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understand the disparities in delivering health care. "It's not acceptable any longer where two people have the same insurance card in their wallet, but they experience the healthcare system differently," said Burke. "Our customer service department will be looking to gather information on race, ethnicity, and preferred language so that we can begin to understand better the population we serve." Whatever the future of health care in the state, one thing is for certain – many of those innovations will be led from the Heart of the Commonwealth. "Worcester has always played a key role in the Massachusetts healthcare industry, and has been a leader throughout its time," said Kerrigan. "It's going to continue to be." – Alexander MacDougall W o r c e s t e r 3 0 0 : C i t y o f I n n o v a t o r s 65 2022 & Beyond No good deed goes unpublished Special thanks to the unsung heroes of this publication P laudits issued where plaudits are due. First of all, Mitchell Hayes, art director, Kira Beaudoin, production director, and Phyllis Hanlon, project managing editor, took on the vital roles of making this publication sing with imagery, as well as the essentials of file management. William Wallace, executive director of the Worcester Historical Museum, and Wendy Essery, WHM librarian, promptly and thoroughly responded to our requests for historical images from the museum. Larry Abramoff and Chandler House Press were valuable resources as well. And thank you to our writers: Alan R. Earls, Susan Gonsalves, Susan Shalhoub, Charles Slatkin, Stephen Underwood, and Mikaila Baca-Dorion,m and Alexander MacDougall, who has since joined the WBJ staff. en, there are the many responders who helped us find vital information on some of the lesser-known subjects in this chronicle. ey are: Professor omas Doughton, senior lecturer, Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies at the College of the Holy Cross; Stacey Luster, general counsel, assistant to the president, employment and equal opportunity at Worcester State University; Deborah Hall, founder of the Worcester Black History Project; Kimberly Toney, head of readers' services and director of indigenous initiatives at the American Antiquarian Society; Cheryl Toney Holley, chief of the Hassanamisco band of the Nipmuc Nation; Benetta Kuffour, descendant of Bethany Veney; and Dr. John Goldsberry, great-great grandson of William and Martha Brown, and his wife Dr. Dorista Goldsberry. Without them, this project would not have been possible. We thank them all. – Christina P. O'Neill, project editor is effective, and people have become very quickly comfortable with it." But even as the pandemic approaches its endemic phase, it's by no means the only major health crisis affecting citizens of the Worcester area and of the commonwealth of Massachusetts. Issues like the opioid crisis and food insecurity continue to be challenges that need further addressing, Kerrigan said. "Communities are struggling with substance abuse disorder every day," he said. "[ere's] a lot of families who struggle to put food on their table, and food insecurity is something that should not exist in the United States of America." Burke said looking forward, Fallon would continue to help tackle inequities that are present in the system, and said the nonprofit was looking to gather new data to better Steve Kerrigan, president and CEO of the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center