Briefcase

Tolosky Steps Down as Baystate President, CEO
SPRINGFIELD — Mark Tolosky has decided to end his tenure as president and CEO of Baystate Health effective July 1, 2014. Tolosky, who has served in that role since 2004, will be succeeded by Dr. Mark Keroack. “It is an extraordinarily difficult decision to give up the privilege of serving so many people in our community and touching so many lives,” said Tolosky, whose decision culminates a longstanding personal and professional plan to transition his leadership of Baystate. “But I’m confident that now is the right time to move on to my next phase, as my Baystate colleagues continue to lead the way in transforming healthcare toward greater quality, accessibility, and affordability.” The Baystate Health board of trustees has unanimously approved the appointment of Keroack, a native of Springfield, to assume the role of president and CEO of Baystate Health next year. As an interim step, on Jan. 1, 2014, Keroack will assume the additional title and authority of president and CEO of Baystate Medical Center.
“It is a great honor to be selected as the next leader of this wonderful organization,” said Keroack. “The new healthcare world will require an unprecedented level of connectedness between nurses, doctors, and allied health professionals; between specialty and primary care providers; between those who touch our patients and those who support them; between health plan and delivery system; and across all the communities and regions that we serve. I am excited to continue this great work, here in the town where I grew up, and across all of Western Mass., to achieve a higher state of caring for the people we serve.” 
Keroack’s father, Dr. Alvin Keroack, served the Sixteen Acres community of Springfield for many years as a general practitioner and occasionally brought his son, Mark, to what was then Springfield Hospital (now Baystate Medical Center) for rounds. Keroack’s mother, Mary Phaneuf Keroack, was a nurse and graduate of the Springfield Hospital School of Nursing, which became the Baystate School of Nursing. Tolosky joined Baystate in 1992 as executive vice president of Baystate Health and CEO of Baystate Medical Center. In 2004, he was promoted to president and CEO of Baystate Health. Under Tolosky, Baystate has been named one of the nation’s top 15 integrated health systems, and its hospitals, services, and employees have received multiple prestigious healthcare-quality honors. “Mark’s vision has been not only to transform the quality of our care, but our presence across the region as well,” said Victor Woolridge, chair of the board of trustees. “In the last 15 years, we have reinvested over $750 million into our communities and dramatically improved the facilities and services available to patients across Western Mass.” Baystate’s facility investments during Tolosky’s tenure include the $300 million expansion of Baystate Medical Center in 2012, comprising the MassMutual Wing, the Davis Family Heart & Vascular Center, the Harold Grinspoon and Diane Troderman Adult Emergency Department, and the Sadowsky Family Pediatric Emergency Department; recent renovations at Baystate Franklin Medical Center and Baystate Mary Lane Hospital; the construction of the Chestnut Surgery Center, the 3300 Main St. outpatient center, the D’Amour Center for Cancer Care, the Baystate Orthopedic Surgery Center, and the Baystate Children’s Specialty Center, all in Springfield, where a formerly underused stretch of Main Street in the North End is now a burgeoning ‘Medical Mile’; as well as many other upgrades in facilities and clinical capabilities across the Baystate Health system. After the July transition, Tolosky will assume the title of president emeritus and support his successor Keroack as needed. “I look forward to working closely with Dr. Keroack over the next six months to continue to advance relationships critical to the success of our organization and the health of our community, while transitioning the duties of CEO,” said Tolosky. Prior to joining Baystate Health, Keroack served on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts for 12 years. During that time, he was a busy practitioner focusing on HIV and AIDS care and won five annual teaching awards. He subsequently provided executive leadership at UMass Memorial Health Care in Worcester as vice president for Medical Management and later as the first executive director of the 700-physician UMass Memorial Medical Group. He then joined University Health System Consortium (UHC) in Chicago, where he served as senior vice president and chief medical officer. There, he oversaw programs for clinical and operational performance improvement, faculty group practice management, patient safety, and accreditation. Keroack graduated from Amherst College and Harvard Medical School, and received his MPH from Boston University. He trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Construction Adds 17,000 Jobs in November
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Construction employers added 17,000 jobs in November as the sector’s employment hit the highest level since August 2009, and the industry unemployment rate fell to 8.6%, according to an analysis of new government data by Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that the new employment figures come as construction spending levels hit a four-year high in October. “While these new employment figures are very encouraging, growth remains uneven by segment, region, and time period,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “There are likely to be continuing variations in growth between home building, private non-residential, and public sector.” Construction employment totaled 5,851,000 in November, an increase of 178,000 from a year earlier, Simonson noted. But while employment grew by 3.1% during the past year, construction employment remains nearly 1.9 million below the sector’s April 2006 peak. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for workers actively looking for jobs and last employed in construction declined from 12.2% in November 2012 to 8.6% last month. Non-residential construction firms added 7,900 new jobs in November, while residential firms added 8,400 jobs. While every segment of the construction industry added jobs in November, heavy and civil engineering firms — which are most likely to perform federal construction work — added the least amount, only 200 jobs. Meanwhile, residential specialty trade contractors added the most new jobs during the past month, 7,100. The number of unemployed construction workers dropped from 988,000 in November 2012 to 706,000 in November 2013, a decline of 282,000.

Unemployment Rates Fall for Both Women, Men
WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to analysis by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), due to continued job growth in November, women hold more jobs on payrolls than ever before, while men have regained 75% (4.5 million) of the jobs they lost during the recession. Of the 2.3 million jobs added to payrolls in the last year, 51% were filled by women, and 49% were filled by men. Nonetheless, men held 1.6 million more jobs than women in November.
IWPR’s analysis of the December employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finds that, of the 203,000 total jobs added in November, women gained 94,000 of those jobs (46%), while men gained 109,000 jobs (54%). Women’s employment growth was strongest in education and health services (39,000 jobs gained by women), professional and business services (17,000 jobs), and retail trade (15,600 jobs). If the number of jobs had grown as fast as the working-age population since the start of the recession, women would hold 3.8 million more jobs in November 2013, and men would hold an additional 5.4 million.
“While unemployment is dropping and men are steadily regaining the jobs they lost during the recession,” said IWPR Study Director Jeffrey Hayes, “employment growth for both men and women hasn’t caught up with population growth. We still need to focus on creating jobs — especially jobs that pay well and provide benefits.”
According to the household survey data reported by the BLS, the unemployment rate decreased to 6.7% in November for women and 7.3% for men. Among single mothers, however, the unemployment rate increased slightly to 9.7%.
The November data builds on IWPR’s analysis of trends that emerged in the first four years of the recovery, notably the relative growth in industries — such as education and health services — with high concentrations of women workers, and the contraction in government jobs and their effects on job growth for both men and women. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research conducts research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women and their families, promote public dialogue, and strengthen communities and societies.

MGM Resorts Found Suitable for Casino License
BOSTON — Investigators for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission recently recommended that MGM Resorts International be found suitable to apply for a casino license, subject to certain conditions. MGM is planning an $800 million casino project in Springfield’s South End. Among the conditions investigators posed, MGM must satisfy the commission that its business practices in Macau meet a legal standard of “responsible business practices” in any jurisdiction, and must also satisfy the commission regarding Terry Christensen, a former member of the MGM board who resigned after a federal indictment for wiretapping and conspiracy. MGM is the sole remaining applicant for a casino license in Western Mass. after voters in West Springfield and Palmer rejected casino proposals earlier this year. Springfield voters approved a casino by a 58-42 margin. At press time, the five-member Gaming Commission was expected to vote on whether MGM is suitable to apply for a casino license in Springfield. MGM owns 99% of the Springfield project, and local hotel owner Paul Picknelly owns 1%, investigators reported.