Today I signed one of the most important contracts I have signed since becoming CEO two-and-a-half years ago — I signed the contract to install Epic as our enterprise-wide electronic health record and billing system!  Why Epic? It basically came … Continue reading →

The communities we serve look to UMass Memorial to help improve health among their residents, and not just through the work we do inside hospital walls. Across our system, we work closely with local public health departments and a range … Continue reading →

To be successful in the future, UMass Memorial Health Care must evolve from being a group of loosely associated companies (our hospitals, medical group, Community Healthlink and joint ventures) to become an integrated health care delivery system. Our evolution will … Continue reading →

I wonder if you are familiar with the concept of playing a man down? This is not sports terminology, although I am aware of its relevance in soccer. Rather, it’s a concept that values input from everyone on the team … Continue reading →

I bet you didn’t know that May is National Urgent Care Awareness Month. Urgent care centers are one of the fastest growing segments of healthcare across the nation and here in Central Massachusetts. According to the Urgent Care Association of … Continue reading →

One of the great sights of spring is the number of people out walking and taking advantage of the great weather. Some people believe it is good therapy – both physically and mentally – to take a long walk. I … Continue reading →

This week I’d like to begin with an important reminder that time is running out for those wanting to take advantage of the $200 wellness reward for participating in myHealth Matters, our system wide employee wellness initiative. The financial incentive … Continue reading →

02/02/15 For patients scheduled for eye surgery, the pharmacy at UMass Memorial Marlborough Hospital made a mixture of drugs in a 10mL vial in its IV clean room.  As part of the process, the anesthesiologist typically took two vials for each … Continue reading →

This week I have invited Dr. Bob Quinlan, our system’s Patient Experience Officer, to share his birds-eye view of how we are doing when it comes to  ensuring an excellent patient and caregiver experience at our hospitals. Bob has more … Continue reading →

We asked, and you answered. Reinforcing our organizational value of “everyone, everyday,” you spoke very clearly about what you would like our Soarian Exit Strategy Task Force to focus on as they evaluate our current information technology systems to find the … Continue reading →

Yesterday you received an emailed memo from our system CIO Tim Tarnowski about the ongoing work of our UMass Memorial Soarian Exit Strategy Task Force. The task force, made up of members from across UMass Memorial and representing roles from … Continue reading →

It certainly has been an eventful couple of weeks in terms of weather impacting our communities and hospitals. I like snow as much as the next person, but on the mountains and slopes, not on our streets or in our … Continue reading →

  First things first, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to each of you for your hard work and sacrifices during the blizzard that blanketed our area. In the face of the storm, your commitment to providing the … Continue reading →

As I was reflecting on the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – on this day set aside in his honor – I was struck by how his words were as powerful as his deeds. If you … Continue reading →

Amazingly, not one but two crucial referee calls have generated enormous controversy this NFL playoff season and possibly determined the outcome of two games. You may say, well, referees always miss calls, what’s so amazing about that? Well, what I … Continue reading →

My resolution for 2015 is to work with our caregivers and new Chief Information Officer Tim Tarnowski to develop a plan to get us off of Soarian Clinicals, our inpatient electronic health record (EHR). To help make sure I keep … Continue reading →

In 2014 we shared a lot of great moments with our patients and each other. One of my favorites was the birth of baby Clare Elizabeth at the medical center at 10:11 (am) on 12/13/14. No matter what you were … Continue reading →

Happy Holidays wishes to all of you. This season of gift-giving and sharing led me to reflect on one of the greatest gifts our patients and health care system have received this past year – the gift of listening. Just over … Continue reading →

There are three things I want to share with you this week as we began to close the chapter on 2014. It has been a successful year – due in large part to your great efforts, and for that I … Continue reading →

The old adage, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression is as relevant today as it has ever been. In this increasingly warp speed world a bad first impression for any health care organization has … Continue reading →