Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1526017
wbjournal.com | September 2, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 3 make statements of condemnation based solely on what I read in a headline. e details in a story are important. Before we react to something, we should understand it first. – Brad Kane, editor F or this edition, Staff Writer Mica Kanner-Mascolo re- searched how the closure of the Nashoba Valley Medical Center hospital in Ayer would affect the community and the healthcare indus- try, resulting in the story "e impact of a hospital closure" on page 8. As part of her research, Kanner-Mascolo interviewed Dr. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health in Worcester. While Dickson said the region's largest hospital system wasn't in a position to take over the struggling facility, he did say – if the worst-case (and most likely) scenario happened and Nashoba Valley closed – maybe UMass Memorial could do something to provide a degree of healthcare services, such as setting up an urgent care or skilled nursing facility inside the closed hospital. Dickson was simply floating ideas on ways to help. I found Dickson's input for this story to be endlessly interesting and indicative of the place healthcare officials are now in: ey want to help, but their organization's own struggles prevent them from giving everybody everything they want. I pushed Kanner-Mascolo to publish a shorter web- first story to WBJournal.com on Aug. 26 outlining Dickson's thoughts. Predictably, the story was condemned almost immediately. e Massachusetts Nurses Association labor union put out a statement saying Dickson's ideas were undermining the faint hopes of finding an organization to take over Nashoba Valley, and that an urgent care or a skilled nursing facility wouldn't meet the full healthcare needs of the region. Clearly, no one at MNA had bothered to read the part saying these ideas were merely being floated in case the hospital closed, which was the first sentence of the story. I'm told UMass Memorial received a number of messages as well, which only further proved to me no one was reading anything beyond the headline. I even modified the headline to make it clear these ideas were preliminary. People not reading anything more than just the headline has been a longstanding problem in journalism. On one hand, I get it: I scan headlines, too, before deciding which stories to read. No one is going to read every word of every story. However, I don't form strong, angry opinions and Please read more than the headline Scan the QR code to learn more. Finance your new or used equipment and vehicle purchases. Member FDIC | Member DIF 800-939-9103 cornerstonebank.com Great Rates, Quick Decisions It takes less than ten minutes to apply for a Cornerstone Bank Small Business Loan * and you'll receive an instant decision. Even better, we'll close your loan within 2 business days upon receipt of a complete application package. * Business must be located in Massachusetts and meet certain qualifications. Exclusions apply. Talk to a Bank Representative for more details. CORRECTION: A story in the Aug. 19 edition entitled "How WBJ selected the 40 Under Forty, Class of 2024" incorrectly said Brilla Coffee has a location in Northborough. That location has closed, and Brilla operates two locations in Gardner and Holden. T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S 4 Central Mass. In Brief 12 Focus on Law & Accounting 15 List: Largest law firms 18 List: Largest accounting firms 19 Know How 20 Movers & Shakers 21 Opinion 22 Shop Talk: Platinum Fire Protection & Services 10 Time away from work Once seen as limited to the higher education industry, sabbaticals are on the rise among business executives and finding their place among company policies. 21 Viewpoint: Small towns as business incubators, part 1 Viewpoint opinion columnist Jim Metcalf says local governments are missing out on the economic development and output by the talent already in their communities. W Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi- weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September, October, and December by New England Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $84.00. For more information, please email circulation@wbjournal.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 172 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ A division of: Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Staff Writers Eric Casey, ecasey@wbjournal.com (real estate, manufacturing) Mica Kanner-Mascolo, mkannermascolo@wbjournal.com (health care, diversity & inclusion) Editorial Intern Sara Bedigian, sbedigian@wbjournal.com Contributors Sloane M. Perron, Giselle Rivera- Flores, Emily Micucci, Livia Gershon Photographers Matt Wright, Edd Cote, Christine Peterson Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com Art Director, Mitchell Hayes, mhayes@wbjournal.com General Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Accounts Manager Timothy Doyle tdoyle@wbjournal.com Human Resources Manager, Tracy Rodwill, trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Finance, Sara Ward, sward@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Clerk, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Event Coordinator, Patty Harris, pattyh@wbjournal.com Director of Audience Development and Operations, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Business Office Assistant, Nicole Dunn, ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Associate Publisher, Mark Murray mmurray@wbjournal.com President, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com