Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal | July 9, 2018 | wbjournal.com P O W E R 5 0 H E A L T H C A R E RICHARD P. BURKE PRESIDENT & CEO FALLON HEALTH, WORCESTER Residence: Worcester Colleges: Assumption College, Boston College, Cornell University As CEO of one of the major Massachusetts nonprofit health insurers – and the only one headquartered in Worcester – Burke is in charge of the care for 276,893 members, representing nearly 10 percent of the total statewide market. His role is provide strategic direction to sustain and grow an organization in the financially strained healthcare industry. Aer posting a $20-million loss in 2016, Burke brought the insurer into the black for 2017, netting $8 million. Under his direction, Fallon has played an important role in the formation of accountable care organizations in Central Massachusetts, teaming with the likes of Reliant Medical Group to form ACOs, which is seen as a solution for increasing healthcare costs by reimbursing providers for keeping populations healthy, rather than focusing on sick care. Burke serves on the boards of Assumption College and the Worcester Business Development Corp. What advice would you give up-and-comers? Focus, work hard, be patient. Outdoorsman: I love spending time outdoors, particularly hiking and fishing. I especially enjoy when I can get in a fishing trip to the Florida Keys. HOLLY CHAFFEE PRESIDENT & CEO VNA CARE, WORCESTER Residence: Enfield, Conn. Colleges: Skidmore College, University of Hartford Chaffee took over in February as the leader of VNA Care, a 1,250-employee firm that's been part of the Central Massachusetts community for more than 125 years. VNA Care has nine clinical offices and three hospice locations in Massachusetts, as well as home health care. Replacing Mary Ann O'Connor as CEO aer O'Connor's 45-year career, Chaffee comes into VNA at an important crossroads for the organization, as it had to close its daycare center due to low federal reimbursement for home health services. Chaffee says she sees an incredible opportunity to innovate new models of care to help meet needs in the community. What advice would you give up-and-comers? You can do anything you put your mind to. I was the first person in my family to go to college. All you need to do is to believe in yourself, and be honest and transparent with all those you serve. A media star: I had my TV debut on CNN's Sonya Live in the 1980s. My airtime was between Placido Domingo and Kenny Rogers, and my topic was discussing how to raise two sets of twins 15 months apart successfully. ERIC DICKSON PRESIDENT & CEO UMASS MEMORIAL HEALTH CARE, WORCESTER Residence: Princeton Colleges: Merrimack College, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Harvard University Dickson has worked his way up the ranks at UMass to become the $2.4-billion system's president and CEO in 2013 at just 46. He was an emergency room physician at Memorial Hospital from 1996 to 2003 and director of emergency medicine research at the UMass Medical School from 1998 to 2003. Aer a stint in clinical and management roles at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Dickson returned to UMass and has spent the last five years leading Central Massachusetts' largest employer with 13,745 employees, which includes two acute hospitals in Worcester and hospitals in Clinton, Leominster and Marlborough, balancing patient care with the healthcare industry's financial pressures. What advice would you give up-and-comers? Have fun and enjoy life! Live a healthy lifestyle and help others along the way. Stay focused on your personal goals. Develop a realistic timeline and a plan of action. Track your progress and problem solve along the way. Not always in medicine: I was a Police Academy graduate. I served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1985 to 1992 as a combat medic and respiratory therapist. TAREK ELSAWY, MD, FACP PRESIDENT & CEO RELIANT MEDICAL GROUP, WORCESTER Residences: Worcester & Aurora, Ohio Colleges: Case Western Reserve University, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine In April, Elsawy went from the CEO of the largest independent physicians' group in Central Massachusetts with 2,600 employees and 320,000 patients, to all of that plus the backing of a global organization with $85 billion in annual revenue. Reliant was purchased for $28 million by OptumCare, a global health organization and division of Minnesota conglomerate UnitedHealth Group. Elsawy's focus has remained, though, on providing quality and compassionate patient-centric care in the most affordable manner. His efforts to cut down on healthcare costs at the almost 90-year-old institution include developing a new office model to treat patients with a team of providers and partner with Worcester insurer Fallon Health to create an affordable care organization. In the meantime, Reliant has been opening new offices throughout the region, in places like Auburn and Worcester's Greendale Mall. What advice would you give up-and-comers? Do what you are passionate about, be resilient, and don't be afraid to fail. Jam session: I am a bad guitar player, however it does not prevent me prevent me from playing! KURT A. ISAACSON PRESIDENT & CEO SPECTRUM HEALTH SYSTEMS AND THE NEW ENGLAND RECOVERY CENTER, WORCESTER Residence: Grafton Colleges: University of Arizona, University of New Haven Isaacson leads the largest provider of addiction treatment in the state. It's never an easy task, and today it may be harder than ever because of the opioid epidemic killing more than a thousand across Massachusetts each year. Isaacson has led Spectrum since 2016, overseeing an organization with 1,000 Massachusetts employees and serving 5,600 clients daily. What advice would you give up-and-comers? Work hard. Be courageous. Do the work no one else wants to do. Be prepared. And, to quote Winston Churchill: "ere comes a precious moment in all of our lives when we are tapped on the shoulder and offered the opportunity to do something very special that is unique to us and our abilities, what a tragedy it would be if we are not ready or willing." That's one way to pass the time: I somewhat learned to play the harmonica while driving my first car – a Fiat with no radio – commuting to work. It was a dangerous endeavor, and I didn't learn the harmonica very well either. KEVIN O'SULLIVAN PRESIDENT & CEO MASSACHUSETTS BIOMEDICAL INITIATIVES, WORCESTER Residence: Worcester Colleges: Springfield College, Clark University O'Sullivan is something of a godfather for the biomanufacturing surge in Worcester, having run the MBI incubator for 33 years and playing an active role in Worcester redevelopment efforts through the Economic Development Coordinating Council. His involvement helped the city land facilities for biotech firms like New York-based Mustang Bio at the UMass Medicine Science Park and China-based WuXi Biologics at the newly created Worcester Biomanufacturing Park. MBI's incubator operates in 27 private laboratories and has seen 76 percent of its incubees go on to succeed in the market. e organization has helped to create 576 jobs and contribute more than $760 million to the local economy. Aside from helping the biotech industry flourish in Central Massachusetts, O'Sullivan is involved in the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science, Indian Lake Watershed, and Walk for the Homeless. What advice would you give up-and-comers? e world is run by those who show up! Fun run: I decided to run my only Boston Marathon the morning of the race and without any practice or preparation, staggering across the finish line four hours later.

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