Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | December 1, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 5 Need Extra Capital to Take Your Business to the Next Level? 800-939-9103 cornerstonebank.com Member FDIC | Member DIF We're here to support your growth and success. Our tailored financing solutions address your unique needs for construction, equipment, expansion, and working capital, helping your business thrive. Scan the QR code to learn more. PHOTO | COURTESY OF WORCESTER ART MUSEUM UMass Chan residents ratify new contract, await university approval Resident physicians have voted to ratify a new contract with UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, including a nearly 10% raise and thousands of dollars in mental health and education benefits. e Committee of Interns and Resi- dents, the labor union representing 700 UMass providers, passed the three-year contract aer reaching a tentative agree- ment on Oct. 28. "A fair contract for UMass housestaff means better care for Central Massa- chusetts patients," Dr. Dipavo Banerjee, UMass addiction psychiatry fellow and member of the bargaining team, said in a Nov. 11 press release from the union. e new contract includes a 9.5% increase in compensation over the three years, $5,000 annually for mental health services for each household member, an increase of $500 in education allowance now covering publishing fees, and a one- time licensure exam reimbursement, according to the release. Additionally, the agreement reinstates residents into UMass Chan's health ben- efits fund, which covers expenses such as co-pay reimbursements. Now, the ball is in UMass Chan's court, as the next step is for university leaders to approve the new contract before it can be put in place. WAM opens long-awaited Arms and Armor Galleries Nearing the public opening of an exhibit that has been in the making for decades, the Worcester Art Museum of- fered the media a sneak peek of its Arms and Armor Galleries on Nov. 13, ahead of its public unveiling later in November. e expansive 5,000-square-foot collection of arms and armor, featur- ing pieces from the shuttered Higgins Armory Museum, is now on display in a dedicated gallery space on WAM's sec- ond floor. e more than 1,000 artifacts range from medieval suits of armor, to ancient daggers, to slightly-more-mod- ern firearms. With the Higgins Armory Museum facing persistent financial struggles and difficulties maintaining its collection, the discussion between the two museums over the future of the Higgins collection dates back about 50 years, said Matthias Waschek, director of WAM. "is conversation had actually been ongoing since the 1970s, and it was very much like romantic dating," Waschek said. "Sometimes the board of the Hig- gins was on the proverbial balcony, and we were serenading, and sometimes it was the other way round. But ultimately, what really made the transfer happen was money, or the absence thereof, be- cause it was very clear that the Higgins, in its configuration, in its own space, could not survive." Located in a unique building with an exterior made of steel, the Higgins Armory Museum was a frequent desti- nation for Central Massachusetts school field trips over the decades. But the building's lack of insulation made it a difficult place to preserve cen- turies-old armor, Waschek said. With the new exhibit, the intention was not to simply recreate the Higgins museum, or to mirror larger armor collections like the one at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, said Jef- frey Forgeng, the Higgins curator of arts & armor and medieval art at WAM. Instead, the goal was to highlight the collection's global reach, turning it into a unique experience that could only be found in Worcester. 8,512 Fans at the Worcester Railers' annual School Day Game on Nov.18, making it the highest-attended game of the nine the hockey team has hosted so far this season Source: ECHL 75 Reed Road Hudson location where Newton-based National Development has proposed to build a nearly 1-million-square-foot industrial campus at the site formerly owned by Intel Source: Town of Hudson Four CEOs the Hospital for Behavioral Medicine has had in six years. The Worcester hospital named Rachel Corus its newest leader in November. Source: Hospital for Behavioral Medicine and LinkedIn In COVID relief grants received by UMass Memorial Health that the State Auditor Diana DiZoglio claims the Worcester system could not provide receipts for. The health system has disputed the auditor's findings. Source: Office of the State Auditor $6.2 million The Arms and Armor Galleries at the Worcester Art Museum W

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