www.wbjournal.com August 17, 2015 • Worcester Business Journal 3
Just about every employer has treated its
staff to a meal or two. Now, many will wind
up thinking twice about what they order
from a caterer and focus on improving the
health of their hires. It could wind up cost-
ing them a lot more if they don't do that.
Last week, I moderated a panel discus-
sion on health care as part of our Power Breakfast series. Much
of the talk focused on what businesses can do to rein in rising
health insurance costs. There was no shortage of insight on
nudging employees toward taking better care of themselves.
It's not a new phenomenon; larger businesses have the space
and money to have on-site fitness centers for their staffs, for
example. But some forward-thinking small businesses even go
so far as to organize walking competitions or bring in mas-
seurs for their employees.
The stakes, after all, are high and climbing higher. Premiums for
employer-sponsored coverage for families rose 73 percent from
2003 to 2013, according to The Commonwealth Fund. And
employer-sponsored insurance accounted for 57 percent of all cov-
erage in the United States last year, according to that organization.
As we work through this era of health care reform, we strive for
growth, which also means investing in the health and well-being
of the people who help us deliver that growth. That has arrived
and it will be here for a while.
~ Rick Saia (rsaia@wbjournal.com)
This Week In The WBJ
Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-
6595) is published bi-weeky, 24x per year,
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A division of:
WBJ on the Web
From news to information about events and awards, we have it all at WBJournal.com.
Attend our annual
40 Under Forty event
Our 16th annual class of 40 up-and-
coming business leaders in Central
Massachusetts under the age of 40 will
be unveiled in our Aug. 31 issue. Join us on Wednesday, Sept. 16
at Mechanics Hall in downtown Worcester when we honor this
year's class. Register at www.wbjournal.com/40underforty.
NEWS & ANALYSIS
9 Big notch in belt of top EHR vendor
With its recently announced $700 million deal to upgrade UMass
Memorial Health Care's electronic health records system, privately held
Epic Systems is growing its already big client base in the Bay State health
care market.
Call for nominations:
Top Workplaces awards
For the fourth straight year, we'll be
honoring companies that take an extra step
or two in their workplace practices. Is your
company one of them? Fill out a brief questionnaire today at www.
wbjournal.com/topworkplaces2015 to be considered for this
year's Central Massachusetts Top Workplaces awards. Submission
deadline is Friday, Sept. 18.
To your health — and your employees' health!
12
13 The case for liberal arts
In an era when more students are
leaning toward courses of study that
will yield higher post-graduate
paydays, liberal arts bastions such as
Assumption College and the College of
the Holy Cross continue to trumpet the
values of a classic liberal arts
education.
DEPARTMENTS
18 Accolades & Honors
4 Briefing
21 Editorial
20 Flash Poll
18 Fresh Beginnings
15 Incorporations
17 Knowhow
19 Movers & Shakers
18 Networking/Events
22 Photo Finish
5 Real Deals
8 Ticker
21 Viewpoint
ON PAGE ONE
'Tax exempt' in name only
Central Massachusetts communities such as Worcester lean on nonprofits to help
pay for municipal services. The benefits of those payments seem to reach in both
directions.
Bringing the hospital to you
Changes in the industry are leading health care systems to move outpatient
surgeries and other services away from their traditional locations on hospital
campuses to brand new sites. And that's good news for architects and
construction firms.
COLUMN
16 Ken Cook always stresses the value of building relationships with
prospective clients to help drive sales. In The Rainmaker, he details three
steps that will turn good relationships into revenue
Editor, Rick Saia, rsaia@wbjournal.com
Staff Writers
Sam Bonacci, sbonacci@wbjournal.com
(Banking & Finance, Real Estate,
Manufacturing, Technology)
Emily Micucci, emicucci@wbjournal.com
(Health Care)
Staff Writer/Copy Editor
Carol McDonald, cmcdonald@wbjournal.com
Contributors
Susan Shalhoub, sshalhoub@wbjournal.com
Livia Gershon
Alanna Moriarty, amoriarty@wbjournal.com
Christina P. O'Neill
Research Director, Roger Magnus
rmagnus@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin
hmartin@wbjournal.com
Production Director, Kira Beaudoin
kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com
Associate Art Director, Mitchell Hayes
mhayes@wbjournal.com
Manager of Video/Multimedia Services,
Matthew Volpini
mvolpini@nebusinessmedia.com
Director, Major Accounts
Bonnie Leroux, bleroux@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com
Accounts Manager
Rena Barbieri, rbarbieri@wbjournal.com
Custom Publishing Project Manager
Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
Controller, Mary Rogers
mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com
Accounting Assistant, Valerie Clark
vclark@nebusinessmedia.com
Collections Manager, Raki Zwiebel
rzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
Human Resources, Kim Vautour
kvautour@nebusinessmedia.com
Publisher, CEO, Peter Stanton
pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com
Associate Publisher, Mark Murray
mmurray@wbjournal.com
Group Publisher, Joseph Zwiebel
jzwiebel@nebusinessmedia.com
2012TOP
WORKPLACES
Worcester Business Journal's
Worcester Business Journal's
2015TOP
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2012TOP
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Worcester Business Journal's
2012
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SHOP TALK
8 Q&A with Bill Andrews, president and CEO at ExaGrid Systems,
in Westborough
THE LIST
14 Top colleges and universities in Central Massachusetts
FOCUS
Education
The relationship between
Fitchburg State University and
the city enters a new era, with
new leaders looking to
strengthen the "town and
gown" connection with
downtown businesses such
as Destaré Martini Bar
(pictured).
