Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | June 10, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 9 treatment. "We hope [the Mass Spectrometry Facility] will be used not only by a large number of people on campus, but also by lots of the local biotech industry. We hope they will collaborate with us and use the equipment that we're installing within our building," said Davis. Initiatives like the spectrometry facili- ty make NERB a leading research facility for Central Massachusetts, showing the power of public institutions, Collins said. "e building is a great example about how the state's public university could drive innovation and investment," said Collins. Introductory technology Worcester County is one of the only counties in Massachusetts growing in population, yet it has the least num- ber of acute care beds per capita, said Justin Precourt, interim president of UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. ese facts were major catalysts behind UMass Memorial's decision to acquire the building previously used as the Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center in 2021 with the plan to convert it into an acute care facility, currently being called the North Pavilion. e acquisition came at a time when all of UMass Memorial's locations were experiencing a shortage of acute care beds and a decrease in overall capacity exacerbated by the lasting effects of the COVID pandemic. On track to stay within UMass Memorial's budget of $125 million, gut renovations for the building are expect- ed to be finished by early winter with a targeted move in date of Jan. 15. e finished building will cov- er 73,000 square feet of clinical and non-clinical space, with an additional 13,600 square feet to be finished at a later date. e North Pavilion will offer 72 new hospital beds at its opening with shell space for 24 more beds, of which UMass Memorial will allocate as it observes how many patients are spending ex- tended periods of time in emergency department boarding and determine the demand for different services. UMass Memorial Medical Center currently has 818 beds across its three campuses in Worcester. Wait times in emergency departments is a major issue in Central Massachu- setts, said Amie Shei, president and CEO of e Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts in Worcester. "Nobody chooses to go to the emer- gency department unless they abso- lutely have to, and so the added stress of having to wait sometimes many, many hours just adds to the stress of the experience," said Shei. Each bed will have its own, private room and a separate sitting and sleeping area for the patient's family. ese new rooms will provide patients with advanced technologies new to the UMass Memorial network. Rooms will be equipped with an interactive television system with educational ma- terials for patients, offering information pertaining to their diagnosis and what to expect while in the hospital and once they go home. "Studies show when you sit down and you review things with a patient, they're only retaining a small percentage of what you're sharing with them," said Precourt. "Now, they'll be able to go back and revisit the information that you share with them at their leisure and at their convenience." Electronic boards will be available in all patient rooms displaying who is on their care teams, automatically updating as their physicians, nurses, and personal care assistants switch shis. Patients will be able to attend telehealth visits via webcams within their rooms with providers not able to be at the North Pa- vilion, which is a preventative measure, said Precourt. e telehealth visits "actually will allow us to create a more comprehen- sive care plan for the patient and a more comprehensive discharge plan," said Precourt. "e goal of that would be to help prevent any readmissions back into the hospital or any unneeded, unnec- essary emergency room visits … or unnecessary visits back to their primary care physician or specialist." Focusing on prevention is an essential part of addressing access to care in Cen- tral Massachusetts, said Shei. For varied reasons including lack of adequate health insurance coverage and previous- ly experienced barriers to care, individ- uals oen delay receiving primary care, if they receive it at all, she said. "So there could be health issues that could be addressed relatively easily with some preventive treatments and disease management, but if those individuals don't receive care, oentimes those conditions worsen and become an acute issue that then takes them to the emergency department where the care is much more expensive, where their condition has worsened," said Shei. Central Massachusetts needs to take a holistic approach to tackling the issue of access to care, she said. ough increasing hospital beds does address the immediate need of hospital bed shortages, the issues residents face when attempting to access care are systemic and include issues interconnected with healthcare systems, including social de- terminants of health, the housing crisis, access to healthy foods, and mounting costs of living. "Do they pay their rent? Do they pay for their bus fare? Do they try to put food on the table at home? Or do they go see their doctor and pay for their prescriptions and pay for the copay for the doctor's visit? So all of these factors are contributing to people delaying care," said Shei. More healthcare jobs Aside from the direct benefits of the NERB and North Pavilion buildings, both Collins and Precourt see the new constructions benefiting the area's eco- nomic infrastructure. e creation of the North Pavilion means UMass Memorial will have 450 new positions and those new employ- ees will reinvest into the community by purchasing services simply because they are in the area, said Precourt. Once contracts are signed, UMass Memorial will award $5 million in grants to 18 local nonprofit organizations through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Determination of Need program. Moving departments into the NERB will allow UMass Chan to hire several new faculty and staff both in the new building and to fill newly available space in other ones. e exact number of new hires will become evident once the NERB is up and running, Collins said "Across the campus, we will be cre- ating space so that we can increase the economic activity, increase the hiring, and bring more science to the campus," said Collins. "Research brings hope to the human condition." Greek Festival St. Spyridon June 21, 22 & 23, 2024 Homemade Greek Food · Pastries & Desserts · Gyros · Live Music & Dancing · Kids Fest & Rock Climbing Wall · Coffee Shop · Marketplace · Vendors · Full Bar · Raffle www.gfwoo.com FRI Sat Sun 4 - 11pm 12 - 11pm 12 - 8pm Across from Elm park Amie Shei, CEO and president of The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts Justin Precourt, interim president of UMass Memorial Medical Center W A rendering of the $125-million North Pavilion for UMass Memorial Health PHOTO | COURTESY OF UMASS MEMORIAL HEALTH

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