Op-Ed: A Lifeline for Rural Connecticut

A Lifeline for Rural Connecticut
By State Senator Heather Somers and State Senator Jeff Gordon, M.D.

This summer, we warned that Connecticut’s hospitals were being pushed to the brink. Financial strain caused by the state’s hospital tax and chronic underfunding have left even our most resilient institutions scrambling to meet the needs of their communities. Nowhere has that reality been more evident than in the northeast corner of our state—where Day Kimball Hospital, an acute-care hospital serving this rural region, has been fighting to survive.

For the past several years, through our work on the Public Health and Appropriations Committees—and in partnership with our colleague in the House of Representatives, Anne Dauphinais—we have fought tirelessly to keep Day Kimball’s doors open. We have advocated for support within the Department of Public Health budget, pushed for and voted for state bonding money, and remained committed to this cause. While Democrats currently hold all three levels of power in state government, we as Republicans have continued to do everything we can to support healthcare in Northeastern Connecticut, while trying to deter intended or unintended consequences of recent hospital legislation. We believe firmly that allowing hospitals to close is a point of no return, and we must do everything we can to prevent that outcome.

During the November special session, the General Assembly took a decisive step in authorizing UConn Health to expand its network and bring Day Kimball Hospital under its umbrella. We supported $390 million for the UConn Health initiative, as well as $17 million over the past three years, and $7.5 million for the next two years direct to Day Kimball. Some may ask why this move was necessary. The better question is, what did critics believe would happen if we didn’t act? Because the answer is simple and unacceptable: Day Kimball would have closed, and northeastern Connecticut would have been pushed further into a health care desert from which it may never have recovered.

For years, Day Kimball has offered essential services that many residents elsewhere may take for granted. Emergency care, maternity services, behavioral health, specialty clinics, cancer care, primary care, and a network of providers who know their communities personally. Unlike large urban hospitals, Day Kimball cannot rely on high patient volumes or deep financial reserves. And, as the Office of Health Strategy sanctioned the closing of needed inpatient labor & delivery services at Johnson Memorial Hospital and Windham Hospital (which we fought against), Day Kimball Hospital provides the only inpatient labor & delivery service in northeast Connecticut, something we have successfully fought to preserve.

And yet, this hospital is the backbone of the region. More than 1,000 people work for Day Kimball Healthcare between nurses, technicians, physicians, and support staff, making it one of the top employers and the center of the local health delivery system. Tens of thousands of residents depend on it.

Both of us represent communities that rely directly on Day Kimball Hospital. Our districts include towns that need its primary care and specialty services. When Day Kimball struggles, our constituents feel it immediately—families, seniors, small businesses, and first responders alike. We hear from residents who cannot afford to lose their only nearby hospital, and we share their concern. For the people we represent, this is about preserving access to lifesaving care in the towns we are entrusted to serve.

When a rural hospital falters, entire communities lose access. Maternity units close. Specialists disappear. Emergency response times lengthen. Families are forced to travel 30, 45, even 60 minutes for care. Health outcomes worsen. Communities shrink as young families and employers look elsewhere. That was the future northeastern Connecticut was facing.

Connecticut’s hospital funding structure has become fundamentally off-kilter. The hospital provider tax originally created to leverage federal Medicaid dollars and reinvest in care has been repeatedly used as a state budget-balancing mechanism instead. The result has been net losses for hospitals year after year, culminating in a lawsuit and a fragile settlement that expires in 2026.

Under the state’s new budget, the hospital tax will jump from $820 million to $1.195 billion—a $375 million increase. Supplemental payments back to hospitals rise by only $210 million in comparison. The math doesn’t lie: hospitals are being asked to pay far more into the system than they receive in return. Large health systems may be able to absorb the blow. Small, rural hospitals cannot.

Day Kimball has been clear that without structural relief, modernization, and financial support, its ability to stay open would have been in jeopardy.

As members of the Appropriations Committee, we worked on the Higher Education Financial Sustainability Advisory Board to find a better way to responsibly fund UConn Health and chart a path for its long-term financial sustainability.  An important part of this effort is to expand UConn Health’s outreach.  By incorporating Day Kimball Hospital into UConn Health, a potential “win-win-win” can be achieved. A win for the future of Day Kimball Hospital and UConn Health.  A win for keeping and expanding local patient care services in northeast Connecticut.  A win for preserving and increasing good jobs locally.

Some may call the plan bold. Others may call it expensive. But what no one can argue is that the alternative was viable. Without intervention, Day Kimball would have faced closure or drastic service cuts, unleashing consequences that would ripple for decades. The people of northeastern Connecticut deserve the same access to quality care as any resident of Hartford, Stamford, or New Haven.  Geographic isolation should not condemn rural families to poorer health or limited options.

The General Assembly made the right decision in this special session. But we cannot let this be another temporary fix. If we want to prevent more hospitals from reaching the edge, Connecticut must commit to a long-term strategy that treats healthcare institutions as partners, not piggy banks.