Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | June 10, 2024 | wbjournal.com I N B R I E F New hockey president "The opportunity to lead the Railers feels like a dream. My experience in the craft beer industry has been a wild ride and has equipped me with skills and relationships that will be transferrable to the team." Kim Golinski, former president of Wormtown Brewery in Worcester, who was named as the next Worcester Railers hockey team president. She replaces Stephanie Ramey, who is taking on a new role with the Railers' parent company. New WPI provost "I'm a first-generation student whose life was transformed by higher education. When I was in high school, a mentor introduced me to WPI because this university values both knowledge and the importance of putting it into action to help people and the world." Andrew Sears, a dean at Syracuse University and the incoming provost for Worcester Polytechnic Institute, replacing Winston Oluwole "Wole" Soboyejo, who left WPI to become president of SUNY Polytechnic Institute New healthcare CEO "My values around senior care parallel with the mission of Notre Dame Health Care and our sponsors, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. I feel honored and privileged to help lead this organization and am looking forward to working with all the staff and meeting our residents, patients and families." Philip Hickey, the incoming president and CEO of Worcester nonprofit Notre Dame Health Care, replacing Karen Laganelli, who is retiring after a 10-year tenure in the role BY ERIC CASEY WBJ Staff Writer H eywood Healthcare, which operates hospitals and walk-in care centers in Gardner and Athol, filed paperwork to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 28. e move comes just under eight months aer the Gardner-based firm voluntarily filed for bankruptcy, following a challenging year where the healthcare company's former CEO was removed from leadership, a planned merger with Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health was called off, and construction was paused on a $29-mil- lion surgical pavilion. "Heywood Healthcare's progress is attributed to its dedicated medical staff and employees, along with strong financial and operational prudence. We will proceed thoughtfully and planfully, maintain focus on patient care, and continue to forecast potential risks," Rozanna Penney, Heywood Healthcare pres- ident and CEO, said in a May 29 press release announcing the filing of the Chap- ter 11 exit plan. "e board and leadership team extend our gratitude for the steadfast support of our federal, state, and local represen- tatives, as well as our appreciation for the patients who continue to choose Heywood Healthcare." For all the organizations Heywood owes money to, the healthcare nonprof- it is asking them to accept the partial payment plan outlined in the bankrupt- cy exit filing or file objections by July 16, according to the filing made in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts, Central Division. Heywood plans to have a confirma- tion hearing on the bankruptcy plan on July 26, aer which the organization would exit bankruptcy. When it filed for bankruptcy, Hey- wood cited a lengthy and expensive electronic medical record transition, workforce challenges, and supply chain issues as reasons for its revenue shortfall. Heywood had $76.7 million in outstand- ing debt obligations, mostly owed to state agency MassDevelopment, accord- ing to its bankruptcy filing. e hospital system owed another $31.3 million to its top 20 creditors. Separately, Heywood and related parties have been sued for $9 million over unpaid work at the now- paused surgical pavilion project. Heywood has two hospitals in its sys- tem: a 134-bed facility in Gardner and the 25-bed Athol Hospital. Heywood Healthcare operates Heywood Medical Group, which has an 86-bed mental health and substance abuse recovery facility in Petersham. In the time since the initial bank- ruptcy filing, Heywood has improved service lines and grown operations, including a 16% increase in labor and delivery services, according to the release. Heywood partially re-opened its Gardner-based 12-bed inpatient mental health unit in January. Heywood seeks to exit bankruptcy PHOTOS | CHRISTINE PETERSON W Heywood Hospital in Gardner has remained open while its parent organization has gone through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Rozanna Penney, CEO and president of Heywood Healthcare

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