Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/469117
22 Worcester Business Journal • www.wbjournal.com 25 YEARS: IMPACTFUL COMPANIES O ver the past decade, Worcester's Saint Vincent Hospital has had as many for-profit owners as the Vatican has had popes. The latest — Tenet Healthcare — even previously owned the once-nonprofit facility. A year ago, Saint Vincent and MetroWest Medical Center, with cam- puses in Framingham and Natick, were under their latest new owner after Tenet completed its $4.3-billion acquisition of Vanguard Health Systems. The deal, which included Tenet's assumption of $2.5 billion of Vanguard debt, gave the Dallas-based organization 77 acute care hospitals, 173 outpatient centers, five health plans and six accountable-care organizations in 10 states. MetroWest Medical had been strug- gling to turn a profit since 2003. Conversely, Saint Vincent had been among the best-performing hospitals in Massachusetts, earning nearly $200 mil- lion between 2006 and 2012. The change in ownership was a bit of déjà vu for the two Central Massachusetts facilities. They were owned by Tenet until 2004, when Vanguard purchased the nonprofit MetroWest Medical and the for-profit Saint Vincent for $127 mil- lion. Saint Vincent stopped being a non- profit in 1996, when it was acquired by OrNda Healthcorp, itself becoming part of Tenet the following year. Twenty-five years ago, Saint Vincent was a Catholic-run institution, as it had been since its founding in 1893 by the Sisters of Providence. In 1990, Saint Vincent Healthcare System merged with Fallon Healthcare System, creating the first vertically integrated health care delivery system in the area. Together, Saint Vincent and Fallon developed plans to replace the Vernon Hill hospital facility with a modern downtown medical complex called Medical City — later renamed Worcester Medical Center — that opened in 2000. A s we noted last December, John Prosser knows manufacturing inside and out. And with the success he achieved during his decades in that chal- lenging sector, he has used his power and influence to help lead Seven Hills Foundation to new heights. Since 2010, Prosser has chaired the highly successful charitable nonprofit, which offers support and services to 30,000 people with disabilities and life challenges. Seven Hills has 11 affiliates at 180 locations, and employs more than 3,500. The human services agency has expanded its reach beyond Massachusetts, acquiring a Rhode Island organization and stretching into seven countries. It has also stepped up its Bay State offerings with, among other things, the $1.9-million purchase of a Worcester facility as a second location for its Aspire! program (the first site is in Milford). The growth and expansion increased annual revenue from $135 million in fiscal 2009 to $144 million in fiscal 2012. Seven Hills is not the first time Prosser has succeeded outside the realm of man- ufacturing. In 2008, Becker College's board of trustees hired Prosser, a 10-year veteran of that board, as acting presi- dent. He served in that role until current president Robert Johnson was hired in 2010. Prosser's extensive manufacturing background includes a stint as CFO of Springfield-based Smith & Wesson. Subsequently, he has been part owner and operator of several local machine- tool companies, including Quamco Inc., Lapointe International and GF Wright Steel & Wire. Amid changes in leadership and its footprint, Saint Vincent Hospital has held steady as a leader in patient care and financial perfor- mance. Saint Vincent Hospital 8 Seven Hills Foundation 9 8 9