wbjournal.com | November 23, 2020 | Worcester Business Journal 3
Editor, Brad Kane,
bkane@wbjournal.com
News Editor, Grant Welker,
gwelker@wbjournal.com (Higher
education, health care, real estate)
Staff Writer, Monica Busch,
mbusch@wbjournal.com
(Manufacturing, equality & inclusion)
Editorial Intern
Aliya Larkin, alarkin@wbjournal.com
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon,
Sarah Connell
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
Christine Juetten,
cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Senior Special Accounts Manager
Mary Lynn Bosiak,
mlbosiak@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
COO, Mary Rogers,
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers,
rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Account Receivable Specialist,
Patty Harris,
pharris@nebusinessmedia.com
Human Resources, Jill Coran,
jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com
Director of Audience Development,
Valerie Clark,
vclark@nebusinessmedia.com
Operations Assistant,
Leah Allen,
lallen@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
President, Tom Curtin
tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com
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 2020. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please
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Worcester Business Journal
WBJ
T
his edition of WBJ, like most
of 2020, is shaped by illness.
Of course, the fallout from
the coronavirus pandem-
ic continues to impact all
sectors, and in this edition, we check in
on the healthcare, events, and tourism
industries, including the plans to create an
inviting destination in downtown Worces-
ter. In the cover story, Staff Writer Monica
Busch examines the very personal impact
of what happened when the relatively
new leader of a Westborough firm, Julia
Becker Collins, was sidelined by a disease
(thyroid cancer, not the coronavirus) and
how Becker Collins, her employees, and
the company's founder all responded.
Rather than the COVID-19 pandemic
being a thing of the past by now – some-
thing we all hoped when the world shut
down in the spring – it is clear these
illness-shaped narratives are going to
stay with us well into 2021. New cases
nationally set a record almost every day
now. Based on my social media feeds from
people encouraging friends, family, and
strangers to just live their lives, it appears
experts' predictions about an unprece-
dented spike in cases aer anksgiving
and Christmas will come true.
I get it. Everyone wants this to be over.
We want to see our families and have our
traditions on the most tradition-filled
holidays. e constant social distancing,
seclusion, and not seeing our loved ones is
taking its toll. But we have to be smart.
Late in October, my wife and I took our
children on our regular autumn trip to
Disney World. Aer seeing the slow and
then quick deterioration of our children's
and our own mental health since March,
we decided we needed some stress relief.
So, we did extensive research on the
social distancing and cleaning policies
of the airports, airline, Disney, and the
rental home; and read the studies on the
likelihood of us catching or spreading the
coronavirus. At no point during our nine
days away were any of us not wearing a
mask and within 15 feet of any non-family
member not wearing a mask. Before we
le, we tested negative for COVID.
As you make plans for the holidays, I
urge you to be smart as well. Eating, in
close proximity, to people you haven't
been around regularly isn't the way to go.
I N T H I S I S S U E
But there are ways for you to get some of
the traditional enjoyment from the holidays
while still being safe and keeping the pan-
demic at bay. Just plan appropriately.
- Brad Kane, editor
Be smart and keep taking this seriously
N E W S & A N A LY S I S
4 Central Mass. In Brief
12 Focus on: Health care
20 The List: Top physician groups
22 Column: The Hustle is Real
23 Know How
24 Movers & Shakers
24 Photo Finish
25 Opinion
26 Execitive to Executive
6 Still waiting
The DCU Center has remained shuttered as
an entertainment venue since the COVID
pandemic began, dropping from 641
employees to 26.
23 10 Things I know about …
Building community amid
racial unrest
Advice columnist Stacey Luster details
the organizations helping Central
Massachusetts create business
opportunities for people of color and
working to smooth tension between various
groups.
D E P A R T M E N T S
A division of:
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