Worcester Business Journal

August 17, 2015

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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, including 5 special issues in April, July, September, November and December, by New Engand Business Media. 172 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, PO Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $54.95. For more information, please email wbjournal@cambeywest.com or contact our circulation department at 845-267-3008. Fax: 845.267.3478 Advertising: For advertising information, please call Mark Murray at 508-755-8004 ext. 227. Fax: 508-755-8860. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal • 172 Shrewsbury Street • Worcester, MA 01604 • 508-755-8004 tel. • 508-755-8860 fax www.wbjournal.com 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 WORKPLACES 2012TOP WORKPLACES Worcester Business Journal's 2012 Worcester Business Journal's 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).

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