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Jennings to Join Hartford HealthCare as Fairfield Region President

May 26, 2021

William M. Jennings will join Hartford HealthCare as President of its Fairfield Region, which includes St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport. He will also be a system-level Senior Vice President.

Vincent DiBattista, the current regional president, will continue to lead major system initiatives, focusing on the successful integration of clinical practices and programs, until his planned retirement in September 2022.

Jennings, 53, comes to Hartford HealthCare from Tower Health, a seven-hospital system in Southeastern Pennsylvania, where he is an executive vice president and president and CEO of the system’s flagship 714-bed Reading Hospital. Prior to his current role, Jennings was executive vice president for Yale New Haven Health and CEO of Bridgeport Hospital for eight years.

“Bill Jennings is a healthcare leader with great vision and passion for improving the health of the communities we serve” said Jeffrey A. Flaks, Hartford HealthCare’s president and CEO. “In addition to his deep expertise, we are excited about Bill’s strong alignment with our core values and drive to make healthcare more accessible, more affordable, while delivering higher levels of quality and service.”

Prior to his leadership of Bridgeport Hospital, Jennings was president of SSM St. Mary’s Health Center in St. Louis, a 582-bed teaching hospital serving a diverse community and broad geographic region. He also served as president of the SSM St. Louis Heart Institute, which served six hospitals. He has held executive positions with BayCare Health System in Florida and the Cookeville Regional Medical Center in Cookeville, Tenn. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Miami University, and his Master’s degree in Hospital Administration from Ohio State University.

DiBattista, who joined HHC in 2015 as President of the HHC Medical Group, has led the Fairfield Region since it began as part of Hartford HealthCare in October 2019.

“We are extremely grateful for Vince’s transformation leadership that successfully integrated St. Vincent’s into HHC, while enhancing access for patients throughout Fairfield County, and recruiting many talented experts to better care for the region,” said Flaks. “Further, we are delighted that he will continue to advance key strategic priorities across our healthcare system.”

Jennings will begin at Hartford HealthCare on July 19.