Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | July 22, 2019 | Worcester Business Journal 15 S U C C E S S I O N P L A N N I N G F O C U S lenged in part by a travel time making it challenging for physicians to efficiently split their time. "at's still something we're working through," Jack- son said. "ere's not a lot of areas where we collabo- rate today, but we're looking forward to growing that." Return to Tenet, and Massachusetts Jackson, who grew up in Delaware and earned her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware, first worked for Tenet as the CEO of the Lake Pointe Health Network just outside Dallas. She had experience living in Massachusetts from earning her MBA from the Harvard Business School in Boston but wasn't actively looking to make a return to Tenet until a consultant she knew from Lake Pointe urged her to consider the opening at Saint Vincent and MetroWest. at consultant, Saumya Sutaria, is now Tenet's COO. Jackson took over for Jeffrey Welch, who le last July to oversee Tenet hospitals in the Miami area. "e more I talked to him," Jackson said, "I decided that's really a great place to be, and he suggested this opportunity." Jackson's career now takes her to a state known for its top hospitals, but where any leader has to balance public health needs with patient costs and other fac- tors. Running a hospital requires a leader to be knowle- dable and innovative, working with community partners, being mindful of regulations and striving for efficiency, said Steve Walsh, the president and CEO of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association. "It's tremendously challenging work," he said. Worcester 6,278 28% Auburn 781 43% Shrewsbury 568 18% Millbury 538 37% Webster 529 22% Number Percent of Community of discharges community's residents It's most likely to be someone from Worcester, but among the hospital's top five communities, residents of Auburn and Millbury are more likely to choose Saint Vincent compared to other Central Massachusetts hospitals. Who is treated at Saint Vincent? Source: Center for Health Information and Analysis (fiscal year 2017) Non-premature newborns 1,690 26% Mothers delivering vaginally 1,145 23% Blood infections 1,024 30% Heart failure 774 31% Lung disease 735 32% Cesarean delivery 609 28% Knee joint replacement 557 43% Hip joint replacement 529 48% Number Percent of Central Service of discharges Mass. hospitalizations New mothers and babies are the most common of Saint Vincent's patients, but patients are most likely to seek out Saint Vincent for joint replacement operations out of the hospitals in Central Massachusetts. What they are treated for center called the Center for the Urban Child designed to treat deep-seated health issues in a poor North Phil- adelphia neighborhood. e center provides preven- tative care, care for newborns and mothers, and free legal services for medical needs, among other services. Jackson doesn't oversee exactly the same challenges today at Saint Vincent, but the hospital is working to address severe issues including opioid deaths and rising suicide rates. In Worcester, opioid-related fatalities rose from 80 to 97 last year, and Saint Vincent was fih highest in the state in 2016 and 2017 for the highest rate of emer- gency department discharges attributed to opioids at more than 2.5 %, according to a June report by the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. At Saint Vincent, a response to the crisis has includ- ed reducing or avoiding the use of opioid painkillers, Jackson said. "at's something hospitals and doctors' offices can do wherever you are, and really should be doing," she said, "and if you are prescribing somebody with narcotics, making sure it's the minimal dosage possible and making sure they're educated on what could happen." Saint Vincent is responding to growing mental health needs. Massachusetts saw a 35% rise in suicide rates between 1999 and 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. e hospital opened an eight-bed behavioral health wing of its emergency department in May 2018, and plans to expand from 13 to 20 the number of inpatient behavioral health beds. Beyond that, Jackson said she's helping the 300-bed Saint Vincent prepare its strategic outlook for 2020 and considering ways Saint Vincent and MetroWest Medi- cal Center might be able to work together more closely. e two hospitals don't overlap too much today, chal- W

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