Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | November 27, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 3 W hen I walked into my son's hospital room this past October, and nearly the first words out of my wife's mouth were, "Honey, Mcphillips is amazing. We're talking Riley level," I knew we were in good hands. My son, Desmond, had been at Boston Children's Hospital for almost a week at that point, as he had been suffering from fainting spells and his medical team was trying to diagnose the cause. This stint in the hospital came two years after Desmond had stayed at BCH for nearly seven continuous months in a behavioral health crisis, an experience I detailed in previous columns. Long hospital stays are their own special form of excruciation, as you're often waiting for days or even weeks between medical tests and monitoring to find the root cause of your problem, and the quality of your nurse can make or break your entire day. In the hospital, the nurses run the show for patients, as they are in charge of everything from medication administration, your food, sleep schedule, meal times, and how much We all have healthcare heroes I N T H I S I S S U E 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 2023. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $84.00. For more information, please email circulation@wbjournal.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ A division of: Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Staff Writers Eric Casey, ecasey@wbjournal.com (real estate, manufacturing) Isabel Tehan, itehan@wbjournal.com (Health care, diversity & inclusion) Contributors Giselle Rivera-Flores, Laura Finaldi, Monica Benevides, Alan Earls, Susan Shalhoub, Livia Gershon Photgraphers Matt Wright, Edd Cote Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@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 Accounts Manager Timothy Doyle tdoyle@wbjournal.com Marketing & Events Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Human Resources Manager, Tracy Rodwill, trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Finance, Sara Ward, sward@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Assistant, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Account Receivable Specialist, Patty Harris, pharris@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Audience Development and Operations, Leah Allen, allen@nebusinessmedia.com Business Office Assistant, Nicole Dunn, ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S 30 Nearly ruined wedding cookies & the value of patience In her regular The Hustle is Real advice column, bakery owner Renee Diaz shows how being less of a micromanager and embracing patience improved her staff interactions and her business. 31 You don't need to quit your job to earn a PhD Know How advice columnist Alexander M. Wyglinski from Worcester Polytechnic Institute details the ways working professionals can earn the highest education credentials. 4 Central Mass. In Brief 11 Focus on Champions of Health Care awards 29 List: Top hospitals 31 Know How 32 Movers & Shakers 33 Opinion 34 Shop Talk: Notown Goods interaction and entertainment you receive each day, which is especially important for Desmond, a special needs teenager with particular tastes and aversions to the environment around him. During Desmond's seven-month stay at BCH, we were blessed with a number of high-quality nurses, but none more than Riley Devlin, a young woman who repeatedly requested Desmond to be her patient at the start of her shift, even after he kicked and broke her ribs amid one of his outbursts. She played with him, made sure he took all of his medications, brought specially requested food (including a McDonald's Happy Meal I'm fairly certain she bought with her own money), and built a cardboard Lightning McQueen car he could sit in. Whenever my wife and I couldn't be at the hospital, we were confident Riley was there, taking care of him. Similarly, Desmond was assigned another amazing nurse – Mcphillips Akukwe – in his much shorter hospitalization this fall. This stint, though, was much more harrowing, as Desmond needed almost constant vigilance to prevent against serious injury from his fainting spells. Yet, Mcphillips was there, making everything easier. With a big smile and engaging personality, he kept Desmond entertained, stayed on top of all his medical needs, constantly filled his stash of white-cheddar popcorn (Desmond is a big-time snacker), and calmed our own frayed nerves as he requested Desmond for all his shifts, until Desmond had a treatment plan and was discharged. In this edition, WBJ launches its inaugural Champions of Health Care awards, honoring 12 Central Massachusetts professionals making significant impacts on the industry. Yet, when I think of healthcare heroes, I look at it from the patient perspective, during some of the most troubling times in my life, when emotions were raw. I think of the heroes who gave us strength to carry on. I think of Riley and Mcphillips. – Brad Kane, editor W Desmond Kane and Riley Devlin Mcphillips Akukwe Riley Devlin

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