Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 29, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 15 H E A L T H C A R E P O W E R 1 0 0 Edward Kelly President & CEO Milford Regional Medical Center Employees: 2,511 Residence: Mansfield Colleges: Babson College, Bentley University Kelly has deep roots at Milford Regional, so he understood as much as anyone the difficult decision for one of the last remaining independent community hospitals in Central Massachusetts to become part of UMass Memorial Health by this summer, pending state regulatory approval. While Kelly understood the position of board members and the larger community to keep Milford Regional independent, he recognized it was time to link up with its longtime clinical partner as operating losses mounted. A corporate affiliation with UMass Memorial of Worcester was signed in January, just months aer Milford Regional celebrated its 120th anniversary. For years, Kelly and other hospital stakeholders held firm on a commitment to keep the 148-bed acute care hospital independent. Kelly joined the executive team in 1993 and became CEO in 2016. Even then, independent community hospitals were a dying breed, but Milford, serving 20 towns, had the community support to grow services and make major capital upgrades under Kelly's leadership. COVID-era cost pressures and resulting labor market challenges finally backed Milford Regional into a corner. With operating revenue of $386 million in fiscal 2023, the hospital reported a $15.3-million operating loss. While losses mounted, Milford Regional had choices about which healthcare system to join. With large systems facing the same cost pressures as small hospitals, Kelly in January said he had discussions with multiple affiliates, eventually deciding on UMass Memorial. He's hopeful Milford Regional will be able to grow key service areas aer joining the UMass Memorial system. "e time is right. We have the right partner, and the right deal," Kelly said. – E.M. Kurt Isaacson President & CEO Spectrum Health Systems, in Worcester Employees: 1,075 Residence: Grafton Colleges: University of Arizona, University of New Haven e opioid epidemic and other substance-use problems continue to haunt the Cen- tral Mass. community, as Worcester County had the largest increase of opioid-related deaths of anywhere in the state in 2022, the most recent year data is available. Isaacson and Spectrum stand at the forefront of treating the rising problem. Isaacson joined Spectrum in 2013 as chief operating officer, the same year it accu- mulated $51 million in revenue. ree years later, Isaacson transitioned into the role of CEO and today, and the nonprofit's revenue is advancing toward $130 million. Spectrum serves 6,000 clients every day across its treatment programs and is in the process of building a 10,000-square-foot centralized admission building and a 38,000-square-foot headquarters in Westborough, which is set to open this summer. Isaacson has overseen the development of multiple programs and organizations aimed at addressing opioid use. In 2022, Spectrum established its community impact committee to administer funding to nonprofits throughout the state. Since its creation, the committee has provided more than $500,000 in grants. In February 2023, Spectrum launched its mobile treatment unit providing ad- diction treatment and other clinical resources at the South Middlesex Opportunity Council and St. John's Catholic Church, both in Worcester. e program served more than 291 individuals in its first six months of operation and more than 70% of the unit's patients have continued treatment. In June, the nonprofit announced the execution of its fourth peer recovery center, e Recovery Exchange in Lynn. is year, Spectrum continued its efforts to support underserved communities by renewing its contract with the Massachusetts Department of Correction for two years to provide medication for opioid-use disorder treatment to those incarcerated. - M.K.M. Debra Maddox Founder, president & CEO Multicultural Wellness Center, in Worcester Employees: 47 Residence: Worcester Colleges: Worcester State University, Assumption University, Antioch University Central Massachusetts born and educated, Maddox has a firm hand on the pulse of the people she and her team serve at the Multicultural Wellness Center, founded in 2005. e diverse clients are oen those from underserved communities, whether immigrants or people of color, who battle systemic racism and other barriers on the path to mental wellness. Maddox, a clinical psychologist, specializes in putting behavioral health treatment into context and, in particular, adapting treatment to the patient's culture. As a former adjunct professor at Assumption University and Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester and advisor to local clinicians, her approach has helped shape countless professional development paths. With $4.2 million in revenue and nearly $1 million in assets, according to a 2022 filing with the Internal Revenue Service, the center's model is unique as clinicians may bring services to clients, providing therapy to people in their homes and schools, as well as the center's Winthrop Street offices. It provides comprehensive case management and ongoing peer recovery support for people recovering from addiction. In 2017, Maddox led the opening of Multicultural Wellness West, a behavioral health clinic in Las Vegas. is past year, the organization worked with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to expand a violence prevention grant, signed a contract with the Worcester Public Schools to provide school-based services to at-risk youth, and partnered with the City of Worcester to use federal funding for mobile behavioral health and addiction treatment with a particular focus on reaching people of color facing a range of challenges, from food insecurity to health issues. – E.M. Steve Kerrigan President & CEO Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, in Worcester Employees: 494 Residence: Lancaster College: University of Maryland Kerrigan joined Kennedy Community Health's team in 2019 with an extensive career in politics and advocacy. Today, Kerrigan works as the healthcare provid- er's CEO to support more than 34,000 patients receiving services in areas such as primary care, behavioral health, dermatology, and gender-affirming care. Just three years aer joining the health center, Kerrigan reported in his 2022 "From the Desk" letter it had provided care to a then record-breaking 31,356 patients in 85 languages, issuing 137,707 prescriptions. In the past year, Kerrigan has overseen Kennedy Community Health's expan- sion as it established two new facilities located in Worcester and Milford. e provider lengthened its reach of its reproductive health and office-based addic- tion treatment programs by extending services to its Milford and Framingham locations. At a time when healthcare providers are struggling across the industry, particularly those like Kennedy Community Health serving low-income popula- tions, Kerrigan has Kennedy expanding its reach throughout the region. Kerrigan was elected chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party in 2023, a po- sition he holds while acting as chair of the Democratic National Committee, leading the committee's 400 Democrats from the 40 senatorial districts of the state. Kerrigan continues his work in community advocacy as a board member of the nonprofit Reproductive Freedom for All, based in Washington, D.C., co-founder of the nonprofit Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund, which merged with Home Base in Charlestown in April, and serves as chair of the Lancaster Select Board. "The work that is done by my colleagues and friends at Kennedy Community Health is some of the most influential and important in our community. We have a chance to touch people's lives at their most vulnerable," said Kerrigan. - M.K.M.

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