Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 13, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi-weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September, October, and December by New England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $54.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@ cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com A division of: Worcester Business Journal WBJ Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com News Editor, Grant Welker, gwelker@wbjournal.com (Higher education, health care) Editorial Intern Micah Wingell Contributors Monica Busch, Sarah Connell, Livia Gershon, Susan Shalhoub Lead Researcher, Timothy Doyle, tdoyle@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Senior Special Accounts Manager Mary Lynn Bosiak, mlbosiak@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Distribution and Database Coordinator A Guide to STUFF, a publication of New England Business Media Patty Harris, pharris@nebusinessmedia.com COO, Mary Rogers, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Manager, Sabrina Mondor, smondor@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel, rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources, Jill Coran, jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Audience Development, Valerie Clark, vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Joseph Zwiebel jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com D r. Eric Dickson didn't pull any punches during our interview on April 3 for WBJ's podcast. e president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care said unless something is done to help fix the Central Massachusetts' hospital system's finances, the region's only level 1 trauma center won't be around for the next pandemic. Specifically, Dickson was talking about the roughly $230 million UMass Memo- rial spends every year supporting UMass Medical School in Worcester and covering the shortfall in funding for Medicaid programs. e system brings in about $2.3 billion in revenues annually, so those expenses account for roughly 10% and are vital when Dickson is counting every pen- ny to avoid running in the red, as UMass Memorial has for the last two fiscal years, including the $10-million deficit it ran in fiscal 2019, which would have been much worse if it hadn't sold off its pharmacy management unit for $208 million. One of the main lessons of the coro- navirus crisis has been how vital UMass Memorial is to Central Massachusetts. Dickson has been a leading voice in efforts to get more supplies and available beds, and UMass Memorial will manage the emergency field hospital set up in the DCU Center in Worcester for the expected overflow of coronavirus patients. As the main hospital system for Central Massa- chusetts, UMass Memorial treats the re- gion's most vulnerable patients, who oen have limited ability to pay for the care. Dickson already has been calling for healthcare financing reform, but with the coronavirus pandemic sweeping through the region and nation, the volume of his voice is getting turned up. If UMass Memorial were to go under, Central Mas- sachusetts residents would have to rely on the Boston hospital system for services like major traumas and certain premature babies. at is a long drive through a lot of traffic in a medical emergency. As the coronavirus pandemic carries on, we are evaluating our values as a society. e importance of grocery store workers has become all the more appar- ent; the reliance on technology for work- ing from home has drastically increased. In previous federal and state budget I N T H I S I S S U E cycles, throwing more money at an already costly healthcare system seems to be one of many concerns. Now, as we need healthcare workers and facilities more than ever, we need to prioritize them as such. - Brad Kane, editor Fix healthcare funding for the future NEWS & ANALYSIS 4 Central Mass. In Brief 14 Focus on Manufacturing 18 The List: Largest local manufacturers 19 Column: Manage your anxiety 20 Know How 21 Movers & Shakers 22 Photo Finish 23 Opinion 24 Shop Talk: Richard Carr, Carr Financial 8 Tourism suffering The Central Mass. tourism industry is expecting to take a $200-million loss in the coronavirus pandemic. 16 Essential work The coronavirus impact on manufacturing has been limited, since many Central Mass. companies qualify as essential. W Knowledge + Experience + Trusted Advice. It all adds up. Large enough to serve the needs of most businesses and individuals; small enough to offer the personal attention you expect and deserve. Greenberg, Rosenblatt, Kull & Bitsoli, PC Certified Public Accountants 306 Main Street, Suite 400 • Worcester, MA 01608 508.791.0901 • www.grkb.com CORRECTION: The golfers' handicaps chart in the story "Hitting the links" from the March 16 edition of WBJ incorrectly included Doug Brown, chief administrative officer of UMass Memorial Health Care in Worcester. The Doug Brown included on the incorrect chart as having his home course at Hopkinton Country Club is a different person than the UMass executive. DEPARTMENTS

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