Briefcase

Holyoke Medical Center Taps New Jersey’s Hatiras as New President, CEO
HOLYOKE — The board of directors of Valley Health Systems and Holyoke Medical Center have announced that Spiros Hatiras will become the next president and CEO of Holyoke Medical Center and its affiliates. Hatiras will succeed Hank Porten, who is stepping down after nearly 28 years in that role. “We are absolutely delighted to bring such an accomplished and passionate leader to our hospital and community,” said Priscilla Mandrachia, chairwoman of the board of directors of Valley Health Systems, the parent company of Holyoke Medical Center and its affiliates. “The search committee, after an exhaustive process, was particularly impressed with Mr. Hatiras’ understanding of our culture and love of community healthcare. He has expertise in reform initiatives and a deep commitment to physicians, staff, and quality services. Valley Health Systems and Holyoke Medical Center have been fortunate to have had the leadership of our present CEO, Hank Porten, for 28 years.  We expect Mr. Hatiras to build on Mr. Porten’s accomplishments and lead our healthcare system successfully into the future.” Hatiras previously served as president and CEO of Hoboken University Medical Center in New Jersey, a 333-bed facility with nearly 500 physicians and nurses offering a full range of medical services. During his tenure there, Hatiras cut operating losses in half over two consecutive fiscal years without reducing staff, and oversaw the implementation of electronic medical records. “We all know healthcare is going through some very complicated changes, and Mr. Hatiras has demonstrated the knowledge and ability to meet these challenges head on,” said Peter Connor, chairman of the board of directors at Holyoke Medical Center. “He is a proven leader who understands our mission as a community hospital and will help guide us through the complexities of healthcare reform while maintaining a focus on quality care and patient satisfaction.” Currently serving as chief operating officer of NIT Health in New York, specializing in the implementation of electronic medical records for hospitals and health care systems, Hatiras has had a distinguished healthcare career in New Jersey. In addition to his work at Hoboken University Medical Center amid a complicated transition to private ownership, he has also served as vice president of post-acute, ancillary, and support services for Bon Secours Health System and corporate director of rehabilitation services for Franciscan Health System of New Jersey. “I am extremely excited to join Valley Health Systems and Holyoke Medical Center,” Hatiras said. “It’s the best fit for both of us. I’m returning to do what I love the best, working in a community hospital and helping it succeed. And the hospital’s commitment to community health is exactly what healthcare reform should be embracing. I look forward to working with the entire organization to build upon the solid foundation that Hank has left for us. The hospital is positioned well for the future. I’m ready to go.” Hatiras is certified in healthcare management by the American College of Healthcare Executives. He has a master’s degree in health care management from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the Athens Institute of Technology in Athens, Greece. He currently lives with his wife, Gwen, and two children, Ava and Zach, in New Jersey. “My wife and I are very excited about moving our family to Massachusetts,” Hatiras said. “It’s the perfect location for us.” He will assume leadership of Holyoke Medical Center in early September, at which time he will also move to the area. Hatiras’ wife and children will relocate after his daughter Ava’s graduation from high school next year. Holyoke Medical Center is a 198-bed facility with 1,200 employees, including more than 260 physicians and consulting staff.

Obama Administration Delays Healthcare Law’s Insurance Mandate
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Earlier this month, President Obama’s administration announced a one-year delay in his healthcare law’s mandate that larger employers provide coverage for their workers or pay penalties. The decision postpones the effective date beyond next year’s midterm elections into 2015. Employer groups welcomed the news of the concession, while Republicans made it clear that they would not cease to make the law a key campaign issue for the third straight election cycle. While the postponement does not affect other central provisions of the law, including those establishing health-insurance marketplaces in the states, known as exchanges, it throws into disarray the administration’s effort to put those provisions into effect by Jan. 1. Under the law, most Americans will be required to have insurance in January 2014, or they will be subject to tax penalties. The administration’s announcement did not address delaying that requirement or those penalties. Administration officials sought to put the action in a positive light. “We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively,” Mark Mazur, assistant Treasury secretary, wrote on his department’s website. “We recognize that the vast majority of businesses that will need to do this reporting already provide health insurance to their workers, and we want to make sure it is easy for others to do so.” The Affordable Care Act, signed into law in 2010, originally required employers with more than 50 full-time workers to offer them affordable health insurance starting in 2014 or face fines. Some companies with payrolls just above that threshold said they would cut jobs or switch some full-time workers to part-time employment so that they could avoid providing coverage. Under the provisions to set up state-based marketplaces for coverage for uninsured Americans, subsidies are supposed to be available for lower- and middle-income people who qualify and are not insured through their employers. By delaying the mandate for businesses and its reporting requirements, the government may be unable to confirm before 2015 whether employers are offering insurance to their employees, making it difficult for the exchanges to know who is entitled to subsidies to help pay for policies. Enrollment in the exchanges is to begin Oct. 1, with insurance coverage taking effect Jan. 1. “We are on target to open the health-insurance marketplace on Oct. 1, where small businesses and ordinary Americans will be able to go to one place to learn about their coverage options and make side-by-side comparisons of each plan’s price and benefits before they make their decision,” Valerie Jarrett, Obama’s senior adviser and liaison to the business community, wrote on the White House website.

Economic Growth Remains Sluggish in Massachusetts
BOSTON — Even as the Massachusetts economy shows some genuine signs of strength, contractionary federal government fiscal policy is slowing economic growth in Massachusetts, according to a recent report by regional economists for MassBenchmarks. In the coming months, assuming these policies stay in place, a further retarding of economic growth can be expected. At the same time, the state’s labor market continues to be under considerable stress and faces profound challenges that are not fully reflected in the state’s headline unemployment rate. The strengthening of the state housing market is the most prominent sign of strength in the state economy. Residential house prices, sales, and building permits are all on the rise. As a result, employment in the construction sector is increasing, but it remains well below its pre-recession levels. The unemployment rate, despite a recent uptick, remains one percentage point below the national level. Strong state sales-tax collections reflect the willingness of households to spend, especially for new automobiles. But these signs of life are being undermined by federal tax and budget policies that have been implemented since the first of the year. On the tax side, income-tax rates were increased for upper-income households on Jan. 1. In addition, the temporary payroll tax cut, which had been implemented during the recession, was not extended. This has a more widespread impact, with a disproportionate burden being placed on low-income households. Had these tax increases been offset by increased federal investment, their impact would have been modest, but instead the federal government elected to adopt significant spending cuts. Federal budget sequestration, implemented in March, has an obvious impact on the state’s research-intensive enterprises and government contractors. But its impact also extends to Head Start and other educational programs, career centers, job-training services, and Community Development Block Grant funds, all of which have experienced significant cuts in recent months. The impact of these federal policies can be seen in the state’s recent economic performance. According to the MassBenchmarks Current Economic Index, growth in state gross domestic product slowed to a 1% annualized rate of growth in April and May. Employment growth in the state has virtually stalled, and state withholding tax growth reflects this. And growing international competition and the economic challenges facing the state’s major trading partners, including Canada, the European Union, and Asia, appear to be taking their toll on the Commonwealth’s export activity, which declined by 11.1% between April 2012 and April 2013. While labor conditions in Massachusetts appear to be better than those nationally, there are signs of considerable stress in the state labor market. Underemployment (those working part-time but wanting full-time work) has risen during the first five months of the year, and hidden unemployment (those who are out of work, have not looked for a job in the last four weeks, and would take a job if offered) is also on the rise. The plight of younger and less skilled workers is of particular concern, the report notes, as the extent of their disconnection from the labor market is troublingly high, and the longer it lasts, the more difficult it will be to remedy. For these workers, the improvement in headline unemployment is of little consolation, as their prospects for employment are being limited by a recovery that is being undermined by counterproductive federal policy choices.

Construction Industry Adds 13,000 Jobs in June
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In June, the nation’s construction industry unemployment rate fell to 9.8% for the first time since September 2007 with the addition of 13,000 jobs, according the July 5 report by the Department of Labor. Since June 2012, the industry has added 190,000 jobs, a 3.4% increase. Every major category of construction experienced gains in employment for the month. Non-residential building construction employment increased by 700 jobs for the month and has added 16,400 jobs, or 2.5%, during the last 12 months. Residential building construction employment inched up by 100 jobs in June and is up by 13,100 jobs, or 2.3%, compared to the same time last year. Non-residential specialty trade contractors gained 2,100 jobs for the month and have added 47,100 jobs, or 2.3%, during the last 12 months. Residential specialty trade contractors have added 5,100 jobs since May and gained 77,100 jobs, or 5.2%, since June 2012. Heavy and civil-engineering construction employment increased by 5,600 jobs last month, and the sector has added 36,300 jobs, or 4.2%, from one year ago. Across all industries, the nation added 195,000 jobs as the private sector expanded by 202,000 jobs and the public sector shrunk by 7,000 jobs. However, the nation’s unemployment rate was unchanged from the previous month at 7.6% and remains lower than the 8.2% registered in June 2012. “Today’s employment report is positive news for the nation’s construction industry,” said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “While the economy continues to face a number of headwinds, including most recently in the form of higher interest rates, the wealth effect associated with rising equity markets and home prices dominates the recovery. The result has been steady expansion in consumer spending, which is associated with expanding job creation in closely aligned sectors of the economy. For construction contractors, the implication is that the volume of work associated with lodging and shopping-center construction will continue to march higher.” Basu noted that one-third of the construction jobs added last month were added by specialty trade contractors. “There was also evidence of more people falling into part-time work, and the broadest measure of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers and people working part-time for economic reasons, rose to 14.3% in June. Despite this increase, the construction industry’s diminishing unemployment rate shows that societal income tied to wages and salaries continues to expand slowly, which suggests the economy will only grow at a moderate pace. That should be enough to help drive nonresidential construction spending higher, but progress will remain gradual.”

Horace Smith Fund Awards $276,000 to Area Students
SPRINGFIELD — On June 13, The Horace Smith Fund staged its 114th corporators’ meeting and scholarship awards ceremony at Elms College. Samalid Hogan, chair of the board of trustees, announced 24 scholarship and three fellowship recipients this year. “Providing that students maintain at least a B average in college, each scholarship provides a total of $10,000 over four years, and each fellowship provides $12,000 over three years,” she told the audience comprised of the students, parents, trustees, and corporators. “Therefore, The Horace Smith Fund is happy to be able to grant a total award of $276,000 to area students this year.” The Horace Smith Fund was established in 1899 by a successful and generous philanthropist named Horace Smith, according to James Broderick, chair of the scholarship committee. “He and Daniel Wesson were the founders of Smith & Wesson, located in Springfield. Mr. Smith’s will provided that the residual of his estate, after several bequests to relatives and institutions, was to be used for public purposes at the discretion of his executors. They decided that it should be used to help deserving students finance their education.” The scholarships and fellowships are named for Walter F. Barr, a West Springfield businessman, whose widow left the bulk of the family estate to the Horace Smith Fund in 1950. Recipients must be residents of Hampden County. The keynote speaker at the awards ceremony, attorney Michael Gove, was a past recipient of the Walter S. Barr Scholarship and Fellowship.