Worcester Business Journal

FOCUS: MBAs and workforce development Old restaurants find new life 19 New owners taking charge at Edgemere Diner in Shrewsbury, Worcester's Wonder Bar. When is the right time to pursue an MBA? WBJ >> To Subscribe Q&A with Michael Lussier of Webster First Federal Credit Union Shop Talk 8 12 Advocate for jobs? Or roadblock for developers? D uring the recent delay before the Worcester City Council signed off on the sale of the former county courthouse, one thing became clear: a new voice had made itself heard in Worcester's redevelopment plans. The Worcester Community-Labor Coalition caused a stir beforfe the coun- cil's vote, demanding that jobs for local workers become part of the agreement with Brady Sullivan Properties, the New Hampshire developer that had agreed with the city to buy the former court- house for $1.2 million and turn it into 115 apartments and retail space. During negotiations that followed a public forum about the negotiated deal, the city secured a commitment for the developer to spend half of its construc- tion budget for the Lincoln Square land- mark on contractors and subcontractors from within a 30-mile radius or with companies that have approved appren- ticeship programs. "We believe we don't have to take just any deal," says Frank Kartheiser, the coalition's co-chair. "There is a lot of optimism here and we need to think about how this helps the broader com- munity." Broad coalition gains voice in Worcester development deals BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Frank Kartheiser, coalition co-chair: Worcester needs to think about how key development projects help "the broader community." >> Continued on Page 17 Staking out urgent care turf Health care providers from within and outside Central Mass. angle for pieces of a growing market Locally, the retail urgent care model has been less common until recently. The service has been offered mostly by health care providers such as physician groups and hospitals. But even they have begun to branch out into the retail space as new companies special- izing in urgent care have started to set up shop in Central Massachusetts and throughout the state. (In addition, CVS Health operates several MinuteClinics throughout the region — expanding beyond their traditional pharmacies — to assist patients with less-acute conditions.) Reliant will expand as competition arrives Reliant Medical Group is a pioneer of retail urgent care in the region. While the group medical practice has offered urgent care services to its patients at Reliant facilities on Plantation Street in Worcester for 30 years, the company launched its retail ReadyMED clinics five years ago, according to Dr. Raj Hazarika, chair of same-day services at Reliant. After it opened the first retail location in Shrewsbury, ReadyMED has added locations in Auburn and Milford and is planning two more in Worcester and T he urgent care frenzy that has swept Eastern Massachusetts is arriving in Greater Worcester, with at least three major players set to enter the market and plans from existing providers to up their urgent care presence. But urgent care as a service is nothing new. In other parts of the country, retail centers have become common fixtures as alternatives to primary care offices and emergency rooms for people who need care quickly for non-serious illnesses or injuries, such as lacerations and broken bones. BY EMILY MICUCCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer >> Continued on Page 11 P H O T O / R I C K S A I A Rick Pampy, a medical assistant at Reliant Medical Group's ReadyMED site in Auburn, tends to a touch screen in the building's foyer. Central Massachusetts' Source for Business News April 27, 2015 Volume 26 Number 10 www.wbjournal.com $2.00 P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y MBA

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