Hartford HealthCare’s CEO Honored for Leading on Cost, Safety and Community Health

Award announced: a national prize for local leadership

On Dec. 15, 2025, Costs of Care and The Leapfrog Group jointly announced that Jeffrey A. Flaks, chief executive officer of Hartford HealthCare, has been named the recipient of the Steven Schroeder Award for Outstanding Healthcare Leadership. The two organizations presented the honor in a press release issued from Hartford, Conn., calling out Flaks for work that they say has driven better safety and lower costs across the health system.

What the Steven Schroeder Award recognizes and why Flaks was picked

The Steven Schroeder Award is given to a health leader who shows measurable progress on three linked goals: improving patient safety, cutting unnecessary costs, and increasing transparency so patients and payers can see the true value of care. Costs of Care and The Leapfrog Group administer the prize together and look for leaders whose programs produce visible, verifiable results rather than pledges.

In announcing Flaks’s selection, the organizations highlighted several practical achievements at Hartford HealthCare. They pointed to systemwide efforts to reduce avoidable hospital readmissions, initiatives to streamline care that cut wasteful spending, and programs that made safety data easier for the public to find. The groups said these efforts fit the award’s emphasis on leadership that balances quality and cost without sacrificing patient experience.

Hartford HealthCare and the groups giving the honor

Hartford HealthCare is one of Connecticut’s largest health systems, operating hospitals, outpatient clinics and specialty programs in the region. In recent years it has pushed on quality measures and patient-safety programs that aim to lower harm and reduce the need for expensive follow-up care.

The Leapfrog Group is a watchdog nonprofit that rates hospitals on safety, while Costs of Care focuses on lowering unnecessary spending and making price and quality information easier to use. Both organizations have been influential among employers and policymakers looking for ways to keep health care affordable and safe, and the award is meant to spotlight leaders who make those goals real at scale.

What the organizations and Flaks said about the award

In the Dec. 15, 2025 press release, Costs of Care said, “This year’s winner shows how leadership can bend the curve on cost while raising safety standards for patients.” The Leapfrog Group added, “Hartford HealthCare’s transparent reporting and sustained safety gains made Jeffrey Flaks a clear choice for this honor.” (Statements quoted from the joint press release, Dec. 15, 2025.)

Jeffrey A. Flaks, in the same release, said, “We are proud that our teams have focused on delivering safer care more efficiently. This recognition belongs to clinicians and staff who make quality improvements day after day.” (Jeffrey A. Flaks, Dec. 15, 2025 press release.)

How this award could change things for Hartford HealthCare

An award like this is mostly a reputation boost, but reputation matters in health care. For Hartford HealthCare, the honor can help recruit clinicians who want to work in a system known for safety and sensible cost policy. It also makes the system more visible to employers and community groups that buy or refer care, and it may strengthen Hartford HealthCare’s standing in conversations about regional health planning.

From a policy angle, the award points regulators and buyers to a model that ties safety work to cost savings. That doesn’t mean new rules will follow immediately, but public recognition from two respected groups can increase interest among large employers and insurers in adopting similar metrics or partnerships.

Finally, patients often respond to visible signs of quality. Clear reporting on safety and lower rates of avoidable complications are arguments a hospital system can use to build trust. For Hartford HealthCare, the practical effects are likely to be gradual: stronger recruiting, firmer ties with purchasers of care, and a clearer public narrative that the system is focused on both cost and safety.

Overall, the award presents Jeffrey Flaks and Hartford HealthCare as an example of leadership that aims to make health care safer and more affordable — a message that resonates beyond Connecticut as employers and communities look for ways to control costs without cutting care.

Sources

• prnewswire.com