Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1052339
wbjournal.com | Fact Book 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 5 R E G I O N S G r e a t e r W o r c e s t e r Greater Worcester: At a glance Largest employer UMass Memorial Health Care Inc., Worcester 13,745 local employees Largest chamber Worcester Regional of commerce Chamber of Commerce 2,200 members Biggest bank Commerce Bank & Trust Co. as part of Berkshire Hills Bancorp $5,716,014,000 in deposits Biggest college Worcester Polytechnic Institute 5,371, fall 2018 full-time enrollment Largest meeting venue DCU Center, Worcester Accommodates 2,520 guests banquet style Average median age 39.63 Sources: Worcester Business Journal surveys of area businesses, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) as of June 30, 2018, Esri's Updated Demographics, 2018 estimates, Esri Tapestry Segmentation, www.esri.com The evolving healthcare landscape O riol Health Care is a fourth-generation family-owned organization operating rehabilitation and skilled nursing cen- ters in Holden and West Boylston as well as offering outpatient therapy. President & CEO Robert Oriol discusses what it is like to do business in Greater Worcester. How have your services changed since your business began? Our father, Eugene "Gene" Oriol, started the business in 1964 with the help of family and friends. Holden Nursing Home was one of the first modern nursing homes built in the state. Back 50 years ago, some of our residents went home for the weekend and had cars they kept in our parking lot. We did about 15 to 20 admissions a year. Now, we sometimes do the same amount of admissions in a week we used to do all year. The typical resident we took care of 25 years ago would now be at home with in-home servic- es or at assisted-living facilities. We offer full post-acute/sub-acute medical and therapy based restorative services. Back as recently as 20 years ago, we were the last place our residents lived. Few people went back home. Now about 80 per- cent of our admissions return to their homes! How have you maintained a locally owned family business at a time when so many other healthcare organizations have been acquired by larger groups? It isn't easy. Nursing facilities in Massachusetts are under a lot of financial and regulatory stress. Being a family business, we don't have the out- side pressure of generating profits at a level demanded by outside investors. Especially in this fiscal climate, we have prioritized our spending on staff, our facilities and expanding our healthcare capabilities. What are the positives and negatives of Greater Worcester as a place to do business? A positive is there is a high concentration of health care in Greater Worcester; a negative is there is a high concentration of health care in Greater Worcester. What I mean be this is that there are many well-trained healthcare workers in the area, but there are also many companies competing for those same workers. Right now, there is an overall nursing shortage. This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by Livia Gerson, special to the Worcester Business Journal. Robert Oriol, CEO & president, Oriol Health Care W The College of the Holy Cross campus in Worcester has been ranked as the most beautiful campus in Massachusetts by Travel + Leisure magazine. A rendering of the proposed $101-million Worcester Red Sox stadium in the Canal District.