Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | June 12, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 5 UMass Memorial plans closure of Leominster maternity ward UMass Memorial Health intends to shut down its maternity ward at the HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital, Leominster Campus this fall, removing labor and delivery services from the hospital's services, citing staffing short- ages across the healthcare system and a declining number of births in the North Central Massachusetts region. e planned date for the closure of the unit is Sept. 22, which has been submitted to the Mass. Department of Public Health and is pending regulatory approval, according to a May 25 state- ment from the hospital. "In recent years, industry-wide work- force shortages have exacerbated the challenges of fully staffing our maternity inpatient unit consistently at HealthAl- liance-Clinton Hospital, despite our persistent attempts to recruit and retain clinicians in this region. is, along with the steadily declining number of births in North Central Massachusetts, has a significant impact on our unit's future capacity to provide labor and deliv- ery care to our patients," Steve Roach, president of UMass Memorial Health Alliance-Clinton Hospital, said in the May 25 statement. Patients who want to keep their care within the UMass Memorial system will have to deliver at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, though pre- and postnatal care will continue to be available in Leominster. e North Central state legislative delegation sees this proposal to shut down the labor and delivery unit as completely unacceptable, according to a May 26 statement from the lawmakers. Calling the decision unjustified, the delegation says one or two births occur daily at the hospital's labor and delivery unit, servicing more than 500 families per year. e delegation is made up of state Sen. John Cronin (D-Leominster and state representatives Natalie Higgins (D-Leominster), Kimberly Ferguson (R-Holden), Meghan Kilcoyne (D-Lan- caster), Michael Kushmerek (D-Fitch- burg), Margaret Scarsdale (D-Pepperell), and Jonathan Zlotnik (D-Gardner). Heywood replaces CEO with two executives Heywood Healthcare in Gardner is replacing the CEO who has led the hospital system for 12 years, citing the changing healthcare landscape and the need to meet its community's goals. Win Brown, president and CEO at Heywood, will be replaced in his role by co-CEOs, according to a June 6 press re- lease from Heywood. Rozanna Penney, current vice president of patient care services, chief nursing officer, and chief operating officer, and executive director of Heywood Medical Group, as well as Tom Sullivan, current vice president of financial services, will share in the top leadership role. Brown has been removed from the Heywood website where the organiza- tion lists its senior leadership team. At the top now are Penney and Sullivan. "is is an untraditional model, but one that capitalizes on the internal strength of the leadership team and the work before us, focused on community healthcare accompanied by financial and operational excellence. e Board is highly confident that this leadership structure, along with the help of our dedicated employees, will carry forward the Heywood Healthcare mission, to provide exceptional patient-centered care," said Robert Chauvin, Heywood Healthcare board chair. e release did not indicate if Brown's departure from the role was volun- tary, and Heywood Healthcare did not respond to WBJ request for comment. e date the leadership change will take effect was not made available, but the Gardner News reported the change is taking place immediately, citing an email Chauvin sent to employees. St. Vincent names second new COO since 2021 Darrin Cook has been named as chief operating officer of Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, as well as the Massachusetts market for parent com- pany Tenet Healthcare, which includes MetroWest Medical Center in Fram- ingham. Cook has been in the role in interim since February. Cook will manage day-to-day opera- tions at both hospitals, as well as oversee long-term strategic planning, according to a May 31press release from Saint Vincent. e COO position was previously held by Paul Smith, who joined Saint Vincent in fall 2021, and le the role earlier this year to become president of Saint Elizabeth's Medical Center in Bos- ton, according to his LinkedIn profile. B R I E F S Workforce shortages are getting worse The Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation released its 2023 report suggesting that an influx of 42,000 new jobs in the life science industry are on the horizon in the next 10 years, but the educational pipeline in the state does not have the capacity to fill those additional roles. Meanwhile, in the behavioral health treatment realm, the workforce is on the decline as clinicians and counselors resign faster than hiring can keep up with, leading to longer wait times at substance abuse treatment facilities. When polled online, nearly 70% of WBJ readers said worker shortages in their industries are either as bad or worse from during the COVID pandemic. Are you still experiencing worker shortages in your industry? F L A S H P O L L Cook came to Saint Vincent from Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center in Florida, also part of Tenet, where he was administrative director. Cook was an active duty medical specialist in the U.S. Army and served a tour in Kuwait as part of his six-year military service. He holds an MBA in healthcare management and a bachelor's degree in human services from the Universi- ty of Phoenix. "Aer serving as our interim COO for the last four months, we are very pleased to have Darrin stay with us as an integral part of the Saint Vincent Hospital and Massachusetts market leadership teams to help advance our operations," Carolyn Jackson, CEO of Saint Vincent Hospital and Tenet's Massachusetts market, said in the press release. "With his excellent track record, I am confident Darrin will continue to help further our mission of providing high quality care for our patients." Law firm to take over Telegram & Gazette offices at Worcester high-rise bearing the T&G logo e more than 200-year-old law firm Fletcher Tilton will move into two floors in the Mercantile Center at 100 Front St. in Worcester, including the fih floor, which currently houses the Telegram & Gazette, the media organization whose logo adorns the top of the office tower. e Telegram will move out of the offices in stages in June and July, said Charles "Chip" Norton, managing direc- tor of Franklin Realty Advisors, the firm that owns the Mercantile Center. It is a possibility the Telegram could take office space elsewhere in the build- ing, but Norton would not discuss any negotiations on a lease of new space. e Telegram & Gazette was a long- term occupant of the building for more than 10 years, according to Franklin, and dominated office space in the tower, at one point occupying multiple floors for its news and business operations. e newspaper's parent company, Vir- Yes, and it's getting worse. 40% Yes, it's the same post-COVID shortages we've experienced since 2020. 29% No, workforce shortages are no longer an issue. Yes, but it's getting better 22% No, we never had a shortage of workers in our industry. 4% 5% Darrin Cook, Saint Vincent chief operating officer Continued on next page HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital

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