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Company Notebook

Baystate Announces Leadership Appointments, New Name for Wing
SPRINGFIELD — With the change of Wing Memorial Hospital’s parent company from UMass Memorial Health Care to Baystate Health expected to take place on Sept. 1, Baystate Health announced leadership appointments for its Eastern Region and a new name for the Palmer hospital: Baystate Wing Hospital. As of Sept. 1, Dr. Charles Cavagnaro III, now president and CEO of Wing Memorial Hospital, will be appointed president of Baystate Health’s Eastern Region, which is comprised of Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, Baystate Wing Hospital, and the employed medical practices and medical centers in that region. As he assumes this leadership position, Cavagnaro has appointed Dr. Shafeeq Ahmed chief operating officer of Baystate Health’s Eastern Region. Ahmed will also continue in his role as chief medical officer of Baystate Mary Lane Hospital and Baystate Medical Practices Eastern Region. As president of the region, Cavagnaro will provide strategic, executive, and operational leadership for the two hospitals there, which provide inpatient medical, surgical, gynecological, and behavioral-health services; emergency services; as well as a range of primary-care and other outpatient services for about 80,000 people in that region. He will report to Dennis Chalke, senior vice president of Baystate Health Community Hospitals and senior vice president and chief financial officer of Baystate Health. Cavagnaro has served as president and CEO of Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers for the past 15 years. Before that, he was Wing’s vice president of Medical Affairs. In 2013, he served as interim president of UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. Amid a challenging financial environment, Cavagnaro and his team have led Wing to serve a greater number of patients, add hospital beds, and increase the depth and breadth of services in its health centers and outpatient practices. The hallmark of his leadership is a focus on quality and safety that led to an ‘A’ safety rating for Wing from Leapfrog Group and Top Performer status from the Joint Commission on core accountability measures. Cavagnaro is a board-certified primary-care internist in Belchertown and sees patients on a weekly basis. He is a Six Sigma and Lean Green Belt in healthcare quality-improvement processes. Cavagnar completed his residency in internal medicine at UMass Medical Center and is a graduate of Cornell University Medicine College in New York City. He is a member of the American College of Physician Executives and the American College of Healthcare Executives, and a fellow of the American College of Physicians. He was a founding member of the American Academy of Hospice Physicians, which is now known as the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. He has served as a medical examiner for District IV of Hampshire County, and as a member of the board of directors of the Pioneer Valley Chapter of the Red Cross. He presently serves on the American Hospital Assoc. Regional Policy Board for the New England Region. Ahmed was recently named one of ‘100 Hospital and Health System Chief Medical Officers to Know’ by Becker’s Hospital Review. Prior to his arrival at Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, Ahmed had served as president of the medical staff, chief of Ob/Gyn, and a member of the hospital board of directors at the Naval Hospital in Cherry Point in North Carolina. Ahmed is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist at Baystate Medical Practices – Mary Lane Ob/Gyn in Ware, and sees patients on a weekly basis.
 Over the next several months, Cavagnaro and Ahmed will be working together as part of a larger, broadly experienced team to develop the integration strategy for Baystate Health’s Eastern Region. The name Baystate Wing Hospital aspires to honor the hospital’s more-than-100-year history, and recognize the vision and contributions of the Wing family and the countless others who have contributed their time, talents, and money to making Wing the strong community health provider it is today, while also celebrating Wing’s new affiliation with Baystate Health.

Springfield College Named College of Distinction
SPRINGFIELD — Springfield College has again been identified as a 2014-15 College of Distinction for providing an innovative, teacher-centered undergraduate education with a strong record of preparing its graduates for real-world success. Colleges of Distinction is a college guide that for the last 15 years has recognized colleges it determines to be the best places to learn, grow, and succeed. The goal of Colleges of Distinction is to provide students, counselors, and parents with information about such schools. Colleges of Distinction describes schools that take a holistic approach to admissions decisions, consistently excel in providing undergraduate education, and have a national reputation. It also gives students, counselors, and parents an unbiased look at the college-admissions process. Colleges of Distinction looks at the myths surrounding college admissions, provides tools for self-assessment, and provides insights from college-admissions professionals, high-school counselors, students, and parents. Founded in 1885, Springfield College is known worldwide for the guiding principles of its Humanics philosophy — educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service to others. The college offers a range of undergraduate- and graduate-degree programs in the fields of health sciences, human and social services, sport management and movement studies, education, business, and the arts and sciences. It also offers doctoral programs in physical education, physical therapy, and counseling psychology. The college is ranked in the 2014 edition of Best Colleges in the top tier of “Best Regional Universities — North Region” by U.S. News Media Group, and is designated as a premier Leadership Development Center by the YMCA of the USA. More than 5,000 traditional, non-traditional, and international students study at its main campus in Springfield and its School of Human Services campuses across the country.

NBSB Cuts Ribbons in Ware, East Brookfield, and Three Rivers Village
NORTH BROOKFIELD — North Brookfield Savings Bank recently held ribbon-cutting events at its Ware, West Brookfield, and Three Rivers Village of Palmer branches. The events took place following the bank’s merger with FamilyFirst Bank in June. “North Brookfield Savings Bank is honored to be a part of these great communities and hopes to make a positive impact for businesses and individuals for years to come,” said NBSB President and CEO Donna Boulanger. “We look forward to being ‘where it’s at’ for specially tailored financial products and services, the best customer service, community support, and fun community events.” The ribbon cuttings drew current and prospective members of the Massachusetts Legislature. State Rep. Todd Smola attended the event at the Three Rivers Village branch, state Senate candidate Mike Valanzola attended the event at the Ware branch, and state Sen. Stephen Brewer and state Rep. Anne Gobi attended the East Brookfield branch ribbon cutting. In addition to carrying the North Brookfield Savings Bank name, the three new NBSB branches feature state-of-the-art banking for residents and businesses alike, while renovations to the 40-44 Main St., Ware branch will begin shortly to provide more cutting-edge banking services and access to the business bankers at the NBSB Business Center.

Advance Welding Relocates to Springfield
WEST SPRINGFIELD — After more than 36 years of doing business in West Springfield, Advance Welding will relocate to Brookdale Drive in Springfield on Sept. 2. “As our capabilities and customer base continue to grow, this move will improve our ability to process our customers’ work,” said Advance Welding President Christopher Kielb. The company is a provider of metal-joining services to the commercial, marine, nuclear, medical, aerospace, and defense industries. Its operations and management team will remain the same. The new address is 150 Brookdale Dr., and the phone number will remain (413) 734-4544.

Country Bank Contributes $14,500 to Local Schools
WARE — Country Bank surprised 29 local schools that participate in the bank’s Savings Makes Sense School Banking Program with $500 gift cards to Staples. Each school received the donation to help cover the cost of back-to-school supplies. “We know how difficult it is for the schools to have the supplies they need when budgets become tight,” said Jodie Gerulaitis, financial education officer for Country Bank. “They are truly so grateful and appreciative of this gift.” It is reported that teachers annually spend about $250 of their own money to purchase items for their classrooms. Country Bank wanted to help teachers who do so much for their students. Country Bank serves Central and Western Mass. with 15 offices in Ware, Palmer, Brimfield, Belchertown, Ludlow, Wilbraham, Paxton, Charlton, Leicester, and West Brookfield.

PeoplesBank Supports Women Business Owners
HOLYOKE — In support of the growth and success of women business owners, PeoplesBank is partnering with WomenUpFront to host a monthly, ongoing roundtable for women who have ownership and leadership responsibility and want to grow toward $1 million in annual revenue. The WomenUpFront Roundtable provides a learning forum for owners to get out of the weeds of the day-to-day routine and look at their businesses more purposefully and strategically. The objective of the roundtable is to help accelerate women entrepreneurs transition their businesses to the next level and place their companies in a better strategic position to access new opportunities and continue to prosper. The roundtable offers a curriculum designed for the small-business owners and will begin in September. For more information on WomenUpFront and membership criteria, contact Cathy Crosky at [email protected] or (413) 822-1263.

Berkshire Bank Wins Communicator Awards
PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Bank has received two Communicator Awards from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA). The bank received 2014 Silver Awards of Distinction in two categories, Commercials – Banks and Annual Report – Corporation. Each year, AIVA receives more than 6,000 entries from across the U.S. and around the world, making the Communicator Awards the largest and most competitive awards program honoring creative excellence for communications professionals. Berkshire’s television commercial for banks recognized by the Communicator Awards was its “Life Is Exciting. Let Us Help” spot developed by Berkshire Bank’s marketing department. The bank’s second Silver Award of Distinction from the Communicator Award was for its 2013 annual report. Founded in 1994, the Communicator Awards are judged and overseen by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts, an organization of more than 600 leading professionals from various disciplines of the visual arts dedicated to embracing progress and the evolving nature of traditional and interactive media.