Worcester Business Journal

14 Worcester Business Journal | April 29, 2024 | wbjournal.com P O W E R 1 0 0 H E A L T H C A R E Dr. Eric Dickson President & CEO UMass Memorial Health, in Worcester Employees: 17,587 Residence: Princeton Colleges: Merrimack College, UMass Chan Medical School, Harvard University Since 2013, Dickson has led the largest employer in Central Mass., a multi-hospi- tal healthcare provider with more than $3 billion in annual revenues, all while being a thought leader, advocate, and sought-aer speaker for the entire industry. e nonprofit boasts more than 1,000 licensed beds in four hospitals among 10 campuses, 70 office-based community practices, and six urgent care centers. While employing 1,700 physicians, UMass Memorial partners with the UMass Chan Med- ical School to train 650 residents and fellows annually. e past 12 months have been full of ups and downs for Dickson and UMass Me- morial, while he navigated the turmoil in the healthcare industry. e system was forced to shut down three programs from its behavioral health division Community Healthlink following a state inspection, and the division president stepped down. Two of those programs have yet to be reopened. In September, UMass Memorial shut down the birthing center at its HealthAlliance hospital in Leominster, earning the ire of local and state officials. While Dickson said the decision was purely financial as the number of births in the service area declined, UMass Memorial had to work with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to ensure women and newborns in the region had proper access to care. On the flip side, Dickson and UMass Memorial came to the rescue of Milford Regional Medical Center, as that independent hospital system was struggling financially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In January, the two healthcare providers reached an agreement for Milford to become part of the UMass Memo- rial system. UMass Memorial soon may welcome Heywood Healthcare in Gardner and Athol into the fold, as the prospect of a merger has been discussed as Heywood makes its way through bankruptcy. - Article by Mica Kanner-Mascolo Paula Fitzpatrick Director of the Center for Well-Being Worcester Polytechnic Institute Employees at the center: 22 (2 full-time, 20 student workers) Residence: Jefferson neighborhood, in Holden College: University of Connecticut Fitzpatrick plays a vital role in helping WPI create a culture of health and well-being – something the prestigious technological university grappled with in the wake of seven student deaths in less than a year, nearly all of them suspected to be suicides. WPI launched the center in early 2022, recruiting the former Assumption University professor Fitzpatrick to lead holistic wellness programs for its student body. With a student body of about 7,000 full- and part-time undergraduates and graduates from all over the world, a diverse wellness approach is in order. at is something Fitzpatrick's team of two staff and 20 student workers have honed. Fitzpatrick was involved in the design and construction oversight of the center, which opened its doors in January 2023, and helped launch a website and social media and marketing efforts. Today, the center offers a robust list of wellness outlets such as reiki, mindfulness meditation classes, peer coaching, and spaces for interfaith prayer and rest. Fitzpatrick has helped design and received approval for well-being courses that students may take for academic credit. Perhaps most crucially, Fitzpatrick launched Kognito, an online sim- ulation required of all new students and hires as of the 2023-2024 academic year, designed to teach people how to recognize those in distress, how to talk to them, and connect them with mental health services. Fitzpatrick was a tenured professor at Assumption, having joined the uni- versity in 1996, and later chaired the psychology department. She le for WPI because the role, she said, combines her passions for education, well-being, higher education administration, and research. - E.M. Lou Brady President & CEO Family Health Center of Worcester Employees: 425 Residence: Worcester Colleges: University of Massachusetts Lowell, Northeastern University Aer the coronavirus pandemic threw an already strained healthcare system into chaos, Brady appears to have pulled FHCW out of a deep dive and turned around a once-tenuous financial position. When Brady joined FHCW in 2019, the nonprofit had 16 locations providing affordable health services to underserved communities in Greater Worcester. But by September 2022, the center was closing its Webster and Southbridge locations, laying off 35 employees, and furloughing 15. In turn, a group of the center's medical personnel sought to oust Brady, but FHCW's board stood by him in October 2022, upholding his position as president and CEO. In response to the health center's struggling finances and employee unrest, Brady and FHCW leadership implemented the Better Together initiative in November 2022, a 120-day improvement plan designed to streamline operations and reduce costs. ough 2022 was strenuous for the center, FHCW's 2022 annual report detailed a year generating $57.5 million in revenue while serving over 30,000 individuals in 77 languages through 131,812 clinical visits. In 2022, the center generated $44.3 million in savings to Medicaid and $55.5 million in savings to the overall health system. Aer the Better Together initiative ended in March 2023, the center had main- tained 30+ days of cash on hand since January 2023, reduced call center wait times by 40% in 180 days, improved billing collections from 58% to 85%, raised more than $24,000 through its annual appeal fundraiser, and increased pay for all staff. Following the initiative, FHCW reported a $1.2-million budget surplus for its 2023 fiscal year. In 2023, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services awarded the center $2.9 million through its Community Health Center capital grant investment program aer denying FHCW's requisition for $7.2 million in emergency funds in 2022. – M.K.M. PHOTO | MATT WRIGHT

• Cover