Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1526017
wbjournal.com | September 2, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 7 W more than 145 manufacturing locations in the United States and Canada. A year after president's resignation, UMass Memorial Medical Center close to hiring new leader e year-long search for a new leader at Central Massachusetts' largest hospital may soon be coming to an end. In July 2023, Dr. Michael Gustafson resigned as president of UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester aer serving in the position for five years. He is now CEO of e Schwartz Center for Compas- sionate Healthcare in Boston. Since Gustafson's departure, Justin Precourt has served as interim president of UMass Memorial. Pre- court is the chief nursing officer for senior vice pres- ident for patient care services at the medical center's parent organization, UMass Memorial Health in Worcester. UMass Memorial Health plans on filling Gustafson's position with a new hire into the newly created role of chief operating officer for the parent organization. at COO will assume the role of president of UMass Memorial Medical Center, along with becoming president of the system's Com- munity Hospitals, Inc., which consists of Harrington Hospital in Southbridge, HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital in Leominster, and Marlborough Hospital. Dr. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health, told WBJ he is in the final stages of interviewing for that COO position and expects to make the hire in the coming months. Filling executive positions is a costly endeavor for hospitals, as top healthcare management talent can command high salaries, even at a time when industry finances have been strained by the fallout from the COVID pandemic, among other factors. Gustafson's salary for the fiscal year ending in September 2021 was $823,260, with total compensation of $1.43 million, according to the nonprofit data provider Guidestar. Once the hire is made, UMass Memorial's new COO will also lead the search and hiring of a new president of HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital and Marlborough Hospital following the exit of Steve Roach in June. Dr. Charles Cavagnaro has acted as interim president since his departure. UMass Memorial Medical Center is the largest hospital in Central Mass., with 749 beds and 8,411 em- ployees across three campuses in Worcester. In 2023, the medical center generated $2.14 billion in revenue. Pickleball and padel facility planned for Hopkinton A business looking to cash in on two up-and-com- ing racquet sports is coming to Hopkinton, as the owner of a planned pickleball and padel facility in Hopkinton has purchased the future site of the facility for $900,000. Open Play Pickleball and Padel Club in Hopkin- ton is one step closer to opening, aer a corporation affiliated with the company purchased a parcel of land at 124 East Main St. in a deal completed on Aug. 14, according to South Middlesex Registry of Deeds records. Dr. Michael Gustafson, former president of UMass Memorial Medical Center