Worcester Business Journal

22 2 021 Economic Forecast • Worcester Business Journal • www.wbjournal.com M E M B E R F D I C | M E M B E R D I F countrybank.com/business 2 7 8 P A R K A V E , 3 1 5 M A I N S T R E E T , W O R C E S T E R P U B L I C M A R K E T I N T E R A C T I V E A T M W E L I K E T O H E L P T H E M P L A N F O R I T. to think about the future. SOME FOLKS LIKE H E A LT H C A R E Telehealth is here to stay Originally published June 17. Read the full version on WBJournal.com. I n a flash this spring, Reliant Medical Group was using video and phone technology to have patients meet with providers for about a quarter of the visits that used to take place in person. It wasn't just Worcester-based Reliant wasn't using telehealth much before. It wasn't at all. e company had only done a pilot program with older patients to see how well technology could be used with patients who might have a harder time making it to an office. With the coronavirus, of course, Reli- ant and healthcare providers everywhere were forced to change course. "We literally turned this on in two days," said Dr. Larry Garber, Reliant's medical director for informatics. Just like that, 500 providers have used telehealth to meet electronically, he said. "It was thrust upon them very quickly, and they adapted to it," Garber said. e same could be said for practi- Top healthcare stories from 2020 tioners and patients virtually everywhere during a time when it suddenly wasn't advisable to go to a doctor's office unless absolutely needed. In UMass Memorial Medical Center's outpatient services, 23,000 to 25,000 telehealth appointments were conducted in May alone. at's up from just about 40 over a whole year before. Now, healthcare leaders in Central Massachusetts who oversee such details are looking ahead to see how much telehealth is here to stay. UMass, Harrington formalize merger Originally published Sept. 23. Read the full version on WBJournal.com. UMass Memorial Health Care and Harrington Healthcare have finalized their merger agreement, the entities announced Wednesday, sending the proposal to state officials for regulatory approval. e two hospital systems, based in Worcester and Southbridge, respectively, signed a letter of intent in January for Harrington to join the UMass Memorial system. Harrington remained one of a small and dwindling number of inde- pendent hospitals in Massachusetts but formed a committee in 2018 to look into options to remain financially secure. e agreement will now head to the Massachusetts Health Policy Commis- sion and Attorney General's Office for a review process, said Doug Brown, UMass Memorial chief administrative officer and president of UMass Memori- al Community Hospitals. A federal anti- trust review is not expected, he said, and the deal should close early next year. e coronavirus pandemic delayed the finalization of the hospital systems' agreement by about four months. Already, the two sides have worked together through the pandemic, which hit Central Massachusetts less than two months aer the letter of intent was announced last winter. Ed Moore, Harrington's president and CEO, said UMass Memorial provided support through its clinical team throughout the pandemic, and that the two systems coordinated on obtaining personal protective equipment and on taking a regional approach to coronavirus care. "It showed that we were compatible. Our value systems aligned for the com- munity's benefit," Moore said. Brown agreed. "You see an organiza- tion's true colors through a crisis," he said. "We couldn't be more proud of how our caregivers stepped up and took care of this community." e two systems also collaborate to allow Harrington providers to consult remotely with UMass Memorial special- ists in caring for critically ill patients. ey've had very little overlap geograph- ically, with Harrington drawing from southern Worcester County and UMass in the Worcester area and to the city's northern and eastern suburbs. Dr. Larry Garber, an internist at Reliant Medical Group and its medical director for informatics, has seen a major shift in patient visits to telehealth during the pandemic. PHOTO/MATT WRIGHT People. Places. Product. Photographic images for advertising, public relations, graphic and corporate communications groups . See the difference. 165 Holly Lane • Holliston, MA 01746 Phone: 774.248.4050 • www.ronbouleyphoto.com R O N B O U L E Y P H O T O G R A P H Y

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