Health

UMass mental health facility sells for $27M The Hospital for Behavioral Medicine, a UMass Memorial Health Care facility in Worcester, has sold for $27 million, though the facility is remaining open and will not be affect- ed by the sale. The sale of the 82,000-square-foot building closed May 2. The entity CHCT Massachusetts bought the property on the West Boylston line from Richard Kresch and Worcester Behavioral Innovations Realty. The buyer is registered to Community Healthcare Trust in Tennessee. The seller, Worcester Behavioral Innovations Realty, is reg- istered to a New York City affiliate of US HealthVest, the firm operating the facility in a partnership with UMass. Kresch is listed as one of its principals. UMass Memorial said Worcester Behavioral Innovations sold the build- ing as part of its permanent financing of the facility. UMass Memorial opened the 120- bed facility last winter after eliminat- ing 13 psychiatric beds at its University Campus to convert them to medical and surgical unit use. The building offers inpatient care and outpatient services for children and adults. Health Care Br iefs W orcester's Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center has chosen former Democratic National Convention CEO Steve Kerrigan as its new president and CEO. Kerrigan will take over for Antonia "Toni" McGuire, who has been with Kennedy since 2008. McGuire announced last summer she would be retiring in July. Kerrigan was born in Worcester, grew up and lives in Lancaster and is a graduate of Shrewsbury's St. John's High School. He's a co-founder, board member and former longtime president of the nonprofit Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund, but is best known as a veteran of Democratic politics. M arlborough biotech manufacturer ReWalk Robotics' stock skyrocketed after the company announced in June the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's clearance of one of ReWalk's main products. The ReStore Exo-Suit, a robotic system designed to help stroke patients regain mobility in physical therapy settings, is now cleared for the U.S. market. The stock, closing at $3.32 per share on June 4, was trading as high as $9.30 the morning of June 5 after the announcement was made. ReWalk calls the suit the only soft exo-suit to be cleared in the U.S. CEO Larry Jasinski said the system cost of $28,900. "The exo-suit achieves our commercial goal to offer a functional and affordable system that can be utilized in the Main Street clinics in every com- munity," Jasinski said. Jasinski has said the system will help the compa- ny break even and eventually turn a profit. The approval came a week after the same product received the CE Mark for clearance in Europe. According to the company, the suit was original- ly developed at Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering where it underwent clinical testing demonstrating an ability to improve walking for stroke patients. The suit is the less costly of the company's two main products, the other being the ReWalk suit, which helps patients with spinal cord injuries walk again. That suit is about $100,000, and a majority of those systems are placed with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. I n n o v a t i o n ReWalk stock jumps after FDA approves stroke suit Kennedy health center names new CEO Kerrigan was the 2014 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, helped run both of President Barack Obama's inaugurals in 2009 and 2013 and was the CEO of the Democratic National Convention in 2012. Kerrigan — who started his career as an aide to the late U.S. senator for which the health center is named — will take over at Kennedy on July 2, working alongside McGuire through a transition process. Kerrigan said his work for Sen. Kennedy taught him about the importance of health access for all, and called the Kennedy health center a legacy of the senator's work. "The community part of a community health center means a great deal to me," Kerrigan said. The health center's board spent six months after McGuire's retirement announcement looking at exactly what the center needed before working with a search firm to find its next leader, said Valerie Zolezzi- Wyndham, the chairwoman of Kennedy's board. "We've been thinking strategically about how to do this since then," Zolezzi-Wyndham said. Kerrigan was chosen from among more than 100 applicants and a pool of 12 who were interviewed thanks to his experience in fundraising and being an ambassador for a cause, Zolezzi-Wyndham said. Fundraising and philanthropy will be a larger component of Kennedy's operations, she said, as services move from a fee-for-service model to accountable care organizations, where providers work with insurers to keep entire populations healthy. McGuire began her career as a hospital cardiac monitor technician before rising through healthcare administrative positions. She worked at Worcester insurer Fallon Health and Boston Medical Center before joining Kennedy. Her tenure will last 11 years, something McGuire said was required as the center's board created a detailed plan for growing its services across the region. "We knew we couldn't do that overnight, that that was a five- or 10-year plan," she said. Under McGuire's leadership, Kennedy saw a 42% rise in the number of patients it treats, now at 28,000 a year. She also oversaw the center's name change — it was originally named the Great Brook Valley Health Center before taking Kenney's name — and expanded services in Framingham and Milford. H Steve Kerrigan will take over as Kennedy Health Center's new CEO on July 2. Outgoing CEO Antonia McGuire grew patient volume 42% in her 11 years. 4 HE ALTH • Summer 2019 H

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