A WORD FROM JENN SEARLS:

As we close out another eventful year, I reflect on the incredible achievements made by Connie and our partners, and what lies ahead for 2025. The new year is a time for recognizing wins and reflecting on progress, and 2024 has been nothing short of amazing for Connie as we continue to set the groundwork for a successful year of growth and connectivity moving ahead.  

Looking back, I feel an immense amount of pride in the amount of forward movement Connie has made. In the short period of January to October, we saw an over 200% increase of repeat users for the Connie Portal and InContext app, showing without doubt that healthcare organizations are truly benefiting from and incorporating Connie into their everyday workflow and propelling our mission of improving the quality, safety, and value of healthcare for patients in the state and is a testament to the success of Connie. 

Not only are connected healthcare organizations using Connie as a staple in their workflow, but we have also onboarded 1,078 new locations this year and supported more than 399,000 weekly patient encounters. Additionally, Connie has expanded our reach to 39 Skilled Nursing Facilities now connected to and participating in Connie; they join the more than 2,000 locations already connected to Connie and securely sharing patient information for the wellbeing of our state's residents. It's exciting to share this information as a testament to Connie and everything it has, and continues to offer, health organizations. 

The Connie team has also been active participants in both local and national conferences and events, including the Civitas Networks for Health and Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP) annual conferences, and CT Public Health Association Conference. As the healthcare landscape in Connecticut becomes more streamlined and integrated, we’re establishing an in-person presence and using these as opportunities to not only learn, but share Connie with leading organizations and invite them to discover the benefits of a health information exchange. 

A milestone I’m especially proud of is the launch of Connie’s Population Explorer Tool. Population Explorer is supplemented by data from Connie’s providers and CRISP Shared Services’ (CSS) Event Notification Delivery system (CEND), which delivers alerts in real time about patient hospital encounters, including a list of admission/discharge/transfer (ADT) alerts into one encounter. This allows appropriate providers and healthcare staff to accurately view their patient’s care history in an updated and complete format. 

The past year has also been one of establishing new groups, including our Patient and Family Advisory Committee (PFAC), Data Governance Committee, and Connie User Community. While Data Governance and the Connie User Community maintain a focus on health care organizations, PFAC serves as an invaluable source of information from the group that is at the heart of Connie – patients. As 2025 progresses, Connie will make strides in empowering, including, and serving Connecticut patients, starting with the launch of a patient portal, Connie Patient Connect. 

Thinking of the year ahead, I feel energized and eager to begin a new year of opportunities for Connie and am grateful for being part of an amazing team. The traction gained will serve as a springboard for driving meaningful enhancements in Connecticut’s healthcare system and fulfill our mission to enhance the health and well-being of Connecticut residents by providing health information technology services. 

NEW PARTICIPANTS ARE JOINING CONNIE EVERY DAY!

We are thrilled to share that as of last quarter, we have established connections with hundreds of participating organizations (POs) that securely exchange data for over 4.8 million patients through Connie. We would like to highlight some of our recently onboarded partners who are actively sharing data via our Health Information Exchange. This includes image sharing and ADTs with Hartford HealthCare, as well as Griffin Health participating in image share. Be sure to explore the Connected Participating Organizations Dashboard to view our continuously growing list of connected organizations and discover the valuable data they contribute! 

At Connie, we are constantly improving our tools and services to provide our connected organizations with the best services possible to enhance patient care. The Medication Management tool, which compiles medication data from sources like Continuity of Care Documents (CCDs) to support medication reconciliation and deprescribing, collaborative care, and clinical outcomes improvement, has recently been updated with an enhancement!  

The Medication Management tool now incorporates pharmacy data into the current Medication Management display to show medications filled, medications dispensed, and prescriber information.  

Using Medication Management, healthcare teams can enhance the accuracy and completeness of a patient's medication history, leading to more informed and effective decision-making as well as reducing medication errors and costs. To learn more about this tool, click here! 

CHECK OUT OUR LATEST PARTICIPANT TESTIMONIALS

"I have found Connie very helpful when interfacing with hospitals to help with discharge planning. Often, the hospital social worker is unsure of PRN administration, psychiatric medication changes and behavioral needs on the unit. Connie has helped to provide accurate information to assist with safe and effective discharge planning.” 

Brooke Lloyd, Psy.D., West Region Director of Clinical Services | Department of Developmental Services 

"With Connie, we were able look up labs and x-ray for a patient that was sent out for an ER visit. The quick access to patient information is exactly what we need to provide the best care for our patients." 

Amanda Hardy, Director of Admission | Vernon Rehabilitation & HealthCare Center

Check out the Connie blog’s newest entry by Jeremy Fournier, Connie’s Image Share Solution Makes Real Images Accessible in Near Real Time. The blog showcases insights and updates on all things Connie monthly, including real world uses for Connie services and first-hand experiences from organizations, authored by the Connie team and guests. Be sure to check out the blog today!

UPCOMING WEBINARS FOR PROSPECTIVE AND CONNECTED ORGS!

Not Yet Connected? Join Our FREE Webinar on the Power and Purpose of Connecting with Connie!

If you know a healthcare organization that hasn’t yet connected with Connie, share this free upcoming webinar, featuring steps to connect, overview, in-depth exploration of Connie’s core services, and a portal demonstration. This is an opportunity for healthcare organizations to discover how they can effortlessly enhance patient care through interoperable healthcare connectivity!

REGISTER NOW

Already Connected with Connie? Elevate Your Experience! Join Our FREE Webinar and Optimize Your User Experience!

Inviting all Connie-connected organizations to attend our free webinar! Join a Connie Account Manager as they walk us through the latest updates, portal demos, and live Q&A session. Although this webinar is hosted with connected and in-process organizations, everyone is encouraged to attend! 

REGISTER NOW

WELCOME OUR NEW TEAM MEMBER

As Connie continues to grow, so does our talented and dedicated team. We're excited to welcome Aryan Anthony to the team as Executive Coordinator & Financial Assistant. Aryan joined Connie this January and is working with Gwen Reyes, Director of Finance & Administration. 

"I am very excited to join Connie as it presents an incredible opportunity to contribute my administrative expertise within a forward-thinking and innovative organization that focuses on improving patient outcomes"

-Aryan Anthony

CELEBRATING CONNIE ANNIVERSARIES

We’re so excited to commemorate the work anniversaries of three team members at Connie! We've asked Executive Director Jenn Searls, Account Manager Amanda Jandreau, Project Manager Kelsey Parrish, and Project Manager Kari Sovanski to share their thoughts and greatest lessons learned here. Thank you for all that you do! 

What I love about Connie are the stakeholders that work with the Connie team to improve the quality of the services we offer the state. We have members on our Clinical Advisory Council, our Patient and Family Advisory Council, Data Governance Committee, our Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security Committee, our Finance and Audit Committee and our Board who all willingly share their experience, their time, and their feedback to help Connie meet its mission of improving the health and wellbeing of Connecticut's residents.  

We couldn't do it without their active participation and support!  

Three years ago, I joined the Connie team, and I have loved every minute of working here. The environment created by leadership and my fellow colleagues is something I strived to work with my entire career. I continue to grow each day and learn from the people I am surrounded by, so I can be the best version of myself for the accounts I manage. The biggest thing I have learned is the value in working as a team and leaning on others to find the best solution for any situation.  

Working at Connie has been a great experience and I can't believe it's already been 2 years! Connie does such a great job at valuing their employees. I've enjoyed strengthening connections with my teammates and working alongside such talented people! This year I had the opportunity to attend a Civitas conference and connect with others in the health care industry. It's very rewarding to hear how our projects have had such a positive impact on the Connecticut community. Connie has come so far in such a short time, and I look forward to seeing what else we can do!    

I love working with such supportive teammates! The underlying support we have for each other helps drive the care we have in our work and our ability to deliver products that enhance patient care and eases some of the day-to-day barriers for providers. I look forward to all the things we'll do in the upcoming year! 

YOUR OPINION MATTERS!

If you're a regular Connie user and would like to provide us with some feedback on our current services, we would love to hear from you! Please take 2 minutes to complete our survey below. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!