Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 15, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 11 What does financial freedom mean to you? At Bartholomew & Company, we believe it comes down to sound financial planning and investment advice—expertise you can trust to keep you on track at any stage, whether you're just starting your business or getting ready to retire. It's the kind of guidance we've been delivering for more than 25 years. So that when those important moments come along, you can experience every one of them with confidence. Call us for a complimentary consultation at 508.753.8807, or visit www.bartandco.com. Financial Planning Today for All of Tomorrow's Firsts 370 Main Street, Suite 1000, Worcester, MA 01608 | 508.753.8807 Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, ® Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser. B U S I N E S S L E A D E R S O F T H E Y E A R F O C U S received $500 bonuses. It wasn't hard to convince the hospital's board and financial leaders to sign off on the idea, Dickson said. e pandemic has kept Dickson es- pecially busy and at the forefront of the state's response. UMass Memorial was a lead partner in setting up a Worces- ter field hospital at the DCU Center both last spring and this winter, and the hospital system had an agreement underway just before the pandemic hit to bring Harrington Hospital in South- bridge into the medical system. Still, Dickson hasn't forgotten his roots as an emergency department phy- sician. Early in the pandemic, he could be found every Sunday pitching in as an ER doctor, and he calls one of his most cherished moments during the pandem- ic being part of a small hospital staff that went to the home of a couple in their 90s to get them vaccinated. Dickson said he didn't expect to make a huge clinical difference working ER shis but wanted to show solidarity with an overworked unit. "I just needed them to know I was with them," he said. Walsh, of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, said Dickson's leadership during the pandemic has caught the attention of industry leaders, such as with the DCU Center field hos- pital, which was the first of its kind in Massachusetts and served as a template for others to come around the state. Dickson was elected the chair of the MHA in January. "He's been a leading voice during the entire pandemic in a number of ways," Walsh said. In another case, Dickson and UMass Memorial worked with Beaumont Re- habilitation and Skilled Nursing Center, adjacent to the University Campus in Worcester, to turn the facility into one exclusively for coronavirus patients. at was also a first in the state. Beyond those health-focused moves, Dickson and UMass Memorial were outspoken voices in support of racial equality, particularly as the issue rose in prominence in the wake of George Floyd's death last summer. Dickson also hasn't shied away from advocating for Medicare for All, or criticizing former President Donald Trump's adminis- tration for having not provided better leadership during the pandemic. Dickson's efforts leading UMass Memorial have been noticed by other hospital executives, including Dr. Kevin Tabb, the president and CEO of Beth Israel Lahey Health in Boston. Dickson, Tabb and their major-hospital counter- parts in Massachusetts have held regular calls throughout the pandemic, as oen as four or five times a week at tims last year, Tabb said, to help coordinate care, line up recommendations for policies at the state levels, or check in on whether others were dealing with similar issues they might be able to share insight on. "Many of us feel, and I know it's true for Eric, that we've spent our careers getting ready for a moment like this," said Tabb. Dickson, Tabb said, benefits from having a rare combination of taking big-picture looks at issues as leaders of major institutions but also doing the little things, like picking up ER shis. "He's a very, very sharp leader," Tabb said of Dickson. "He has a tremendous amount of credibility within his own institution and around the state." Dickson, the head of UMass Memo- rial since 2013, remembers when he first heard of a worrisome new virus in China: in late December 2019, before the virus was making widespread news across the world. He initially thought of other fairly recent public health scares, including SARS and Ebola. Neither end- ed up quite as bad as initially feared. In early March last year, the UMass Memorial board met in person and reviewed plans, not expecting the scale and severity of what was to come. "We've been through this before. We'll prepare and we'll go through our protocols," Dickson said, recalling his message at the time. In a short time, though, he spoke with friends who worked in hospitals in New York City and got a more direct impression of how bad things were than what could be conveyed through news reports. "It was Biblical," Dickson said of the stories from inside New York hospitals at the time. "Eventually in April, it was, 'is is real,'" he added. "e numbers are going up, going up and going up. It was really scary. ere's no other way to put it." Dickson began his career as a respi- ratory therapist, so his mind quickly went to the risk UMass Memorial health providers were taking when they were intubating – or using a tube to help someone breathe – coronavirus patients. "Early on, it was all about: Oh my God, I think we're going to have care- givers potentially die from taking care of patients," he said. "I remember going to bed one night and thinking, I don't know where we're going to put the next patient." UMass Memorial was able to handle all of its patients – just barely – with help from the DCU Center field hos- pital, the extra beds at Beaumont and maneuvering around intensive care beds inside the hospitals to expand capacity as much as possible. Elective proce- dures were postponed, and visitors were banned with very few exceptions. Nearly a year aer the pandemic first hit, Dickson finds himself not spending virtually every waking minute thinking about the crisis like he used to. Today, he says his time is about 25% pandem- ic-related, and the rest forward-looking, including the Harrington merger, which still requires regulatory approval. Much of his time is spent having a greater appreciation for his roughly 14,000 employees, who he doesn't shy away from using a word you don't oen hear spoken by a CEO: love. "I can't imagine there's a prouder CEO in America. I just can't," Dickson said. "e scarcest resource we have is talent. Not capital – talent. "I don't think enough CEOs talk about loving their employees," he added. "I really love them." Dr. Eric Dickson led UMass Memorial Health Care not just as its top executive but also through picking up ER shifts, donating his salary, and pledging no layoffs or furloughs. W

• Cover