Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 10, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 5 Saint Vincent CEO Carolyn Jackson to resign Carolyn Jackson, CEO of Saint Vin- cent Hospital in Worcester, will resign from her position on Feb. 14. "Aer careful consideration, Carolyn Jackson, CEO of Saint Vincent Hospi- tal and the Massachusetts market, has decided to step down from her role with our organization. Aer serving nearly six years in a difficult union environment, Carolyn is choosing to focus on the next chapter of her career," Maggie Gill, eastern group president for Saint Vincent parent firm Tenet Healthcare of Dallas, wrote in a Feb. 3 letter to hospital leaders and medical staff. In 2019, Jackson assumed her posi- tion as CEO of Tenet's Massachusetts operations and of Saint Vincent, the largest for-profit hospital system in Central Massachusetts and the region's second largest hospital. Jackson served as Saint Vincent CEO for far longer than Tenet's other hospital CEOs in Central Massachusetts. Jack- son's predecessor, Jeffrey Welch, le the position aer 14 months. e MetroW- est Medical Center in Framingham and Natick, which is also a Tenet hospital, had three different CEOs between 2021- 2023. Shortly aer she started in her po- sition at Saint Vincent, Jackson would become the face of ongoing controversy surrounding both the hospital and Tenet. Since 2021, Jackson has faced crit- icism from both political figures and community leaders following an historic 301-day nurses strike and hundreds of complaints filed by the Massachusetts Nurses Association. e MNA expressed reassurance regarding Jackson's departure in a state- ment to WBJ. "e nurses of St. Vincent Hospital are relieved by the departure of Carolyn Jackson as the hospital's embattled CEO and hopes this decision signals an op- portunity for new leadership at Tenet's hospitals in Massachusetts (including Framingham Union Hospital and Leon- ard Morse Hospital in Natick), leader- ship that places the safety of patients and the recognition of the valuable role that frontline staff play in delivering the quality of care these facilities provide to the communities they serve," David Schildmeier, MNA director of public communications, wrote in an email. UMass Memorial's $220M facility alleviating ER strain In the weeks since UMass Memorial Medical Center held the grand opening of its $220-million acute-care facility the North Pavilion, the top executive of Central Massachusetts' largest hospital is seeing it begin to alleviate the strain on its emergency department. "is project is providing much needed relief to the inpatient hospital capacity constraints felt across the Central Massachusetts region," UMMC President Justin Precourt wrote in an email to WBJ. e 72-bed acute-care facility was filled within its first week of operations aer opening on Jan. 14, said Precourt. UMMC has begun to see greater patient movement through its emergency departments with fewer patients waiting for beds. e 73,000-square-foot facility features 72 private rooms with shell space for an additional 24, all part of the UMMC's University Campus, which is part of the largest hospital in Central Massachusetts. Each room includes a family area with a couch that converts to a bed. e North Pavilion rooms are fur- nished with technologies aimed at creat- ing an easier and more effective stay. Patient rooms are equipped with beds that respond to voice commands, such as turning off lights and closing shades. In addition, all include flat screen TVs running UMMH proprietary soware, enabling patients to view their charts and information about their stay, including diet plan, medications, and information about their condition. While the North Pavilion doesn't include emergency room beds, the acute-care beds at the facility will help provide relief at area emergency rooms where patients are waiting for beds to be available. e new facility's rooms are equipped with an interactive television system with educational materials and elec- tronic boards, the latter automatically updating as patient's physicians, nurses, and personal care assistants switch shis. UMMH has decorated the new facili- ty with 240 pieces of artwork from more than 130 local artists, 20% of whom are people of color. e North Pavilion's opening comes aer UMMH purchased the former Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center in 2021 for $23.5 mil- lion with plans to convert it to an acute- Continued on next page Saint Vincent CEO Carolyn Jackson Fund Your Business with Confidence 800-939-9103 cornerstonebank.com Member FDIC | Member DIF We're here to support your growth and success. Take your business to the next level with tailored financing solutions for construction, equipment, expansion, and working capital. Scan the QR code to learn more.

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