Destination Health is led by Richard D’Aquila
A seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in building and operating academic health systems in highly competitive environments, Rick has served in C-suite roles at both New York Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell Weill Medical Center and Yale New Haven Hospital and Health System.
During his tenure in New Haven, he achieved 14 years of unprecedented growth and financial performance for both Yale New Haven Hospital and its Medical School partner, Yale School of Medicine.
His background also includes senior executive roles at Ascension Health / St Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport and Health Initiatives Corporation, a strategic consulting firm based in Providence, Rhode Island.
He brings 40 years of healthcare leadership and consulting experience to highly complex and challenging situations facing healthcare systems.
The transformation of Yale New Haven Health System
During his tenure at Yale New Haven and as Yale New Haven Health System President, he accomplished the following:
• Integration of the Hospital of Saint Raphael into Yale New Haven Hospital operations.
• Development and implementation of a vision to establish Yale New Haven Hospital as a regionally preeminent destination hospital.
• Created specific vision components including:
o Becoming a high reliability organization with a culture of safety and transparency
o Leading specialty clinical programs
o Development of a statewide physician network
o Delivery of a superior patient centered experience
o Definition and implementation of employer of choice strategies
o Epic technology information across the Health System
o Efficient and cost effective operations
• Implementation of a service line structure aligned with the medical center’s destination hospital vision. Structural elements include:
o Children’s Hospital
o Smilow Cancer Hospital
o Heart and Vascular
o Neurosciences
o Transplant
o Musculoskeletal
o Digestive Health
Ambulatory strategic planning
Another aspect of Rick D’Aquila’s experience is patient-centered ambulatory strategic planning in collaboration with academic system hospitals and medical school leadership.
In practice, this enables Destination Health to:
• Integrate medical staff and nursing administration functions across health systems.
• Develop and lead system-wide cost and value positioning, with an emphasis on clinical redesign (care delivery transformation) and physician engagement.
• Assemble a leadership team with a track record of superior operating performance, strategic agility and effective execution.