YNHHS plans for new digestive health service line

Effective Oct. 1, Yale New Haven Health will launch a digestive health service line that will provide early detection and medical and surgical treatments for a variety of conditions in a coordinated and patient-centered model. Susan Maxwell, RN, MBA, currently vice president of Surgical Services for Yale New Haven Hospital, will lead the new service line.

In 2006, Yale New Haven established the Children’s, Heart and Vascular, Neurosciences, Oncology and Transplantation service lines, and added Musculoskeletal services in 2015. The decision to create a digestive health service line was prompted in part by greater recognition of lifelong digestive issues and demonstrated benefits of early detection and treatment.

“Our service line strategy has expanded access to advanced, specialized care for people in Connecticut and throughout the region,” said Richard D’Aquila, YNHHS president. “We have been able to attract and care for more complex patients, recruit leading specialists and establish patient-centered, multidisciplinary programs. Digestive health is an opportunity to link our destination services capabilities with the expertise of our community physician partners.”

Maxwell will work closely with YNHHS delivery networks, Yale Medicine and other physician partners to develop the digestive health service line. She has over 33 years of leadership experience, including eight with Yale New Haven. She was named YNHH director of Women’s Services in 2011, served as interim director of Yale New Haven Children's Hospital from 2012 to 2013 and became vice president of Perioperative Services in 2014. Before joining YNHH, Maxwell was senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Women and Infants Hospital in Rhode Island and held leadership positions at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and Hartford Hospital. She earned her BSN from Texas Christian University and her MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.