2008
Spotlight On Health
W
elcome to the Worcester Business Journal’s third annual Health Care Heroes supplement.
Within this 16-page supplement, you’ll read the stories of our 2008 honorees, each of whom have contributed significantly to making Central Massachusetts a healthy place to both live and do business. This year, we selected 12 Health Care Heroes from the more than 40 nominations we received. And it’s a diverse bunch, ranging from a doctors who’s made caring for the region’s poor a priority, to a nurse who’s giving back through the classroom, to a volunteer who’s taken his experience battling cancer and turned it into a mission to find a cure. Each of our honorees’ stories are remarkable and well-worth telling. Special thanks to this year’s judges, who for the third consecutive year took the time to review the more than 40 nominations we received. They are: • Dr. Leonard Morse, Worcester’s commissioner of public health • Judy Tuori, instructor at the graduate school of nursing for UMass • Peter Martin, attorney at the law firm of Bowditch & Dewey • Dr. Jan Yost, president and CEO of the Heath Foundation of Central Massachusetts I would also like to thank Ken St. Onge, a freelance writer and former staff member at the Worcester Business Journal, who wrote the profiles on each of the winners, as well as Ron Bouley and Frederick Peck who took the portraits of each of the honorees. Please enjoy the profiles of the 2008 Health Care Heroes. - WBJ Editor Christina H. Davis, cdavis@wbjournal.com
Read profiles of the WBJ’s 2008 Health Care Heroes CORPORATE ACHIEVEMENT
PHYSICIANS
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Kim Harmon, Harmon Home Health ....................2
Dr. George Abraham, Central Mass. Independent Physicians Association ....................6 Dr. David Keller, UMass Medical School .............7 Dr. Jane A. Lochrie, St. Vincent Hospital .............8
HEALTH CARE STAFF
Dr. Harvey G. Clermont, St. Anne’s Free Medical Program ....................................................... 10 Dr. John P. Gusha, Central Mass. Oral Health Initiative ........................................................................ 12 Worcester Healthy Start Initiative, Great Brook Valley Health Center Inc. ............... 14
Sherri Westbury, Spectrum Health Systems ...........................................................................9
VOLUNTEER
ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH CARE The STEMI program at UMass Memorial Medical Center .............................................................3
NURSES Frances P. Foley and Susan F. Bowles, St. Vincent Hospital......................................................4 Jean Moynihan, Becker College .............................5
Justin Smith, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ........................................................................... 15
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Worcester Business Journal • Health Care Heroes 2008
CORPORATE ACHIEVEMENT: Kimberly Harmon
Celebrating Life One Patient At A Time
P H OTO/ RO N BO U L EY
T
o her, a single hug from her husband was the best gift Patricia M. Healey ever received. For three years, she watched as her husband battled an aggressive form of a rare viral disease — Gillian-Barre Syndrome — which had quickly taken away the mobility of 67-year-old Edward J. Healey, leaving him a quadriplegic who required a respirator to breathe. Slow Progress He made only gradual improvement in the first several years after being stricken by the disease. But in 2007, a certified nursing aide from Harmon Home Health began working with him at the Millbury treatment facility he was living. It was hours of work each day. He Kimberly Harmon, founder and CEO of Harmon Home Health was unable to move when the therapy started. But in short order, the therapy quick success she’s made with her new compaid off when, one morning earlier this pany lies in the way she approaches hiring year, Patricia Healey walked into her huscaregivers. band’s room for her daily visit. “I’m very selective, and I try to look for “He looked at me and said, ‘come here,’ � unique characteristics in the team I build. I Patricia said. “And then he reached up and really want people who complement each put his arms around me and gave me a kiss. other, so that when they’re put together, it It was the best present anyone’s ever given becomes a successful team,� Harmon said. me.� But the emotional center of that team is She attributes her husband’s quick, recent the energy and philosophy of its founder. progress to the intense effort and dedica“Kim has laughed and cried with her tion of the entire staff of Harmon Home patients, and most importantly, she supHealth. ports them from their first step to the wee Healey, a former nurse, said she credits hours of the night when she is comforting a the group with helping turn around her hospice patient in an end of life situation,� husband’s life. said Lydia Oquendo, a home health aide, Many Worcester-area residents tell a simand 2007 Health Care Hero award winner. ilar story about the dedication and high Added colleague and lifelong friend quality of care given by the barely 2-yearAngela Pezzano: “She is a wonderful examold private home health care company ple of how all nurses should be in the indusbased in Worcester. try.� The organization was founded in the It’s a praise leveled often by patients and summer of 2006 by Kimberly M. Harmon, a their families. former nurse with a background in com“Kim is an extraordinary, caring individmunity health who wanted to start a health ual who provides enthusiasm, passion and care company that was “a little unique.� professional support to everyone she deals “We have a philosophy here: celebrate with,� said Charles A. Polachi Jr., who nomlife,� she said. “It’s something I believe very inated her for the award after watching strongly in. I wanted to remain true to my Harmon’s team administer care for his integrity and ethics, and that was a big part uncle. of starting my own agency from scratch.� Andrew Pawlowicz, vice president of It has resonated with the community and Harmon Home Health, said he sees this grown very quickly. every day in the way Kimberly Harmon Since Harmon Home began taking relates to clients. patients in September 2006, the for-profit “She establishes a personal connection Harmon Home Health has grown to a with each patient� and helps “find the best 70-employee operation that offers a wide set of resources possible to maximize the range of services: from care giving and well being of a person,� he said. companionship, to nursing, to homemak“Her standards of ethics, quality and ing to end of life care. It even has its own integrity are so high, that those of us who medical director — an uncommon position have had the opportunity to work with her in a home health agency. raise our own,� he added. Claudia Dexter, office coordinator at Building A Team Harmon Home Health said, “I can only But uncommonness is something CEO hope that Kim Harmon is a symbol of our Harmon feels very strongly about. It’s somefuture in nursing and health care. Through thing the community has responded to her example she is both a teacher and stuwholeheartedly. dent of life who inspires nurses to be the Harmon says a key ingredient for the best they can be.� ■www.wbjournal.com
ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH CARE: UMass Memorial Medical Center STEMI program P H OTO/ RO N BO U L EY
The UMass team that has helped dramatically reduce the time it takes to treat a heart attack.
Speed When It Counts
T
ime is everything when it comes to treating heart attacks. And now, time is on the side of some Central Massachusetts heart attack victims, thanks to a new program created at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. The program is a collaboration between emergency service personnel from 20 towns and doctors and nurses at the hospital, who use cell phones and medical equipment to extend the reach of the emergency department into the backs of local ambulances. The program has drastically improved the
speed and treatment time for patients suffering a particular type of heart attack, known as a “STEMI,” or ST segment elevation myocardial infarction. Vital Statistics The main treatment for this type of heart attack is the inflation of a balloon catheter inside a patient’s blocked artery — a procedure known as an angioplasty. Hospitals’ effectiveness in treating the condition is measured according to “doorto-balloon time,” that is, the time that elaps-
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es between a patient’s arrival in the emergency room and the inflation of the balloon. The standard is 90 minutes. UMass Memorial now beats that standard by 37 percent: Its 57-minute average now ranks it among the national leaders for the speed with which it treats STEMI heart attacks. Working Together Although new technology plays a small role in the program’s success, the real secret is the way hospital staff are trained to work together. STEMI heart attacks are detected by a special reading on an EKG machine, which monitor patients’ vital signs. In the field, paramedics and emergency medical technicians use cell phones to transmit this data back to the emergency department at the hospital, where physicians guide the treatment of the patient. If it’s determined the patient is indeed suffering a STEMI, interventional cardiologists specializing in the treatment are alerted immediately, and often can arrive at the hospital before the patient does. The result is quicker treatments and better patient outcomes for the roughly 250 who were treated for the condition last year at the hospital. Hospital officials attributed the success to internal and external collaboration. “First, we examined every aspect of the care process to identify room for advancement,” said Peter Paige, vice chair of emergency medicine. “We needed to develop an internal
partnership between the emergency medicine and interventional cardiology to identify obstacles, implement improvements and develop strategies for teamwork. We then turned to our local paramedics who now have better tools and training to deal with heart attacks in a timely manner.” That partnership with outside groups is the real key to success, said Jay P. Cyr, vice president for the heart and vascular center of excellence at UMass. “Most emergency rooms develop a tight relationship with the people who are out there and learn to feel very comfortable being able to accept the information they give them and diagnose what is going on with patients,” he said. Working together, he said, “We have the ability to recognize this problem in the community and initiate the process earlier. And we’re up there with some of the best in country.” Of course, it takes a commitment on the part of the staff, who must agree to live within 30 minutes of the hospital, and — since STEMIs tend to occur more often at night — frequently get calls at all hours for treatment. “Sure, I’m burning a lot of midnight oil, and sometimes I feel like an intern again, but everyone is very enthusiastic about this program,” said Daniel Z. Fisher, interim director of interventional cardiology. “Everyone’s on board with it. And there aren’t many things where you work in this team approach with such obvious, great possibilities.” ■
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NURSES: Frances P. Foley and Susan F. Bowles P H OTO/ F R E D E R I C K P EC K
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Benefits of Experience
Frances P. Foley, nurse manager, and Susan F. Bowles, service coordinator of the operating room, St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester.
The Book On Quality Care
T
hey started off as two good friends and became two good nurses. Now they’re two good co-authors. St. Vincent Hospital’s Frances Foley and Susan Bowles — nurse manager and service coordinator of the operating room, respectively — recently finished writing a significant piece of a hospital reference book that should be a big help to nurses across the country who work in “cysto” rooms, a hospital term for urologic procedures done in the operating room. Chapter And Verse The published manual — which is already being used at St. Vincent — was a collaborative work the two did with several other nurses in other parts of the country who are all involved with a group called the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates. Foley
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Worcester Business Journal • Health Care Heroes 2008
some of the skills.
”
has been a board member of the group for 20 years. “The Society approached me about putting together a general manual for operating room nurses and clinic nurses who assist with urological procedures,” Foley said. “And I knew immediately who to ask to work with me — my good friend and colleague Sue Bowles.” The two nurses are very well-versed in bladder, urethral, and other procedures commonly done in operating rooms. The section of the book they wrote is a guide to nurses on the frequently needed surgical instruments, abbreviations and procedures for assisting in the “cysto room.” “It basically tells nurses what to do in certain situations, so that they’ll know what
to expect and what to do in the course of different procedures,” Foley said. Bowles and Foley spent nine months putting together the book, published by the society last year. It is entitled “Cysto Room Survival Manual: Guidelines for Urologic Endoscopy.” All the proceeds of the book go back to the society. “It was an exciting project to work on,” Bowles said. “It gives a strong foundation of information. It’s a good resource to tell a nurse what he or she needs to get the job done, exactly what you will be doing and what equipment you might need.” Fast Friends Together they drew on their extensive, combined experiences in the field. Foley has been a nurse for 33 years; Bowles has been a nurse for 28 years. They also drew on their lengthy friendship, which dates back to the early years, when both women worked as nurses at Quaboag on the Common nursing home in West Brookfield. They began working together when Bowles was still in nursing school, and became close friends very quickly, Bowles said. Their long history together made them ideal partners, Foley said. The two credit their personal and professional bonds as the key to putting the project together. “It was fun: Fran dragged me kicking and screaming through the whole thing,” joked Bowles. Like many specialties in medicine, cysto room nursing is one that “you either love it or you don’t,” Foley said. “And quite frankly, I love it.” She saw writing part of the book as the perfect chance to teach other up and coming nurses about the excitement and reward of the specialty. Bowles and Foley said they were extremely surprised and humbled to be named Health Care Heroes. “It’s been a wonderful opportunity to work on this project,” Foley said. “We just felt extremely pleased to have been asked.” Added Bowles: “It’s been an excellent chance for us to give back to the nursing community and share some of the skills we’ve picked up over our careers. That’s the real reason we did it.” ■ www.wbjournal.com
NURSE: Jean Moynihan
Sharing Lessons Learned
P H OTO/ F R E D E R I C K P EC K
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N
ursing students can learn a lot from Jean T. Moynihan. After all, she started nursing more than 50 years ago. Now a professor of nursing at Becker College in Worcester, the 78-year-old nursing instructor gives “kind but firm” pointers to freshman nursing students, ones that Moynihan has perfected after being a nurse educator for 35 years.
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CONGRATULATIONS
Storied Career She has served over the years on the faculty of the former Worcester City Hospital School of Nursing and the former St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing. Her Becker colleagues Ann E. Brown and Martha Main Jean Moynihan, professor of nursing at Becker College. estimate that, over her career the 1960s — after having eight children. as a lecturer and clinical instructor, There is a great difference between the Moynihan has educated thousands of nurscultures of nursing now and then, Moynihan ing students in the region. said. When she was her students’ age, young In a field where experienced and knowlwomen had few career choices: teacher, edgeable nursing instructors are rare, secretary or nurse. Moynihan is a gem, Brown said. “Nursing “Society is changing and it’s a different schools in Massachusetts, as in other states, world now,” she said. “These kids can take a are in need of experienced faculty. We need million roads to wherever they want to be. to recognize their valuable contributions.” We just did what we were told.” To Moynihan, it just made sense to go Students now come from different walks back to teaching would-be nurses on the of life, and those that are drawn to nursing right and wrong ways to approach the come out of desire, one that Moynihan is career. Shortly after retiring from the eduquite pleased to help mold, she said. cation department at St. Vincent in 1999, The Worcester native has also been witness to the incredible changes in the field itself over the last 50 years. Moynihan finds joy in all her “We did not have as much success in getting people better back then,” students’ accomplishments. she said. “We have so many new medicines and techniques that have been brought into the field which have contribMoynihan got a call from Becker College uted to people living longer and better asking here if she would like to come to the lives.” school as an instructor. She jumped at the Main, who along with Brown nominated chance. Moynihan for the Health Care Hero award, “It’s very fulfilling to work with students said Moynihan “loves the profession of and have them progress and mature, and nursing and is well respected by staff and come out into the community as competent faculty. She is a strong advocate for patients, nurses,” she said. “I just love doing this.” treating all with dignity and kindness. Over In her time, Moynihan has had a front the years she has mentored new faculty, row seat as the culture of medicine — and many who are now working with her at the country in general — became less of a Becker College.” boys’ club. “Jean Moynihan could have retired, lunched with her friends, and visited Maine, Culture Shock but she has chosen to share her gift with the She graduated from the nursing program future nurses of Central Massachusetts,” she at St. Vincent Hospital in 1950, and went on added. to nursing school at Boston College. After “She finds joy in all her students’ accomgraduating, she became a clinical instructor plishments. Her commitment to share her in 1955, which she continued to do until gifts with the students and faculty is invalu1957. She had to leave the field, however, able. Jean Moynihan is our hero.” when she became pregnant with her first Said Moynihan: “I just really enjoy being child. able to work so closely with people and to “In those days you could not be pregnant give back to the students. It’s very rewardand work in a hospital,” she said. She didn’t ing.” ■ go back to work as a nursing teacher until
“
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Health Care Heroes 2008 • Worcester Business Journal
5
PHYSICIAN: Dr. George Abraham P H OTO/ RO N BO U L EY
A Doc With A World View
H
e may be based in Worcester, but Dr. George Abraham is a doctor of the world. The Indian-born physician honed his medical skills in faraway places like India, Kenya and Singapore before bringing his immense skill as a doctor to Worcester. He now serves as medical director of the Central Massachusetts Independent Physicians Association, an assistant professor of medicine at UMass Medical School and associate program director of the internal medicine residency program at St. Vincent Hospital. Those In Need His formative medical experiences helped make him into the doctor he is today, Abraham said. As a medical resident in India, for instance, he was asked to work with the Missions of Charity — Mother Teresa’s mission — to provide medical care for orphans and the destitute, treating diseases seldom seen in the United States, such as leprosy. “It was a major motivating factor for me, and it’s why I try to work so extensively with the uninsured and the needy,” he said. In Singapore he learned the importance of technology in medicine. The country, which runs under the British system of medicine, places less of an emphasis on technology than American-style medicine.
Technology’s importance is another lesson he took from the experience back to Central Massachusetts. At CMIPA, the largest doctors’ group of its kind not affiliated with a hospital, he has been a tireless advocate for the improved use of technology — such as electronic medical records systems — as a means to better treat patients and improve safety. “I believe in the group’s model of care,” he said. “Technology helps bring more choices to patients.” He’s also been a strong advocate for medical education, believing it a central component of a doctor’s career. “Part of the role of being in medicine is that you should teach as much as you learn so that the next generation is better prepared.” On The Agenda His roots in the community health world run deep in Central Massachusetts — and elsewhere. At St. Vincent Hospital, he helped grow and improve the ambulatory care clinic, which provides care to indigent patients. He’s also a frequent volunteer at a weekly free care clinic at St. Anne’s Church in Shrewsbury, a program run by fellow Health Care Hero Dr. Harvey Clermont and has made numerous medical mission trips to places like Mexico. Abraham, who has also served as presi-
dent of the Worcester District Medical Society, has been a vocal advocate for numerous public health issues such improving access to health care, lessening gun violence and providing care for those infected with hepatitis, for which he helped establish a support group. Patient Lou Buratti said, “It becomes very obvious that Dr. Abraham’s passion and concern for his patients is far beyond what one normally sees in the profession…he is the reason why awards are given: to reward those who go beyond the call of duty.” The local community has taken notice of Abraham’s efforts. As an attending physician at St. Vincent, he received the chief ’s award for excellence in medical education. For his work at UMass Medical School, he was named community educator of the year in 2001 and received the award for outstanding contributions to education in 2004. Dr. George Abraham, medical director of the Central He has also received the A. Jane Massachusetts Independent Physicians Association. Fitzpatrick Community Service award whom we have ever worked.” from the Worcester District Medical Society. “Dr. Abraham is an exceptionally compeIn nominating Abraham for the award, St. tent conscientious and dedicated physician, Vincent’s Chief of Medicine Anthony L. and he has become established as a wonderEsposito and Residency Program Director ful role model for both students and resiJoel H. Popkin described him as “clearly one dents,” they wrote. ■ of the best internal medicine residents with
Congratulations Dedication to the profession of pediatric medicine … A commitment to advocacy on behalf of high-risk children … These are just two of the reasons we celebrate David Keller, MD, of the UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center and UMass Medical School, on winning a Health Care Hero Award. Congratulations to Dr. Keller for his significant contribution to the wellness of our most vulnerable citizens.
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Worcester Business Journal • Health Care Heroes 2008
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PHYSICIAN: Dr. David Keller P H OTO/ RO N BO U L EY
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Dr. David Keller, clinical associate professor of pediatrics and family and community medicine at UMass Medical School in Worcester.
Crossing Boundaries
I
n his tireless advocacy for at-risk children, pediatrician Dr. David Keller has crossed many boundaries, particularly one which many doctors are reluctant to cross: working with lawyers. Keller is a clinical associate professor of pediatrics and family and community medicine at UMass Medical School in Worcester, and served as medical director of the UMass-affiliated South County Pediatrics in Webster until July 2007. Since then, he has been working through a fellowship sponsored by the private Open Society Institute that has allowed him to address an issue for which there is a massive, unmet need in the community: a lack of mental health services for kids. “In Webster, I would have as many as 30 percent of the patients in my practice with unaddressed mental health problems,” he said. “And connecting with the resources these kids needs wasn’t easy.” Partners For Kids His concern led him to find ways to foster partnerships between doctors and lawyers to bring about much-needed changes in how the health care system treats lowincome children in particular in Massachusetts. It’s launched him into a major community health project, a medical-legal collaboration in which he works with lawyers from the Health Law Advocates in Boston to find ways to improve access to mental health services for children and adolescents in the Worcester area. In the wake of the landmark “Rosie D.” decision in 2006 — which mandated the Bay State expand mental health services for Medicaid-eligible children — Keller has been a vocal advocate for implementing a mental health screening component to pediatric care. “It’s important to make this a part of the normal conversation in a doctor’s office,” he said of his work. “The brain gets sick just like any other organ. And it’s important to have ways of treating it.” It’s not the only medical-legal collaboration he’s worked with. Keller co-founded Family Advocates of Central Massachusetts, a medical and legal collaboration between lawyers and the UMass Medical School that works to improve health care for poor families. The program trains doctors and other providers to recognize and refer patients with legal problems related to benwww.wbjournal.com
efits, housing, safety and access to health care. Since 2003, the program has trained more than 50 doctors to identify families in need of legal assistance and has served more than 400 clients from six primary care practices. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recognized the program as a national model for such collaborations. A Shot For Community They are by no means the only community advocacy work Keller has spearheaded. He has worked extensively on strategies with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to create innovative programs in immunization and care coordination for children. In the Webster area, he has worked with local community coalitions to address teen pregnancy and adolescent substance abuse and encouraged other pediatricians to implement projects to foster good health and safer lifestyles. “David’s dedication to children well-being shows not only in his direct patient work, but also in his determination to always make the system better,” said Carolyn Pointer, a lawyer at Health Law Advocates who has worked extensively with Keller. “He has teamed with attorneys – something most doctors are reluctant to do – in order to make sure his patients have access to safe housing, public benefits and help with domestic violence.” “It is rare to find a doctor who was so concerned about his patients that he’ll work on developing the mental health workforce to make sure there’s a provider available for kids in South Worcester County,” she said. Marianne Felice, physician-in-chief of UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center, said “as a voice for children, Dr. Keller has made significant contributions to the wellness of our most vulnerable citizens. When the State Children’s Health Insurance Program funding was in jeopardy, he helped lead the charge on the UMass Memorial University campus to ‘stand up for kids.’” “He understands the power that a dedicated, compassionate, and focused pediatrician can have in the community at large to benefit children,” she added. Over the next year, Keller said he plans to continue to lead the charge to improve children’s access to mental health services, whether they are on Medicaid or not – an effort he writes about on his “Rosie D. and Me” blog at OldDocKeller.blogspot.com. ■
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Health Care Heroes 2008 • Worcester Business Journal
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The Doctors’ Doctor
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n the hallowed halls of Worcester’s medical world, Jane A. Lochrie is known as a doctor’s doctor. The nickname makes sense: She embodies many of the skills doctors aspire to have. Plus, she treats a whole bunch of them. As the director of the residency program at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Lochrie works very closely with many new physicians who turn to her for advice and guidance in their own professional development. She works with more than 70 internal medicine residents, plus three chief residents and numerous medical students. “My own specialty is internal medicine, so I do a little bit of everything,” she said. It’s also why in addition to mentoring all those doctors, she sees so many of them as patients when they or their loved ones get sick or need a doctor, Dr. Jane A. Lochrie, director of the residency program at St. she said. Vincent Hospital in Worcester. She joked that maybe it’s because they figure she’s the one teaching them, so she must know a lot more than Medicine; the Clinician of the Year award they do. from Fallon Clinic; the Frederick J. McCready Award for Excellence in Teaching A Stand Out from Fallon Clinic; the Outstanding Primary But Anthony L. Esposito, chief of the Care Educator Award from the University department of medicine at St. Vincent, said of Massachusetts Medical School; the more likely it’s because she’s recognized by UMass Medical Center’s Department of her peers as an incredibly competent physiMedicine Recognition Award for Excellence cian with a caring bedside manner. in Patient Care and Sustained Service to the “One of the residents recently was taken Community, Colleagues, and the quite ill and it was Dr. Lochrie who was Department, and the Alpha Omega Alpha pivotal in organizing a fundraiser to help Volunteer Physician Award. that resident out financially,” he said. “She Breaking Barriers She is also making strides for women in medicine. Lochrie is only the second woman Lochrie just focuses in the 100-year history of St. Vincent Hospital to hold the role of president of the on what’s right — medical staff. But it is her community service work that acting as an exemplary has meant the most to her, Lochrie said. She has spent much of her time and effort serving the uninsured and underprivileged and human being. advocating steadfastly for them. For the last 10 years, she has been a even organized a series of meals to be sent weekly volunteer at St. Anne’s Free Medical to this person’s home. It’s just reflects the Clinic in Shrewsbury, founded by fellow type of person she is: a stand-out part of her Health Care Hero Dr. Harvey G. Clermont. community. “She’s been an incredible advocate in “She’s not interested in the monetary working with the clinic,” he said. “We’ve aspects of being in medicine, or prestige or been very fortunate to have her with us” enhancing her reputation. She just focuses She has also volunteered her time and on what’s right — acting as an exemplary talent treating patients in Guatemala infecthuman being,” he said. ed with HIV and AIDS. Much of her skill in medicine was develThat work has earned her a reputation as oped before she became a doctor. Prior to a tireless advocate for volunteerism, accordgoing to medical school, she was a nurse ing to Esposito. “If ever there is a person or and nurse practitioner for seven years in entity in need, she will respond and get the Boston. situation remedied,” he said. “Whether it’s That experience, she said, “gives me a giving dollars and cents or time and effort, unique perspective on how to work with she will do it all.” patients. A nurse will spend much more But that’s what she likes most of all, time with the patient than a doctor, so it Lochrie said. gives them a perspective on the patient and “In working with the clinics and providhelps them see a patient from different ing free care, I feel like I’m doing what I had angles.” hoped to do when I went into the medical Lochrie has received numerous rewards profession — helping those who need me for her community work. These awards the most,” she said. “I think it’s an important include the St. Vincent Hospital Award for lesson to teach new doctors, and something Support and Dedication, Department of that I try to live by.” ■
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HEALTH CARE STAFF: Sherri Westbury P H OTO/ F R E D E R I C K P EC K
Prescription: Tough Love And A Culture Of Compassion
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atients and colleagues alike seek the advice of Sherri Westbury because they know they’ll be greeted with respect, kindness — and a healthy dose of tough love. The clinical supervisor at Spectrum Health Systems — a drug and alcohol addiction treatment program in Worcester — is best known for her directness. The 10-year veteran of the facility is direct with clients in holding them accountable for their actions and treatment; she is direct as a teacher and mentor to new staff, telling them when they do wrong or right; and direct in how she approaches the management of the nonprofit, especially when it comes to improving client services and ensuring the facility is well run 365 days a year. Spectrum is a 40-year-old charitable organization dedicated to improving lives through the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction. It established the first therapeutic community in the nation for addicts.
and improved relationships with external support agencies. “She is the person that a lot of people come to for advice,” Nolan said. “Sherri has the gift to be able to teach new and seasoned clinicians alike about the importance of empathy and thinking outside of the box.” “It’s a very complicated population to work with, but she does it with care and tough love,” Nolan added. “She just has a real knack for it.”
talking to people about things they don’t necessarily want to hear,” Nagle said. “She sounds kind of like a grown up Girl Scout: efficient, highly ethical and organized,” Nagle added. “She is very committed to the clients and to the clinic itself. And she is a very good teacher and motivator.” It’s a tough job: Spectrum’s staff sees between 700 to 800 patients a day, who are treated primarily through group therapy and methadone. In addition to seeing clients on a regular basis, Westbury also supervises a staff of 10 full-time clinicians. Describing her job, Westbury said that “any kind of problem that pops up I try to handle.” Nagle said Westbury’s job is “being unafraid to step in and do what needs to be done.” Kristen Nolan, the program director at Spectrum who nominated Westbury for the award, said Westbury has been especially effective at helping improve the group programs at Spectrum, which have shown over the last five years to help addicts get clean quicker and stay clean longer. Westbury has championed much of the programming at Spectrum, such as same day admissions, a peer-health education program for women, parenting education
All Business To her peers at Spectrum, Westbury is a model coworker and that directness serves her — and her patients — well, said fellow clinical supervisor Robin Nagle. “She does it with grace and that’s important when you’re
Creating Connections Westbury has been an inspirational figure to her clients, some of whom have returned to the clinic as employees. “I try to be empathetic to these people’s lives, and I think they relate to it,” Westbury said. “One time I had a client who told me ‘You have been the first person who I honestly feel cares about what happens to me.’ That really meant a lot to me.” To her clients, she asks only for Sherri Westbury, clinical supervisor, Spectrum Health Systems. a simple request: That when for them.” they’re clean, they call her on their birthdays It’s her success in doing so makes her a to let her know how they are doing. true Health Care Hero, said Nolan. “She has “For a lot of these clients, the most imporbeen a major force in creating a culture of tant thing is to feel a connection to somecompassion here,” she said. ■ thing — anything — that can help them feel safe” she said. “Often it is the best treatment
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Health Care Heroes 2008 • Worcester Business Journal
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COMMUNITY SERVICE: Dr. Harvey G. Clermont P H OTO/ RO N BO U L EY
Bringing The Mission Home
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r. Harvey G. Clermont was already enrolled in a pre-med course at the College of the Holy Cross when famed American doctor-turned-missionary Thomas A. Dooley III came to speak. Dooley had become infamous in the 1950s for his humanitarian work in Laos and elsewhere in Asia and his words moved the young student Clermont. “Southeast Asia was an unknown continent at the time,” said Clermont, now 68, recalling his speech. “It really intrigued me — and inspired me.” Mission Driven Clermont devoted his life to medicine. He went on from Holy Cross to Harvard Medical School, then on to a surgical residency at the University of Rochester before doing a two-year stint in the Navy. He settled in a house in Shrewsbury — where he and his wife still live — in 1973 and went to work at the Fallon Clinic, where he practiced general surgery, vascular surgery and other surgical specialties. But despite his heavy schedule, Clermont never lost sight of the original mission that inspired him — the power of medicine to heal and the obligation of those who have that power to use it as way to better the world. He worked extensively with children. Early in his career, Clermont began bringing
children that needed to access medical care back to the Worcester area from other countries. Working with a children’s charity group, he personally arranged medical care for 36 children. But as the dynamics of the hospital changed in the 1970s — when hospitals ceased pay for the care of these children — Clermont began making two-week medical missionary trips, mostly to Central and South America as a way to continue the work he was doing. “We wanted to go places that were reasonably close so we could start working as soon as we hit the ground,” he said. Although he slowed down making medical mission trips later in his career, Clermont continued doing so up until the year he retired from Fallon Clinic, when he treated patients in Chile. Open For All But it was during his later career that Clermont established an institution which has become a beacon of hope for many uninsured people throughout the Worcester area — a number of evening free care clinics, the longest serving of which is based at St. Anne’s Church in Shrewsbury. The clinic at St. Anne’s, now entering its 12th year, runs on Tuesday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. Anyone without health insurance is welcome to come and receive treatment and diagnosis. “We really take all comers,”
You are cordially invited to attend a breakfast honoring the recipients of the 2008
Clermont said. Clermont opened a second clinic, Open Door Free Medical, at the United Methodist church in Hudson in 2002, the same year he also spearheaded the creation of the recently-closed Millbury Free Care Clinic. Through St. Anne’s, which is the “parent clinic” for Clermont’s outreach work, he also runs a program to treat seniors at the Shrewsbury Senior Center and to see students in the Shrewsbury school system who have inadequate access to medical care. Not only has the clinic provided care to thousands of local residents over the years, but it has also been an inspiration to countless other local medical professionals. The clinics are staffed by Dr. Harvey G. Clermont. a revolving cast of several dozen of the residency program at St. Vincent doctors, nurses, medical students and pharHospital, a fellow Health Care Hero winner macy students from the UMass Medical who has spent evenings volunteering at the School and the Massachusetts College of clinic. Pharmacy and Health Sciences. For Clermont, the work he does in the Many of Worcester’s prominent doctors community each week is one of the high have spent a good deal of time working with points of his career, he said. And a logical the programs established by Clermont. continuation of those first impulses he felt “He really has done a great deal of very toward medicine. “It’s inspiring to be a part important work in the city, and he really of — and it really keeps me going.” ■ inspired me,” said Dr. Jane Lochrie, director
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P H OTO/ RO N BO U L EY
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Worcester Business Journal • Health Care Heroes 2008
ealthy teeth make for healthy people. And thanks to the work of Holden dentist Dr. John Gusha, there are a lot of healthy smiles in Central Massachusetts. Gusha has been a tireless advocate for improving oral health and access to dentists through the region and the state, particularly for those with low incomes. He was inspired to work on the issue after volunteering at a free care clinic at St. Anne Church in Shrewsbury, where he caught glimpses of what he said was a massive oral health problem among poor residents of the Worcester area. On the heels of that experi- Dr. John P. Gusha, founder of the Central Massachusetts Oral ence came a 1999 report from the Health Care Initiative. state legislature that claimed systists accepted patients through MassHealth, temic problems in accessing oral health care which is insurance for the Bay State’s chilin Massachusetts. dren, seniors and disabled. Once dentists began accepting MassHealth patients, they The Root Of The Problem were prohibited from turning any away. In talking with a few colleagues, he got an With thousands of MassHealth patients in idea for what would become the Central need of dental work, most dentists were Massachusetts Oral Health Care Initiative, a very reluctant to begin accepting them, program that has been something like an fearing they could not retain their nonumbrella organization that allows for Gusha MassHealth patients as well. and his peers to take on the oral health Gusha attacked the problem in two ways. issues of the region. First, he began working through the “We wanted to try and do something a lot Worcester District Dental Society to encourbetter than just screening,” Gusha said. age more dentists to take on low-income Gusha has helped earn roughly $5 milpatients. He also worked with lawmakers, lion in grants for the group, which have particularly state Sen. Harriette Chandler, gone to substantially improve oral health to create legislation in 2005 that allowed care access in Central Massachusetts. The dentists to cap their MassHealth caseloads initiative has helped double the capacity of — eliminating one of the major hurdles in the Great Brook Valley Health Center and getting dentists to sign up for the program. Family Health Center in Worcester. The efforts paid off immensely, he said. He’s also helped recruit more than 60 “We started with less than 10 private dendentists and oral health care professionals tists taking Medicaid in 2002,” he said. to volunteer at the Quinsigamond “Now that number is up to 100. Our goal is Community College dental clinic where to get at least 50 percent of dentists signed they treat low-income patients. up for the program. It should be easier Gusha has worked extensively on getting under the new regulations. It’s made it very more dentists and dental professionals seamless to sign up patients and bill the trained in the region — a big part of the same way dentists always have.” Gusha has problem, he said. also helped spearhead efforts to combat “There was no one to do the work because smoking and to fluoridate water — includthere were not enough providers and too ing a measure that passed in Holden, where much tooth decay out there,” he said. he sat on the board of health for 10 years, To help combat that problem, he’s worked and another that failed in Worcester. with Quinsigamond to help expand the For his efforts, Gusha received the dental assistant and dental hygiene proCommunity Health Leader award from the grams at the college. He has also worked Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, only the with UMass Medical School to help estabthird dentist to receive the prestigious lish and accredit a general practice dental award. residency program — making it only the Mick Huppert, associate dean and directhird medical school in the nation to spontor of the office of community programs at sor a dental residency. UMass Medical School, has worked extensively with Gusha over the years, and said Legislative Aid that Gusha has been able to bring so many Gusha has also been instrumental in different groups together because of his marshalling lawmakers and fellow dentists style of leadership. to work together on improving the way “He is a powerful human being: very carMassHealth pays to treat low income ing and compassionate and even-tempered, patients – another key part of the oral and quite humble in his leadership style,” he health problem in Central Massachusetts. said. ■ At its root lay the problem of how denwww.wbjournal.com
COMMUNITY SERVICE: Worcester Healthy Start Initiative
Advocates For The Unborn
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here have been many babies born to mothers in and around Worcester who might not be here were it not for a program ran by the Great Brook Valley Health Center, which aims to improve infant mortality rates in the city of Worcester. Called the Worcester Healthy Start Initiative, the 8-year-old, federally funded program works through four sites scattered throughout the city where mothers-to-be can obtain some care while they are pregnant, said G. Mike Portuphy, program director. The program also helps the women connect with transportation programs, food voucher programs and other social services in the community such as the Worcester Community Action Council. “We are really trying to work together for the health of the community,” Portuphy said.
The program has the twin goals of eliminating racial disparities in health care and improving birth outcomes in the city, particularly among black women. More than 7,000 women have used the program’s services since it was established. It starts early, with enrollment in the free program coming as soon after conception as possible. Once enrolled in the WHSI, women have access to case managers and nurse managers who work with participants to ensure access to medical and dental care, childbirth education, substance abuse counseling or other necessary services. Fathers, too, can use the program’s services. Many of those enrolled in the WHSI are in risk groups that have higher infant mortality rates. The initiative targets high-risk populations, such as immigrants, blacks and those with low incomes. They also target those who are vulnerable to risky health behaviors such as drug use, violence or smoking. Many program participants are recent immigrants who speak little or no English. The results over the life of the program have been staggering, and show a significant effect on infant mortality rates in the city, particularly among African-Americans. In the early days of the program — between 1999 and 2001 — the average infant mortality rate for black babies in the
Reducing Disparities The health center first applied for a grant to run the program in 1999, and received funding in 2000, which was renewed in 2004. It is part of a nationwide program designed to combat infant mortality. Great Brook Valley is the lead agency for the project in Worcester. The other sites working with the project are Pernet Family Health Services on Millbury Street, the Family Health Center on Queen Street, and UMass Memorial Medical Center.
P H OTO/ F R E D E R I C K P EC K
city was 27.4 deaths per 1,000 live births, Portuphy said. That rate declined significantly after the program had been established. Between 2004 and 2006, the infant mortality rate for that same group fell to 15.53 deaths per 1,000 live births. On the whole, between 2000 and 2006, the infant mortality rate for the city of Worcester stood at 8.1 deaths per thousand live births. For program participants, that number was 5 deaths per 1,000 live births over the same time period. Both, however, still trail the state average, which is 4.9 deaths per live births. “Across the city, since this program has started, the infant mortality rate has dropped signifi- G. Mike Portuphy, far right, program director of the Worcester Healthy cantly,” Portuphy said. “We are Start Initiative, and the entire initiative team. not saying we are entirely responsible for that, but we do think that this program hasn’t received word yet that it has Healthy Start Initiative has contributed to been funded, Portuphy expects to continue that improvement. the work of the group in 2008, he said. When you look at these numbers, it’s Another fact about which the program obvious that the participants have better can boast: The amount of cash it’s ended up outcomes and lower mortality rates than the saving the government. rest of the city.” In house data shows that, between 2001 The program employs about 14 case manand 2005, the program saved the governagers scattered throughout the four sites, ment a estimated net $780,000, which would and is paid for with a $750,000 annual grant otherwise have been spent on taking care of which is renewed on 4-year schedules. It’s low-birth-weight babies and other Medicaidset to renew again in May, and although the eligible spending on medical care. ■
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Worcester Business Journal • Health Care Heroes 2008
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VOLUNTEER: Justin Smith P H OTO/ F R E D E R I C K P EC K
Turning Fear Into Hope
Leader
A person who guides and inspires others. The staff and caregivers at Harmon Home Health are proud to honor Founder & CEO Kimberly M. Harmon as this year’s recipient of the Health Care Heroes “Corporate Achievement Award”.
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lame it on whichever you choose: his charm, tenacious work ethic or inspiring personal story. Either way, people get invigorated when Justin Smith walks into the room. And that’s good news for fellow cancer survivors. The 27-year-old admissions counselor from Assumption College in Worcester has spent his adult life raising awareness about — and a good deal money to fight — lymphoma, a disease whose dangers he knows all too well. Drumming Up Support Eight years ago, the Wethersfield, Conn., native was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma while wrapping up his freshman year at Justin Smith, volunteer with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Assumption. He spent much of of Natick. that summer going through treatments for the disease, which included an be one of 130 people to participate in the aggressive regimen of chemotherapy that Teams and Training program — one of the left him balding and “basically like an Leukemia and Lymphoma Society largest invalid” for days at a time, he said. fundraisers — in which participants gather When he came back to school, he quickly sponsorships to run the Boston Marathon. took it upon himself to spearhead an initiaThe society wants each member to raise a tive that had just recently started at minimum of $3,000. Justin had set a perAssumption: Worcester’s Light the Night sonal goal of $6,000. walk. The Assumption-based walk is a He ended up raising $16,000, a good pormajor fundraising event for the tion of which came from students at the Massachusetts chapter of the Leukemia and school who — well aware of his personal Lymphoma Society, which is based in history with the disease — took to raising Natick. The Light the Night walk draws donations for him. several hundred people, all of whom carry Smith’s ability to inspire others is somered and white balloons and parade down thing that his good friend Joe Golia has Salisbury Street to raise money and awarewitnessed time and again. Golia, associate ness for the fight against cancer. dean of campus life and director of student Smith’s leadership in those early years activities at Assumption, first got to know was instrumental in building the event as a Smith when he was a student. fall institution in the city and on the camWhen Smith returned to his alma mater pus. It blossomed from an event with 200 as an employee, the two struck up a close walkers and $30,000 to one that, last fall, friendship. had 600 walkers and raised nearly “He’s an incredibly funny person,” Golia $120,000. said. “The times we get to spend lunch hour But Smith’s dedication didn’t end there. together are among the most fun I have.” In the last few years, he’s taken on proGolia became a training partner when gressively more responsibility with the nonSmith began working toward the marathon. profit, serving as a member of the board of He helped him raise money, and would man trustees and chair of its patient services water tables for the group during long committee. In these roles, he is seen as a Saturday training runs in Wellesley. leader and empowered voice to improve the Golia watched the effect Smith had on his quality of life for patients and their families, fellow runners — particularly at a pasta said Executive Director Pamela A. Healy. supper for them, where Smith gave a key“Justin embodies the true spirit of volunnote speech about the meaning the race teerism, and a as cancer survivor, his giving held. Smith remembers it as the most diffiback is paramount to what we do as an cult speech he has ever given. organization,” she said. “He is an amazing Golia saw the power his friend’s words person. “ had: “It was incredibly uplifting to hear. His delivery was just amazing. Everyone on the Running On Passion team still talks about it.” Smith, having experienced the effects of He even inspired Golia, who’s wrapped the disease firsthand, sees his advocacy as up training and plans to run this year’s something for which there is an intense marathon need. Smith ended up not finishing the race in “In many ways, the psychological effects 2007 — a severely injured foot forced him of treatment are so much more profound out after the 20th mile. Although disappointed at the time, Smith than the physical effects,” he said. sees having given the effort his all as a It’s a job for which he has been willing to worthwhile, rewarding pursuit — particusacrifice his own body. larly because of the cause it represented. ■ Although ill-experienced as a long-distance runner, Smith volunteered in 2007 to www.wbjournal.com
We thank Kim for her compassion, commitment to making a difference in our community, and for her outstanding leadership qualities. CONGRATULATIONS to our 2008 Health Care Hero! Kim Harmon ~ BSN, RN
51 Union Street, Suite 202 Worcester, MA 01608 508-791-5600 www.harmonhomehealth.com
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This year’s Mélange celebrates the glitz & glamour that was the Golden Age of Hollywood. Indulge in a spectacular evening of fine wines, delicious cuisine, celebrities, dancing, live entertainment and a lively auction hosted by Paul Zekos...all to benefit cardiac services at Milford Regional Medical Center.
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Imagine a Night in Vintage Hollywood... searchlights, Red Carpet Walk of Fame, cocktails, fabulous food, wonderful music, dancing, a live auction and celebrities galore... all to benefit cardiac services at Milford Regional Medical Center. Honoring the Gannett Family Our star-studded extravaganza includes an awards ceremony with this year’s top Mélange supporters receiving a special Hollywood statuette, presented in recognition of the generosity the Gannett family has bestowed on Milford Regional over the years. We’re So Excited! The evening will culminate with a performance by Ruth and Issa Pointer of Pointer Sisters fame. They are taking time from their busy international tour schedule to offer their talents to Mélange 2008...adding their gold and platinum touch!
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Health Care Heroes 2008 • Worcester Business Journal
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