly private rooms, adding the latest radiation therapy technology, a new cardiac rehabilitation center and a new pharmacy. The project was completed in a record two years.
- Designation as the only Trauma Center in eastern Connecticut, and home to Hartford Hospital's LIFE STAR helicopter.
- Construction of the Medical Office Building on the main hospital campus that houses a wide array of physician offices, the Dr. Sultan Ahamed Radiation Therapy Center and other healthcare-related services.
- The establishment of off-site health centers, including transforming a former department store into the Backus Outpatient Care Center in Norwich - a 57,000-square-foot medical facility; creating and expanding health centers in Colchester, Gales Ferry and Montville; providing radiology services in Groton, Colchester, Norwichtown and soon at the Outpatient Care Center.
- Achieving a series of "firsts" in medical technology. Backus was the first hospital in the region to acquire 16-slice and then 64-slice CT scanners; the first to add Image-Guided Radiation Therapy; and the first to acquire a surgical robot to assist specially-trained surgeons with minimally invasive procedures.
- Earning state- and nation-wide recognition for quality. These include the Connecticut Hospital Association's John D. Thompson Award for eliminating central line infections in the critical care setting; designation as a Community Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center; and being the only hospital in Connecticut ever to earn the Commission on Cancer's Outstanding Achievement Award.
- Recognition as a leader in patient satisfaction. In surveys conducted by the nation's largest independent agency, patients rated the Backus Emergency Department in the top 1% in the entire nation.
"This all would not have been possible except for the support and abilities of a truly dedicated and competent hospital staff working together to fulfill our mission," Mr. Pipicelli said.