4 HEALTH • Summer 2016
C E N T R A L M A S S A C H U S E T T S
Executive Editor
Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com
HEALTH Editor
Emily Micucci, emicucci@wbjournal.com
Contributors
Edd Cote, Livia Gershon, Susan Shalhoub
Research Director, Stephanie Meagher,
smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com
Research Assistant, Heide Martin,
hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com
Production Director, Kira Beaudoin,
kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com
Art Director, Mitchell Hayes,
mhayes@wbjournal.com
Senior Accounts Manager
Matt Majikas, mmajikas@wbjournal.com
Custom Publishing Project Manager
Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com
Marketing & Events Manager
Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com
Chief Financial Officer, 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
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A division of:
HEALTH
{ From The Editor }
A
t the end of April, I was just exiting the haze of having a new-
born at home (along with a three-year-old) when I began plan-
ning the summer issue of Central Massachusetts HEALTH. It
was fitting that one of the issue focuses would be pediatric
medicine, and with recent timely headlines on important
health issues affecting children, the timing seem even more fortuitous.
For starters, our lead feature by staff writer Laura Finaldi delves into the
problem of pain for young athletes, who are highly motivated to recover after
injury, but are also at risk for becoming dependent on pain killers that have, in
the past, been frequently prescribed. The story also dovetails with our summer issue's other focus,
rehabilitation and sports medicine. Local experts discuss how opiate addiction has shaped their
approach when treating student athletes in Finaldi's Page 15 feature.
Last fall, I reported on cesarean sections at Central Massachusetts hospitals after a report on the
high frequency of c-sections in U.S. hospitals was released by The Leapfrog Group. That story
focused on cost, but my Page 18 feature explores the impact on health for mothers and babies, and
new emphasis on reducing the c-section rate, with important insights from local doctors, as well as
mothers. And with more cities and towns in Massachusetts bumping the tobacco buying age from 18
to 21, Laura Finaldi writes about gains in reducing youth smoking as well as a new public health
enemy targeting teens, e-cigarettes, in her Page 20 feature.
Finally, contributing writer Livia Gershon provides a timely look at Charles J. Faris's legacy at
Worcester's Spectrum Health Systems and the future of the addiction treatment organization before
he steps down this summer. A prominent figure in Central Massachusetts, Faris has made waves well
beyond Spectrum's walls in his decades-long career. Read about it on Page 17.
We're also pleased to touch on the rehab and sports medicine front again with a Q&A with Dr.
Michael A. Brown, a sports medicine specialist at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, who
discussed his work with professional sports teams as well as everyday people with Laura Finaldi for
our Provider Profile on Page 30.
It's good to be back to work as editor of Central Massachusetts HEALTH after my hiatus this winter
and spring. Thanks to Worcester Business Journal editor Brad Kane for delivering a strong Spring
2016 issue. I look forward to continuing coverage of our dynamic local healthcare industry this year.
- Emily Micucci, HEALTH editor
Back in time for summer
Central Massachusetts HEALTH is published 4
times a year by New Engand Business Media LLC.
