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18 Worcester Business Journal | December 29, 2025 | wbjournal.com Fresh faces to lead healthcare industry BY MICA KANNER-MASCOLO WBJ Staff Writer C entral Massachusetts healthcare systems expe- rienced program closures, leadership transitions, and mergers this year amid federal funding shis and a mounting behavioral health crisis. Next year, the in- dustry will adjust further to these trends. New leadership In 2026, new faces will lead some of Worcester's anchor institutions. Among many new healthcare leaders named in 2025, Dr. Michael Collins announced he would step down as chancellor of UMass Chan Medical School, and Saint Vincent Hospital, the second largest hospital in Central Massachusetts, is looking for a new CEO. More hospital cutbacks While most regional hospitals were profitable in 2024, they faced financial hits this year with low reimbursement rates, a maxxed-out Health Safety Net, and looming Medicaid cuts. Next year, hospitals will continue trimming programs as they find alternative ways to meet community needs. Health care will be increasingly home-based Patients are experiencing exacerbat- ed wait times at Central Massachusetts ERs, partially due to at-capacity step- down facilities. While that problem will persist, hos- pitals, nonprofits, and universities will work to bring health care to people's homes, including advanced technology and the use of community health care workers. UMass Memorial breaks ground of satellite Nashoba Valley ER, expects to open in 2026 Eight months aer UMass Memorial Health unveiled plans to open a satellite emergency department to help fill the emergency care gap le by the 2024 clo- sure of Ayer's Nashoba Valley Medical Center, the Worcester-based healthcare system has begun construction on the Groton facility. UMass Memorial's site, located at 490 Main St., will offer the same adult and pediatric emergency services provided at conventional traditional emergency departments in addition to a helipad for emergency helicopter transpor- tation and specific imaging services, according to a Sept. 23 press release. e healthcare system expects to open the facility in late 2026. "is site is the culmination of the entire region's vision. It started to become a reality when I first met with the fire and emergency response chiefs earlier this year, asking them, "Where would you put an emergency medical facility?" Dr. Eric Dickson, UMMH president and CEO, said in the release. "Since then, we've collaborated closely about how we could invest in the com- munity to address residents' immediate concerns." UMass Memorial originally began ruminating on plans to support the Nashoba Valley region shortly aer the region's medical center was shut down on Aug. 31 of last year. Nashoba Valley Medical Center's closure came aer its parent company, Dallas-based Steward Health Care, filed for bankruptcy in May of 2024 and sub- sequently announced in July it would shutter Nashoba Valley in 60 days. e now-closed 77-bed medical cen- ter, staffed by 164 physicians and 430 nurses, served as the sole hospital in the Nashoba Valley region, meaning its closure le the area's 115,000 residents to travel longer distances in case of a medical emergency. In October, the Gov. Maura Healey Administration announced a 32-person working group designed to identify and address healthcare needs in the region following the 60-year-old facility's closure. Group members included hospital, labor, government, and community leaders, including U.S. Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA), Patricia Pistone, senior director of external affairs, UMa- ss Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital, and Robert Sideleau, fire chief of the City of Leominster. "When Steward abandoned the Nashoba Valley, they le families scared and without the care they depended on, but this community didn't wait for someone else to fix it. We organized, we got to work, and we found part- ners who shared our commitment to delivering high quality care close to home," Trahan said in the release. "To- day's groundbreaking isn't just about building a new emergency facility – it's about the resilience of a community that refused to be broken by the greed of Steward executives." In March, six months aer Nashoba Valley's closure, the working group released a report documenting how the region was struggling with transporta- tion and emergency response concerns. e report noted patient volumes and wait times were rising at neighbor- ing hospitals as they attempted to care for former Nashoba Valley patients, and that medical first responders were fac- ing an average median transport time of 17 minutes, up from the 12-minute median before the hospital shut down. "Massachusetts is the nation's health- care leader, and we need to make sure that's true for every community. is groundbreaking was a celebration of the partnership between the Nasho- Top healthcare stories from 2025 Nashoba Valley Medical Center closed in 2024, leaving neighboring hospitals and emergency medical services strained to fill in the care gaps. PHOTO | COURTESY OF UMASS CHAN MEDICAL SCHOOL HEALTH CARE W PHOTO | WBJ FILE Dr. Michael Collins will step down from his role as chancellor of UMass Chan Medical School in 2026.