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The Era of Urgent Care

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Business of Aging Sections
This Growing Model Bridges Gap Between Primary, Emergency Care

Rick Crews, left, with partner Jim Brennan

Rick Crews, left, with partner Jim Brennan, says there are many reasons — from affordability to its ability to save individuals time and aggravation — why urgent care has become so popular.

Rick Crews has been heralding the benefits of urgent care since he and Jim Brennan opened their first afc Doctors Express practice five years ago.

“We’re treating many people who traditionally used to go to the ER — but a lot of that was not appropriate,” he said of patients whose illness or injury didn’t rise to the level of an emergency, yet had no access to primary care.

“This is an alternative — a place you can go with really high-quality care that’s much more affordable, and get that care in a more timely fashion. That’s why urgent care is so successful right now.

“Hospitals need to concentrate on doing what they do best — the sicker patients, the more labor-intensive patients,” he continued, adding that patients who crowd the ER with less pressing matters cause a backlog, which elevates waiting times and frustration levels for everyone. Several area hospitals have recently renovated and expanded their emergency departments, but Crews said that’s not always the answer.

“I think we’ve provided relief for the hospital so they don’t have to build a new facility, and we’ve provided an outlet for patients, who can be seen for something in a much quicker fashion.”

If it sounds like hospitals consider afc Doctors Express and other urgent-care facilities a competitive threat, think again. In fact, hospitals are increasingly opening urgent-care clinics of their own to provide a level of care between the doctor’s office and the ER, with hours that often extend well into evenings and weekends, unlike the typical primary-care practice.

In some cases, hospitals are even teaming up with urgent-care practices, as evidenced by the recently announced affiliation between Boston-area afc Doctors Express franchises and Steward Health Care, a network of 11 hospitals and other facilities.

“The way our affiliation is set up is really cool,” Crews told BusinessWest. “When a patient walks in the door, we ask them, ‘do you have a primary-care provider?’ If they say ‘no’, we will refer them to primary-care physicians with the Steward group. And their family-practice physicians will refer their patients to afc Doctors Express after hours and weekends for urgent-care needs.”

Through the affiliation, 45 family-practice, emergency-medicine, and internal-medicine physicians employed by afc Doctors Express will join the Steward Health Care Network, and afc Doctors Express physicians will have access to Steward’s patient portal to evaluate a patient’s clinical history prior to commencing treatment. Clinical notes from an urgent-care visit will be communicated back to a patient’s primary-care physician or specialist for necessary follow-up.

“The hospitals are embracing urgent care; they see it as a great thing,” said Dr. Richard Freniere, co-owner, Urgent Care of Wilbraham, which opened last year. “We really have some good relationships with both Baystate and Mercy, open communications with doctors and emergency rooms in both hospitals.”

The pair know something about hospital ERs, since they’re both employees in the Wing Memorial Hospital Emergeny Department in Palmer, although Freniere devotes the bulk of his time these days to the Wilbraham facility.

“Baystate opened up an urgent care; they see the value of it,” Freniere said, citing just one of the area’s hospital-affiliated practices. “But we’re starting to see other competition coming in — little mom-and-pops, with one doctor, taking a shot at urgent care.”

Growing Model

According to the New York Times, the proliferation of those tiny practices makes it difficult to determine the exact number of urgent-care facilities in operation, but the Urgent Care Assoc. of America pegs the figure at around 9,000 — and growing.

Dr. Ateev Mehotra, associate professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, told the newspaper that greater patient awareness of urgent care is causing a cultural shift.

“We expect to do our banking 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and to shop 24/7,” he said. “So now we want our healthcare to be 24/7.”

The cost of urgent care, with its much lower co-pays than emergency care, also appeals to patients — not to mention commercial insurers. By any measure, Freniere said, Wilbraham Urgent Care has been a success.

“We definitely way exceeded our one-year expectation. We are basically at our max volume right now. For the size of the facility we have, I really don’t want to burden the system any more than we do. If we go much more than this, we’ll have what happened in hospitals, getting too many people, and we won’t be able to provide what we set out to do in the first place.”

And seeing patients quickly is a hallmark of urgent-care clinics, with wait times typically averaging a half-hour or less, compared with several hours at some hospital ERs. So is time flexibility; according to the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine (AAUCM), only 29% of primary-care doctors offer after-hours coverage, but urgent-care practices are generally open evenings and weekends, with some offering around-the-clock care.

Dr. Richard Freniere

Dr. Richard Freniere says hospitals are embracing urgent care, rather than viewing it as a threat, because it enables them to focus on what they do best.

That’s a relief for patients who would rather not deal with the emergency room to have a minor injury or illness treated. According to the AAUCM, the number of emergency-room visits increased by more than 1 million per year between 1994 and 2004, while the number of hospitals and ERs decreased by 9%.

Today, emergency departments handle 110 visits annually, and many are clearly not emergencies. A 2009 RAND Corp. study reported that up to 27% of ER visits could be easily handled by urgent-care centers or retail clinics, saving up to $4.4 billion per year in health costs.

“We’ve all experienced the five-hour wait at the ER — it’s not good,” Crews said. “We’ve all experienced those long waits and frustration in crowded ERs, so we are providing an alternative.” In fact, across the four practices he and Brennan own and six others for which they are master franchisees, patients’ average door-to-door time last year was 49 minutes.

“That’s a huge differentiator,” Crews said. “Then there’s the cost — in the emergency room, the average deductible is $100 to $200.”

Freniere agreed. “Being ER doctors for the past 20 years, we’ve seen all the people coming in and getting frustrated at times. And many of them really don’t need to be coming into the emergency department and incurring a high cost of care.”

The fact that a successful urgent-care practice can be very profitable isn’t lost on private-equity funds, which have purchased many urgent-care networks over the past few years. Insurance companies have also gotten into the ownership game. “Clearly there’s more competition now,” Freniere said.

Still, the Wilbraham practice has been such a success that the partners are preparing to open a second location in Worcester County. “And I’m not sure that’ll be the last place we do.”

Catching On

Massachusetts is especially fertile ground for urgent care, said Freniere, because the Bay State lagged considerably behind much of the country in adopting the urgent-care model, although that’s clearly changing.

“I think Massachusetts is a little late to the game,” he told BusinessWest. “We’re advanced in high-end care, but we really took the slow approach to urgent care. Everything was done in the hospital; everything was done in the big medical center. It never felt as if we had to cater to the patient. I think that’s a big change.”

That change includes the attitude of hospitals, which increasingly see the value in this relatively recent model. “They’re saying, ‘hey, guys, we want to get you to work with us. You’re complementary to what we’re doing.

“Doctors are coming around too,” Freniere added. “Initially they saw us as competition, but now they see us as supplemental. We’re not out to take anyone’s patients from them. We’re helping to unburden the system, basically.”

Crews has seen that shift as well. “There’s been a lot of change over the past four or five years since Jim and I opened up our first one,” he said. On the national level, afc Doctors Express — which was recently purchased by American Family Care — will boast more than 160 sites by year end, and Crews and Brennan expect to increase their total from 10 to 18 by the end of 2015.

“We continue to grow every year as patient volumes increase,” Crews said. “It’s because we focus on providing an exceptional patient experience, great quality medical care, convenient hours, and low prices — all those things together.”

Since affiliating with Steward, he said the partners have been busy meeting with the system’s hospital presidents and talking strategy. “These hospitals out there are embracing us.”

As for Freniere, he said he has been contacted by a large urgent-care company, but has no plans to sell — in large part because he finds delivering healthcare in this way a gratifying experience.

“The way the model is set up, the way it’s working right now … it’s attracting attention,” he said. “I think it’s the future.”


Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Caring Health Center Expands

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Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — The Caring Health Center (CHC) has opened a satellite medical facility at 860 Boston Road. The CHC is utilizing a $650,000 Health Resources and Services Administration federal grant to expand medical treatment for residents in the northeast section of the city. The Pine Point and Indian Orchard areas have long been sited as communities in need of health care services, Caring Health is responding to the need. The Pine Point neighborhood council has had the creation of a local health center as a priority on their agenda for several years. The Caring Health Center will provide adult medicine, pediatric medicine, women, infants and children (WIC) program, with a planned expansion of dental and behavioral health programs added in the following year. “This is going to have a very positive effect on health care in the city, “ said Tania Barber, president and CEO of Caring Health Center. “Area residents who formerly had to travel, often by public transportation to our South End or Forest Park locations will be able to receive the care they need closer to home.” The Caring Health Center’s main facility is located at 1049 Main St., Springfield. An $18 million renovation project with the dedication of the Richard E. Neal Complex is planned for Sept. 22.

Kimball Farms Earns Fourth Deficiency-free Survey

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Daily News

LENOX — After the state Department of Public Health completed its annual survey at Kimball Farms Nursing Care Center, it issued a report that is rare in Massachusetts: deficiency-free, for the fourth time in recent history.

A deficiency-free result in the state’s rigorous annual examination is one of the top indications of excellence for nursing facilities. Nursing facilities are thoroughly surveyed and rated on core criteria, including quality care, safety, administration, food service, nursing care, and patient rights. The unannounced inspections by representatives from the DPH are conducted annually, nine to 15 months following the prior survey. This evaluation, conducted by a team consisting of at least one registered nurse and social worker, includes a review of residents’ and patients’ clinical records, a tour of the facility, and interviews with residents, patients, family members, and staff members.

This honor is the most recent in a series of outstanding accomplishments by Kimball Farms that includes the Gold – Excellence in Quality National Quality Award, presented by the American Health Care Assoc. and National Center for Assisted Living, based on the criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. Other recent accolades include designation as a five-star organization by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and scores in the top 1% in the nation for customer and workforce satisfaction, as measured by My InnerView and National Research Corp.

“Our Kimball Farms team members dedicate themselves daily to excellence and compassion, and to improving the quality of life for our residents,” said Administrator Bill Kittler. “Our teamwork supports the highest degree of service and care for our residents. It is an honor to have the Department of Public Health recognize the staff for their efforts and acknowledge their hard work and commitment.”

Kimball Farms Nursing Care Center, a member of Berkshire Healthcare, specializes in short-term rehabilitation, long-term care, skilled nursing, and respite care. For more information, visit www.kimballfarms.org.

North Adams Commons Receives National Award for Quality Care

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Daily News

NORTH ADAMS — The American Health Care Assoc. and the National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) recently announced the selection of North Adams Commons Nursing & Rehabilitation Center as a 2014 recipient of the Silver Achievement in Quality award for its outstanding performance in the healthcare profession. North Adams Commons was the only organization in Massachusetts to win the Silver Award this year, and one of only 77 facilities nationwide.

The competitive award program highlights select centers across the nation that serve as models of excellence in providing high-quality long-term care. Implemented by AHCA/NCAL in 1996, the National Quality Award Program is centered on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, which assists providers of long-term and post-acute-care services in achieving their performance excellence goals.

“I am proud that North Adams Commons is standing among the ranks of other centers that are delivering quality care,” said Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. “Our profession is stronger through the work and dedication of these centers.”

The program has three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Facilities begin the quality-improvement process at the Bronze level and must receive an award at each level before proceeding to the next.

“We are proud to have received the Silver Award, and we’re pleased that an independent panel of examiners saw the high value we place on quality care and service excellence,” said Robert Post, administrator at North Adams Commons. “Our focus at North Adams Commons has always been on people. We want to continue to evolve our quality care and service to even greater heights.”

As a recipient of the Silver Achievement in Quality award, North Adams Commons has demonstrated systematic advancements in quality, plans for continual improvement, and sustainable organizational goals. The award will be presented to North Adams Commons during AHCA/NCAL’s 65th annual convention and exposition in October in Washington, D.C.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

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Chamber Corners Departments

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700

• July 21: Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Golf Tournament, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Hickory Ridge Golf Course, Pomeroy Lane, Amherst. Registration and lunch are from 10:30 a.m. to noon, with a shotgun start at noon, and reception and dinner starting at 5 p.m. Cost: $125 per player. Presented by Hampshire Hospitality Group. Co-scholarship sponsor: Cooley Dickinson Health Care. Silver sponsors: Encharter Insurance, J.F. Conlon & Associates, MBA. Lunch sponsor: Davis Financial Group, LLC. Dinner sponsor: Fallon Community Health Plan. Bronze sponsors: Daily Hampshire Gazette, NEPM, Steve Lewis Subaru. Carts sponsor: Taylor Rental. Water sponsor: Atkins Farms Country Market. Towels: Hampshire College.

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101
 
• July 16: Summer Sizzle, 4:30-7 p.m., hosted by the Chicopee Moose Family Center, 244 Fuller Road in Chicopee. This year’s theme is Old Vegas. Enjoy a great menu by Log Rolling, featuring Golden Nugget chicken, Caesar’s Palace salad, roulette burgers, Sinatra franks, Sahara sweet potato fries, Flamingo french fries, Stardust sides (cheese, peppers, and onions), Desert Inn desserts, iced tea, and lemonade. After you enjoy dinner, stop by one of the many casino games and see if you can win big, or play a few of the popular summer games such as the water balloon toss. Tickets cost $25.
 
• Aug. 21: Member Workshop, 9-11 a.m., hosted by La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St. in Springfield. Sponsored by First American Insurance Agency. “You’re Social. Now What? Is It Working?” You’ve thought about what social networks to use for your business or nonprofit, and you’re ready to take the next step. Where do you go from there? This workshop will give you a closer look at the popular social-media channels — Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+. We’ll show you the benefits of using each, how other organizations are marketing with them, and some dos and don’ts of each channel. You’ll also get tips on how to tell if your social media activity is working. Free to members.
 
GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• July 25: 30th Annual Golf Tournament, at Southampton Country Club, 329 College Highway, Southampton. Scramble format with 9 a.m. shotgun start. Games, contests, and raffles. Team fees include lunch and steak dinner. Major sponsors: Easthampton Savings Bank and Five Star Building Corp. Event sponsors: Innovative Business Systems Inc. and TurningLeaf Design. Opportunities for business exposure include tee sponsors, donations to the golfer’s gift bag, and raffle-prize donations. Team fees: $440; tee sponsorships: $75/$125. This year’s 30th anniversary tournament will honor William Cater Jr., the first golf chairman. Contact the chamber to sign up a team, arrange a sponsorship, or make a raffle or gift prize donation.

• Aug. 14: Networking by Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7 p.m., hosted by Freedom Credit Union and Wireless Zone of Easthampton, 422 Main St., Easthampton. Sponsorship opportunities available for this event. Door prizes, hors d’ouevres, host beer and wine. Tickets: $5 for members, $15 for future members. RSVP requested at (413) 527-9414.

GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376
 
• Aug. 13: Networking Across the River, 5:30-7:30 p.m., hosted and sponsored by Brunelle’s Marina, 1 Alvord St., South Hadley. Join an evening of networking with the Greater Holyoke and South Hadley/Granby Chambers of Commerce as we cruise along the Connecticut River on the Lady Bea. Tickets are $20 for members. Seats are limited. To sign up, call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376 or register online at www.holyokechamber.com.
 
• Aug. 20: Chamber Summer Business Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., hosted by Yankee Pedlar, 1866 Northampton St., Holyoke. Sponsored by Lyon & Fitzpatrick, LLC Tickets: $20 for members and advance reservations, and $30 for non-members and at the door. Price includes a hot buffet.

NORTHAMPTON AREA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY
www.thenayp.com
(413) 584-1900
 
• July 24: Metacomet Monadnock Hike, 5:30 p.m. Join us for a 4.6-mile loop hike on Mt. Holyoke in Hadley. We will take a rarely traveled route that includes some of the best views in Massachusetts, along with a plane crash site, old carriage roads, and the famous Summit House. This hike has 1,200 feet of elevation gain and is mostly moderate with some strenuous sections. Be sure to bring sturdy shoes, water, a flashlight, and bug spray. We will meet at 5:30 at the Metacomet Monadnock trailhead on Old Mountain Road in Hadley. Please note that the trailhead is not at the gate for the auto road up Mt. Holyoke; it is located at the other end of Old Mountain Road. You can park on the side of the road next to the trailhead. Look for the NAYP sign.

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

• Aug. 18: Annual Golf Tournament, at the Ranch Golf Course, Southwick. Registration is at 11:30 a.m., with lunch at noon and a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Cost: $125 for golf and dinner. For more information or for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618
 
• Sept. 8: Open House, 4-7 p.m. The Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce its new office at 16 North Elm St. in Westfield. Please join us for an open house.

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.springfieldyps.com
 
• July 24: Great Golf Escape 2014, hosted by Wyckoff Country Club, Holyoke. Wyckoff is an 18-hole, par-69, 6,100-yard championship golf course built on the rolling property at the base of Mt. Tom. Gold Sponsors: Country Bank and Insurance Center of New England.

Company Notebook

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Company Notebook Departments

Meredith Corp. to Acquire WGGB
SPRINGFIELD — John Gormally, president of Gormally Broadcasting, LLC, as well as BusinessWest magazine, yesterday announced that he has signed an agreement to sell Springfield-based ABC 40/FOX 6 to Des Moines, Iowa-based Meredith Corp. The sale is subject to approval from the Federal Communications Commission and is expected to close later this summer or early fall. Gormally acquired ABC 40 in the fall of 2007 and soon began a series of significant investments in new facilities and equipment. Shortly thereafter, he launched Fox 6 Springfield, bringing a fourth TV station to the market. The sale is a reflection of a trend toward ongoing consolidation within the media industry, particularly in television. Meredith currently operates 14 local broadcast stations, including WFSB Channel 3 in Hartford and its low-power sister station, WSHM, in Springfield. Other Meredith stations are located in Georgia, Oregon, Missouri, South Carolina, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona, Tennessee, and Nevada. Under Gormally’s ownership, ABC 40 earned numerous awards for news excellence, including News Station of the Year honors from the Associated Press in 2013 and 2014, competing against all Springfield and Providence, R.I. stations. WGGB continues to be the only commercial TV station broadcasting news in HD.

Baystate Health Announces Naming of Tolosky Center
SPRINGFIELD — To honor the leadership and achievements of President and CEO Mark Tolosky over his 22-year career, the Baystate Health board of trustees announced the naming of the Tolosky Center at 3300 Main St. in Springfield. The Tolosky Center, a regional destination for outpatient healthcare services, opened in 1998 and ignited the redevelopment of an underused former industrial area in Springfield’s North End. The area today comprises more than $200 million of Baystate Health investment and more than 455,000 square feet of space, including the Tolosky Center, the D’Amour Center for Cancer Care, the Baystate Children’s Specialty Center, the Baystate Breast and Wellness Center, and the Baystate Orthopedic Surgery Center, among other Baystate-owned and -occupied properties. Tolosky is transitioning out of his position as president and CEO on July 1, moving into a president emeritus role. He served Baystate Health and the community for 22 years, beginning in 1992 as executive vice president of Baystate Health and CEO of Baystate Medical Center. In 2004, while retaining leadership of Baystate Medical Center, he assumed the titles of president and CEO of Baystate Health. The naming of the Tolosky Center culminates a series of recognitions of Tolosky’s long tenure and contributions to Baystate Health and the community. In May, a program that has provided nearly $1 million in forgivable loans to help Baystate Health employees purchase homes was renamed the Mark R. Tolosky Baystate Neighbors Program. Also last month, the nurses of Baystate Medical Center recognized Tolosky with their Nursing Collaborative Award, a testament to his commitment to nurses, patients, and families. “During his tenure, Mark’s commitment has extended beyond the traditional definition of health,” said Victor Woolridge, chair of the Baystate Health board of trustees. “He made it a priority to forge community partnerships that improve lives, and as a result he has helped to strengthen the Western Mass. economy. He has been committed to the well-being of communities and the individuals and families within them.” Presiding over the naming ceremony for the Tolosky Center were James Sadowsky, vice chair of the Baystate Health board of trustees, and John Maybury, chair of the Baystate Health Foundation board of trustees. “My family and I consider ourselves very fortunate to be part of this amazing community,” said Tolosky. “We’ll look with tremendous pride and gratitude upon on our family name on this building, where so many patients receive the skilled and compassionate care that changes their lives for the better.” Under Tolosky, Baystate Health has developed a national reputation as a leader in healthcare quality, being named among America’s top 15 health systems and seeing its hospitals regularly included on prestigious lists of the top-performing medical facilities in the country. In the same period, Baystate Health has scaled up its charitable commitment to the communities it serves, providing hundreds of millions of dollars in community-benefit funding, and collaborating with a diverse range of partners to devise and implement new ways to improve community health each year. It also has substantially increased its economic impact, now employing 10,000 people and producing more than $2.6 billion in economic output annually, according to one recent study. Tolosky recently led Baystate Health through the largest building project in the history of the health system and region, the planning, design, and construction of the $300 million expansion of Baystate Medical Center. During tenuous economic times, he championed the need for these projects for patients, families, and the community. He also fostered unprecedented support from generous donors in the community, raising more than $23 million to make it possible. On July 1, Dr. Mark Keroack assumes duties as Baystate Health’s president and CEO.

Jewish Geriatric Launches Rebranding Campaign with New Name, Logo
LONGMEADOW — Jewish Geriatric Services Inc. (JGS) announced recently that it is launching a rebranding campaign featuring the new name Jewish Lifecare (JL), a redesigned logo and brand identity. “Two years ago, JGS celebrated its centennial. It was a time to look back at this organization’s venerable history of caring for our elders, but also an opportunity to envision the future,” said Martin Baicker, president and CEO of JL. “We challenged ourselves to develop a brand that would provide greater clarity of who we are and what we do.” In 2012, the JGS board of directors voted to move forward with the rebranding process, and a rebranding committee was formed, chaired by Susan Goldsmith, president of Marcus Printing in Holyoke. “We needed to shed limiting parts of our present brand, while differentiating ourselves from competitors,” said Goldsmith. “The name Jewish Lifecare was chosen because it encompasses so much more than just geriatrics. It provides the image of life in its entirety and the phases in which we live.” Retaining the word ‘Jewish’ in the name was important because it embodies the mission of the organization, which is rooted in the Jewish faith. The tagline, “Excellence for generations. Serving all faiths” highlights a 102-year history of excellence in the community and the broader audience of people of all faiths, she added. The icon combines the symbolism of an eternal flame and tree of life into one cohesive image. The dot on the top of the icon allows the symbol of a person to emerge, and ties in the human connection to the organization. Jewish Lifecare will phase in the new branding across all platforms and services over the next several months. “We’re introducing the world to the next evolution of an organization founded as the Daughters of Zion Home for the Aged,” said Baicker. “We have a long tradition of embracing culture change to better serve our residents, patients, and families, and we are excited to introduce the community to the next stage of this venerable organization.”
 
Country Bank Awards $80,000 in Scholarships
WARE — Country Bank recently awarded $80,000 in scholarships to 16 area high-school students at its annual Scholarship Dinner. The recipients, selected from the scholarship committees established at each location where a scholarship is awarded, each received $5,000 to help get them started in their college career and assist with the many expenses that go along with a higher education. At the event, staged this year at Teresa’s Restaurant & Alfonso Banquet Room in Ware, Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank, had the opportunity to meet each of the recipients, their guests, and a representative from their high school. “It means so much to have the opportunity to meet the students and their parents when the scholarships are presented,” he said. “They have all worked very hard to get to this point, and I have no doubt that each of them will succeed in the next chapter of their lives.”

Country Bank Awards $12,000 to Carson Center 
WARE — Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank, and Shelly Regin, first vice president and director of marketing at the bank, recently paid a surprise visit to the Baystate Mary Lane Community Benefits Advisory Committee (CBAC). Scully personally acknowledged the work of the CBAC and awarded the Carson Center two checks. The first, for $2,000, was a portion of the proceeds from Country Bank’s Community Series performances at the Center at Eagle Hill. The second check, for $10,000, was a direct gift from Country Bank to further the Carson Center’s provision of services for community members who are struggling with addiction. These funds were given to compliment the Yes to Life structured outpatient addiction program at the Carson Center, which was funded by Baystate Mary Lane Hospital’s determination-of-need (DON) funds last year. DON funding was made available for community health initiatives as part of the state Department of Public Health’s DON process related to capital expenditures for Baystate Medical Center’s new Emergency Department in Springfield. “We are so proud to support this important and worthwhile program, which will help so many of our community members” Regin said. “Country Bank recognizes this as an opportunity to assist the Carson Center and their Yes to Life Program, and in turn bring support to those who need it in our surrounding towns.”

MassMutual Donates $155,000 on Behalf of Financial Professionals
SPRINGFIELD — MassMutual has awarded $155,000 to eligible nonprofit organizations through its annual Community Service Awards (CSA) program. The awards are given on behalf of MassMutual financial professionals who demonstrate outstanding commitment to nonprofit organizations in their local community. New this year, MassMutual has increased its giving to include six $5,000 Silver awards in addition to its usual 10 $10,000 Gold awards and a top $25,000 Platinum award. “At MassMutual, we are proud of the significant impact our financial professionals have on their communities. What better way to encourage more of them to volunteer than to recognize those that are highly dedicated to helping others?” said Nick Fyntrilakis, vice president of Community Responsibility at MassMutual. “We are delighted to expand our program this year to honor more individuals who are making a positive difference in their communities across the country.” This year’s $25,000 Platinum Award winner is Darren Scrimpshire, a financial professional with MassMutual South Texas in San Antonio. Scrimpshire is being recognized for his work with San Antonio Fitness, Independent, & Recreational Environment (SAFIRE), a day activity center for young adults with intellectual disabilities that focuses on healthy lifestyles, continuing education, and pre-vocational skills. This year is MassMutual’s 18th year presenting Community Service Awards. Each award recognizes the many selfless hours of volunteer time and talent that MassMutual’s financial professionals put in during the year to improve their communities. MassMutual has contributed more than $1.4 million to charitable organizations across the country through its CSA program since its inception in 1996. The CSA program is just one of a variety of philanthropic programs sponsored by MassMutual in support of nonprofit organizations where its financial professionals live and work. Last year, in total, MassMutual provided nearly $8 million in philanthropic investments throughout the U.S., of which more than $900,000 supported organizations in honor of its financial professionals.

Steward Health Care, Doctors Express Announce Affiliation
SPRINGFIELD — Doctors Express has announced support for a growing trend of healthcare system partnerships with urgent-care facilities. Steward Health Care, the largest fully integrated community-care organization and community-hospital network in New England, recently announced a new clinical affiliation with AFC Doctors Express Urgent Care, the largest urgent-care provider in New England. This partnership is the first of its kind in Massachusetts and makes urgent-care centers available to Steward patients and others within the next year. Master franchisors Richard Crews and James Brennan of the local Doctors Express facilities — located in Springfield and West Springfield — commend the efforts to increase the quality and efficiency of patient care. Doctors Express has 11 locations in Massachusetts and plans to open 15 more locations in the next two years. Steward now has the largest integrated network of urgent-care providers in Massachusetts with 24 affiliated locations to be opened within the next year. Through this affiliation with Doctors Express, 45 family-practice, emergency-medicine, and internal-medicine physicians employed by Doctors Express will join the Steward Health Care Network. As part of this clinical affiliation, Doctors Express physicians will now have access to Steward’s patient portal to evaluate a patient’s clinical history prior to commencing treatment. Clinical notes from a Doctors Express visit will be communicated back to a patient’s primary-care physician or specialist for necessary follow-up. Steward patients will remain in-network while visiting a Doctors Express location. Urgent care includes some services offered by primary-care physicians, including treatment for acute illness, trauma (including minor surgical procedures), vaccinations, X-rays, medication dispensing, and more. Many patients might not take advantage of these services through primary-care practices because of inconvenient hours. “Our Doctors Express urgent-care practices are an advocate for better healthcare throughout our Western Mass. community,” said Brennan. “Not only do our physicians treat symptoms, but they also provide preventative care. We have moved urgent care far beyond the boundaries of traditional clinic care, and we look forward to more growth opportunities, from franchise development to partnerships with major healthcare systems.” Added Crews, “emergency rooms continue to be overcrowded with patients seeking non-emergency health-care. Partnerships with major healthcare providers alleviate the burden of crowded emergency rooms, and more importantly, these partnerships increase the quality of care by providing fast and efficient care during non-business hours.”

Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin Receives United Way’s Gold Award
SPRINGFIELD — Local law firm Shatz, Schwartz and Fentin, P.C., serving Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut, was recognized as a Gold award recipient from the United Way of Pioneer Valley during its 2014 annual celebration. Local businesses were recognized with Gold, Silver, or Bronze awards for extraordinary support during the 2013-14 campaign. Each year, the United Way of Pioneer Valley runs an annual campaign that provides funding for local nonprofit organizations and community initiatives. Donations finance health and human-service programs throughout the region. Awards were presented at the annual celebration, which was hosted recently at Chez Josef in Agawam. “We are proud to have the good fortune to be able to give back to a community that supports our success,” said partner Steve Schwartz, who has been with the firm since its inception 45 years ago. “We are equally proud of the other contributing businesses recognized at the United Way of Pioneer Valley annual event. We accomplish more working together.” The United Way of Pioneer Valley is the regional affiliate of United Way Worldwide, a leadership and support organization and network of nearly 1,800 community-based United Ways in 45 countries and territories. United Way envisions a world where all individuals and families achieve their full potential through education, income stability, and healthy lives. For 90 years, the United Way of Pioneer Valley has been working in partnership with individuals, businesses, and organizations that advance the common good throughout the Greater Springfield community, including the 25 cities in Hampden County, South Hadley, and Granby.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By
Chamber Corners Departments

ACCGS
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• July 9: ERC5 Member Appreciation Night with the Western Mass. Pioneers, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Lusitano Stadium, 400 Winsor St., Ludlow. Enjoy an exhibition game, food, contests, surprises, and more. Reservations are complimentary for ERC5 members, $5 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected]. The ERC5 is an affiliate of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield
• July 14: ACCGS Annual Golf Tournament at the Ranch Golf Club in Southwick. Schedule: 10:30-11:30 a.m., registration/practice; 11 a.m.-noon, course-side lunch; 12:30 p.m., shotgun start. Cost: $600 for a foursome, $150 for an individual golfer, $30 for reception only. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
413-253-0700

• July 21: Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Golf Tournament, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Hickory Ridge Golf Course, Pomeroy Lane, Amherst. Registration and lunch are from 10:30 a.m. to noon, with a shotgun start at noon, and reception and dinner starting at 5 p.m. Cost: $125 per player. Presented by Hampshire Hospitality Group. Co-scholarship sponsor: Cooley Dickinson Health Care. Silver sponsors: Encharter Insurance, J.F. Conlon & Associates, MBA. Lunch sponsor: Davis Financial Group, LLC. Dinner sponsor: Fallon Community Health Plan. Bronze sponsors: Daily Hampshire Gazette, NEPM, Steve Lewis Subaru. Carts sponsor: Taylor Rental. Water sponsor: Atkins Farms Country Market. Towels: Hampshire College.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• July 10: Netwrking By Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7p.m. Hosted by the Oxbow Water Ski Show Team, 100 Old Springfield Road, Northampton. The program will feature a gala waterski show and networking under the tent on the shores of the Oxbow. Door prizes, hors d’ouevres, and host beer and wine. Sponsored by Mantis Graphics and William F. Steplar Financial Services. Tickets: $5 for members, $15 for future members. RSVP requested.
• July 25: 30th Annual Golf Tournament, at Southampton Country Club, 329 College Highway, Southampton. Scramble format with 9 a.m. shotgun start. Games, contests, and raffles. Team fees include lunch and steak dinner. Major sponsors: Easthampton Savings Bank and Five Star Building Corp. Event sponsors: Innovative Business Systems Inc. and TurningLeaf Design. Opportunities for business exposure include tee sponsors, donations to the golfer’s gift bag, and raffle-prize donations. Team fees: $440; tee sponsorships: $75/$125. This year’s 30th anniversary tournament will honor William Cater Jr., the first golf chairman. Contact the chamber to sign up a team, arrange a sponsorship, or make a raffle or gift prize donation.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• July 10: The Chamber’s 37th Annual Pancake Breakfast, 7-11 a.m., at South Middle School, 30 West Silver St., Westfield. Sponsored by: City of Westfield, Walmart, Appalachian Press, Noble VNA, and Peppermill Catering. Highlights: Vendor tables, bounce house, face painting, music, and more. Cost: adults, $6; seniors, $5; children under 12, $3. For more information, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

• August 18: Annual Golf Tournament, at the Ranch Golf Course, Southwick. Registration is at 11:30 a.m., with lunch at noon and a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Cost: $125 for golf and dinner. For more information or for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

Opinion

By
Opinion
Healthcare Stakeholders Support Reform

By LYNN NICHOLAS

An impressive collection of healthcare stakeholders have joined with the Mass. Hospital Assoc. (MHA) in calling for the state to support two extremely important reform efforts in the FY 2015 budget.

First, policymakers should address desperately needed behavioral-health reform measures. Five of Massachusetts’ largest care-provider organizations are jointly calling on the Legislature to support vital behavioral-health reform measures in next year’s budget. In addition to MHA, the Mass. Assoc. of Behavioral Health Systems, the Mass. Medical Society, the Mass. College of Emergency Physicians, and the Mass. Psychiatric Society are urging the adoption of both budgetary action and vital administrative steps needed to bolster timely access to behavioral-health services.

The Commonwealth’s behavioral-health system is broken, and immediate supports are needed to reinforce critical mental-health and substance-abuse services while we all work toward comprehensive, systemic reform. The multi-step plan advanced by our collective organizations calls for important investments in community-based placement services, outpatient and community-based diversionary services, and inpatient hospital-level services. It also urges the Legislature to adopt operational reforms that advance patient access to appropriate services on a timely basis and reduce emergency-department delays.

The persistent call for comprehensive reform of the Commonwealth’s behavioral-health system is gaining traction throughout the state. While thorough and systemic reform may take some time, it’s essential that policymakers move forward on some immediate interim steps that will preserve access and advance true parity for behavioral-health coverage and services. We hope this growing call from healthcare, public advocacy, and civic leaders will result in meaningful improvements for all patients in the very near future.

Second, new federal healthcare funding should be dedicated to its intended purpose — to support both low-income health-coverage programs and those who provide the care.

Hospitals, home-care providers, physicians, community health centers, advocates for patients, and organizations devoted to fighting major diseases are all calling on the state to ensure that the use of federal healthcare funding coming to Massachusetts through the Affordable Care Act is set aside to support the funding of Medicaid and other low-income healthcare programs in a transparent manner. Gov. Deval Patrick’s budget created the Health Insurance Expansion Fund to house the enhanced federal Medicaid revenues the state receives and dedicate the funding to support the financing of health-insurance coverage for low-income Massachusetts residents.

This approach is supported by the MHA, Health Care For All, Health Law Advocates, the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts, the Mass. League of Community Health Centers, the Mass. Assoc. of Behavioral Health Systems, the Mass. Law Reform Institute, the American Heart Assoc. and American Stroke Assoc., the Mass. Medical Society, the Mass. Health Council, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals.

This coalition has urged the Legislature to carry the governor’s recommendation forward while adding language that increases transparency — so that the amount of revenues in the fund, as well as expected additions and expenditures, are reported regularly — and explicitly authorizes one of the uses for the funding to be to support those who provide care to Medicaid patients.

This federal money was intended to shore up and support the important healthcare programs that have been developed under the state’s reform effort. By connecting the funding directly to these programs, the Legislature can create true transparency and accountability and help preserve the many collective successes we have achieved since the passage of the first health-reform efforts back in 2006.


Lynn Nicholas is president and CEO of the Mass. Hospital Assoc.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By
Chamber Corners Departments

ACCGS
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• June 27: ACCGS Annual Meeting, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Sheraton Springfield, One Monarch Place. This event will feature ‘the year in retrospect’ and presentation of the 2014 Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year award. Cost: $40 for members, $60 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].
• July 9: ERC5 Member Appreciation Night with the Western Mass. Pioneers, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at Lusitano Stadium, 400 Winsor St., Ludlow. Enjoy an exhibition game, food, contests, surprises, and more. Reservations are complimentary for ERC5 members, $5 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected]. The ERC5 is an affiliate of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield
• July 14: ACCGS Annual Golf Tournament at the Ranch Golf Club in Southwick. Schedule: 10:30-11:30 a.m., registration/practice; 11 a.m.-noon, course-side lunch; 12:30 p.m., shotgun start. Cost: $600 for a foursome, $150 for an individual golfer, $30 for reception only. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
413-253-0700

• June 19-22: Taste of Amherst 2014. Come enjoy four days of fun at the 2014 Taste of Amherst, on the Amherst Town Common. Live entertainment will be provided by 93.9 the River, fun family events, and more than 20 local restaurants. Hours: Thursday, June 19, 5-9 p.m.; Friday, June 20, 5-10 p.m.; Saturday, June 21, noon-10 p.m.; Sunday, June 22, noon-4 p.m.
• June 25: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m. New-member reception. Don’t miss this annual event, hosted by all the businesses at 25-35 University Dr.:
Cheryl Nina Salon, Encharter Insurance LLC, J. F. Conlon & Associates, Sawicki Real Estate, and 
Ziomek & Ziomek, Attorneys at Law. The Pub will provide food and drink. Sponsored by Greenfield Savings Bank.
Tickets: free for new members (if you joined between June 2013 and June 2014), $10 for members, and $15 for non-members.
• July 21: Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Golf Tournament, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Hickory Ridge Golf Course, Pomeroy Lane, Amherst. Registration and lunch are from 10:30 a.m. to noon, with a shotgun start at noon, and reception and dinner starting at 5 p.m. Cost: $125 per player. Presented by Hampshire Hospitality Group. Co-scholarship sponsor: Cooley Dickinson Health Care. Silver sponsors: Encharter Insurance, J.F. Conlon & Associates, MBA. Lunch sponsor: Davis Financial Group, LLC. Dinner sponsor: Fallon Community Health Plan. Bronze sponsors: Daily Hampshire Gazette, NEPM, Steve Lewis Subaru. Carts sponsor: Taylor Rental. Water sponsor: Atkins Farms Country Market. Towels: Hampshire College.

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

• June 19: Mornings with the Mayor. Chamber members meet with Mayor Rich Kos at a different host business every other month to talk about what’s happening in the city of Chicopee. Submit questions you’d like addressed, by June 16, to [email protected]. For more information, contact the Greater Chicopee Chamber at (413) 594-2101.
• June 25: June Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Teddy Bear Pools & Spas. Tickets: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.
• June 26: Member workshop, “E-mail Marketing for Success: Creating Effective Newsletters & Announcements,” 9-11 a.m., at La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. Sponsored by First American Insurance Agency Inc. E-mail is more important than ever to the communication efforts of businesses and nonprofits everywhere, and to customers, donors, clients, and supporters of those organizations. This session will reveal some simple but effective best practices and considerations for the small-business or nonprofit seeking to make their e-mail newsletters more effective. Attendees of this presentation will learn the different types of newsletters, what to write about in your newsletter or announcement, how to consider using images, subject-line best practices and when to send your newsletter, the importance of understanding how connected e-mail and social media are and how they have to be done together, and what types of additional tools might be useful.

FRANKLIN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463

• June 27: Annual Meeting and Legislative Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., at Terrazza Ristorante, Country Club Road, Greenfield. Elected state officials and chamber election of officers. Tickets: $13 for chamber members, $15 for non-members. Contact the chamber for more information at (413) 773-5464 or www.franklincc.org.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• July 10: Netwrking By Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7p.m. Hosted by the Oxbow Water Ski Show Team, 100 Old Springfield Road, Northampton. The program will feature a gala waterski show and networking under the tent on the shores of the Oxbow. Door prizes, hors d’ouevres, and host beer and wine. Sponsored by Mantis Graphics and William F. Steplar Financial Services. Tickets: $5 for members, $15 for future members. RSVP requested.
• July 25: 30th Annual Golf Tournament, at Southampton Country Club, 329 College Highway, Southampton. Scramble format with 9 a.m. shotgun start. Games, contests, and raffles. Team fees include lunch and steak dinner. Major sponsors: Easthampton Savings Bank and Five Star Building Corp. Event sponsors: Innovative Business Systems Inc. and TurningLeaf Design. Opportunities for business exposure include tee sponsors, donations to the golfer’s gift bag, and raffle-prize donations. Team fees: $440; tee sponsorships: $75/$125. This year’s 30th anniversary tournament will honor William Cater Jr., the first golf chairman. Contact the chamber to sign up a team, arrange a sponsorship, or make a raffle or gift prize donation.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

• June 19: “The Art of Small Business: Pricing,” 9-10:30 a.m. Hosted and sponsored by the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Special guest: Don Lesser of Pioneer Training. Lesser has been a consultant and business owner for more than 30 years. He will share insights and techniques that have contributed to his success. How do you determine what rate you should charge for your time? What is a livable rate for your work? What is the range of rates for your work in your market? How do you price a job, and how do you cover add-ons and other changes? Do you have separate rates for different types of clients? What about donating services? How do you negotiate rates with a potential client? This workshop covers the process of determining your rate and sticking to it. Cost: $20 for members, $25 for non-members.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• June 20: June Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Ranch Golf Club, 65 Sunnyside Road, Southwick. Sponsors: platinum, First Niagara; gold, United Bank; silver, United Way of Pioneer Valley. Speaker: Superintendent of Schools Dr. Suzanne Scallion. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. Consider donating a raffle prize. To register, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.
• June 25: Chamber’s Spring Marketing Speaker Series 3, 8:30-11 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Topic: “You’re Social. Now What? Is It Working?” Speaker: Liz Provo, authorized local expert for Constant Contact. Cost: free to chamber members, $25 for non-members. For more information, call Pam at the Chamber office at (413) 568-1618.
• June 27: Local Legislative Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Tekoa Country Club, 459 Russell Road, Westfield. The luncheon is for the chamber communities of Blandford, Chester, Granville, Huntington, Montgomery, Russell, Southwick, Tolland, Westfield, and Woronoco. The state legislators for each community have been invited to speak. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Cost: TBA. For more information, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.
• July 10: The Chamber’s 37th Annual Pancake Breakfast, 7-11 a.m., at South Middle School, 30 West Silver St., Westfield. Sponsored by: City of Westfield, Walmart, Appalachian Press, Noble VNA, and Peppermill Catering. Highlights: Vendor tables, bounce house, face painting, music, and more. Cost: adults, $6; seniors, $5; children under 12, $3. For more information, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

• June 19: Annual Breakfast Meeting, 7-9 a.m., at Chez Josef, Agawam. Sponsored by OMG and Development Associates. The event will kick off with the welcoming of new chairman John Weiss and the incoming WRC board of directors. Cost: $25 for chamber members, $30 for non-members. For more information and for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].
• August 18: Annual Golf Tournament, at the Ranch Golf Course, Southwick. Registration is at 11:30 a.m., with lunch at noon and a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Cost: $125 for golf and dinner. For more information or for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

Steward Health Care, Doctors Express Announce Affiliation

By
Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Doctors Express has announced support for a growing trend of healthcare system partnerships with urgent-care facilities. Steward Health Care, the largest fully integrated community-care organization and community-hospital network in New England, recently announced a new clinical affiliation with AFC Doctors Express Urgent Care, the largest urgent-care provider in New England. This partnership is the first of its kind in Massachusetts and makes urgent-care centers available to Steward patients and others within the next year. Master franchisors Richard Crews and James Brennan of the local Doctors Express facilities — located in Springfield and West Springfield — commend the efforts to increase the quality and efficiency of patient care. Doctors Express has 11 locations in Massachusetts and plans to open 15 more locations in the next two years. Steward now has the largest integrated network of urgent-care providers in Massachusetts with 24 affiliated locations to be opened within the next year. Through this affiliation with Doctors Express, 45 family-practice, emergency-medicine, and internal-medicine physicians employed by Doctors Express will join the Steward Health Care Network. As part of this clinical affiliation, Doctors Express physicians will now have access to Steward’s patient portal to evaluate a patient’s clinical history prior to commencing treatment. Clinical notes from a Doctors Express visit will be communicated back to a patient’s primary-care physician or specialist for necessary follow-up. Steward patients will remain in-network while visiting a Doctors Express location. Urgent care includes some services offered by primary-care physicians, including treatment for acute illness, trauma (including minor surgical procedures), vaccinations, X-rays, medication dispensing, and more. Many patients might not take advantage of these services through primary-care practices because of inconvenient hours. “Our Doctors Express urgent-care practices are an advocate for better healthcare throughout our Western Mass. community,” said Brennan. “Not only do our physicians treat symptoms, but they also provide preventative care. We have moved urgent care far beyond the boundaries of traditional clinic care, and we look forward to more growth opportunities, from franchise development to partnerships with major healthcare systems.” Added Crews, “emergency rooms continue to be overcrowded with patients seeking non-emergency health-care. Partnerships with major healthcare providers alleviate the burden of crowded emergency rooms, and more importantly, these partnerships increase the quality of care by providing fast and efficient care during non-business hours.”

Fazzi Healthcare Solutions Releases Study Findings

By
Daily News

NORTHAMPTON — Fazzi Healthcare Solutions, a Northampton-based healthcare research and consulting firm, has announced the findings of its 2013-14 State of the Home Care and Hospice Industry study. The largest study of its kind, this national, six-month effort was initiated to identify present and future trends that affect home-care and hospice agencies across the country and the patients that they serve. More than 1,100 participants were interviewed as part of the study. Fazzi acted as facilitator and co-sponsor of the study in conjunction with other industry leaders. The findings can be found in the free, 44-page report available at fazzi.com.
The goal of the study was to provide agency leaders with insights on industry trends and best practices for the future. Topics addressed included technology and electronic health records, telehealth, new healthcare models, and organizational practices of home health care. There are more than 12,000 home care agencies and 5,500 hospice agencies in the U.S., serving more than 5 million patients each year, mostly seniors. The U.S. Census Department estimates that the population of people 65 and older is expected to more than double from 43.1 million to 92 million between now and 2060, and those age 85 and older will more than triple to 18.2 million by 2060. “As the elderly population increases, life expectancy rates increase, and as 45% of seniors live with two or more chronic conditions, the demand will increase for home and hospice care,” said Dr. Robert Fazzi, managing partner at Fazzi. “This study will help shed a light on best-practice strategies so that industry leaders can make informed decisions and improve care for patients across the country.” The study was sponsored by Delta Health Technologies and HealthWyse, and co-sponsored by the Joint Commission, the Community Health Accreditation Program, the National Assoc. for Home Care and Hospice, and the Forum of State Associations. Fazzi, also a co-sponsor, facilitated and authored the study. Fazzi Associates is a national consulting, benchmarking, and best-practice research firm that specializes in serving the home-health and hospice industry. Its major research projects have included partnerships with organizations such as Philips Corp., 3M Corp., Briggs Corp., Delta Health Technologies, and BlackBerry.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By
Chamber Corners Departments

AFFILIATED CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555
• June 4: ACCGS Business@Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m. Hosted by Springfield College at the Richard Flynn Campus Union. Topic: “Inspiring a Creative Corporate Culture.” Reservations are $20 for members, $30 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].
• June 12: ERC5 Annual Meeting, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Blake Dining Commons, Bay Path College, 588 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow. Reservations are $20 for members, $25 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].
• June 26: ACCGS Annual Meeting, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Sheraton Springfield, One Monarch Place, Springfield. The year in retrospect, and presentation of the 2014 Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year award. Reservations are $40 for members, $60 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
413-253-0700
• June 19-22: Taste of Amherst 2014. Come enjoy four days of fun at the 2014 Taste of Amherst, on the Amherst Town Common. Live entertainment will be provided by 93.9 the River, fun family events, and more than 20 local restaurants. Eat, play, dance, and celebrate all of what Amherst has to offer. Hours: Thursday, June 19, 5-9 p.m.; Friday, June 20, 5-10 p.m.; Saturday, June 21, noon-10 p.m.; Sunday, June 22, noon-4 p.m.
• June 25: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m. New Member Reception. Don’t miss this annual event, hosted by all the businesses at 25-35 University Dr.:
Cheryl Nina Salon, Encharter Insurance LLC, J. F. Conlon & Associates, Sawicki Real Estate, and 
Ziomek & Ziomek, Attorneys at Law. The Pub will provide food and drink. Sponsored by Greenfield Savings Bank.
Tickets: Free for new members (if you joined between June 2013 and June 2014), $10 for members, and $15 for non-members.
• July 21: Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Golf Tournament, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Hickory Ridge Golf Course, Pomeroy Lane, Amherst. Registration and lunch are from 10:30 a.m. to noon, with a shotgun start at noon, and reception and dinner starting at 5 p.m. Cost: $125 per player. Presented by Hampshire Hospitality Group. Co-scholarship sponsor: Cooley Dickinson Health Care. Silver sponsors: Encharter Insurance, J.F. Conlon & Associates, MBA. Dinner sponsor: Fallon Community Health Plan. Lunch sponsor: Davis Financial Group, LLC. Bronze sponsors: Daily Hampshire Gazette, NEPM, Steve Lewis Subaru. Carts sponsor: Taylor Rental. Water sponsor: Atkins Farms Country Market. Towels: Hampshire College.

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101
• June 25: June Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Teddy Bear Pools & Spas. Tickets: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.
• June 4: Member workshop, “Grow Your Business with E-mail Marketing and Social Media,” 9-11 a.m., at La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. Sponsored by First American Insurance Agency Inc. Free for members, this workshop is designed to give small businesses and nonprofit organizations some simple ideas for growing their customer, prospect, or member network by using e-mail and social-media marketing. We will discuss what type of content to use in your campaigns; how to get more people to stop and read your messages; how to get more action, or reaction, to your messages and offers; why using images on social-media channels creates higher engagement; and why your content should be mobile-friendly. You’ll learn what it means to run effective e-mail and/or social-media marketing campaigns and what tools you can use to measure the success of your efforts without spending lots of time or money. Participants will leave with a workbook full of ideas for timing their messages, how to write a winning subject line, what kinds of offers or content they want to try, and how best to approach their next outreach project. This is a great workshop for beginners in online marketing looking to accomplish more in less time with a small budget.
• June 26: Member workshop, “E-mail Marketing for Success: Creating Effective Newsletters & Announcements,” 9-11 a.m., at La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. Sponsored by First American Insurance Agency Inc. At the heart of small-business marketing are the campaigns that drive action — collections of marketing activities that help a small business or organization achieve its goals and objectives. Newsletters and announcements have become a core component of those campaign choices. E-mail is more important than ever to the communication efforts of businesses and nonprofits everywhere, and to customers, donors, clients, and supporters of those organizations. This session will reveal some simple but effective best practices and considerations for the small-business or nonprofit seeking to make their e-mail newsletters more effective. Attendees of this presentation will learn the different types of newsletters; what to write about in your newsletter or announcement and how to consider using images; subject-line best practices and when to send your newsletter; the importance of understanding how connected e-mail and social media are, and how they have to be done together; and what types of additional tools might be useful. Join us and learn some great new strategies to help your e-mail and social-media efforts be more effective components of one of the core campaign types, newsletters and announcements.

FRANKLIN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463
• June 6: First Friday in Greenfield, 5-8 p.m. “Gotta Bee Downtown!” — a bee celebration. Live music, discounts, refreshments, art. All are welcome for free. Contact the chamber for more information at (413) 773-5464; www.franklincc.org
• June 27: Annual Meeting and Legislative Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., at Terrazza Ristorante, Country Club Road, Greenfield. Elected state officials and chamber election of officers. Tickets: $13 for chamber members, $15 for non-members. Contact the chamber for more information at (413) 773-5464 or www.franklincc.org

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414
• June 12: Networking by Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7 p.m., North Country Landscapes and Garden Center, One Main Road (Route 66), Westhampton. Sponsored by Innovative Business Systems. Door prizes, hors d’ouevres, and host beer and wine. Tickets: $5 for members, $15 for future members.
• June 16: Move the Mountain Networking Event, 4:30-7 p.m., at Holyoke Country Club, Country Club Road (off Route 5), Holyoke. Join with Greater Easthampton and Greater Holyoke chamber members as we ‘move the mountain’ to network together. Presented by the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce. Door prizes, hors d’oeuvres, and cash bar. Cost: $10 for Greater Easthampton and Holyoke chamber members, $15 for non-members.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900
• June 4: Arrive@ 5, 5-7 p.m., at Black Birch Vineyard. Sponsored by Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, the Creative, and viz-bang! Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Register at [email protected].
• June 19: “The Art of Small Business: Pricing,” 9-10:30 a.m. Hosted and sponsored by the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Special guest: Don Lesser of Pioneer Training. Lesser has been a consultant and business owner for more than 30 years. His companies have grown and shrunk and grown again, and the nature of his business has changed over the years. “The Art of Small Business” contains the insights and techniques that have contributed to his success. Highlights: Apple never discounts. Clothing stores build in a series of discounts to the initial price. Consulting companies use various techniques to avoid quoting an hourly rate. Law firms typically quote an hourly rate and stick to it. How do you determine what rate you should charge for your time? Too high, and you scare clients away; too low, and your clients undervalue your work. There is an art to setting a price for your work. What is a livable rate for your work? What is the range of rates for your work in your market? How do you price a job, and how do you cover add-ons and other changes? Do you have separate rates for different types of clients? What about donating services? How do you negotiate rates with a potential client? This workshop covers the process of determining your rate and sticking to it. Cost: $20 for members, $25 for non-members.

NORTHAMPTON AREA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY
www.thenayp.com
(413) 584-1900
• June 12: Nonprofit Board Fair, 5 p.m. at the Smith College Conference Center, 51 College Lane, Northampton. Learn about, connect with, and help lead local nonprofits. Nonprofits count on volunteers like you to lead them to success. The United Way of Hampshire County and NAYP have once again partnered to host the Nonprofit Board Fair, a signature event featuring nonprofits throughout the Pioneer Valley whose leadership will be on hand to talk to interested candidates about serving on their organizations’ boards of directors. There will be a variety of organizations from large to small, representing a mix of essential services, including economic security, community building, children and education, the environment, health and disabilities, elder care, the arts, and advocacy and access. This event is ideal for younger professionals seeking this type of engagement for the first time, as well as seasoned professionals with prior board experience.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618
• June 11: After 5 Connection, 5-7 p.m., at Westfield Bank, 462 College Highway, Southwick. Sponsored by Pro Tours & Cruises of Southwick. Great connection opportunities. Complimentary refreshments provided. Walk-ins are welcome. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members (cash at the door). To register. call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.
• June 12: Chamber’s Spring Marketing Speaker Series 2, 8:30-11 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Topic: “E-mail Marketing for Success: Creating Effective Newsletters & Announcements.” Speaker: Liz Provo, authorized local expert for Constant Contact. Cost: free to chamber members, $25 for non-members. For more information, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.
• June 20: June Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Ranch Golf Club, 65 Sunnyside Road, Southwick. Sponsors: platinum, First Niagara; gold, United Bank; silver, United Way of Pioneer Valley. Speaker: Superintendent of Schools Dr. Suzanne Scallion. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. Consider donating a raffle prize. To register, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.
• June 25: Chamber’s Spring Marketing Speaker Series 3, 8:30-11 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Topic: “You’re Social. Now What? Is It Working?” Speaker: Liz Provo, authorized local expert for Constant Contact. Cost: Free to chamber members, $25 for non-members. For more information, call Pam at the Chamber office at (413) 568-1618.
• June 27: Local Legislative Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Tekoa Country Club, 459 Russell Road, Westfield. The luncheon is for the chamber communities of Blandford, Chester, Granville, Huntington, Montgomery, Russell, Southwick, Tolland, Westfield, and Woronoco. The state legislators for each community have been invited to speak. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Cost: TBA. For more information, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310
• June 3: PWC Woman of the Year, 5:30 p.m., at the Castle of Knights, 1599 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. Honoring Carol Campbell, president, CEO, and founder of Chicopee Industrial Contractors. Reservations cost $55. Register online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].
• June 10: PWC Ladies Night Member Reception, 5-7 p.m., at Fathers & Sons, 989 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Enjoy complimentary wine and refreshments. Reservations are free. To register, e-mail Dawn Creighton at [email protected].

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880
• June 11: Wicked Wednesday, 3-6 p.m., at Six Flags New England. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events hosted by various businesses and restaurants. These events bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. For more information or for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].
• June 19: Annual Breakfast Meeting, 7-9 a.m., at Chez Josef, Agawam. Sponsored by OMG and Development Associates. The event will kick off with the welcoming of new chairman John Weiss and the incoming WRC board of directors. Cost: $25 for chamber members, $30 for non-members. For more information and for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].
• August 18: Annual Golf Tournament, at the Ranch Golf Course, Southwick. Registration is at 11:30 a.m., with lunch at noon and a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Cost: $125 for golf and dinner. For more information or for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By
Chamber Corners Departments

AFFILIATED CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• May 21: Capital Matchmaking/Business Coaching, 1-4 p.m., at La Quinta Inn and Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. This is a business borrower and lender matchmaking event, ideal for small businesses. Presented by the U.S. Small Business Administration and Common Capital, in cooperation with the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield. Reservations are complimentary, but required. Contact Oreste Varela at [email protected] or (413) 785-0484 for information.

• May 27: ACCGS Pastries, Politics & Policy, 8-9 a.m., at the TD Bank Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield. Designed for political and policy junkies, featuring a policy expert and member of the Patrick administration. Reservations are $15 for members, $25 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

• June 4: ACCGS Business@Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m. Hosted by Springfield College at the Richard Flynn Campus Union. Topic: “Inspiring a Creative Corporate Culture.” Reservations are $20 for members, $30 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

• June 12: ERC5 Annual Meeting, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Blake Dining Commons, Bay Path College, 588 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow. Reservations are $20 for members, $25 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

• June 26: ACCGS Annual Meeting, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Sheraton Springfield, One Monarch Place, Springfield. The year in retrospect, and presentation of the 2014 Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year award. Reservations are $40 for members, $60 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
413-253-0700

• May 28: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m. at Amherst Laser and Skin Care Center, 264 North Pleasant St., Amherst. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for guests.

• June 19-22: Taste of Amherst 2014. Come enjoy four days of fun at the 2014 Taste of Amherst, on the Amherst Town Common. Live entertainment will be provided by 93.9 the River, fun family events, and more than 20 local restaurants. Eat, play, dance, and celebrate all of what Amherst has to offer. Hours: Thursday, June 19, 5-9 p.m.; Friday, June 20, 5-10 p.m.; Saturday, June 21, noon-10 p.m.; Sunday, June 22, noon-4 p.m.

• June 25: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m. New Member Reception. Don’t miss this annual event, hosted by all the businesses at 25-35 University Dr.:
Cheryl Nina Salon, Encharter Insurance LLC, J. F. Conlon & Associates, Sawicki Real Estate, and 
Ziomek & Ziomek, Attorneys at Law. The Pub will provide food and drink. Sponsored by Greenfield Savings Bank.
Tickets: Free for new members (if you joined between June 2013 and June 2014), $10 for members, and $15 for non-members.

• July 21: Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Golf Tournament, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Hickory Ridge Golf Course, Pomeroy Lane, Amherst. Registration and lunch are from 10:30 a.m. to noon, with a shotgun start at noon, and reception and dinner starting at 5 p.m. Cost: $125 per player. Presented by Hampshire Hospitality Group. Co-scholarship sponsor: Cooley Dickinson Health Care. Silver sponsors: Encharter Insurance, J.F. Conlon & Associates, MBA. Dinner sponsor: Fallon Community Health Plan. Lunch sponsor: Davis Financial Group, LLC. Bronze sponsors: Daily Hampshire Gazette, NEPM, Steve Lewis Subaru. Carts sponsor: Taylor Rental. Water sponsor: Atkins Farms Country Market. Towels: Hampshire College.

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

• May 28: Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at Elms College, 291 Springfield St., Chicopee. Tickets: $20 for members, $26 for non-members. Sign up online at www.chicopeechamber.org.

• June 25: June Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Teddy Bear Pools & Spas. Tickets: $10 for members, $15 for non-members.

• June 4: Member workshop, “Grow Your Business with E-mail Marketing and Social Media,” 9-11 a.m., at La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. Sponsored by First American Insurance Agency Inc. Free for members, this workshop is designed to give small businesses and nonprofit organizations some simple ideas for growing their customer, prospect, or member network by using e-mail and social-media marketing. We will discuss what type of content to use in your campaigns; how to get more people to stop and read your messages; how to get more action, or reaction, to your messages and offers; why using images on social-media channels creates higher engagement; and why your content should be mobile-friendly. You’ll learn what it means to run effective e-mail and/or social-media marketing campaigns and what tools you can use to measure the success of your efforts without spending lots of time or money. Participants will leave with a workbook full of ideas for timing their messages, how to write a winning subject line, what kinds of offers or content they want to try, and how best to approach their next outreach project. This is a great workshop for beginners in online marketing looking to accomplish more in less time with a small budget.

• June 26: Member workshop, “E-mail Marketing for Success: Creating Effective Newsletters & Announcements,” 9-11 a.m., at La Quinta Inn & Suites, 100 Congress St., Springfield. Sponsored by First American Insurance Agency Inc. At the heart of small-business marketing are the campaigns that drive action — collections of marketing activities that help a small business or organization achieve its goals and objectives. Newsletters and announcements have become a core component of those campaign choices. E-mail is more important than ever to the communication efforts of businesses and nonprofits everywhere, and to customers, donors, clients, and supporters of those organizations. This session will reveal some simple but effective best practices and considerations for the small-business or nonprofit seeking to make their e-mail newsletters more effective. Attendees of this presentation will learn the different types of newsletters; what to write about in your newsletter or announcement and how to consider using images; subject-line best practices and when to send your newsletter; the importance of understanding how connected e-mail and social media are, and how they have to be done together; and what types of additional tools might be useful. Join us and learn some great new strategies to help your e-mail and social-media efforts be more effective components of one of the core campaign types, newsletters and announcements.

FRANKLIN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463

• June 6: First Friday in Greenfield, 5-8 p.m. “Gotta Bee Downtown!” — a bee celebration. Live music, discounts, refreshments, art. All are welcome for free. Contact the chamber for more information at (413) 773-5464; www.franklincc.org

• June 27: Annual Meeting and Legislative Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., at Terrazza Ristorante, Country Club Road, Greenfield. Elected state officials and chamber election of officers. Tickets: $13 for chamber members, $15 for non-members. Contact the chamber for more information at (413) 773-5464 or www.franklincc.org

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• June 12: Networking by Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7 p.m.,  North Country Landscapes and Garden Center, One Main Road (Route 66), Westhampton. Sponsored by Innovative Business Systems. Door prizes, hors d’ouevres, and host beer and wine. Tickets: $5 for members, $15 for future members.

• June 16: Move the Mountain Networking Event, 4:30-7 p.m., at Holyoke Country Club, Country Club Road (off Route 5), Holyoke. Join with Greater Easthampton and Greater Holyoke chamber members as we ‘move the mountain’ to network together. Presented by the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce. Door prizes, hors d’oeuvres, and cash bar. Cost: $10 for Greater Easthampton and Holyoke chamber members, $15 for non-members.

GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376

• May 19: 46th Annual Chamber Cup 2014 Golf Tournament, starting at 10:30 a.m. at Wyckoff Country Club, 233 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Registration and lunch at 10:30 a.m.; shotgun start at noon (scramble format); dinner following game with elaborate food stations catered by the Log Cabin.  Cost: $125 per player includes lunch, 18 holes of golf, cart, and dinner. Dinner only: $25. Winner awards, raffles, and cash prizes follow dinner. Tournament sponsors: the Log Cabin and PeoplesBank. Corporate sponsors: Dowd Insurance, Goss & McLain Insurance Agency, Holyoke Gas & Electric, Mountain View Landscapes, Holyoke Medical Center, People’s United Bank, and Resnic, Beauregard, Waite & Driscoll. For reservations, call the chamber Office at (413) 534-3376 or register online at holyokechamber.com.

• May 28: Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting, 5 p.m., at the Delaney House. Sponsored by the Greater Holyoke Chamber Corporate Leaders. The program will be followed by the presentation of the Fifield Award celebrating the volunteer of the year. Join elected officials as they award various proclamations to the esteemed recipient. Networking and cocktails begin at 5; business meeting and elections are at 5:30, followed by dinner at 6. The program will include the chamber’s plan for 2014-15, an overview of how the chamber is working for its members, and a salute to new members. Admission: $30 in advance, $40 at the door. The public is invited to attend.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

• May 19: Bitcoin Informational Seminar, 3-4 p.m., at the Forbes Library,  20 West St., Northampton. Sponsor: Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce. Special guest: Jesse Vanek. In this seminar, we will cut through the hype and examine basic Bitcoin concepts, including a review of arguments for and against this powerful, often misunderstood, and potentially disruptive new technology. Designed for those who wish to better understand the potential risks and rewards of using, investing in, and accepting Bitcoin as payment for goods and services, this class is intended to provide a sound introduction that enables participants to make informed decisions about Bitcoin, for the benefit of themselves and their businesses. The program is free, but pre-registration is required. To register, call (413) 584-1900 or e-mail [email protected].

• June 4: Arrive@ 5, 5-7 p.m., at Black Birch Vineyard. Sponsored by Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, the Creative, and viz-bang! Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. Register at [email protected].

• June 19: “The Art of Small Business: Pricing,” 9-10:30 a.m. Hosted and sponsored by the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Special guest: Don Lesser of Pioneer Training. Lesser has been a consultant and business owner for more than 30 years. His companies have grown and shrunk and grown again, and the nature of his business has changed over the years. “The Art of Small Business” contains the insights and techniques that have contributed to his success. Highlights: Apple never discounts. Clothing stores build in a series of discounts to the initial price. Consulting companies use various techniques to avoid quoting an hourly rate. Law firms typically quote an hourly rate and stick to it. How do you determine what rate you should charge for your time? Too high, and you scare clients away; too low, and your clients undervalue your work. There is an art to setting a price for your work. What is a livable rate for your work? What is the range of rates for your work in your market? How do you price a job, and how do you cover add-ons and other changes? Do you have separate rates for different types of clients? What about donating services? How do you negotiate rates with a potential client? This workshop covers the process of determining your rate and sticking to it. Cost: $20 for members, $25 for non-members.

NORTHAMPTON AREA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY
www.thenayp.com
(413) 584-1900

• June 12: Nonprofit Board Fair, 5 p.m. at the Smith College Conference Center, 51 College Lane, Northampton. Learn about, connect with, and help lead local nonprofits. Nonprofits count on volunteers like you to lead them to success. The United Way of Hampshire County and NAYP have once again partnered to host the Nonprofit Board Fair, a signature event featuring nonprofits throughout the Pioneer Valley whose leadership will be on hand to talk to interested candidates about serving on their organizations’ boards of directors. There will be a variety of organizations from large to small, representing a mix of essential services, including economic security, community building, children and education, the environment, health and disabilities, elder care, the arts, and advocacy and access. This event is ideal for younger professionals seeking this type of engagement for the first time, as well as seasoned professionals with prior board experience.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• May 19: “Prime Rib & Poker!” Annual Golf Tournament, at Shaker Farms Country Club. Registration is a 10 a.m., with a shotgun start at 11. Visit the chamber’s website’s for information on this annual event. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Call Pam at the chamber office for more information at (413) 568-1618.

• June 2: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m., at Baystate Dental, 29 Broad St., Westfield. Join Mayor Dan Knapik for an informal talk about Westfield. Free and open to the public, but call Pam at the chamber to register at (413) 568-1618.

• June 11: After 5 Connection, 5-7 p.m., at Westfield Bank, 462 College Highway, Southwick. Sponsored by Pro Tours & Cruises of Southwick. Great connection opportunities. Complimentary refreshments provided. Walk-ins are welcome. Cost:  $10 for members, $15 for non-members (cash at the door). To register. call Pam at the chamber at  (413) 568-1618.

• June 12: Chamber’s Spring Marketing Speaker Series 2, 8:30-11 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Topic: “E-mail Marketing for Success: Creating Effective Newsletters & Announcements.” Speaker:  Liz Provo, authorized local expert for Constant Contact. Cost: free to chamber members, $25 for non-members. For more information, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

• June 20: June Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Ranch Golf Club, 65 Sunnyside Road, Southwick. Sponsors: platinum, First Niagara; gold, United Bank; silver, United Way of Pioneer Valley. Speaker: Superintendent of Schools Dr. Suzanne Scallion. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. Consider donating a raffle prize. To register, call Pam at the chamber at (413) 568-1618.

• June 25: Chamber’s Spring Marketing Speaker Series 3, 8:30-11 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Topic: “You’re Social. Now What? Is It Working?” Speaker: Liz Provo, authorized local expert for Constant Contact. Cost: Free to chamber members, $25 for non-members. For more information, call Pam at the Chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

• June 27: Local Legislative Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Tekoa Country Club, 459 Russell Road, Westfield. The luncheon is for the chamber communities of Blandford, Chester, Granville, Huntington, Montgomery, Russell, Southwick, Tolland, Westfield, and Woronoco. The state legislators for each community have been invited to speak. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Cost: TBA. For more information, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618.

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310

• June 3: PWC Woman of the Year, 5:30 p.m., at the Castle of Knights, 1599 Memorial Dr., Chicopee. Honoring Carol Campbell, president, CEO, and founder of Chicopee Industrial Contractors. Reservations cost $55. Register online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

• June 10: PWC Ladies Night Member Reception, 5-7 p.m., at Fathers & Sons, 989 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. Enjoy complimentary wine and refreshments. Reservations are free. To register, e-mail Dawn Creighton at [email protected].

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

• May 21: Networking Lunch, noon to 1:30 p.m., Kaptain Jimmy’s in Agawam. You must be a member or guest of a member to attend. Enjoy a sit-down lunch while networking with fellow chamber members. Each attendee will get a chance to offer a brief sales pitch. The only cost to attend is the cost of your lunch. Attendees will order off the menu and pay separately the day of the event. Please note that we cannot invoice you for these events. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

• June 11: Wicked Wednesday, 3-6 p.m., at Six Flags New England. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events hosted by various businesses and restaurants. These events bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. For more information or for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

• June 19: Annual Breakfast Meeting, 7-9 a.m., at Chez Josef, Agawam. Sponsored by OMG and Development Associates. The event will kick off with the welcoming of new chairman John Weiss and the incoming WRC board of directors. Cost: $25 for chamber members, $30 for non-members. For more information and for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

• August 18: Annual Golf Tournament, at the Ranch Golf Course, Southwick. Registration is at 11:30 a.m., with lunch at noon and a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Cost: $125 for golf and dinner. For more information or for tickets, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

Look to the Future

By
Health Care Sections
Advanced Imaging Is Improving Disease Diagnosis and Treatment

Dr. Stephen O’Connor

Dr. Stephen O’Connor says there must be a “healthy balance between diagnosis with imaging and more traditional means of diagnosis — and it has to be driven by evidence-based medicine.”

When many women think about medical imaging, they think of the mammogram.
And that is rarely a pleasant experience, due in part to the painful squeezing of the breast tissue for an accurate scan, but also to the stress and anxiety of waiting for the outcome — a clear scan and clean bill of health, or an abnormal finding.
Abnormal can mean several things — cancer, a benign mass that requires more investigation, or a false-positive finding that may lead to unnecessary biopsy. Unfortunately, none come without a nerve-wracking delay.
However, advances in diagnostic imaging have dramatically changed how doctors and radiologists perform their jobs, and in the process, the experience for the patients being diagnosed and monitored for treatment has become faster, far more precise (which also means fewer false-positive scares), and, according to area imaging specialists, a bit less stressful.
“Until recently, the best mammogram was a digital mammogram, which was an improvement over the original film mammogram,” or X-ray, said Dr. Louis Pacilio, lead radiologist for mammography at Cooley Dickinson Hospital.
That was before the advent of the newest technology in mammography: breast tomosynthesis, or 3-D mammography, a benefit of last summer’s affiliation agreement between Cooley Dickinson Health Care and Massachusetts General Hospital and Partners HealthCare System.
The two-dimensional digital exam that Pacilio referred to has been performed at Cooley Dickinson since 2008, but there are limitations to 2-D mammograms that show the full thickness of the breast tissue projected as a flat image, which may result in cancers not being identified and the possibility of normal tissue appearing abnormal, leading to unnecessary and stressful recalls of patients for extra views, he said.
Approved by the FDA in 2011 and pioneered at Mass General, a 3-D mammogram enables the radiologist to examine the breast one layer at a time, a technique that allows overlapping structures from different layers in the breast to be separated and the tissues to be seen more clearly.
“We recognize that a mammogram is an innately stressful study for women, but I think it does lessen the stress for some, knowing that this is an advanced form of imaging,” noted Pacilio.
Advanced imaging has become a major tool in the identification and treatment of many diseases, and mammograms are just one method. Radiologists look for diseases in the human body mainly via three imaging technologies — X-rays (radiographs), CT (computed tomography), and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), said Dr. Stephen O’Connor, medical director of Quality in the Pediatric Radiology Department at Baystate Medical Center. Other methods include ultrasound (high-frequency sound waves) and nuclear medicine (planar or 2-D scans), which includes PET (positron emission tomography) scans.
“Based on clinical imaging, when we make a diagnosis of, say, appendicitis, we’re much more accurate than we used to be,” said O’Connor. “So there are fewer operations to see if someone has appendicitis, because our positivity rate is close to 95%.”
For this issue’s focus on the future of healthcare, BusinessWest spoke with several professionals who work with some of the most advanced forms of imaging technology about how their tools have become increasingly precise, and what that means for patients.

Film Reviews

Louis Pacilio

Louis Pacilio looks to a future where diagnostic testing involves no stressful false positives, but only detection of diseases that may grow and become life-threatening.

A day in O’Connor’s life is quite different now than 20 years ago.
“There were things I did as a radiology resident 10 times a day that we don’t do 10 times a year now,” O’Connor said, referring specifically to the IVP, or intravenous pyelogram, an X-ray test that uses a contrast material injected into a vein in a patient’s arm, which helps identify diseases of the urinary tract, such as kidney stones, tumors, or infection. “The advancements in technology over time have been improved speed, image quality, and — specifically with regard to CT scans since 2001 — a very aggressive campaign in the imaging field to drive the dose of radiation down while adding to image quality.”
But to understand how imaging has altered the diagnosis and treatment of disease, one must understand imaging modalities:
• According to radiologyinfo.org, a division of the Radiological Society of North America, the revolutionary progression of imaging began with Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, a German physicist credited with producing and detecting electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range in 1895, an innovation known today as X-rays. The painless process involves exposing a part of the body to a small dose of ionizing radiation to produce pictures of human or animal interiors.
It is the reduced use of radiation, while maintaining and even improving image quality, that O’Connor called one of the most active areas of advancement in imaging technology. Pacilio added that the new combination of 2-D and 3-D mammography involves a slightly higher radiation dose, but current research suggests the demonstrable benefits outweigh the small potential risks.
• Ultrasound is a painless and safe use of high-frequency sound waves, the same principle used in sonar technology in ships.  When a sound wave strikes an object, it echoes back — in real time — to reveal changes in appearance, size, or contour of organs, tissues, a fetus in utero, blood flowing through blood vessels, or abnormal masses.
Doppler ultrasound, noted O’Connor, is a special technique that can measure the direction and speed of blood cells as they move through vessels, and has replaced older, more invasive X-ray methods.
• MRI is a non-invasive method that uses a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses, and computer software to produce detailed pictures of organs, soft tissues, and bone.
• CT scan, also called a CAT scan, generates a 2-D image of a section through a 3-dimensional object. CT images provide greater detail than traditional X-rays, helping doctors interpret and diagnose problems such as cancers, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and more.
• PET scan is a type of nuclear medicine that uses small amounts of radioactive material (called a radiotracer) injected into the bloodstream, swallowed, or inhaled as a gas while the patient lies in a large machine with a doughnut shaped-hole in the middle (similar to a CT or MRI unit). Multiple rings of detectors scan and record the emission of energy from the radiotracer, producing a computer-aided image used to diagnose and determine the severity of many types of cancers, heart disease, neurological disorders, and other abnormalities. Some of the most promising research from PET technology, said O’Connor, involves myriad cancers and Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia.

Value Proposition
O’Connor told BusinessWest that the speed and accuracy of imaging has markedly improved in recent years, especially in emergency medicine. But, because of the cost, he said, “there’s got to be a healthy balance between diagnosis with imaging and more traditional means of diagnosis — and it has to be driven by evidence-based medicine.”
According to the Journal of the American Medical Assoc., evidence-based medicine integrates the best available evidence with clinical experience, allowing clinicians to recommend, and their patients to make, informed choices consistent with their values.
“Just because it’s a fancy new tool and it’s more expensive, should we be using it?” O’Connor asked. “The question is, are we adding value with the newer technology? Clearly, over time, CT scan has earned its spot.”
On the other hand, O’Connor is currently working in partnership with pediatric surgeons to develop an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) urology program, replacing IVP, but the cost effectiveness has not yet proven to be acceptable for the Baystate practice.
Imaging technology has seen its share of advancements, he continued, and part of what drives the adoption of new breakthroughs is the habits of other physicians.
The newer, more advanced machines that physicians have found worthy boast two highly sought-after factors: less radiation use and more accurate results.
One advance is the colonization of the radiation beam itself, which offers a more finite, less fuzzy beam with less scattering of radiation to other areas of the body. Another is radiation dose-monitoring software called iterative tracking, which permits high-quality image reconstruction that eliminates the graininess typically caused by a lower radiation flow.
O’Conner compared that to a picture taken in a room with low light that offers poor image contrast. The newer imaging software is able to increase the contrast to improve image quality for a more precise detection of disease.
In the diagnosis of osteoporosis — a bone disorder resulting in diminished bone strength that predisposes a patient to increased risk fracture — Lori Stoudenmire, a certified bone-density technician at Women’s Health Associates in Westfield, deploys one of the most advanced forms of bone densitometry imaging in the region, using a GE Lunar scanner with a software program called FRAX.
The computer algorithm, which stands for ‘fracture risk assessment index,’ analyzes a patient’s important historical variables — genetics, lifestyle, trauma — alongside a full-body bone scan to calculate the 10-year probability of hip fracture or major osteoporotic fracture of the spine, forearm, hip, or shoulder. Dr. Robert Wool, physician and owner of Women’s Health Associates, bases patient treatment on that scan.
“We used to treat solely on bone density, but we know that fracture risk is not based solely on bone density; there are lots of other factors,” said Stoudenmire. Capturing those other variables is what has made the advancement of FRAX so significant for bone-density imaging. Screening every two years allows for bone-loss comparisons, she added, and further developments are on the way.
“The programs, which are meant for more elder patients, are changing now to open up to men who are showing early signs of osteoporosis, or cancer patients who are maybe in their 30s who are on chemo, because that will affect your bones,” she noted, adding that oncologists can now monitor cancer patients and properly medicate them for severe bone loss.
Stoudenmire feels that the imaging is very clear with the GE Lunar, but she would like to see more advancements in FRAX — specifically, questions that go beyond history and involve more lifestyle elements, giving doctors even more information about true bone health as they craft an appropriate diagnosis.

Image Is Everything
In just the past few years, Pacilio has been pleased to see increased accuracy in diagnosis, in not only 3-D mammography, but advanced ultrasound and breast MRI. Yet, he looks to a future where testing for breast cancer, or any other disease, involves no stressful false positives, and advanced imaging can help him detect only diseases that threaten to grow and potentially become life-threatening.
Those advanced imaging modalities, including a hybrid imaging technique called image fusion; PET/CT, which is transforming cancer care; and PET/MRI, a potential advancement in oncology, cardiology, and neurology, are in various stages of research. Just two months ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a radiopharmaceutical for use with PET to image the brains of adults being evaluated for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
At this stage, many of the promising image-fusion modalities are exclusive to elite research facilities, but over time, they, too, will be adopted by regional health systems.
With every one of those advances, doctors will produce speedier, more precise, and often less stressful results — and patients will have a clearer picture of their path to good health.

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Chamber Corners: Upcomng Events

By
Chamber Corners Departments

ACCGS
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• Jan. 15: ACCGS After 5, 5-7 p.m., at the Melha Shrine Temple, 133 Longhill St., Springfield. Come clown around with us at this after-hours networking event, presented by Shriners Hospital for Children and sponsored by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with support from Berkshire Bank and the Springfield Falcons. Reservations are $5 for members, $10 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

• Jan. 28: ACCGS Pastries, Politics and Policy, 8-9 a.m., at the Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy, 1300 State St., Springfield. Join us for a roundtable discussion with Springfield Schools Superintendent Daniel Warwick. Cost is $15 for members, $25 for general admission, and includes continental breakfast. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at [email protected].

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700

• Jan. 15: Chamber Annual Meeting and Lunch, noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Lord Jeffery Inn. The chamber has a fantastic array of networking events lined up, but we need your ideas. The meeting will also feature the formal election of the 2014 chamber board of directors, including the installation of Lawrence Archey as board president for a second year. Sponsored by Amherst College, Hampshire College, and UMass Amherst. Tickets are $25 for members, $30 for guests.

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

• Jan. 15: January Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m. at Willits-Hallowell at Mt. Holyoke College. Tickets are $20 for members, $26 for non-members. Reservations may be made online at www.chicopeechamber.org.
• Jan. 22: January Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at the Collegian Court, 89 Park St., Chicopee. Tickets are $5 for members, $15 for non-members. Reservations may be made online at www.chicopeechamber.org.
• Feb. 19: February Salute Breakfast & Annual Meeting, 7:15-9 a.m., at the MassMutual Learning & Conference Center. Tickets are  $20 for members, $26 for non-members. Reservations may be made online at www.chicopeechamber.org.
• Feb. 26: February Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Elms College, 291 Springfield St., Chicopee. Tickets are $5 for members, $15 for non-members. Reservations may be made online at www.chicopeechamber.org.

FRANKLIN COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463

• Jan. 24: FCCC Breakfast Series, 7:30-9 a.m., at Greenfield Corporate Center,101 Munson St., Greenfield. Sponsored by Franklin County Home Care Corp. and Gilmore & Farrell Insurance. The speaker will be U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, who represents the 2nd Congressional District in Massachusetts, covering many Franklin County towns. Since his election in 1996, McGovern has been widely recognized as a tenacious advocate for his district, a tireless crusader for change, and an unrivaled supporter for social justice and fundamental human rights. Over the past 17 years, he has consistently delivered millions of dollars for jobs, vital local and regional projects, small businesses, public safety, regional and mass transportation projects, and affordable housing around Massachusetts. He has authored important legislation to increase Pell Grant funding to allow more students access to higher education, to provide funds to preserve open space in urban and suburban communities, and to give tax credits to employers who pay the salaries of their employees when they are called up to active duty in the Guard and Reserves. A strong proponent of healthcare reform, his legislative efforts included reducing the cost of home healthcare and giving patients the dignity to be cared for in their own homes with the help of medical professionals. Currently serving his ninth term, McGovern serves as the second-ranking Democrat on the House Rules Committee, which sets the terms for debate and amendments on most legislation, and is a member of the House Agriculture Committee. Cost: chamber members, $13 (prepaid or pay at door) or $14 (billed); non-members, $16. Reservations can be made online at www.franklincc.org or by calling (413) 773-5463.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• Jan. 23: Big Raffle Drawing, 6 p.m. Only 300 tickets are for sale each year. Grand prize, $5,000; second prize, $500;
third prize, $200; fourth prize, $100; fifth prize, $50. The drawing takes place at the annual dinner meeting on Jan. 23, and you do not need to be present to win. For more information or to enter, visit www.easthamptonchamber.org.

GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376

• Jan. 15: Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Homewood Suites, 375 Whitney Ave., Holyoke. Cost: $10 for members, $15 cash for non-members.
• Jan. 24: Legislative Coffee Hour, 7:45-9:15 a.m., at the Summit View Banquet and Meeting House, 500 Northampton St., Holyoke. The event will feature local legislators discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the Commonwealth, Holyoke, and local businesses in the months ahead. Cost: $26 for members, $35 for non-members, which includes a buffet breakfast.
• Jan. 30: Marketing Roundtable Workshop, 8:30-10 a.m. This unique roundtable event is designed to foster informative discussions among business owners and marketing professionals as well as brainstorm new ideas to help with revenue-producing initiatives. Cost: $10 for members, $20 for non-members. A continental breakfast is included in the price. Call (413) 534-3376 or visit holyokecham.com to register.
• Feb. 13: Chamber Table Top Workshop: “How to Get People’s Attention and Attract Them to Your Table,” 8:30-10:30 a.m., at the Chamber Conference Room. A no-nonsense informational session on how to set up your booth, how to add visual interest, and what to do to keep potential customers engaged. Cost: $10 for members.
• Feb. 19: Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m. at Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke. Cost: $10 for members, $15 cash for non-members.
• Feb. 26: Holyoke Chamber Economic Development Breakfast, 8-10 a.m., location to be announced. Hear about local projects and how they will affect businesses. Cost: $26 for members, $35 for non-members, which includes a buffet breakfast. Call (413) 543-3376 or visit holycham.com to register.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

• Jan. 28: Nonprofit Marketing Roundtable 2014 Workshop, 8-9:30 a.m., at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Presented by the Creative Marketing Group. Struggling to gain visibility with your target audience? Are your marketing materials producing tangible results? Are your best messaging ideas living only in your head? The  chamber has help on the way. Three women business owners — Janice Beetle, Ruth Griggs, and Maureen Scanlon of the Creative, a marketing and communications collaboration in Northampton — will lead a nonprofit Flash marketing workshop. They will meet with business owners, listen to your marketing and communications concerns, and help you brainstorm practical, professional solutions on the spot. Learn more about how to strategize, advertise, brand, and promote your business; reach the media; and maximize your message in person, in print, and online. The workshop is free, but pre-registration is required, and space is limited. To register, contact Jasmin Tomic at (413) 584-1900 or [email protected].

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• Jan. 13: Health Care Symposium, time to be announced, at the Dever Stage, Parenzo Hall, Westfield State University. Presenter: Lynn Nichols, president of the Mass. Hospital Assoc. Sponsored by Noble Hospital. For more information or to register, contact Pam at (413) 568-1618.

NORTHAMPTON AREA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY
www.thenayp.com
(413) 584-1900

• Feb. 13: February Networking Social, 5 p.m., at the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center.

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310

• Jan. 15: PWC Tabletop Business Expo/Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Carriage House, Storrowton Tavern, West Springfield. Showcase your product or service. For more information about the Professional Women’s Chamber, contact Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1310 or [email protected].

THREE RIVERS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.threeriverschamber.org
(413) 283-6425

• Feb. 3: Three Rivers Chamber of Commerce Monthly Meeting, 7-8 p.m., at the Three Rivers Chamber of Commerce, 2376 Main St., Three Rivers.

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
413-426-3880

• January: Coffee with Mayor Cohen, date, time, and location to be announced. Keep checking the website for updates, or email [email protected].
• Feb. 5: Wicked Wednesday, 5-7 p.m., at Crestview Country Club, Agawam. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events hosted by various businesses and restaurants. These events bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. Cost: free for chamber members, $10 for non-members. Event is open to the public; attendees must pay at the door if they’re non-members. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail [email protected].
• Feb. 26: West of the River Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast, 7-9 a.m., at the Storrowton Tavern Carriage House, West Springfield. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail [email protected].

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.springfieldyps.com

• Jan. 16: January Third Thursday YPS Open House, 5-7 p.m., at the Colony Club, 1500 Main St., Springfield. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to become more involved with the YPS. Complementary parking in the Tower Square garage with elevator access directly to the venue. YPS is a guest of the Colony Club for this event. We ask that you respect and follow their business-casual dress code; jeans will not be permitted. There will be a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres. Invite your friends and bring plenty of business cards. Cost: free for YPS members, $10 for non-members, which includes food and a cash bar.

Briefcase

By
Briefcase Departments

Baystate Health to Acquire Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers
PALMER — The boards of trustees of UMass Memorial Health Care (UMMHC), Baystate Health, and Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers have authorized the organizations to sign a letter of intent to transfer of ownership of Palmer-based Wing Memorial to Baystate Health. The potential transaction now enters a period of review and due diligence within the organizations and in partnership with the relevant regulatory and oversight bodies. This work is expected to occur over the next several months. In the meantime, it will be operations as usual at the two organizations and at Wing Memorial. This letter of intent builds on a long-existing relationship between the two not-for-profit health systems and is also a result of the closer collaboration that UMMHC and Baystate Health announced in September, when the two systems agreed to explore a number of possible opportunities with the intent of improving quality, access, and affordability of care. Thus far, those discussions have advanced in the areas of sharing best practices in quality and population health management and jointly applying for grant funding for public-health research. The two organizations continue discussing other opportunities, including shared training methodologies and better coordination of specialty services.
“Wing Memorial Hospital has a strong, historical place in the community it serves. Our dedicated staff and employees live and work in this community, and the high-quality care they provide has earned the trust and support of our neighbors and patients,” said Dr. Charles Cavagnaro III, president and CEO of Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers. “For us to potentially be part of a vibrant, local and regional health system closer to home that allows for improved access to and recruitment of specialists, access to capital investment, an accountable-care organization, and further supports for our patients and their families is a win-win. This continuum of care for our patients, which starts at our front door, is most importantly at the center of these discussions.” Added Mark Tolosky, president and CEO of Baystate Health,
“while we recognize that we are only at the beginning of a long and complex process, we are very excited at the prospect of welcoming Wing Memorial, its patients, and employees to the Baystate Health family. We at Baystate Health have a great deal in common with Wing Memorial: excellence in clinical care, common missions to improve health, well-established histories of caring for patients and our communities, and a strong shared geography.” Dr. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMMHC, called Wing a valued member of the UMass Memorial system since 1999. “This is a difficult decision, but it makes the most sense for the patients — who are at the heart of our decision — to become part of a regional academic healthcare system that will keep patients home, healthy, and free from needing to travel outside the area for advanced care. A potential transfer of ownership allows both of our healthcare systems to provide high-quality, safe, and affordable care, close to home.”
Neither UMass Memorial Health Care nor Baystate Health expect to change their academic affiliations as a result of the potential transfer of ownership, nor will the letter of intent limit the ability of either party to pursue other strategic opportunities.

Holyoke to Fund Facade Improvement
HOLYOKE — The City of Holyoke has awarded the Greater Holyoke Chamber Centennial Foundation $50,000 through the city’s Community Development Block Grant Program to reinstate the Facade Improvement Program (FIP), which was run by the chamber in past years. “As downtown Holyoke moves towards its revitalization, it is important to appropriately allocate funding for projects that send the message to business owners that our city is as invested in the success of their business as they are,” Mayor Alex Morse said. “This is an important program that I am excited to see return, and I am confident that these improvements will not only benefit business owners, but also the downtown community as a whole.” The funds are in the form of a grant that must be matched in equal amounts of the request up to $25,000. The Facade Improvement Program was designed to strengthen and enhance Holyoke’s business districts by restoring and improving existing facades. The FIP is administered by the Greater Holyoke Chamber Centennial Foundation with funding from the City of Holyoke Office for Community Development. It offers rebates to eligible property owners for up to 50% of the façade-improvement project cost. The minimum rebate is $2,500 for at least a $5,000 project, and the maximum rebate is $25,000 for at least a $50,000 project. “We are very excited to be able to offer this program to our downtown businesses in an effort to help them improve their facades and hopefully their business as well, said Kathleen Anderson, president of the Greater Holyoke Chamber Centennial Foundation. “We appreciate the award from the city in an effort to support downtown business. We have such beautiful architecture downtown, and this program will help to restore these buildings so that they can last for another 100 years.” Applicants should apply through the Greater Holyoke Chamber Centennial Foundation. Potential applicants may contact Kathleen Anderson at (413) 534-3376 to determine FIP eligibility and to request an application package. The funds are used strictly to renovate the front facade of a building.

State Awards $79 Million to Infrastructure Projects
BOSTON — In continuation of the Patrick administration’s efforts to stimulate job creation and support long-term economic growth, state Housing and Economic Development Secretary Greg Bialecki announced more than $79 million for 33 MassWorks Infrastructure Program grants to support development throughout the Commonwealth. “The MassWorks program is a key tool in  our growth strategy of investing in education, innovation, and infrastructure to create jobs and economic development,” said Gov. Deval Patrick. “By partnering with municipalities, these MassWorks projects will strengthen communities for generations to come.” Added Bialecki, “we remain committed to working with local communities to help identify opportunities to support growth and spur regional development. I look forward to our ongoing partnerships with municipalities across the state and private industry leaders to explore additional ways to promote continued growth in every region of the Commonwealth.” Through these grants, the state will partner with cities and towns to target investments in infrastructure such as roadways, streetscapes, water, and sewer to facilitate and support new and sustained housing and economic growth throughout Massachusetts. The 2013 application round generated 108 applications for more than $263 million in infrastructure requests. Of the 33 approved projects, 11 are in the four counties of Western Mass., including: Conway, downtown parking and safety improvements ($997,521); Deerfield, River Road roadway reconstruction ($952,463); Easthampton, Pleasant Street infrastructure improvements, phase 2 ($1.5 million); Hadley, Shattuck Road improvements ($61,815); Mount Washington, BashBish Falls Road project ($1 million); Pittsfield, streetscape improvements, phase 3 ($2 million); Savoy, Black Brook Road drainage improvements and road reconstruction ($997,112); Tolland, Route 57 improvements ($990,000); Wales, Union Road roadway and drainage improvements ($881,923); Warwick, Winchester Road paving ($495,000); and West Stockbridge, downtown improvements ($1 million). Administered by the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (HED), the MassWorks Infrastructure Program provides a one-stop shop for municipalities seeking funding to support housing, economic development, and job creation with a particular emphasis on assisting communities to advance multi-family housing development. Each year, the program allocates 10% of its funds to assist municipalities with populations of 7,000 or fewer complete roadway safety-improvement projects. For more information, visit www.mass.gov/eohed/massworks.

State’s Unemployment Surpasses National Rate
The Massachusetts unemployment rate in November surpassed the national rate for the first time in more than five years, suggesting weaker conditions in the Bay State even as the national economic recovery accelerates. The state unemployment rate was 6.4% in April, compared to 7.5% nationally. In November, the state rate was 7.1%, compared to 7% nationally, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. It was the first time since May 2007 that state unemployment exceeded the national rate. Economists said automatic federal budget cuts, known as sequestration, have taken a disproportionate toll on the state economy because of the high concentration of research institutions and defense contractors here that rely on federal grants and other funding. A recent report by the UMass Donahue Institute estimated that sequestration has cost the state about 14,000 real or expected jobs in roughly the past year. It also estimated that the cutbacks reduced the state’s economic output by $1.4 billion, resulting in a $63 million decrease in state tax revenues.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By
Chamber Corners Departments

AFFILIATED CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• Jan. 8: ACCGS Business@Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at Ludlow Country Club, 1 Tony Lema Drive, Ludlow. The program will be “Success of Small Business,” a moderated panel discussion. For more information, contact Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1310 or [email protected].
• Jan. 15: ACCGS After 5, 5-7 p.m., at the Melha Shrine Center, 133 Longhill St., Springfield. Come clown around with us! Cost: $5. For more information, contact Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1310 or [email protected].

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• Jan. 23: Big Raffle Drawing, 6 p.m. Only 300 tickets are for sale each year. Grand prize: $5,000; second prize: $500;
third prize, $200; fourth prize: $100, fifth prize: $50. The drawing takes place at the annual dinner meeting, Jan. 23, and you do not need to be present to win. For more information or to enter, visit www.easthamptonchamber.org.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

• Jan. 28: Nonprofit Marketing Roundtable 2014 Workshop, 8-9:30 a.m., at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Presented by the Creative Marketing Group. Struggling to gain visibility with your target audience? Are your marketing materials producing tangible results? Are your best messaging ideas living only in your head? The  chamber has help on the way. Three women business owners — Janice Beetle, Ruth Griggs, and Maureen Scanlon of the Creative, a marketing and communications collaboration in Northampton — will lead a nonprofit Flash marketing workshop. They will meet with business owners, listen to your marketing and communications concerns, and help you brainstorm practical, professional solutions on the spot. Learn more about how to strategize, advertise, brand, and promote your business; reach the media; and maximize your message in person, in print, and online. The workshop is free, but pre-registration is required, and space is limited. To register, contact Jasmin Tomic at (413) 584-1900 or [email protected].

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310

• Jan. 15: PWC Tabletop Business Expo/Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Carriage House, Storrowton Tavern, West Springfield. Showcase your product or service. For more information about the Professional Women’s Chamber, contact Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1310 or [email protected].

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• Jan. 8: January After 5 Connection, 5-7 p.m., at the Westwood Restaurant & Pub, 94 North Elm St., Westfield. Sponsored by Northpoint Mortgage. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members, cash at the door. Haven’t been to an After 5? Your first one is free. For more information or to register, contact Pam at (413) 568-1618.
• Jan. 13: Health Care Symposium (time to be announced), at the Dever Stage, Parenzo Hall, Westfield State University. Presenter: Lynn Nichols, president of the Mass. Hospital Assoc. Sponsored by Noble Hospital. For more information or to register, contact Pam at (413) 568-1618.

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
413-426-3880

• TBA: January Coffee with Mayor Cohen. Date and location to be announced. Keep checking website for updates, or e-mail [email protected].
• Feb. 5: Wicked Wednesday, 5-7 p.m., at Crestview Country Club, Agawam. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events hosted by various businesses and restaurants. These events bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. Cost: free for chamber members, $10 for non-members. (Event is open to the public; attendees must pay at the door if they’re non-members.) For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail [email protected].
• Feb. 26: West of the River Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast, 7-9 a.m., at the Storrowton Tavern Carriage House, West Springfield. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail [email protected].

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.springfieldyps.com

• Jan. 16: January Third Thursday YPS Open House, 5-7 p.m., at the Colony Club, 1500 Main St., Springfield. Don’t miss this upcoming Third Thursday and the unique opportunity to become more involved with the YPS. Complementary parking in the Tower Square garage with elevator access directly to the venue. YPS is a guest of the Colony Club for this event. We ask that you please respect and follow their business-casual dress code; jeans will not be permitted. There will be a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres. Invite your friends and bring plenty of business cards. Cost: free for YPS members, $10 for non-members, including food and a cash bar.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By
Chamber Corners Departments

AFFILIATED CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• Dec. 18: ERC5 Holiday Party, 5-8 p.m., at Spoleto, 84 Center Square, East Longmeadow. For more information, contact Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1310 or [email protected].
• Jan. 8: ACCGS Business@Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at Ludlow Country Club, 1 Tony Lema Drive, Ludlow. The program will be “Success of Small Business,” a moderated panel discussion. For more information, contact Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1310 or [email protected].
• Jan. 15: ACCGS After 5, 5-7 p.m., at the Melha Shrine Center, 133 Longhill St., Springfield. Come clown around with us! Cost: $5. For more information, contact Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1310 or [email protected].

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

• Dec. 18: December Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, 500 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Cost: $20 for members, $26 for non-members.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• Dec. 17: Holiday Dinner Dance, 6 p.m., at the Delaney House, Holyoke. Menu: maple glazed turkey, roast loin of pork, tenderloin of beef carving station, sesame seared tuna, Asian vegetable medley, and more; seafood station; chef-attended pasta station; lavish greens, vegetables, and fruit-salad station; butler-style hors d’oeuvres; Viennese dessert table; cash martini and full-service bars. Dance the night away with D.J. Fred from B & B Entertainment. Cost: $50 per person inclusive. Purchase a table of eight for the price of seven. To order tickets, e-mail [email protected], or call (413) 527-9414.
• Dec. 17: GRIST (Get Real Individual Support Today) Meeting, 9 a.m., at the chamber office, 33 Union St., Easthampton. Are you a business of one? Are you a small-business owner without your own marketing department? Do you ever wish you had someone to toss around some ideas with about growing your business? The GRIST group can help. It’s a new  hamber member benefit, an ongoing small group for folks who want to meet regularly to share ideas and get advice on the daily challenges of running a successful business. Like the saying ‘all is grist for the mill,’ we feel that any idea or word of advice that one business person can share with another is of potential value in helping each other’s business grow. This small group of 10 to 15 people is limited to chamber members and those interested in joining the chamber. We welcome interested guests to attend one meeting to see what the group is all about. GRIST meets the first and third Tuesday of each month from 9 to 10 a.m. at the chamber office. RSVP by the Monday preceding each meeting to Fran Fahey at [email protected] or Derek Allard at [email protected]. Call Fahey at (413) 529-1189 or Allard at (413) 282-9957 to find out more.
• Jan. 23: Big Raffle Drawing, 6 p.m. Only 300 tickets are for sale each year. Grand prize: $5,000; second prize: $500;
third prize, $200; fourth prize: $100, fifth prize: $50. The drawing takes place at the annual dinner meeting, Jan. 23, and you do not need to be present to win. For more information or to enter, visit www.easthamptonchamber.org.

GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376

• Dec. 18: Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at the Delaney House, One Country Club Road, Holyoke. Cost: $10 for members, $15 cash for non-members.

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

• Dec. 17: 2013 December Incite Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m. Incite Information presenting speaker: Kathleen McCarthy, Smith College President. Series sponsor: United Personnel. Admission: $20 for members, $30 for non-members.
• Jan. 28: Nonprofit Marketing Roundtable 2014 Workshop, 8-9:30 a.m., at the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Presented by the Creative Marketing Group. Struggling to gain visibility with your target audience? Are your marketing materials producing tangible results? Are your best messaging ideas living only in your head? The  chamber has help on the way. Three women business owners — Janice Beetle, Ruth Griggs, and Maureen Scanlon of the Creative, a marketing and communications collaboration in Northampton — will lead a nonprofit Flash marketing workshop. They will meet with business owners, listen to your marketing and communications concerns, and help you brainstorm practical, professional solutions on the spot. Learn more about how to strategize, advertise, brand, and promote your business; reach the media; and maximize your message in person, in print, and online. The workshop is free, but pre-registration is required, and space is limited. To register, contact Jasmin Tomic at (413) 584-1900 or [email protected].

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310

• Jan. 15: PWC Tabletop Business Expo/Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Carriage House, Storrowton Tavern, West Springfield. Showcase your product or service. For more information about the Professional Women’s Chamber, contact Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1310 or [email protected].

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• Jan. 8: January After 5 Connection, 5-7 p.m., at the Westwood Restaurant & Pub, 94 North Elm St., Westfield. Sponsored by Northpoint Mortgage. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members, cash at the door. Haven’t been to an After 5? Your first one is free. For more information or to register, contact Pam at (413) 568-1618.
• Jan. 13: Health Care Symposium (time to be announced), at the Dever Stage, Parenzo Hall, Westfield State University. Presenter: Lynn Nichols, president of the Mass. Hospital Assoc. Sponsored by Noble Hospital. For more information or to register, contact Pam at (413) 568-1618.

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
413-426-3880

• TBA: January Coffee with Mayor Cohen. Date and location to be announced. Keep checking website for updates, or e-mail [email protected].
• Feb. 5: Wicked Wednesday, 5-7 p.m., at Crestview Country Club, Agawam. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events hosted by various businesses and restaurants. These events bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. Cost: free for chamber members, $10 for non-members. (Event is open to the public; attendees must pay at the door if they’re non-members.) For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail [email protected].
• Feb. 26: West of the River Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast, 7-9 a.m., at the Storrowton Tavern Carriage House, West Springfield. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail [email protected].

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.springfieldyps.com

• Dec. 19: Third Thursday, 5-7 p.m., at the Springfield Museum of Science, 21 Edwards St., Springfield. Join us as we take our monthly Third Thursday Holiday Party to the Springfield Museum of Science and its Magic of Gingerbread Exhibit. You will enter a realm of fanciful gingerbread houses created by local bakeries, schools, youth groups, individuals, and families as part of an annual competition. Contestants were inspired by favorite holiday stories, historic places, and their own imaginations to create these marvelous gingerbread displays. Come take a stroll through this magical world filled with gingerbread houses, decorated holiday trees, and scenes inspired by the classic holiday tale A Christmas Carol. Light hors d’oeuvres and cash bar will be provided by Elegant Affairs. Cost: free for YPS members, $10 for non-members.
• Jan. 16: January Third Thursday YPS Open House, 5-7 p.m., at the Colony Club, 1500 Main St., Springfield. Don’t miss this upcoming Third Thursday and the unique opportunity to become more involved with the YPS. Complementary parking in the Tower Square garage with elevator access directly to the venue. YPS is a guest of the Colony Club for this event. We ask that you please respect and follow their business-casual dress code; jeans will not be permitted. There will be a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres. Invite your friends and bring plenty of business cards. Cost: free for YPS members, $10 for non-members, including food and a cash bar.

Briefcase

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Briefcase Departments

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.

Big Picture

By
Employment Sections
Training & Workforce Options Takes Region-wide View

Bob LePage

Bob LePage, executive director of Training & Workforce Options.

Bob LePage spends a lot of time talking to employers from many different sectors, from healthcare to hospitality; financial services to manufacturing. And they all have one thing in common — a need for quality workers.
He related a conversation he had with the head of an area manufacturing firm. “He said, ‘we have more work than we have capacity. And what’s the biggest capacity constriction? Lack of workers. If I could find them, I’d add a shift, I’d add another line. Our challenge is, we need more qualified workers, whether that’s taking assemblers and upscaling them to machinists or convincing young people that working in today’s manufacturing environment is not what your grandfather did.’”
One regional manufacturer, LePage added, is anticipating 300 to 400 retirements in the next five years. Simply put, “we can’t close the gap based on what’s coming out of high school.”
As the executive director of Training & Workforce Options (TWO), a partnership between Springfield Technical Community College and Holyoke Community College, LePage thinks about these issues all the time. The initiative was launched in 2011 to provide specialized contract training for a range of client businesses. But along the way, it has created sector-wide collaborations to help tackle workforce needs across entire industries.
“TWO grew out of a workforce assessment done by the two community colleges, which came together and decided there are a lot of opportunities to build collaboration between the two colleges, and opportunities for us to work collaboratively with the Regional Employment Board [REB]on supporting and building sector-based strategies.
“It’s come a long way,” he added. “We first had to develop staffing, planning, infrastructure, processes, procedures, how we’re going to do things.”
In the meantime, TWO has worked with the REB and others on developing workforce strategies on a sector-by-sector basis, he explained.
“If we use the example of healthcare, a year and a half ago, we started assessing what the medical coding needs were for the region,” LePage noted, because the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is replacing the current standard code sets in 2014, creating reimbursement challenges for providers.
Along with Kelly Aiken, the REB’s director of Health Care Initiatives, and about a dozen regional healthcare employers, LePage explained, TWO developed a partnership by which medical coding and billing students can transfer credits between colleges, and will also launch a training academy to help employers train their workers in the upcoming conversion.
“TWO came in and really provided the skill-assessment expertise we didn’t have before,” Aiken said, and not just in the coding realm, but in direct care as well. “Employers have said there’s either a mismatch between supply and demand, or the industry is changing so rapidly that we need to revisit and revamp career pathways. TWO has been instrumental in helping us collect data from employers and walk employers through the skill-assessment process so we can really understand where the gaps exist.
“I really look at them as a side-by-side partner,” she added, “to fill us in and help employers and training institutions figure out how to fill those gaps through regional and organizational strategies.”

Across the Board
Healthcare is just one of the many sectors TWO has a hand in, however. The partnership recently brought together a group of regional financial-services providers — banks, insurance companies, and others — to discuss workforce needs, and the end result is a new certification program to train people to fill financial call-center jobs.
“The first class of 17 students is going through an intensive training program and will hopefully be placed into jobs in January,” LePage said. “This was an industry-driven need.”
Returning to healthcare, yet another TWO initiative aims to help providers develop new systems to remove inefficiency and waste from healthcare — a major issue in these days of cost-cutting and accountable care. TWO has also worked with Wingate of Wilbraham, a skilled-nursing facility, by training workers in STCC’s simulation lab.

Kelley Tucky

Kelley Tucky says MGM Springfield is depending on regional job-training efforts to build a 3,000-strong workforce in the city.

“It’s a way to assess their hands-on skills, a new way of looking at competence and how students can practically apply their skills,” he said. “Wingate had some very specific things they wanted to partner with us to test.”
And in the manufacturing realm, “we recently partnered with the Westfield Chamber to host a manufacturing workforce forum. We had manufacturers at Savage Industries host 10 or 12 companies around the idea of developing new regional programs for machine operators. In most cases, they might need one programmer but six or 12 operators. Our goal is to develop a new training program to allow us to provide on-site operator training.”
When thinking about the number of precision machinists approaching retirement, LePage said, the challenge is to create large-scale programs to develop the next generation.
“We’ve worked with a number of individual organizations — we might work with them on a multi-year training program, help them do organizational assessment, skills assessment, build a training program with them, and help them capture state resources to enhance the performance of employees.”
Such investments pay off, he noted. “Every dollar invested in support of manufacturing yields $1.64 return on investment in the first year alone. Every time you support labor-pool investment, your community makes money.”
TWO has engaged in similar strategy-building initiatives with area hospitality employers. “We partnered with the [Greater Springfield] Convention & Visitors Bureau on a formal needs assessment. What are the workforce challenges for the hospitality industry? We’re now starting to put together strategies to support their emerging needs, both culinary and front of house.”

Upping the Ante
The hospitality industry is only one of many sectors acutely aware of the probability of MGM Resorts International building a casino in Springfield’s South End, now that the proposal is the only viable casino plan for Western Mass. being considered by the state Gaming Commission.
“It’s highly likely this region is going to have to navigate 3,000 to 4,000 new jobs in the next 24 to 36 months,” LePage said. “TWO has taken the lead in partnering with the Gaming Commission to develop a workforce strategy to support the casino industry.
“We know, for example, that, if you want to be a dealer or in gaming, you have to pass a very specific set of requirements, and if you can’t pass them, you can’t work in a casino,” he added. And those requirements, he noted, could pose difficulties.
Kelley Tucky, vice president of Community and Public Affairs for MGM Springfield, agrees, saying her team has been working closely with the Mass. Casino Career Training Institute — which oversees employee regulations, licensure, and training — to ease some of the obstacles to employment.
“We’ve made our position known that we see the current CORI and SORI background-check requirements to be somewhat restrictive,” she told BusinessWest. “For instance, if we have someone working in the warehouse with a history of bankruptcy, it matters very little to us. Certainly, in a position where data is being handled or where there’s tremendous responsibility with money handling, you want those individuals to be vetted thoroughly, but we’ve heard from the one-stop career centers, the Gaming Commission, and others that they see some roadblocks already.”
Meanwhile, MGM has developed ties with the career centers and TWO to develop strategies for recruitment and soft-skills training, from interview and résumé-writing skills to language barriers. “Those are very important for us,” Tucky said. “We’ve built our reputation on providing an exceptional level of customer service. We gauge that from the minute an individual walks in the door for an interview. The more the one-stops train their clientele in those skills, the more confident we are that we’ll find the talent we need.”
However, the casino challenge extends far beyond MGM’s needs, LePage noted, as businesses in a host of sectors anticipate losing many of their own workers to the casino — for example, a bank teller who might want to be trained as a dealer or money handler — and having to refill those positions.
“We’re very aware of what’s going to be happening with the gaming industry,” he said. “If we want to have 3,000 new jobs in the region, we don’t want to subtract 1,000 jobs from other employers just by moving from one place to another. We have to grow 3,000 new workers throughout the region, but we have to develop strategies to fill multiple sectors, so there’s very little ripple effect.”
Take healthcare CEOs, he added. “The concern for them is culinary. They service a large number of people each day with food. And they currently have challenges hiring people. Add another 150 to 200 culinary jobs in the region, and they might have a bigger challenge.”
Tucky sees that sort of movement as an overall plus for the job market and the economic vibrancy of the region.
“Churn is good in terms of changing jobs, changing opportunities. It’s a good thing because people are exposed to additional career options — for instance, veterans returning from active duty, even the semi-retired. We offer jobs across the spectrum, and if we can attract a bright personality and they have the basic skills for the job, we will train for everything else.
“People see this as economic development for the region,” she continued. “It’s all about economic revitalization, and we’ve done a really good job being transparent. We see the benefits for Springfield and the Western Mass. economy, and we feel it’s a win-win.”
LePage agrees — if there’s an effective strategy in place that benefits MGM without disadvantaging other employers. “With the entry of a large employer into the region, we’ve tried to build partnerships across the region. No one organization can solve these regional workforce challenges.”

Mind the Gap
Casino or not, those workforce challenges are persistent, and the term ‘skills gap’ is nothing new to Western Mass. employers.
LePage noted that only about 78 in 100 teens in Greater Springfield make it through high school, but even if the rate was 100%, “we wouldn’t come close to meeting our workforce needs.”
That’s why TWO is so important — not only because it brings together the two colleges’ strengths, such as HCC’s English as a Second Language program and STCC’s Adult Basic Education initiatives, but because the colleges are bringing so many other voices into the conversation.
“What you see with all this collaboration is that there’s very little ego,” LePage said. “It isn’t what the colleges want done, it’s what industries want done. We’re listening to industries and hearing what they need and how they need it, and then saying, ‘OK, what can we do to solve this problem?’ That is the key to all of it; it has to be industry-driven. If you try to force change on industry, that’s not going to work. You’ve got to let those guys tell you what they need, then do the best you can to fulfill those needs.”
Aiken believes the effort has begun to bear real fruit.
“We love the fact that the community colleges are collaborating together,” she said. “We at the REB are all about collaboration, and they are a model for how community colleges and other institutions can collaborate together.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

People on the Move

By
Jonathan Goldsmith, Esq
Departments People on the Move

Freedom Credit Union, which has nine branches throughout the Pioneer Valley, recently announced the following:

Patricia Carbee

Patricia Carbee

• Patricia Carbee, Freedom’s Assistant Vice President of Internal Auditing, has been promoted to Vice President and Director of Enterprise Risk Management. Carbee, with more than 33 years of experience in the finance industry, including expertise in regulatory auditing, compliance auditing, lending, and management, will manage risk management, guide the development of a risk-based culture throughout all product lines, and oversee the Compliance Department, loan-litigation matters, and business continuity. Most recently, she was an Auditor with New England Credit Union Services, LLC, a division of the Massachusetts Credit Union League. Carbee earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Nichols College. She is also member of the Assoc. of Credit Union Internal Auditors and the Mass. Bankers Internal Auditors Assoc.;
Jeffrey Smith

Jeffrey Smith

• Jeffrey Smith joined Freedom as Chief Lending Officer and will manage commercial, mortgage, and consumer lending activities. Smith has 30 years of lending experience in the financial-services industry and has held several senior management positions throughout his career, including his most recent position as Vice President at Florence Savings Bank. Smith earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine at Orono and his MBA in Finance from Western New England University. He is currently President of the Northampton Rotary Club and a member of the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley. Smith has also been an instructor for the Center for Financial Training since 1994, teaching courses on subjects such as real-estate finance, marketing, accounting, and analyzing financial statements; and
Nora Braska

Nora Braska

• Nora Braska was named Freedom’s Training and Development Officer. She is responsible for managing employee training of Freedom’s staff and overseeing their professional development. Braska has more than 20 years of experience in the financial-services industry, including her most recent position as Assistant Vice President and Training Officer at Hampden Bank. She is a board member of the Center for Financial Training – Springfield Regional Council, and is a member of the Professional Women’s Chamber of Western Mass.
•••••



Jonathan Goldsmith, Esq

Jonathan Goldsmith, Esq

Jonathan Goldsmith, Esq., a partner in the Springfield-based law firm Goldsmith, Katz & Argenio, P.C., was selected as the first recipient of the Massachusetts Bankruptcy Court Pro Bono Award for Western Mass. Goldsmith received the recognition from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts. Goldsmith was presented the award by at a special reception held at the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston on Oct. 23. The program honors those in the legal professions who have improved the availability of and delivered volunteer legal services in Massachusetts, and recognizes those who have served their local communities as well as assisted in the administration of justice in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. For more than 25 years, Goldsmith, a specialist in bankruptcy and commercial law, has represented debtors, secured and unsecured creditors, trustees, financial institutions, and creditors’ committees. Goldsmith received his bachelor’s degree from Boston College and his juris doctor degree from Western New England University School of Law.
•••••
Jewish Geriatric Services (JGS), a healthcare system serving seniors and their families for more than 100 years, recently announced the following:
• Alta Stark has been named Director of Marketing & Public Relations and is responsible for ongoing marketing, public relations, and corporate communications for JGS and its affiliates. Stark comes to JGS from Baystate Health, where she spent more than six years as a senior communications specialist. Stark holds a master’s degree in Television, Radio & Film from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and graduated from SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts with a bachelor’s degree in Advertising Design.
• Darlene Francis has been named Executive Vice President of Wernick Adult Day Health Care Center, located on the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Campus of JGS. Francis is responsible for directing, supervising, and coordinating daily activities for participants at Wernick. Most recently, Francis was the practice manager of the JGS Family Medical Practice, which closed in June 2013. Francis received an associate’s degree in Medical Assisting from Springfield Technical Community College, and is certified by the AAMA. She also holds a bachelor of science degree in Business Administration from American International College, where she earned the Martha Wilson Memorial Award.
•••••
Jonathan Goldsmith, Esq

Jonathan Goldsmith, Esq

Amy B. Royal, Esq., Founding Partner of Royal LLP, the woman-owned, boutique, management-side labor and employment law firm, has been elected to serve as the Vice Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Center for Human Development Inc.
•••••
TD Bank has promoted Lauren Winters to Store Manager of the 412 Boston Road store location. Winters is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing day-to-day operations. Winters has six years in banking centered on the customer experience, operations, and training. She joined TD Bank in 2011 and most recently served as an Assistant Store Manager in Chicopee.

Briefcase

By
Briefcase Departments

Baystate, UMass Memorial Sign Agreement to Explore Partnerships
SPRINGFIELD and WORCESTER — Baystate Health and UMass Memorial Health Care have signed a non-binding letter of intent to explore new collaborative opportunities between the two not-for-profit health systems. As national healthcare reform has brought an urgent imperative to transform the delivery and financing of healthcare, health systems and hospitals across the country are collaborating in innovative ways, finding new efficiencies and better care solutions by sharing clinical experience and intellectual resources. Baystate Health and UMass Memorial Health Care have much in common. Each has a mission of improving the quality, accessibility, and affordability of healthcare for patients and families in its community. The two organizations share many other characteristics: both serve communities with significant health needs and significant socioeconomic challenges underlying those needs. Both organizations have integrated systems of care including medical practices, community hospitals, and a major academic medical center. Both organizations receive national recognition not only for the quality of the care they provide, but also for their commitment to their communities. The new agreement builds on a long-existing relationship, as Baystate Health and UMass Memorial Health Care have a long history of mutual support on a number of efforts, including collaborations in pharmacy; healthcare quality, clinical practice, and policy; and infusion medicine. Each recognizes that they can learn even more from one another, work together more closely, and in doing so be more effective and efficient in keeping area communities healthy, rather than focusing mainly on treating disease or illness. Neither organization’s ownership, structure, governance, academic relationships and affiliations, or medical staffs will be affected by the letter of intent or any potential strategic collaboration, nor will they limit the ability of either party to pursue other strategic opportunities.

Leadership Pioneer Valley Announces Class of 2014
HOLYOKE — Leadership Pioneer Valley (LPV) officially kicked off the class of 39 emerging and established regional leaders at its recent Reach Beyond Opening Reception at Wistariahurst. The culturally and geographically diverse class of men and women from nonprofit, private, educational, and public organizations from Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties filled the reception with energy, enthusiasm, and commitment to the future of the Pioneer Valley. Leadership Pioneer Valley is addressing the critical need to build a diverse network of leaders who aspire to work together across traditional barriers to strengthen the region. The members of the new class will take part in a 10-month program of experiential learning that will take place at locations across the Valley. The experiential curriculum is specifically designed to help the participants refine their leadership skills, broaden connections, and develop a greater commitment to community trusteeship and cultural competency. The class of 2014 includes: Sherill Acevedo, Baystate Medical Practices; Jasmine Amegan, Westfield State University; Kerri Bohonowicz, Community Health Center of Franklin County; Amy Britt, Tapestry Health; Ronda Carter, Health New England; Christina Casiello, MassMutual; Jenny Catuogno, Gadreau Insurance; Tammy-Lynn Chace, Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce; Eliza Crescintini, Children’s Study Home;

Geoffrey Croteau, MassMutual Charter Oak Insurance & Financial Services; Cheryl Dukes, Town of Buckland; Nasheika Durham, YMCA of Greater Springfield; Andrew Fletcher, Holyoke Community College;

Kelsey Flynn, MassMutual; Valerie Francis, Health New England; Meghan Godorov, Mount Holyoke College;

Cynthia Gonzalez, Greenfield Cooperative Bank;

Richard Griffin, City of Springfield; Rachel Jones, Springfield Technical Community College; Kevin Jourdain, Sisters of Providence Health System; Diane LeBeau, Westfield State University; Yamilette Madho, Big Y Foods Inc.; Matthew Kullberg, WGBY;
Rosemarie Marks-Paige, Health New England; L.A. McCrae, Three Sisters Consulting; Monique Meadows, self-employed; Josiah Neiderbach, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission; Lizzy Ortiz, City of Springfield Office of Housing; Beena Pandit, MassMutual; Laura Porter, Holyoke Health Center; Lee Pouliot, City of Chicopee; Jennifer Sanchez, Springfield Technical Community College; Isabel Serrazina, Springfield Housing Authority;

Nicole Skelly, United Bank;

Kyle Sullivan, John Glover Insurance; Colin Tansey, Specialty Bolt & Screw; Todd Weir, First Churches of Northampton; Christopher Whelan, Florence Savings Bank; and Jonencia Wood, Baystate Health.

Grant Helps Jobs Program Expand Opportunities
SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey recently announced that the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development has landed $11.67 million from the U.S. Department of Labor to boost employment opportunities and reduce recidivism for young men leaving the state’s juvenile justice system. The grant, awarded to the Massachusetts-based Roca program, aims to provide education and pre-vocational training to young people in the justice system to make them more employable and keep them from returning, as 67.5% do within six years of being released from custody. Warren and Markey said in a statement that the grant will aid the 535 young men between the ages of 16 and 22 in Springfield and Chelsea working on exiting the juvenile justice system by way of Roca. The program began in Eastern Mass. in 1988 and was brought to Springfield in 2010 thanks to a push by longtime Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe. As of July, the Springfield division of Roca had 85 participants, all high-school dropouts, whose past troubles with the law make it difficult if not impossible to get work. Program administrators say it costs $24,500 a year to put a young person through the Roca program, which includes their pay, although most payroll is paid directly by a participant’s employer. In contrast, it can cost more than $50,000 annually to imprison a person. “This grant is exciting news for Massachusetts. It will help strengthen the Commonwealth’s juvenile justice system by helping young men at risk for reincarceration build the skills they need to succeed,” Warren said in a statement. “This program is a great example of how the federal government can use innovative public-private partnerships to support critical social services in our communities.” Added Markey, “these funds will help keep young men and women in the workforce, out of detention facilities, and on a path towards success. If we can cut costs to society as we help form better members of society, that is an effort worth all of our support.”

Patrick Administration Announces 56 Grants for Massachusetts Farms
EAST TAUNTON — Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rick Sullivan recently awarded 56 grants to Massachusetts farmers to implement renewable-energy systems, improve energy efficiency on farms, and help farmers reduce or prevent negative impacts to natural resources from agricultural practices. “We are proud to support our local farmers in their efforts to ensure a sustainable future for their farms,” Sullivan said. “With each grant, we are creating opportunity for agriculture to stay rooted and grow in our communities. The Patrick administration is committed to reducing energy costs and improve efficiency, and we’re thankful to the Commonwealth’s farmers who are partnering with us in our progress toward a clean energy future.” Twenty-three grants from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ (DAR) Agricultural Energy Grant Program will fund projects to reduce energy consumption and increase renewable energy use at Massachusetts farms. The projects include photovoltaic systems for vegetable and orchard operations, variable-speed vacuum pumps for dairies, reverse-osmosis machines for maple-syrup operations, and shade screens for greenhouses. Thirty-three grants from DAR’s Agricultural Environmental Enhancement Program will fund projects like automated irrigations systems for cranberry operations, milkhouse wastewater treatment, manure storage areas, fencing, and pesticide storage. “These grant programs help farmers protect the state’s natural resources as well as our strong tradition of local agriculture,” said DAR Commissioner Greg Watson. “Implementing environmentally responsible and energy-efficient practices are imperative for farms across to the Commonwealth to remain family-owned resources for fresh, healthy, and delicious food.” Added Mark Silvia, Department of Energy Resources commissioner, “to achieve the Patrick administration’s ambitious goals for Massachusetts’ energy future, we must support clean-energy practices and reduced energy consumption in every sector of the Commonwealth. These grants will help Massachusetts farmers conserve energy and help their bottom line.” State Sen. Marc Pacheco, Senate chairman of the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture, said he is “pleased to see the Commonwealth invest in projects that are positive for the local agricultural community and for our energy-efficiency efforts overall. These grants are a testament to the leadership that has earned Massachusetts its distinction as number-one in the country for energy efficiency.” Added state Rep. Anne Gobi, the committee’s House chair, “These grants are important to the viability of farming and agriculture in our Commonwealth and are just one more example of the continued commitment to Massachusetts farmers.”

Community Colleges Win Grant Funding
BOSTON — Springfield Technical Community College has received a $122,099 state grant to develop strategies for improving the academic performance of Hispanic students, while community colleges in Greenfield, Holyoke, and Pittsfield will share in a $239,334 grant to improve learning in science, technology and math. The money for the two-year Springfield college was among $7.5 million in competitive grants awarded by the state Department of Higher Education to encourage innovation and improve graduation rates and other aspects of student performance at the state’s 29 community colleges and universities. The $122,099 grant, which will be spread over three years, will allow for the hiring of a project coordinator and a part-time English- and Spanish-speaking academic adviser. The grant program calls for creation of focus groups as part of an in-depth study of Latino students to identify how current initiatives can be revised or new ones put into effect to ensure Latino academic success, especially among Latino males. The $239,334 grant to be shared among Berkshire Community College, Greenfield Community College, Holyoke Community College, and the four-year Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, calls for the colleges to work with regional schools to improve interest in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Access to Opportunity

By
Employment Sections
Website Offers Information on Healthcare Careers in Western Mass.

Peta Gaye Portee

Peta Gaye Portee says www.westernmasshealthcareers.org is updated frequently, making it an invaluable resource for people accessing the healthcare job market.

When most students think about jobs in the healthcare industry, they imagine working in a hospital.
But the reality is that only 30% of healthcare employees in Western Mass work in a hospital setting. The rest are working in the community — in nursing homes, doctor’s offices, diagnostic labs, home-care businesses, or ambulatory healthcare services.
“Most students can only name about five healthcare careers — there are a lot of positions they aren’t even aware of,” said Kimberly Slepchuk, academic and career advisor for the Foundations of Health program at Holyoke Community College, as she listed jobs that range from medical assistants in doctors’ offices to pharmacy technicians and sales representatives who specialize in medical equipment and supplies.
“And although many people cite nursing as a career, there are 110 different types of nurses, which range from camp and school nurses to neonatal nurses, which is why it’s really important to delve into the possibilities,” Slepchuk added. “Most of these jobs came about after World War II and are team-oriented. For example, surgical technologists assist in the operating room, and one of the newest jobs is a sterile processing technician.”
And opportunities continue to grow. In 2008, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that by 2018 there would be 3.2 million new wage and salary jobs in the healthcare field — more than any other industry.
It’s possible for people interested in a career change to discover these positions by perusing national websites, but there has always been a missing link, as these sites don’t provide information about the local job market in Western Mass. — what types of jobs exist and how much the average person here is paid. They also fail to provide a listing of local schools with programs that lead to specific healthcare careers.
But, thanks to a newly launched website, www.westernmasshealthcareers.org, all that has changed.
“The new website is very, very helpful and important, because while students could get data about jobs in Massachusetts before, there is a huge difference between what is available in the eastern part of the state and here in Western Mass. in terms of jobs and salaries,” Slepchuk said.

Supply and Demand
The website was developed as a result of a collaborative effort. It is an initiative of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County (REB), which teamed up with members of the Healthcare Workforce Partnership of Western Mass., with the goal of strengthening the region’s healthcare workforce and enhancing the quality of patient care.
“The idea for the website was generated by employers, educators, and community-based organizations with the express desire of letting people know what types of healthcare jobs and careers are available in the Pioneer Valley and where they exist on the continuum of care,” said Kelly Aiken, director of Health Care Initiatives for the REB. “Employers want people to know what kinds of skills they are looking for as well as the places where people receive healthcare. The website tells them about the positions that exist in different types of job settings, as well as the education and training needed for a wide variety of occupations.”
She added that it’s important for people to be aware of the rapid changes occurring in the healthcare field and the requirements needed to enter or stay current in different jobs. “For example, the language in medical coding is changing, and people who are interested in moving from a job as a medical biller to a medical coder need to know this.”
In addition, having a regional resource helps parents, career advisors, and people interested in making a career change determine whether investing in education for a specific position is worthwhile.
“The idea is to provide people with a regional resource about our community; there are jobs that exist across the continuum, and we want people to know what is going on here,” Aiken said. “It’s especially important because there are jobs going unfilled because employers can’t find qualified job seekers. Our employers have told us this time and time again.”

Kelly Aiken

Kelly Aiken says jobs are going unfilled because employers can’t find qualified workers, and the new website will provide the kind of information needed to close that gap.

The website reflects an extraordinary amount of research.
“We hired Six-Point Creative Works in Springfield, and they interviewed myriad people in one-on-one sessions to find out what they were looking for,” Aiken said, adding that the interviewees ranged from high-school students to immigrants who had worked in healthcare in their countries and wanted to get back into the field, to adults looking to make career changes.
“Employers were also engaged in the website’s development,” she continued. “It was a very collaborative effort, and our partners have been very involved.”
The final result is a site that contains detailed information in sections that include ‘local careers,’ ‘career planning,’ ‘education and training,’ ‘news,’ and ‘partnerships.’
For example, a click on the button labeled ‘local careers’ gives people a choice of then clicking on more specific fields, including medical and dental, office and research, lab work and imaging, therapy and pharmacy, vision, speech, hearing, and diet.
Slepchuk said these groupings make it easy for people to learn about occupations available locally that match their interests, along with what the work involves and the time and/or money and education required for the positions.
A click on ‘medical, dental, and nursing careers’ shows that the highest rate of job growth is in home healthcare, that many of these positions involve working with the elderly, and as this population grows, medical, dental, and nursing professionals will need to understand the basics of geriatric care. It also highlights a growing focus on preventive and primary care and a move toward more patient-centered care.
Visitors also learn that strong science, math, and technology skills are needed to work in this career cluster and that it is becoming increasingly important for people in these positions to be able to relate to people of different cultures.
Aiken says this information is critical for students and job seekers.
“In addition, employers are telling us that they expect applicants to show a degree of professionalism,” she added. “Healthcare is all about customer service, compassion, and professionalism.”
The website also contains links to employer listings. “The idea is not to replicate resources, but to help people access career-planning tools,” Aiken said.
There are also ideas and information about how to finance education and where programs are offered.
“We just updated the medical-coding page to reflect current standards, and we also updated the medical-billing section to let people know about a new program being offered at Holyoke Community College,” said Peta Gaye Portee, program coordinator for the Healthcare Initiative Workforce program. “There is also information about foundation grants, state grants, Pell grants, and scholarships.”
Meanwhile, the news section keeps viewers up to date with breaking developments, such as a new partnership between Greenfield Community College and Endicott College, which will allow nurses with an associate’s degree to earn their bachelor’s degree without leaving Greenfield, as well as a new public health degree program being offered at American International College in Springfield.
There is also a ‘fast facts’ section, which Slepchuk says students find useful. For example, it states that there is a need for sterile-processing technicians and surgical technologists in this area.
Another facet of the website contains links to nationally recognized assessment tools and tests that people can take if they are exploring the idea of a career in healthcare.

Future Outlook
Aiken reiterated that the purpose of the new website is to introduce people to the types of jobs that exist, which ones are going unfilled in the area, and the training and education that local employers expect job applicants to have.
“People need to realize that healthcare is a 24/7 industry and understand the realities of jobs in the field,” she told BusinessWest, adding that logging on to www.westernmasshealthcare.org will give people a “flavor of what is going on in the region.”
Which is good news for anyone who wants to keep up with occupations, salaries, training, scholarships, and other opportunities in healthcare throughout the region.

The Lifestyle Business

By
Sections The Business of Aging
Footit Health Care Store Offers Products to Enhance People’s Lives

Marc and Kathleen Lucas

Marc and Kathleen Lucas say the name they gave their business years ago — Footit Health Care Store — speaks volumes about its product lines and overall mission.

When Footit Surgical Supplies Inc. opened in 1953, medical equipment was in its infancy and people had to use their own money to pay for things like wheelchairs and walkers.
“Medicare didn’t exist, and most people didn’t live long enough to need a lot of the things available today, so there weren’t many choices,” said Marc Lucas, who, with his wife, Kathleen Lucas, bought the business from Wallace P. Footit in 1991.
But over the next few decades, sweeping changes in medicine, insurance, and other sectors extended life expectancy and created a new focus on health, wellness, and staying active, which led to a remarkable array of new products.
In 1991, the Lucases changed the name of their business to Footit Health Care Store, which reflects the wide variety of products and services offered in the 4,000 square foot facility in West Springfield.
In addition to walkers, canes, wheelchairs, scooters, incontinence products, and items to help people who are aging, have a disability, or have had surgery, the store is filled with ingenious products to make life easier and more enjoyable. They range from orthopedic bed pillows to waterproof cast covers that allow children or adults with broken limbs to go swimming and/or bathe with ease; from diffusers for people who love the smell of burning candles but don’t want the smoke, to clothing in hard-to-find sizes, such as bras with cup sizes up to J and shoes of all types, including dress and athletic styles in widths up to 6E.
In addition, there are bath products, salves for dry skin, and a custom car seat cushion for people with bad backs. The rear portion is bent to match the shape of a person’s lumbar spine, and Footit allows customers to borrow one at no charge before they purchase the product.
The company has always kept pace with new developments in health care. It was the first in the area to carry lamps that emit a special type of light to help with seasonal affective disorder (commonly known as SAD), which can make people tired and depressed during the winter due to lack of sunlight.
“Years ago, a few psychologists sent people to our store for the lamps. We looked into it and got one that people could rent,” said Kathleen, adding that, although the lamps come in a variety of styles today, a decade ago they were very large and unattractive.
Other products are versatile, such as a no-rinse shampoo that can be applied directly to the hair, then towel dried after being rubbed in. “It comes in a bottle or inside a shower cap. You put the cap on, massage the head, then remove it, comb, and style your hair,” Kathleen said. “Our products include a toilet seat that heats up, washes you with warm water, and blows you dry with the touch of a button.”

Growing Demand
Marc said people are living longer and healthier lives than they did in the past. “They want to maintain their lifestyles and remain in their homes as long as possible rather than going into nursing homes,” he told BusinessWest.
In most cases, that means they and/or their caretakers need to purchase equipment to make it possible for them to remain independent. Although they may have to pay for it themselves, Marc said it is cost-effective, because assisted-living facilities typically cost between $2,500 and $5,000 a month, and nursing homes cost about $10,000 a month.
Kathleen’s 93-year-old mother lives with the couple, and they have installed a stairway elevator in their home and have a lift chair that can raise someone from a sitting to standing position, along with other aids, such as several types of walkers.
But Kathleen said the most immediate need people must deal with is making their bathroom accessible, which can be done with equipment such as a shower chair, raised toilet seat, or removable shower grip bar that adheres to vinyl or tile walls via suction.
Scooters and travel chairs, which are a lightweight version of a wheelchair, also allow people to remain active in the community.
“Trends are changing, and our product selection mirrors this,” Kathleen said, as she showed off a 19-pound travel-style wheelchair that is easy to lift in and out of a car. “In the past, people with mobility issues stayed home, but now they want to get out and live normally.”
Other products that make it possible are lazy-susan-style car seats that swivel, and an adaptive device that helps people with arthritis to open a car door. In fact, there is a plethora of seemingly unlimited choices and styles of medical equipment. “We carry about 125 different canes,” said Kathleen, offering just one example. “Some people want ones that are pretty, while others want canes that can fold and fit into their purse.”
Footit also carries clothing for women who have had mastectomies, which includes bras, camisoles, and bathing suits. “There has been a lot of change in mastectomy products since we opened,” she said. “Back then, prostheses were very heavy and didn’t feel natural, and insurance only allowed women two bras a year to hold them. Now many insurance companies will pay for three bras every six months, and some of them are gorgeous. We also do bra fitting for people who want to be more comfortable.”
Footit has a shoe department, and although the styles are limited, there is footwear for people with diabetes and shoes for people with wide feet. “As people get older, their feet get wider, and having the right shoes is important because they want to keep moving,” said Marc, who is a certified orthotist.
But their most popular product is compression stockings for men and women. “When we first opened, the ones for women looked like granny stockings. But today they are sheer and come in a wide variety of colors and patterns,” Marc said.
However, it’s not just the products they carry that have made them successful. It’s the personal service they provide and their attention to detail. “We have always made sure that everyone knows exactly what will be covered by insurance,” Marc said.

Gradual Shift
Footit’s foray into the field of healthcare products began when he was a college student. He was working part-time as a delivery boy for Springfield Medical Supply, and when it announced it was closing, he borrowed $350, bought the store’s inventory, and became an entrepreneur.
“He sold his products to doctors,” Kathleen said. “He went door to door and supplied them with unusual items, such as corset-style back braces for women and trusses for men with hernias.”
She added that Footit was imaginative and willing to try new products, and it quickly developed a following. “Wally knew everyone in the area who was in the medical field, and found a need for things that other people might have missed.”
Marc agreed, adding that, when local doctors retired, Footit bought their medical equipment, then resold it to other physicians. “Wally was innovative in the way he approached business,” he said.
A decade after Footit opened his business, hospital stays became shorter, and a national trend toward home-based recovery began. So he continued to expand his inventory, and in 1963 opened a retail store at the ‘X’ in Springfield’s Forest Park. “He had grown up in the neighborhood, and the X was the place to shop at that time,” Kathleen said.
As demand for healthcare products grew, Footit’s business became important to the area. “If people had surgery and needed a walker, back brace, compression stockings, ostomy supplies, or products for their feet like moleskin or an arch support, they had to go to a medical-supply store to get it, and Wally’s compassion, sense of humor, and longtime relationships with area medical professionals made Footit Surgical Supplies a favorite for local doctors who prescribed products for their patients,” Kathleen said. “His advertising slogan was ‘your doctor knows us,’ because they truly did.”
When the owner of Vernon Medical Supply in Springfield retired, Footit purchased that business, which allowed him to add a new product line to his inventory. “It was located on Vernon Street, which is now Boland Way, and the company dated back to the turn of the century,” Kathleen said. “They made orthotics, prostheses, artificial legs, braces, and trusses. Wally moved their equipment, but continued the operation.”
Footit was dedicated to his customers, and after Marc and Kathleen purchased the business in September 1991, he did all he could to help them become successful, including working at the store for a month. They also found allies in loyal medical-supply salespeople who told them which products to buy. In addition, a salesman urged Marc to become certified in orthotics long before insurance companies required it for third-party payments.
The couple made some changes, and in 1994, when the need for more space and parking became apparent, they moved Footit Health Care Store to Memorial Avenue in West Springfield, where they are located today.
Marc and Kathleen are proud of the service they provide and the number of products they carry, which appeal to a wide range of people.
“In the past, people only came to us because they needed something after surgery,” Marc said. “Now, they come because they want a healthy lifestyle.”
Kathleen agreed, but insisted that their mission remains unchanged. “We take great pride in being a leader in the community and helping to restore dignity and independence to people. Footit has solved problems since 1953, and we want to be here for another 60 years,” she said. “We also want to educate the community about products that are available to enhance their lives. It’s all part of what we do.”

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By
Chamber Corners Departments
ACCGS

www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• Sept. 4: Business@Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Sheraton Springfield. Charles Schewe, Ph.D., professor of Marketing at the UMass Isenberg School of Management, will present “The Millennials are Coming! Can You Hear the Flapping of Their Flip-Flops?” Some label them narcissistic, ungrateful, and entitled, while others note them as tech-savvy, family-centric and achievement-oriented. No matter the label, the Millennial, also known as Generation Y, worker is the fastest-growing segment of today’s workforce. By 2025, they will make up 75% of the world’s workforce.As businesses compete for available talent, employers cannot ignore the needs, wants, and attitudes of these young professionals, and bridging the generational gap is critical to running an effective organization.Schewe will take attendees on an entertaining journey through the generations to help organizations better understand the characteristics and values of today’s generation and how employers can adapt to successfully integrate these workers into the workforce.The ACCGS will also salute Friends of the Homeless on its 25th anniversary, welcome Kelly Services to the neighborhood as it moves into its downtown Springfield location, and introduce attendees to Audrey Szychulski, the new executive director at the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Reservations are $20 for members, $30 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1313.

• Sept. 9: “Federal Health Care Reform and Your Company,” 8:30-11 a.m., at the Delaney House in Holyoke. The Massachusetts Health Care Connector is offering a unique opportunity to hear from and speak with executives for key regulatory agencies on National Health Reform and its implementation in the Commonwealth. The program is presented in collaboration with the Associated Industries of Massachusetts. Reservations are complimentary but required by visiting www.aimnet.org/thesolution.

• Sept. 11: After 5 – MillFest, 5-7 p.m., at Ludlow Mills. The ACCGS is bringing back After 5 networking events bigger and better than ever with MillFest. This event will feature live music, great food, lots of fun, and, of course, networking. Sponsored by Chicopee Savings Bank with support from HealthSouth and Westmass Area Development Corp., this event is presented in collaboration with the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce, an affiliate of the ACCGS. Reservations are $15 for members, $25 for general admission. Proceeds will benefit the ERC5 Scholarship Fund. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1313.

• Sept. 18: Western Mass. Business Forum, 8:30 a.m.-noon, at Holyoke Community College. Businesses operating today are often overwhelmed by state and federal environmental, health, and safety requirements. It’s especially tough for small and mid-size businesses to keep up to date. Join the EPA, DEP, and other state agencies and the state’s leading business organizations for a half-day briefing where you’ll be given the tools to run your business safely and in compliance with the law — and maybe save some money in the end. Presented in collaboration with Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, Partners for a Healthier Community, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Reservations are $25 for the first employee per company, $15 per employee thereafter. Reservations must be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com.

• Sept. 24: “Pastries, Politics, and Policy,” 8-9 a.m. at the TD Bank Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield. For those political and policy junkies. Join us for our debut event featuring a policy expert and member of Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration for a breakfast and roundtable discussion. Reservations are $15 for members, $25 for general admission. Reservations may be made online at www.myonlinechamber.com or by contacting Cecile Larose at (413) 755-1313.

 

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700

• Sept. 13: Amherst Area Chamber Luncheon, 12:30-2 p.m., at the Lord Jeffery Inn, 30 Boltwood Ave. Amherst. Sponsored by the UMass Five College Credit Union. Celebrate the growth and impact of local agriculture and the 20th anniversary of Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA). Guest Speaker: Phillip Korman, executive director of CISA, who will discuss the economic impacts and growth of the “Local Hero” movement in the Pioneer Valley. Tickets are $15 for members and $20 for non-members. RSVP to [email protected].

• Sept. 25: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m., a block party at Florence Savings Bank, 385 College St., Amherst. Explore the whole group of businesses at Amherst Crossing: Amherst Pharmacy, Coldwell Banker-Upton Massamont Realtors, and Pioneer Valley Ideal Weight Loss. Enjoy tasty treats from Portabella Catering. Admission: $5 for members, $10 for non-members. RSVP to [email protected].

 

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

• Aug. 22: Part 4 of a five-seminar series: “Marketing Strategies that Lead to Growth,” 8-10:30 a.m., at the PeoplesBank Conference Room, 330 Whitney Ave. in Holyoke. Concerned about delivering your profit? Unsure how to reach your target audience? Overwhelmed with all the media options available? Smaller businesses often lack the time to execute their marketing tasks and are challenged with budgetary constraints. This workshop, presented by Mary McCarthy, is designed for businesses seeking cost-efficient and effective marketing strategies that lead to growth and seamless communication with their customers. Join us and learn:
•Branding strategies that will effectively convey your marketing messages;
•How to distinguish your marketing plan from your competition;
•Effective ways to reach your target audience and foster loyal relationships;
•How to connect with today’s tech-savvy customers through social media; and
•Networking essentials that will help you get more business.

 

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• Aug. 20: GRIST (Get Real Individual Support Today), 9 a.m., at the chamber office at 33 Union St., Easthampton. Are you a business of one? Are you a small-business owner without your own marketing department? Do you ever wish you had someone to toss around some ideas with about growing your business? The GRIST group can help. It’s a new chamber member benefit, an ongoing small group for business people who want to meet regularly to share ideas and get advice on the daily challenges of running a successful business. This small group of 10 to 15 people is limited to chamber members and those interested in joining the chamber. We welcome interested guests to attend one meeting to see what the group is all about. GRIST meets the first and third Tuesday of each month from 9 to 10 a.m. at the chamber office. RSVP by the Monday preceding each meeting to Fran Fahey at [email protected] or Derek Allard at [email protected] to join the group. Or, call Fahey at (413) 529-1189 or Allard at (413) 282-9957 to find out more.

• Sept. 3:  GRIST (Get Real Individual Support Today), from 9 to 10 a.m., at the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce, 33 Union St., Easthampton. The GRIST group is a free member benefit, an on-going small group that meets regularly to share ideas and get advice on the daily challenges of running a successful business. RSVP to Derek Allard at [email protected] or (413) 282-9957, or Fran Fahey at [email protected] or (413) 529-1189. The program is free to chamber members and future members.

• Sept. 9: NCYF 2nd Annual Golf Tournament, 11 a.m., at Cold Spring Country Club, 336 Chauncey Walker St., Belchertown. The tournament benefits services for children and their families at NCYF and Tri-County Schools in Easthampton. Registration at 11, shotgun scramble start at noon. Cost: $110, including golf, cart, lunch, and dinner buffet. More than $3,000 in raffle prizes. Acura and hot tub hole-in-one prizes. Contact Suzanne Welch at [email protected] or (413) 313-2820.

• Sept. 12: Networking by Business Card Exchange, 5-7 p.m. Hosted and co-sponsored by Eastworks, 116 Pleasant St., Easthampton. Co-sponsored by Riff’s Joint. Hors d’ouevres provided by Riff’s Joint. Beer and wine available. Door prizes. Tickets: $5 for members, $15 for future members.

• Sept. 17: GRIST (Get Real Individual Support Today), 9-10 a.m., at the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce, 33 Union St., Easthampton. The GRIST group is a free member benefit, an ongoing small group of folks who meet regularly to share ideas and get advice on the daily challenges of running a successful business. RSVP to Derek Allard at [email protected] or (413) 282-9957, or Fran Fahey at [email protected] or (413) 529-1189. The program is free to chamber members and future members.

HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376

• Sept.10: “Grow Your Business with E-mail and Social Media Marketing,” 8:30-10:30 a.m., at the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Executive Conference Room, 177 High St., Holyoke. Sponsored by PeoplesBank and the Republican. Attendance is free. For reservations, call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376.

• Sept. 11: Legislative Coffee Hour, 7:45-9:15 a.m., at Sláinte, 80 Jarvis Ave., Holyoke. Sponsored by Dowd Insurance, Loomis Communities, and Resnic, Beauregard, Waite and Driscoll. Cost: $15 for members, $25 for non-members. Price includes a continental breakfast. Call the Chamber at (413) 534-3376 to sign up.

• Sept. 18: Chamber Annual Clambake, 5-7:30 p.m., at Holyoke Country Club, 1 Country Club Road, Holyoke. Sponsored by United Water and Pioneer Valley Railroad. The public is invited to attend. For reservations, call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376.

• Sept. 24: “The Power of E-mail Marketing,” with a bonus session, “Getting Started with Constant Contact E-mail Marketing,” 8:30-10:30 a.m., at the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Executive Conference Room, 177 High St., Holyoke. Sponsored by PeoplesBank and the Republican. Attendance is free. For reservations, call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376.

 

MASSACHUSETTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(413) 525-2506

• Nov. 12: Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon, at the DoubleTree in Westborough. Registration is at 9 a.m. For more information on ticket sales and sponsorship opportunities, contact the chamber office at (413) 525-2506 or e-mail [email protected].

 

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

• Sept. 11: Arrive@5 Monthly Chamber Networking Event, 5-7 p.m. Sponsored and hosted by Baystate Health Outpatient Center, Northampton Crossing, 325 King St., Northampton. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for non-members. RSVP to [email protected].

• Sept. 26: Business Planning Workshop, 3:30-5 p.m., at the Northampton Chamber, 99 Pleasant St., Northampton. Presented by the staff of the Franklin County Community Development Corp. This 90-minute session informs business owners about business planning, the loan process, where to get help, and how to launch a food product and use the Western MA Food Processing Center. Learn about available resources and walk out knowing your next step. Cost: free. RSVP required due to limited space. RSVP to [email protected].

 

NORTHAMPTON AREA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY

www.thenayp.com
(413) 584-1900

• August 15: Networking Social, starting at 5 p.m., at Sláinte, 80 Jarvis Ave., Holyoke. This month we’re venturing down to Holyoke in order to host a joint networking social with the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield at Sláinte. Featured nonprofit: Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity.

• August 22: Bare Mountain Hike, 6 p.m. Join us for a Thursday-evening hike up Bare Mountain. The short but steep 0.62-mile hike will take us to the 1,014-foot summit with unobstructed views of the Pioneer Valley. Bare Mountain is home to a former Strategic Air Command bunker (featured in the movie Edge of Darkness) that is now owned by Amherst College. You will need a pair of sturdy shoes, water, and a flashlight to enjoy this hike. RSVP on Facebook so we know that you’re coming. Meeting spot: the Notch Visitor Center parking lot, 1500 West St., Amherst.

 

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

• August 19: West of the River Chamber of Commerce 10th Annual Golf Tournament, at Springfield Country Club, West Springfield. Cost: $125 per golfer. Presenting sponsor: Hard Rock Hotel and Casino of New England. For more information on registration and sponsorship opportunities, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

• Sept. 4: Wicked Wednesday, 5-7 p.m., hosted By E.B.’s. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events hosted by various businesses and restaurants. These events bring members and non-members together to network in a laid-back atmosphere. Free for chamber members, $10 for non-members. Event is open to the public; you must pay at the door if you’re a non-member. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].

 

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• Sept. 9: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m., at Noble Hospital, 115 West Silver St., Westfield. Guest speaker: Mayor Daniel Knapik, who will speak about all that is happening around Westfield and field questions. Cost: free and open to the public. To register, call Pam Bussell at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected].

• Sept. 11: September WestNet Connection, 5-7 p.m., at the Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield. Sponsored by CityStage and Symphony Hall. An evening of networking; don’t forget your business cards. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Walk-ins are welcome. Cost: $10 for members; $15 cash for non-members. To register, call Pam Bussell at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail [email protected].

• Sept. 13: Chamber Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m. Hosted by the 104th Fighter Wing ANG, 175 Falcon Dr., Westfield. Platinum sponsor: Westfield Bank. Gold sponsors: Berkshire Bank and United Bank. Guest speaker: Evan Dobelle, president of Westfield State University. Cost: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. To register, call Pam Bussell at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail [email protected].

People On the Move

By
Departments People on the Move

Myra Smith

Myra Smith

The Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) Board of Trustees recently appointed Myra Smith to the position of Vice President of Student and Multicultural Affairs. Smith served as the college’s Vice President of Human Resources and Multicultural Affairs prior to this appointment. Since joining the college in 1978, Smith has helped transform the STCC community into one of inclusiveness that celebrates cultural diversity by creating the STCC Diversity Council and its event series, which brings national and international speakers and artists to the campus, and the STCC “Think Tank” series, which brings community leaders together to assist with the retention and graduation rate of young men of color. Smith has a BS from Springfield College and an ME from Cambridge College. She was recognized in 2010 with a Community Appreciation Award from the Business Network, earned a Women of Leadership Award from Unity First in 2007, and received a Woman of Vision Award from the Elms College Step Forward Program in 2005.
•••••
Hyman G. Darling

Hyman G. Darling

The Springfield-based regional law firm Bacon Wilson, P.C. announced the appointment of Hyman Darling, CELA, as Secretary of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) 2013-14 Board of Directors. Darling began serving as NAELA secretary on June 1. As NAELA secretary, he will serve in a critical role leading NAELA toward achieving its goals while ensuring that all notices follow the NAELA bylaws or as required by law. “After serving on the Massachusetts chapter for several years and on the national board for four years, this is an exciting opportunity to serve our members,” said Darling. “Our Massachusetts chapter is the largest in the association, and the direction and advocacy of NAELA have made a tremendous difference is assisting our elders.” Darling is chairman of the Estate Planning and Elder Law department at Bacon Wilson, and he is recognized as the area’s pre-eminent estate planner. His areas of expertise include all areas of estate planning, probate, and elder law. Darling is past president of the Hampden County Estate Planning Council and also a certified elder-law attorney. In addition, he is a past president of the Hampden County Bar Assoc., teaches law at Bay Path College, and is an adjunct professor at Western New England University School of Law’s LLM program, teaching elder law. He serves on the boards of many charitable entities, including the National Planned Giving Committee of the American Cancer Society, and is former chair of the Baystate Health Professional Advisors Committee. Darling is a frequent lecturer on various estate-planning and elder-law topics at both the local and national levels. He earned his JD from Western New England University School of Law and his AB from Boston University.
•••••
Werner Maiwald, Managing Director of the Renaissance Advisory Services and Financial Avisor of the Gaudreau Group in Wilbraham, achieved membership in the Million Dollar Round Table, an association of financial-services professionals. Maiwald, a qualifying member for many years, has 33 years experience in the financial-services sector. He holds numerous securities licenses, including Series 6, 33, 65, and 7, is a member of the National Assoc. of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and holds the certified fund specialist designation.
•••••
ERA M. Connie Laplante Real Estate recently named Joanne Laplante the newest member of its office. Laplante has been a professional real-estate agent for 28 years.
•••••
Historic Deerfield recently promoted David Lazaro to the position of Associate Curator of Textiles at Historic Deerfield. Lazaro received his master’s degree from UMass Amherst, where he studied fashion and textile history, with a concentration on European and American clothing and textiles from the 18th and early 19th centuries. Historic Deerfield’s fashion and textile collection includes more than 8,000 items from four centuries.
•••••
Noble Hospital in Westfield congratulates Janette Lough-Guilmette, PTA for her selection as this year’s recipient of the Brian R. Johnson Outstanding Business Award by the Business Education Alliance. She was honored for her many years mentoring Southwick High School seniors who are placed at Noble Hospital’s Sports and Rehabilitation Center by the Business Education Alliance. These young pre-professionals work at the business of their choice as part of their graded school curriculum. Those choosing the Sports and Rehabilitation Center have an interest in health care, but it’s often their first real exposure. After their time with Lough-Guilmette, most parlay this experience to further their education. Over the years, she has launched the careers of physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, and physician’s assistants.

Company Notebook

By
Company Notebook Departments

Country Bank Donation Upgrades Radiography at Baystate Mary Lane
WARE — Country Bank recently pledged $100,000 to Baystate Mary Lane Hospital (BMLH) to help upgrade the general radiography unit located in the radiology department. The current unit is being replaced with a Phillips Easy Diagnost Elva, which provides vastly superior images, stores them electronically, and allows for easy electronic file sharing. The new technology will also reduce the use of actual film and related disposal costs. “This technology is designed to increase staff interaction with the patient at the point of care and make it easier for the patient during their procedure,” said BMLH President Chuck Gijanto. “It will also ensure easy access of the critical diagnostic images for any consulting provider, at BMLH or elsewhere. In addition to the purchase of the Phillips Easy Diagnost Evela, the current Radiology Department is undergoing other renovations, said Gijanto, adding that they are expected to be completed next month.

Noble Earns ‘A’ Rating in Hospital Safety Score from Leapfrog Group
WESTFIELD — Noble Hospital was recognized with an ‘A’ Hospital Safety Score by the Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. The score was compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety. The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety (April 2013), the Hospital Safety Score is designed to give the public information they can use to protect themselves and their families. “Noble Hospital is very proud of our patient-safety record. It reflects a commitment to care that is shared by everyone,” said Allison Gearing-Kalill, vice president of Marketing. “This represents our dedication to the community and to providing the best patient care possible.”

PET/CT Imaging Services to Begin at Berkshire Medical Center
PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Health Systems has announced that it is partnering with Baystate MRI and Imaging and Shields Health Care Group in launching PET/CT (positron-emission tomography/computed tomography) imaging services at Berkshire Medical Center. This sophisticated, state-of-the-art imaging service will be provided as part of the new BMC Cancer Program. PET/CT Imaging at BMC combines a PET scanner and a CT scanner into one system. The mobile unit will be at BMC once a week, on Fridays, and will initially be located at the main hospital. It will move to the Hillcrest Campus of BMC in 2014 after additional construction work is completed at that location. The PET/CT service at BMC began operations on May 3. PET/CT had been provided for the past several years at Berkshire Hematology/Oncology at its offices on Conte Drive with a mobile unit, which is being replaced by this service at BMC. PET/CT is one of the most advanced medical imaging techniques available today. It combines PET’s ability to detect increases in cell activity with the fine structural detail that CT scans provide. This revolutionary technology enables physicians to detect the presence of disease earlier and pinpoint its location with much greater accuracy than PET or CT scans alone. The PET/CT information will also feed into the treatment planning technology for radiation oncology to aid in the identification of appropriate field sizes. PET/CT scans are used primarily for the diagnosis and staging of cancer. The technology can also be used for differentiating Alzheimer’s disease from other forms of dementia.

Briefcase

By
Briefcase Departments

Grants Awarded for Municipal Water Projects
BOSTON — The Mass. Water Pollution Abatement Trust (MWPAT) announced the approval of more than $6 million in need-based principal-forgiveness grants on 20 water infrastructure loans from across the state. “This money will deliver relief to communities struggling to finance key water projects that provide for the health and well-being of their citizens,” said state Treasurer Steven Grossman, who serves as the chairman of the MWPAT. “This funding frees up additional capital to go to other important local priorities, such as transportation infrastructure, education, and public safety.” The 20 grants, administered by the state and funded by the federal government, were awarded on a competitive basis to cities and towns most in need of financial assistance associated with loan payments to the MWPAT. Because of the reduction of loan principal funded by the grants, impacted communities will see their biannual loan payments reduced, freeing up capital for other local needs. The loans were originated to pay for municipal water projects such as upgrades to water-treatment facilities and stormwater and sewer improvement projects. “As Governor Patrick has so clearly pointed out, the Commonwealth has a significant and expensive backlog of water infrastructure projects to address in order to fully protect the environment and the public health,” said Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell of the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection, who serves on the MWPAT board. “I am pleased to join our trust partners to provide this assistance to these communities to make their projects more affordable.” The $6 million in loan forgiveness is associated with a total original loan amount of $98 million, an overall principal reduction of 6%. “As the executive director of the trust, I am excited to announce $6 million in principal forgiveness to these communities that have shown a strong commitment to improving their water infrastructure,” said Sue Perez. “This award represents our third year providing principal forgiveness, and to date we have awarded roughly $33 million in principal forgiveness under this program.” The MWPAT lends financial assistance to the Commonwealth under the State Revolving Fund program by providing subsidized loans to cities and towns for water-infrastructure development. Since its establishment in 1989, the trust has loaned approximately $6 billion to improve and maintain the quality of water in the Commonwealth. An estimated 97% of Massachusetts’ citizens have benefited from the MWPAT’s financial assistance.

Massachusetts Economy Shows Positive Signs
BOSTON — After a period of lackluster economic growth, the Massachusetts economy sprang to life in the first three months of this year as hiring increased, incomes rose, and consumer spending rebounded, according to a new report by the University of Massachusetts and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The state’s economy grew at an annual rate of 3.9% between January and March, accelerating from 2.4% at the end of last year and outpacing the national economic growth rate of 2.5% during the three-month period. The state has recovered from the Great Recession faster than the nation as a whole, regaining as of January all the jobs lost in the downturn even as U.S. employment remains millions of jobs below the pre-recession peak. That has helped boost incomes here, which have been further supported by the strong stock market and rising home values, leading to stronger consumer spending. In fact, spending on discretionary purchases, including TVs, furniture, appliances, and motor vehicles, grew at an annual rate of 11.6%. The Massachusetts economy seems to have responded to the resolution of November’s elections and the ensuing budget battles and ‘fiscal cliff,’ but the UMass report noted that risks to the economy remain. Specifically, Massachusetts is particularly vulnerable to across-the-board sequestration cuts because the state receives billions annually in federal defense and research spending. The spending cuts, which took effect in March, have already led to slower hiring in many of the state’s key industries, including healthcare, higher education, and research and development.

Three Local Agencies Benefit from MMS Grants
WALTHAM — Three agencies in Western Mass. Are among 12 to receive grants from the Mass. Medical Society & Alliance Charitable Foundation as part of its 2013 allocations. The 12 grants total $160,000 and will help to support health and medical services that address vision care, healthy lifestyles, asthma reduction, prevention and screening services, and primary care for the uninsured. Eight agencies are receiving grants for the first time, while four have previously been awarded grants from the foundation. Community Health Programs of Great Barrington was awarded $35,000 to outfit a medical van with equipment to provide a mobile ophthalmic office that will offer patients of all ages comprehensive screening, diagnosis, and treatment for  eye diseases. The van will focus care on populations that are disadvantaged due to mobility, health, or economic reasons. The agency serves people throughout Berkshire County. Amherst Survival Center Free Medical Clinic was awarded $15,000 to hire a part-time clinic manager to oversee expansion of the agency’s operation.  The clinic serves more than 500 individuals in Hampshire and Franklin counties. This is the second grant to the agency from the foundation; it previously received $15,000 in 2011. Greater Westfield Free Health Services received $5,000 to support free health services for residents in the Westfield area who are uninsured or underinsured. Other recipients in Massachusetts include Heywood Hospital, Gardner, $20,000; UMass Memorial Medical Center, Worcester, $15,000; Girls Inc., Worcester, $10,000; Metro West Free Medical Program, Sudbury, $10,000; Children’s Health Care and Nutritional Goals through Education, Shrewsbury, $10,000; Restoring Sight International, West Roxbury, $15,000; the Family Van Program, Roxbury, $10,000; Upham’s Corner Health Center, Dorchester, $10,000; and the Sharewood Project, Malden, $5,000. The foundation is a supporting organization of the Mass. Medical Society, the statewide association of physicians, and the MMS Alliance is the organization of physicians’ spouses committed to promoting good health among the citizens of Massachusetts. The foundation’s mission is to support the charitable and educational activities of the society and alliance and address issues affecting the health, benefit, and welfare of the community.

Springfield Museums Receives Prestigious Accreditation
SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Museums recently announced that, after a two-year process, the nonprofit organization has received prestigious accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the highest national recognition for a museum or museum consortium. Of the nation’s estimated 17,500 museums, only about 1,000 (or 6%) are currently accredited. Accreditation places the Springfield Museums in the same class as institutions like the Smithsonian, the American Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. To be accredited signifies a museum meets or exceeds the standards and best practices of the museum field in all aspects of its operation — collections stewardship, community engagement, financial stability, governance, and security. Accreditation is often a prerequisite for, or integral to, loans of objects from other museums nationally and internationally, funding from many philanthropies and foundations, and support from local, municipal, and state government. Longtime private donors, elected officials, and museums staff and board members joined in a celebratory announcement at the Michele & Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts. According to Holly Smith-Bove, museums president, the museums draw a quarter-million visitors each year and add an estimated $28 million per year in tourism dollars into the region. The campus off State and Chestnut streets includes the Museum of Fine Arts, the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, the Springfield Science Museum, the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum, the Museum of Springfield History, and the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden. Accredited museums encompass the breadth of America’s museums that celebrate and display all forms of art, history, historic sites, natural history, science and technology centers, public and botanic gardens, zoos, and aquariums.

Construction Industry Loses 6,000 Jobs in April
The U.S. construction industry lost 6,000 jobs in April, according to the May 3 employment report by the U.S. Department of Labor, but the unemployment rate decreased to 13.2%, down from 14.7% in March and 14.5% in April 2012. Year over year, the construction industry has added 154,000 jobs, or 1.7%. The decline in unemployment is likely due to seasonality rather than meaningful improvement in underlying construction labor market conditions. The non-residential building sector lost 4,800 jobs for the month, but has added 17,700, or 2.7%, over the last year. The residential building sector added 6,200 jobs in April and has added 14,400 jobs, or 2.5%, year over year. Non-residential specialty trade contractor employment fell by 11,100 jobs in April compared to March, but is still up by 39,000 jobs, or 1.9%, compared to the same time last year. Residential specialty trade contractors added 7,100 jobs for the month and have added 69,300 jobs, or 4.7%, since April 2012. Heavy and civil engineering construction employment slipped by 3,800 jobs in April, but is up by 13,400 jobs, or 1.5%, over the last 12 months. Across all industries, the nation added 165,000 jobs, with the private sector expanding by 176,000 jobs and the public sector shrinking by 11,000 jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ household survey, the national unemployment rate fell to 7.5% in April, down from 7.6% in March. “Today’s report highlights the fact that different forms of economic activity require different levels of confidence,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Leading the way in job creation in April were segments such as leisure/hospitality and retail trade. It doesn’t take that much confidence to take a short cruise or eat at a restaurant; however, it takes a considerable level of confidence to move forward with a significant construction project, and that level of confidence is still lacking. “The recent construction spending report issued by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that both public and private nonresidential construction were down for the month, indicating that sustained momentum continues to elude the industry.” Today’s employment report reinforces the notion that sustained recovery remains elusive,” Basu said. “While non-residential construction employment is up by nearly 56,700 jobs on a year-over-year basis, the segment shed 15,900 positions in April. Further declines are possible in the near term given weak construction spending dynamics and the anticipated impacts of sequestration on construction starts.”

People On the Move

By
April Kearse
Departments People on the Move

Joseph Kulig

Joseph Kulig

United Bank announced that Joseph Kulig has joined the bank as Vice President of Commercial Lending in the Springfield Region. Kulig has more than 20 years of commercial banking experience, most recently as relationship manager with TDBank in Springfield. Previously, he served as a commercial loan review officer with SIS Bank in Springfield following six years as principle bank examiner with the Massachusetts Division of Banks in Boston. He holds an MBA from Western New England University, and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.Kulig has been an active member of the community serving on the board of Rebuilding Together Springfield since 1997 and the West Springfield Youth Soccer Club since 2012. He has coached youth baseball, soccer, and basketball in West Springfield.
•••••
American International College announced the following promotions:
April Kearse

April Kearse

Esta Sobey

Esta Sobey

Nick Young

Nick Young

Dina Ditmar

Dina Ditmar

Dahimeli Mercado

Dahimeli Mercado

Danielle Wisniowski

Danielle Wisniowski
















• April Kearse, was named Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Advising. Prior to this new role, Kearse served as Director of Student Support Services (ACE Program) and Assistant Director of Multicultural Admissions. She has a master’s degree in Educational Psychology, and will graduate from AIC with her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership in May 2014,
• Esta Sobey, was named Associate Dean of the AIC Education Department. Previously, she served as chair of the department, Director of Field Experiences, and Director of Middle/Secondary Education. She earned bachelor’s degree from SUNY Stony Brook and two graduate degrees from Columbia University,
• Nick Young was named Dean of Low Residency Programs. He previously served as associated dean of the Ed.D. program at AIC. Young received his bachelor’s degree from Austin Peay State University, an MBA from Western New England University, an Ed.D. from AIC, and a Ph.D. from Union Institute and University. Young currently serves as superintendent of schools in South Hadley,
• Dina Ditmar was promoted to Learning Resource Center and Simulation Faculty Coordinator. Ditmar started at AIC in 2005, serving as an adjunct clinical faculty member, and was named Learning Lab Coordinator in the fall of 2010. She received her BSN at Elms College and her MSN at AIC,
• Dahimeli Mercado was named Student Accounts Analyst. A graduate of AIC, Mercado previously served as a Student Accounts Representative. She earned her bachelor’s degree at AIC and is currently enrolled in the MSAT program at AIC; and
• Danielle Wisniowski was promoted to Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions. Previously an admissions counselor at AIC, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Newbury College and a juris doctorate from WNEU School of Law.
•••••
Monson Savings Bank announced the following:

Christina Bordeau

Christina Bordeau

Claire Ladue

Claire Ladue

• Christina Bordeau has been named Branch Manager for the bank’s Hampden branch. She brings more than 15 years of retail banking experience to Monson Savings, having held previous management positions at Citizens Bank and Bank of America.
• Clare Ladue has named branch manager of the Ware branch, scheduled to open this spring. Previously, she managed the Hampden location.
•••••
John Shea

John Shea

The Springfield office of Boston-based Morrison Mahoney LLP announced that Attorney John Shea had joined the staff. Shea’s concentration in estate planning, wills, durable powers of attorney, health care proxies, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and related services, will be added to the firm’s trial and litigation and medical malpractice defense services. Shea was previously in private practice concentrating in all areas of estate planning and administration as well as business and real estate transactions, and has advised clients in the formation of small, family-owned and franchise businesses. Shea holds a Master of Laws with a concentration in estate planning and elder law, from the Western New England University School of Law, a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, a Master of Science in labor studies from UMass Amherst, and a Bachelor of Arts in government from Connecticut College.
•••••
Dr. Ronald Burkman, Jr

Dr. Ronald Burkman, Jr

Dr. Ronald Burkman, Jr., a board certified physician in obstetrics and gynecology with Baystate Wesson Women’s Group Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baystate Medical Center, was recently named by more than 1,100 Hampden District Medical Society peers as the district’s 2013 Community Clinician of the Year. The award was established in 1998 by the Massachusetts Medical Society to recognize a physician from each of the Society’s 20 district medical societies who has made significant contributions to patients and the community and who stands out as a leading advocate and caregiver. From 1995 to 2007, he was chairman of the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baystate Medical Center. Since 1995, he has been a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. Long active in the Massachusetts Medical Society, Burkman has served on its committees on professional liability, maternal and perinatal welfare, and managed care. The award will be presented at the district society’s annual meeting April 30 at the Delaney House in Holyoke.

Lending Support

By
Mary Meehan
Banking and Financial Services Sections
Commercial Loans to Female Business Owners on the Rise

Mary Meehan

Mary Meehan says women are becoming more prominent in many fields, from medicine to management to law, and her loan portfolio reflects that.

Robert Polito would like to take credit for Webster Bank’s success in reaching certain elements of the commercial-loan market, including women business owners.

But he can’t. As the bank’s senior vice president and director of government-guaranteed lending, he more accurately characterizes his role as embracing already-existing trends, from the ever-increasing number of female business owners to the evolving priorities of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The SBA — which guarantees loans by commercial banks and other lenders and provides capital to small businesses that are often unable to qualify for conventional credit — has, in fact, recognized Webster as Connecticut’s top lender to women-owned and minority-owned businesses.

“I would love to say it was my strategy to focus on minority- and women-owned businesses, but, honestly, it has been a policy of the SBA to really focus on four main areas: minorities, women, veterans, and rural businesses. We’ve done tremendously well with the first three,” Polito said, noting that Webster’s geographic footprint, in largely urban areas, doesn’t facilitate very much lending in rural markets.

“We have a lot of women, veterans, and minority businesses. And it’s something I really do want to focus on,” he continued. “One-third of my portfolio at Webster Bank is women owners — and that includes women only, not husband-and-wife teams. When I speak to my branch managers — who are mostly women — I’m really proud of that. I think it’s putting your money where your mouth is — not just saying it, but doing it.”

United Bank is doing it as well, having been named Massachusetts’ top lender to women-owned businesses for the past two years. Barbara-Jean Deloria, the bank’s senior vice president of commercial and retail lending credits two factors for that success.

“First, having commercial lenders who are women has been an influence on our ability to market to other women,” she told BusinessWest. “Obviously, in the past, the commercial-lending world has been dominated by male lenders, and by having more women in the marketplace attracts that business niche. Also, there are definitely more women-owned businesses that have surfaced in the past 10 years.”

Lenders both regional and national have noticed. In 1995, Wells Fargo made a commitment to lend $1 billion to women who owned businesses. Earlier this month, the financial-services giant said it would lend $55 billion to such companies by 2020.

Lisa Stevens, Wells Fargo’s lead executive for small business, issued a statement that “women-owned businesses are among America’s fastest growing segments, and we are honored to support their role in shaping the future of small business.” In fact, some 30% of U.S. businesses are owned by women — a number that continues to grow.

For this issue’s focus on banking and finance, BusinessWest sits down with several of the region’s commercial-lending players to talk about that trend, and what it means for lenders, borrowers, and the economy as a whole.

 

Growing Clout

Mary Meehan, first vice president of Commercial Loans at PeoplesBank, has experienced similar success lending to women.

“Roughly 40% of my portfolio is women business owners,” Meehan said, a number that includes manufacturing companies, commercial enterprises, and a range of other types of businesses. “We also have women who own investment and real-estate properties, and female doctors in medical offices; that whole area continues to grow as more women go to medical school. In fact, lending to women has also grown as more women get their MBAs or go to law school.”

Clearly, she said, this trend in commercial lending is being driven by larger economic and demographic shifts, from more women entrepreneurs to more daughters stepping into the CEO role in family enterprises, when sons used to dominate succession. “That’s a natural progression in terms of family-run businesses in general.”

The role of women in the region’s business landscape is even more impressive, Meehan said, considering that the 40% figure she cited doesn’t include nonprofits — which form a considerable niche in Western Mass. and at PeoplesBank; many such organizations are run by women.

The increasing profile of women’s business, in fact, is one reason why the SBA and other agencies have chosen to recognize entities that lend to women, said Dena Hall, senior vice president of Marketing and Community Relations at United Bank. “That they’ve designated an award for lending to women is significant.”

Richard Collins, United Bank’s president and CEO, welcomes the opportunity. “We are always eager to help women in business achieve their goals,” he said. “Their success is always significant to the growth of the economy, and their contributions are more vital than ever in today’s economic environment.”

Statistics from the federal government’s National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) back up that perception with hard numbers. Women-owned firms make up 28.7% of all non-farm businesses across the country and generate $1.2 trillion in total receipts. A full 88.3% of these firms are non-employer firms, while the remaining 11.7% have paid employees, employing a total of 7.6 million people.

In addition, women-owned businesses make up 52% of all businesses in health care and social assistance while other top industries for women include educational services (46% are women-owned), waste management and remediation services (37%), retail trade (34%), and arts, entertainment, and recreation (30%).

However, bank and government lending remains a largely untapped resource, according to the NWBC, as 56% of women-owned businesses used personal or family savings to start or acquire their business, compared to fewer than 1% who used a business loan from the federal, state, or local government or a government-guaranteed business loan from a bank.

However, for those who pursue SBA and other types of loans, Deloria said women are more educated than ever about the resources available to them. “I think women-owned businesses are very proactive on doing the research; even before they come in to see me, they recognize that the SBA is a really good resource for them. Most of the time, they’ve already researched that aspect of it.”

Polito agreed, and added that women tend to carefully consider the perspective the prospective lender brings to the table. “I don’t want to generalize, but it has been my experience, when I do meet with women-owned businesses, I find they’re more willing [than men] to listen to recommendations and guidance about what I’ve seen with other businesses of a similar size or a similar business model. They’re more willing to listen and take guidance from the bank.”

 

Forging Ties

That sort of openness and teamwork lends itself to a successful loan, Meehan said, especially when it comes to solo or small businesses. “We have a focus especially on the small-business side, a focus on our branches and lending to someone who comes into the branch. The manager is focused on developing that small-business relationship.

“We go through the same due diligence process, male or female, of getting to know the customer’s business and everything that entails.”

And there’s no shortage of resources available to educate borrowers on what the process entails. Deloria said she’s been active with the Women’s Chamber and other business-networking groups and found them to be effective ways to meet business owners and share information.

“We’re trying to offer more education, identify women’s organizations in the communities we serve to do more outreach,” Polito added. “Frankly, its intimidating for pretty much everyone, and often very intimidating for women- and minority-owned businesses, to walk into a bank and apply for a loan. But I don’t want people to feel that way.”

He said loan officers at Webster “put their noses to the grindstone” for every application that comes in, rather than turning down a potentially promising loan after a cursory look at a credit score. “Two people have to decline a loan. What we’ve instituted for many years is a second-look process. When a deal is declined, we have a second reviewer look at it to make sure we can’t do it.

“Even an SBA guarantee can never make a good loan out of a bad loan,” he added. “But if we can get the loan over the hump for approval, we’ll do it; we’ll take that chance.”

That’s because a successful loan benefits everyone: the bank, the borrower, and, in theory, the customers and employees of the company — which is increasingly likely to be run by a woman.

“The business works or it doesn’t — male or female, and no matter what the color of their skin is,” Polito concluded. “So, the more outreach we can do, the better. Everyone wins when you get capital into the market.”

 

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Company Notebook

By
Company Notebook Departments

Bulkley Richardson Recognized for Professional Excellence

SPRINGFIELD — Bulkley Richardson was recently named a 2013 Top Ranked Law Firm by Lexis-Nexis Martindale-Hubbell for having more than one-third, or a total of 15, of its attorneys identified by their peers as AV Preeminent, the highest ranking for professional excellence in the peer-review rating system. The firm was also included in the 2013 edition of Best Law Firms published by U.S. News – Best Lawyers. It was ranked in the top tier in eight practice areas, the most of any Springfield law firm.

 

Freedom Credit Union Reaches Out to Latinos

SPRINGFIELD — Freedom Credit Union, a full-service financial cooperative with online banking and nine branches throughout the four counties of Western Mass., announced it has launched its first marketing campaign to extend brand awareness and loyalty to the Latino community throughout in the region. The new campaign is called “Juntos Por Tu Libertad Financiera” (Together for Your Financial Freedom), and reflects the value Freedom Credit Union brings through its many products and services that help people realize their dreams through financial freedom. The Latino community now comprises almost 39% of Springfield’s population, up from 27.2% in 2000, according to the U.S. Census. The census also reported that the region’s Latino population grew 40% from 2000 to 2010. “The Latino community has always been a very important part of our membership base, and the recent and rapid growth of the Latino population in the region provides Freedom Credit Union a unique opportunity to demonstrate that we value the diverse community in which we live,” said President Barry Crosby. “The theme ‘Juntos Por Tu Libertad Financiera’ echoes this sentiment and reinforces that we are a collaborative partner in helping the Latino community realize their dreams through financial freedom.” The campaign, created by Bauzá & Associates, consists of a TV, radio, and print advertising campaign as well as financial literacy and public relations. “Freedom Credit Union is very proud of the relationship we have established with our Latino members. We are now looking to expand our efforts by enhancing our communication and servicing our membership in a more culturally relevant manner,” Crosby added. “As a local and cooperative institution that believes in elevating the community, we are focused on consistently delivering the highest-quality value to all of our members.”

 

Innovative Business Systems Wins Accolades

EASTHAMPTON — Innovative Business Systems, a technology-solutions company, was recently chosen as one of the top three technology companies in the state in the banking industry in the Warren Group’s annual readers poll for Banker & Tradesman’s Best of 2012. In the survey, readers are asked to vote on their favorite companies in several categories. The Warren Group publishes Banker & Tradesman and the Commercial Record.

 

Baystate Earns Distinction as Leapfrog Top Hospital

SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Medical Center has, for the fourth consecutive year, joined an elite group of 60 urban hospitals in the U.S. named Top Hospitals in the Leapfrog Group’s 2012 survey of more than 1,200 hospitals. Leapfrog’s Top Hospital designation is the most competitive national hospital quality award in the country and recognizes hospitals that deliver the highest-quality care by preventing medical errors, reducing mortality for high-risk procedures such as heart bypass surgery, and reducing hospital readmissions for patients being treated for conditions like pneumonia and heart attacks. University and other teaching hospitals like Baystate, children’s hospitals, and community hospitals in rural, suburban, and urban settings were all represented in the 2012 rankings. Leapfrog also identified Baystate Medical Center in the top 5% of hospitals that completed the survey in 2012. “Patients deserve to be in the safest hospital possible. Our superior performance, recognized in this prestigious survey for the fourth consecutive year alongside our many other awards and accreditations, confirms for our patients that we meet the highest quality and safety standards among an elite group of top-ranked hospitals in the United States,” said Dr. Evan Benjamin, senior vice president of Healthcare Quality at Baystate Health. The Leapfrog Survey provides a broad look at a hospital’s quality, safety, and efficiency, and uses some of the most widely accepted and nationally validated measures of hospital performance. Leapfrog also offers healthcare consumers and purchasers unique information not available anywhere else. For example, Leapfrog is the only national source of information on a hospital’s rate of early elective newborn deliveries (Baystate Medical Center has taken a leadership role in working with all Massachusetts birthing hospitals to stop all elective preterm births), adoption of computerized physician order entry to prevent medical errors (Baystate began CPOE back in 1991 and has long been a national leader in that area, with virtually 100% compliance), and several other important measures of inpatient care. In addition to making the Top Hospitals list, Baystate Medical Center, as well as its sister hospital, Baystate Franklin Medical Center (BFMC) in Greenfield, received ‘A’ grades from Leapfrog on its latest Hospital Safety Score released on Nov. 28. Dr. Gerda Maissel, BFMC’s chief medical officer, noted that “the Leapfrog Group is an important and objective national organization that has done great work to ensure that the public is informed about hospital quality and safety. Quality is a top priority at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, and I am proud of everyone involved in this achievement, including those who provide direct care to our patients and those who work behind the scenes to keep us on track and moving forward.”

 

O’Connell Care at Home and Healthcare Staffing Marks 25th Anniversary

HOLYOKE — O’Connell Care at Home and Health Care Staffing,

a regional provider of personal aid and nursing services, recently marked its 25th year in business. O’Connell has been providing Western Mass. and Northern Conn. individuals and families with a holistic approach to care since its founding in 1987. O’Connell’s holistic approach factors an individual’s social wants and needs into his or her personalized care plan. The company states that, by doing so, its staff is able to provide more emotionally supportive experience for the individual, as well as address his or her physical limitations and medical conditions. According to President Fran O’Connell, this approach grew out of his personal experiences and became the founding principal of the company. “In my youth, I saw firsthand what a difference it made when things that are important to people are still part of their lives,” he said. “Little things, like lunch with friends or talking baseball with someone, helps individuals feel whole — like they are still loved and respected. It’s something all of us deserve.” The company’s services range from transportation and home-companion services to geriatric-care management and hospice care. The company also provides staffing solutions for some of the region’s assisted-living facilities, rehabilitation centers, and visiting-nurse associations.

PictureThis

By
Departments Picture This

Send photos with a caption and contact information to:  ‘Picture This’ c/o BusinessWest Magazine, 1441 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01103 or to [email protected]

 

 

Open for Business

Ahost of government, education, and business leaders gathered in Holyoke last month for ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, a project that involves the state, several research institutions (including UMass), and private corporations. Right, Gov. Deval Patrick addresses the more than 200 people in attendance. At left, before the formal ribbon cutting, city high-school students bury a time capsule near the center’s entrance.

 

 

 

Professional Cut

A ceremonial ribbon cutting recently commemorated the opening of the Northampton/I-91 Professional Center in Northampton. The multi-building office park now offers two fully permitted, three-story office buildings adjacent to the existing Clarion Hotel and Conference Center at Exit 18 off Interstate 91. Each building offers approximately 40,000 square feet of tenant space in modern, energy-efficient brick and glass structures. Owned by an experienced group of local investors, the center offers first-class medical and professional office space with first- and second-floor main tenants Clinical and Support Options Inc. (a regional provider of behavioral-health services) and Cooley Dickinson Health Care Group, leaving only 2,500 square feet available on the third floor. Pictured cutting the long ribbon are Lynn Travers, owner and developer; Stephen Murphy, program director of Cooley Dickinson’s Center for Human Motion and the director of Rehab Services; Ken Vincunas (front), general manager; John Lombardi (back), administrative director of facilities at Cooley Dickinson Hospital; Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz; Curt Shumway, development owner; Craig Melin, CEO of Cooley Dickinson Hospital; Susan O’Leary Mulhern and Eileen O’Leary Sullivan, owners; Karin Jeffers, president of Clinical and Support Options; Laurie Lamoureux, controller at Cooley Dickinson; and Kathi Donahue, William Wagner, and Russ Omer of Chicopee Savings Bank.

 

 

Pynchon Winners

The Advertising Club of Western Mass. honored the 2012 recipients of the William Pynchon Award at ceremonies on Nov. 15 at Chez Josef in Agawam. Pictured, from left, are Jillian Gould, president of the Ad Club; 2012 winners Robert Perry, Ellen Freyman, and Stephen Hayes; and Alta Stark, immediate past president of the Ad Club, Pynchon trustee, and governor, AAF District 1.

 


Ready to Read

READ! Reading Success by 4th Grade, an initiative of the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation, recently welcomed Robert Dugger, managing partner of Hanover Investment Group and an advisory-board co-chair for ReadyNation, a business partnership promoting investments in early education as a foundation for the nation’s economic success, to present a national overview on the importance of investments in young children and their impact on building a sustainable national economy. Also presenting was J.D. Chesloff, deputy director of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and board chair of the state’s first-in-the-nation Department of Early Education and Care. The Economic Development Council of Western Mass. (EDC); local chambers of commerce, including Chicopee, Holyoke, and Springfield; and the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County presented the event at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Pictured at above are Chesloff (left) and Dugger. Bottom, from left, are Peter Straley, president and CEO of Health New England; Sally Fuller, Reading Success by 4th Grade program coordinator; and Allan Blair, president and CEO of the EDC.

 







Further with Ford

Marcotte Ford of Holyoke recently hosted hundreds at a large event to showcase its showroom and the all-new 2013 Ford Fusion. The event, which was part of a national ‘Go Further with Ford’ night, offered chances for friends and clients to win a new 2013 Fusion, two different trips to American Idol Hollywood, and other prizes. Marcotte Ford donated $10 per person to Kate’s Kitchen for the first 200 registered guests. Standing over the celebratory autographed 2013 Ford Fusion hood, which will be displayed in the showroom are, left to right, Michael Filomeno, general manager; Mike Marcotte, sales manager; Lou Beauregard, parts and service director; and Bryan Marcotte, owner.

 


Trees, Trees, Trees

The 12th annual Festival of Trees launched the day after Thanksgiving and is proving to be a popular family tradition in downtown Springfield. The event, located on the second floor of Tower Square, offers a twinkling roomful of uniquely decorated artificial Christmas trees, adorned with gift cards and other valuable items donated by area businesses and Springfield Boys and Girls Club supporters. The proceeds, through sponsorships, sales of entrance tickets, and raffle tickets to win trees and all their unique décor, will benefit the 119-year old charitable organization that has been providing more than 1,500 children in the community with afterschool, Saturday, and summer youth-development programs. Above, Barbara Kolosowski, director of development, stands next to more than 100 glittering trees. The festival will run until December 9. More information can be found at www.visittreefest.com.

Safety Net

By
Timm Marini
Insurance Sections
Voluntary Benefits Are Becoming More Popular with Employees

Patti D’Amaddio

Patti D’Amaddio says employees, especially those in Gen X and Gen Y, embrace voluntary benefits, even though they pay much of the costs.

By definition, an employee benefit is a perk largely paid for by the employer.

Right?

Actually, that’s not always the case these days, as a concept called ‘voluntary benefits’ is becoming increasingly prominent in workplaces across America. These are benefits made accessible to employees but are paid for mostly or fully out of their own pockets.

And workers, for the most part, are responding positively.

“The voluntary benefit is really an increasing trend, no question,” said Patti D’Amaddio, human resource generalist at the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast, “because it allows the employer to add value to their benefit plan without adding a lot of cost. Instead of not offering things they feel they can’t afford, they’re offering voluntary benefits and letting people tailor them to match their personal needs, whether it’s long-term care or a number of other things.”

A survey conducted by EANE registered growing use of voluntary benefits, or VBs. Of the member companies that responded, 62% of them offer VBs of some kind. Of this group, 93% offer supplemental life insurance, 70% offer dependent life insurance, 20% offer auto insurance, 18% include long-term-care insurance, and 10% provide legal services. Four percent even offer pet insurance.

“That’s valued especially by Baby Boomers, whose kids have grown up; they’re spending a lot of money on their pets,” D’Amaddio said. “Again, anything can be tailored to the employees’ needs. Even if it costs the employee, it’s seen as a benefit being offered by the employer to the employee.”

Jim Mooradian and Bryan Lambert, founder and broker, respectively, with Jim Mooradian and Associates, a Boston-based insurance-brokerage firm, recently wrote on the topic of voluntary benefits for the Northeast Human Resources Assoc.

They note that, in today’s changing financial landscape, companies are looking for creative ways to expand their benefits packages while tightening their belts in other ways. In many cases, businesses are looking to control costs in their medical plans and other employer-funded benefits, from gym memberships to eye care.

Scott Llewellyn, western regional sales vice president at the Ameritas Group, recently told California Broker magazine that the idea of spending a few dollars per paycheck for that peace of mind is appealing to many employees — especially at a time when employers are paring back the health and dental benefits they traditionally pay for.

“Offsetting some of the lack in demand created by the down economy is a host of very new and creative voluntary benefits,” he notes. “Brokers are using these benefits to help increase their income, given the new realities of lower commissions from medical carriers.”

As Mooradian and Lambert point out, “companies increasingly see voluntary benefits as an effective tool for boosting employee commitment at little to no cost. Since voluntary benefits are employee-paid, corporate expenses are minimal, yet VBs deliver an immediate, tangible benefit to employees. Once the benefit is set up, there are virtually no ongoing demands on HR staff resources, since claims are administered directly by the carrier.”

It’s a win-win, but only if employees feel voluntary benefits are worth the expense. Increasingly, they do.

 

Youth Appeal

D’Amaddio cited a MetLife study that suggested that younger workers — both Gen X and Gen Y — are driving the new interest in voluntary benefits.

According to the survey, one half of such workers in smaller businesses (those with fewer than 500 employees) said current economic conditions make them look more toward employee benefits to achieve financial security — even if they have to fund 100% of the cost themselves.

Timm Marini

Timm Marini says chronic disease coverage, such as cancer insurance, is one of the hottest trends in voluntary benefits.

Businesses, in turn, are seeing voluntary benefits as a recruiting and retention tool. Four out of five employers of smaller businesses surveyed in MetLife’s 10th annual Study of Employment Benefit Trends ‘strongly agree’ that retaining quality workers is an extremely important objective of employee benefits. Meanwhile, the survey found that 72% younger workers who are very satisfied with their benefits feel a strong sense of loyalty to their employers, compared with 46% of younger workers overall.

“It’s hard to overestimate the importance of responding to the needs of younger workers on whose shoulders the future of a small business can depend,” said Anthony Nugent, executive vice president of Group, Voluntary, and Worksite Sales at MetLife. “Our study underscores that the generational differences about benefit needs and preferences are not just reflections of age. Younger workers, particularly those in many smaller organizations that were hit very hard by the recession, and who are unsure about the future of Social Security, have a different benefits perspective than older generations.”

The survey was reported by World at Work, a national employer-resources firm, which also noted that Gen X and Gen Y members, who collectively comprise 56% of the workforce, recognize that a broad range of benefits carries a cost, and they are more willing than their predecessors to bear some of those costs, despite the financial stresses many of them are feeling in the current economy.

“Two-thirds of Gen X and Gen Y would rather pay more than lose those benefits,” D’Amaddio said, again citing the MetLife survey. In fact, 54% of younger workers would be interested in having a wider array of benefits options even if means paying the full cost of certain voluntary benefits, such as life, dental, vision, disability, critical illness, or homeowner/auto insurance.

Such workers are essentially making a cost-benefit calculation between the cost of premiums for some coverages — which can be as little as $3 or $4 per week — and the the benefit, which is often a predetermined lump sum, with few strings attached, paid when a covered event occurs, such as an accident or a debilitating illness such as cancer, stroke, or heart attack, Mooradian and Lambert note.

Voluntary benefits, they write, “offer simple, affordable solutions to very real problems. An average accident policy, for example, costs an employee about $3.75 a week — about the same as a cup of coffee and a doughnut.”

And the terms, they note, are straightforward. “If an employee’s child falls off the swingset and breaks her wrist, the policy could pay $400 to be used for any purpose. If an employee slips and dislocates a shoulder, the policy could pay $500. Unlike core health and disability benefits, the money from this accident policy can be used to pay anything from uncovered medical costs to household expenses such as a utility bill. For rank-and-file employees, getting cash in hand during a difficult time is crucial to their financial well-being.”

Voluntary benefits can bring peace of mind during more serious medical situations as well, said Timm Marini, president of FieldEddy Insurance.

“We do a lot of voluntary benefits,” he said. “Historically, it’s been dental and disability, but all of a sudden, more and more, it’s critical illness and cancer coverage, things of that nature. That’s the hottest trend right now.”

That development may be in response to a couple of colliding trends — the fact that Americans are living longer than ever, often with chronic conditions, and the ever-soaring costs of health care, particularly for older and sicker patients.

“I think a lot of this is congruent with the life tables going up — more and more people are living longer, the medicines are better, and they’re living longer even with cancer and things of that nature,” Marini said. “Diseases are certainly as preventable as they’ve ever been, and the success rate is higher in treating cancer and putting it into remission.”

 

When Trouble Strikes

Studies increasingly show that families appreciate the way VBs allow them some spending flexibility during a rough patch. According to MetLife’s annual survey, having enough money to cover bills during sudden illness is the number-one concern of 63% of full-time employees and 75% of young families with children.

“One of the biggest issues facing America’s working families during a health crisis isn’t the cost of care itself,” Mooradian and Lambert point out. “It’s the loss of cash flow that results from being out of work, coupled with uncovered expenses associated with aftercare and treatment. If a family is living paycheck to paycheck, having the primary breadwinner miss a week of work has a significant impact on their financial stability.”

D’Amaddio also noted that voluntary benefits are convenient, in that they’re paid with a payroll deduction, and they are typically transferrable, so workers can take these benefits with them when they change jobs. “They’re not tied directly to the employer — and with the transient nature of employment right now, people aren’t staying 40 years with the same company, and they can take these benefits with them wherever they go.”

In addition, according to MetLife’s annual survey, 55% of employees feel that payroll deductions for voluntary benefits help them to be more disciplined about saving. This discipline — coupled with the financial safety net the benefits provide — can also translate into increased enrollment in company-sponsored 401(k) plans. At the very least, the report suggests, accident and critical-illness insurance might help curb a trend toward increasing credit-card debt incurred by participants in high-deductible health plans.

And companies are beginning to see quality VBs as retention tools. The MetLife survey suggests that employees who feel good about their company’s benefit package are much more likely to enjoy their jobs and to feel loyal to their employers.

“In small to mid-sized companies, when Joe or Jill has a heart attack, everyone knows about it,” Mooradian and Lambert write. “A $10,000 critical-illness payout within weeks of a diagnosis becomes good news that travels fast. Maybe that’s why critical-illness coverage is experiencing double-digit growth.”

But D’Amaddio cautioned employers about who they partner with to administer such benefits.

“We’ve heard some horror stories,” she told BusinessWest. “You want to make sure your partner is all about service for your employees, because an employee might say, ‘this is a great benefit, even if I have to pay for it’ — until they can’t get a claim processed, or they can’t get hold of a representative, or the service is inadequate. Then it becomes a detriment.”

In most cases, however, voluntary benefits are proving to be a key safety net for employees, one they’re more than happy to pay for.

 

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Doing Business as Certificates

By
DBA Certificates Departments

The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of October 2012.

 

AGAWAM

 

Blue Goose Cupcakery

159 Main St.

Kristin K. Ashe

 

Chasam Boutique, LLC

159 Main St.

Tammy Gentile

 

Fursique

360 North Westfield St.

Jennifer Scully

 

Pioneer Precision Grinding

40 Bowles Road

Christopher Bignell

 

Weddings by Trista

322 Meadow St.

Trista Leonesio

 

AMHERST

 

Backyard Bakery

33 Ward St.

Dorie Goldman

 

Big Red Taxi

42 Polly Village Place

Ajeet Fuller

 

Charter 21

7 North Pleasant St.

Mary J. Viederman

 

Game Central Station

220 North Pleasant St.

Agueel Ahmed

 

Penny Farthing Investment Management LLC

6 South East St.

Eric Bright

 

Phoenix Feather Press

55 High Point Dr.

Loraine Young

 

Pioneer Valley Open Science

336 North Pleasant St.

Donald Blair

 

CHICOPEE

 

Action Construction Services

108 Greenpoint Circle

Stanton Collier

 

American Home Energy Raters LLC

165 Front St.

John J. Kosak

 

DP Enterprises LLC

60 Dwight St.

Ferndes Delciney

 

Fiona’s Spa

1888 Memorial Dr.

Ling Chen

 

Giovanni’s Pizza

1885 Memorial Dr.

Turgut Aydin

 

Napa of Western Mass.

49 Circle Dr.

Timothy Hurley

 

EASTHAMPTON

 

Shema

88 Loudville Road

Edward Machat

 

Tanden Bagel Company

9 Railroad St.

Christopher Zawacki

 

HADLEY

 

Alina’s Ristorante

96 Russell St.

Martin Barraza

 

Exotic Auto Repair

184 Russell St.

Paul Narus

 

KT Hair Imports

153 Rocky Hill Road

Kyra Troiano

 

HOLYOKE

 

Bridge Motor Sales

914 Main St.

James W. Roule

 

Calendar Club

50 Holyoke St.

Veysel Ozen

 

D & M’s Variety

522 South Bridge St.

Diana Morales

 

La Pescaderia Restaurant

389 Main St.

Victoria Williams

 

RBW Painting

12 Florence Ave.

Bruce White

 

RSS Holyoke

128 Allyn St.

Mark Wotton

 

NORTHAMPTON

 

Amblyobe Press

74 Maynard Road

Richard Brunswick

 

Chameleon’s Hair Salon

2 Conz St.

Michael Marvin

 

M & M Cleaning

377 Florence Road

Ashley Samson

 

Plumb Auto Supply

125 Carlon Dr.

Frederick Pitzer

 

Rick Mott’s Auto Repair LLC

442 Elm St.

Richard Mott

 

Sweetbrier Birth & Postpartum Services

2313 Brewster Court

Allison Cwalinski

 

The Dirty Truth

29 Main St.

Nathan Blehar

 

Uname It Print

73 Bridge St.

Abdul Kabba

 

Valley Hands

342 Pleasant St.

Dorene Pennell

 

PALMER

 

MERG

32 Smith St.

Thomas Cassidy

 

River East School to Career Inc.

1455 North Main St.

Loretta Dansereau

 

SA Martin Heavy Truck and Equipment Repair

84 Beech St.

Shawn Martin

 

SPRINGFIELD

 

1 Home Health Care

77 Firglade Ave.

Hetty Reis

 

Abarca Tree Service

30 Paramount St.

Benito Abarca

 

African Diaspora Mental Health

17 Arvilla St.

Joseph C. Strickland

 

American Ballroom Dance

469 Sumner Ave.

Richard J. Labrie

 

Ara-Springfield Dialysis

125 Liberty St.

Kristen J. Ziemba

 

Arena Colorful

1196 St. James Ave.

Erik Christopher

 

El Caribeno Restaurant

858 State St.

Isidro Rodriguez

 

El Morro Bakery & Restaurant

599 Page Blvd.

Neidy Cruz

 

Family First Music Group

90 Teakwood Road

Christian A. Lowe

 

Family Home Improvements

230 Fort Pleasant Ave.

Pablo Martinez

 

Food Mart

353 Allen St.

Masood Ghani

 

Golden Fingers Barbershop

433 White St.

Younes H. Tony

 

GXM Windows

24 Seminole St.

David Montanez

 

JS Wireless

1655 Boston Road

Joonsoon Lim

 

JD Cole-TV

59 Meredith St.

Jeremy D. Cole

 

Jose Santiago Home Improvements

34 Woodcliff St.

Jose A. Santiago

 

K & L Exchange

1192 Parker St.

Lien A. Chen

 

Kim’s Wigs & Boutique

950 State St.

Kevin S. Lee

 

Kumar & Andy Inc.

145 Boston Road

Sneh Kumar

 

WESTFIELD

 

Champion Tae Kwondo

98 Franklin St.

Chung S. Park

 

David M. Ritchie Plumbing and Heating

35 Barbara St.

David Ritchie

 

Elegant Tailoring Shop

69 Elm St.

Larisa Ovchinnikova

 

Furrow Engineering

199 Servistar Industrial Way

Frank DeMarinis

 

Larsen Creative Media

36 ½ Cross St.

Benjamin Larsen

 

New England Apiaries

53 Elizabeth Ave.

William D. Crawford III

 

WEST SPRINGFIELD

 

Affordable Auto Glass Inc.

806 East Elm St.

Joseph J. Esile III

 

Bertera Mitsubishi

526 Riverdale St.

Bertera Automobile Corporation

 

Big Lots

1150 Union St.

Big Lots Stores Corporation

 

Circle of Life Holistic Massage

1096 Memorial Ave.

Marianne M. Swiatek

 

Cooper Works Services & Products

93 Charles Ave.

Ricky R. Cooper

 

DSG

1284 Elm St.

Richard Leaderman

 

Kwarciany Construction

78 Smyrna St.

Michael A. Kwareiany

 

Liz Bontempo Productions

19 Hillside Ave.

Elizabeth Bontempo

 

O’Neal Management

203 Circuit Ave.

James Bethea

 

Rotary Liquors

52 Park St.

Jennifer Demerski

Briefcase

By
Briefcase Departments

City Issues RFQ/RFP for Casino; Consultant Cleared

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield has issued its Phase I request for qualifications/request for proposals for a proposed destination casino resort development to be located in the city. Through this RFQ/RFP process, the city seeks to pre-qualify enterprises desirous of participating in the city’s Phase II process, the purpose of which will be to select one or more enterprises with whom the city will negotiate a host-community agreement for the development, construction, and operation of a destination casino resort project. Upon the successful conclusion of those negotiations, targeted for the end of April 2013, the final host-community agreement or agreements will be submitted to the City Council for approval and then to the city’s voters. Once approved in this manner, the host-community agreement must be provided to the Mass. Gaming Commission by any applicant for a gaming license.  The RFQ/RFP can be downloaded at www.springfield-ma.gov/casino. “We are excited to formally launch the casino selection process,” said Mayor Domenic Sarno. “We look forward to a robust competition which will determine the company or companies with whom we will enter into a host community agreement. This is an important first step that we anticipate will result in the largest economic-development project in the city’s history, bringing thousands of good-paying jobs to our great city, along with significant opportunities for our business community and sustainable economic benefits for our residents for many years to come.” In other developments, the state Ethics Commission cleared Springfield’s casino consultant of a possible conflict of interest. The chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission had questioned whether that Shefsky & Froelich — a registered lobbyist in Illinois for Penn National Gaming and MGM Resorts, two of the companies seeking a casino license in the city — could be objective in advising Springfield. “We are pleased with the Ethics Commission’s opinion and thank the commission for its time and consideration of this very important matter,” said Cezar Froelich, chairman of the firm, in a statement. “By filing the disclosure forms required by Massachusetts law, we believe we have fully complied with such law in a manner that allows us to provide unbiased advice to the city.”

 

UMass Awarded $308,000 for Life Sciences Project

AMHERST — The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) announced the approval of a $308,000 capital grant to support a research project at UMass Amherst titled “Life Sciences Research & Innovation: Growth Strategy for UMass Amherst in the Massachusetts Bioeconomy.” The project is a formal study of opportunities to catalyze life sciences and life sciences-related economic development in Western Mass. The $308,000 grant will enable UMass Amherst to increase the breadth and depth of industry collaborations; enhance access of other stakeholders to assets at UMass Amherst and in the Pioneer Valley, such as the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute (PVLSI) in Springfield; serve as a connector to the UMass system, the Commonwealth, and beyond; and catalyze the Western Mass. innovation ecosystem, especially in the life sciences. The MLSC is the agency charged with implementing the state’s 10-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative, proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick in 2007 and approved by the Legislature in 2008. The Life Sciences Initiative targets $95 million in capital funding for UMass Amherst to construct an additional building within its new life-sciences complex, in which the school has already invested $270 million in recent years. The data collected during the project will inform UMass Amherst’s and the center’s future life-science-related investment plans in the region, including the building that is targeted for funding in the Initiative. “Gov. Patrick and I want to see positive development within the life-sciences industry for Western Mass.,” said Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray. “With this planning grant, the information gathered will inform our strategy for life-sciences growth in the region and further strengthen our state’s global leadership in this important field.” Added Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, president and CEO of the MLSC, “as we pursue our mission of accelerating growth in Massachusetts’ thriving life-sciences supercluster, we are very focused on making investments across the entire Commonwealth, including the western part of the state. UMass Amherst is an important partner in that effort, and we are pleased to award this funding to support their forward-looking plans for life sciences growth in the region.”

 

Leadership Pioneer Valley Announces 2012-13 Class

CHICOPEE — Leadership Pioneer Valley (LPV) officially kicked off the 2012-13 leadership development class of 40 emerging and established leaders. Leadership Pioneer Valley is addressing the need to build a diverse network of leaders who aspire to work together across traditional barriers to strengthen the region. The new class members will take part in a 10-month program of experiential learning that will take place at locations across the Valley. The field-based and challenge-based curriculum is specifically designed to help the class members refine their leadership skills, gain connections, and develop a greater commitment to community stewardship and cultural competency. “The curriculum builds on the strong feedback from our inaugural class with some adjustments to make this an even stronger program,” explains Leadership Pioneer Valley Director Lora Wondolowski. “The program is divided equally between seminar-style days that will focus on advanced leadership skills and field experiences, where participants will get a hands-on view of communities throughout the Valley. The program also features small-team projects, where class members will address a regional need.” The 2012-13 class members are: Jessica Atwood, Franklin Regional Council of Governments; Jeff Bagg, Town of Amherst; Krista Benoit, Dietz & Co. Architects Inc.; Suzanne Bowles, Alliance to Develop Power/ADP; Nancy Buffone, UMass Amherst; Nicolle Cestero, American International College; Kristin Cole, Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce; Ayanna Crawford, YMCA of Greater Springfield; Nicholas Criscitelli, MassMutual Financial Group; Laurie Davison, Westfield Bank; Charity Day, Franklin County Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority; Roshonda DeGraffenreid, Baystate Health; Kyle Kate Dudley, Drama Studio Inc.; Julie Federman, Town of Amherst; Tony Franco, United Bank; Julie Gentile, Hampden Bank; Jeannette Gordon, New England Farm Workers’ Council; Erica Johnson, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission; Lori Kerwood, Cooley Dickinson Hospital; Dawn Koloszyc, Cooley Dickinson Hospital; Ljuba Marsh, Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School; Dr. Julio Martinez-Silvestrini, Baystate Health; Irma Medina, Holyoke Community College; Donald Mitchell, Western Mass. Development Collaborative Inc.; Georgia Moore, Cooley Dickinson Health Care Corp.; Benjamin Murphy, United Way of Hampshire County; Glenn Posey, Western Massachusetts Electric Co.; Jon Queenin, Specialty Bolt; Jason Randall, Peter Pan Bus Lines; Lidya Rivera, Springfield Housing Authority; Debra Roussel, Town of Amherst; Alfonso Santaniello, the Creative Strategy Agency; Mark Sayre, MassMutual Financial Group; Sarah Schatz, Sarah’s Pet Services LLC; Maureen Trafford, Community Foundation of Western Mass.; Emmanuel Vera, MassMutual Financial Group; Janice Watson, YMCA of Greater Springfield; Tracye Whitfield, City of Springfield; Danielle Williams, GADA; and Anthony Wilson, City of Springfield.

 

MGM Casino Plan

Includes Union Station

SPRINGFIELD —  MGM Resorts International announced that it will include a plan to integrate a revitalized Union Station into its hotel, casino, and entertainment district proposal for downtown Springfield. The newest piece of MGM’s $800 million dining, retail, and entertainment district proposal is in response to the city of Springfield’s initiative to restore the historic Union Station to its full potential. As part of its plan, MGM would locate its regional corporate office and its regional training institute for new employees to Union Station. “Our project isn’t just about one neighborhood or community or interest group,” explained Bill Hornbuckle, MGM’s chief marketing officer and president of MGM Springfield. “It is about helping to create a better future for an entire city, and tying in Union Station is just one example of how we intend to leverage the global strength of MGM to attract new opportunities, growth, and prosperity to every corner of Springfield.” MGM has been meeting with city officials, community leaders, and residents in neighborhoods across the city to discuss MGM Springfield, which was first announced on Aug. 22. Over the course of those conversations, it became clear to the MGM team that restoring Union Station to its former glory was a top priority and major focus for the City of Springfield. “The vision Springfield’s elected leaders and city officials have put forward for Union Station is truly inspiring,” said Hornbuckle. “We’ve heard loud and clear that restoring this landmark is a key priority, and we want to play a leading role in making this a reality.” Hornbuckle said he has personally toured Union Station on multiple occasions, along with Jim Murren, MGM’s chairman and CEO. “The minute we first set foot in that building, we knew this was a place where we had to be,” said Hornbuckle. “We fell in love with the history and architecture, as well as the opportunity to help revitalize passenger rail service in Springfield.”

 

BCBS Names Leaders in Healthcare Access

BOSTON — Eighteen emerging leaders in healthcare access have been named to the seventh class of the Mass. Institute for Community Health Leadership (MICHL), a leadership-development program designed to help high-potential professionals increase their personal impact and enhance their health organization’s influence in the community and the healthcare system. The 18-day educational program takes place over the course of nine months, offering a highly experiential curriculum that includes classroom work, peer-to-peer exchanges, and collaborative learning.  During the program, students develop and implement a project that addresses a healthcare issue impacting low-income and vulnerable people in Massachusetts. MICHL engages participants in exploring the leadership challenges facing healthcare organizations in Massachusetts, identifying and building the capacities and competencies leaders will need to meet the challenges, and fostering collaboration among private nonprofits, public agencies, and academic institutions. The 2012-13 class includes: Rebecca Balder, Health Safety Net director, Division of Health Care Finance & Policy; Melinda Burri, director of Operations, Windsor Street Health Center; Paulette Renault-Caragianes, director, City of Somerville Health Department; Marta Chadwick, director, Violence Intervention & Prevention Program, Brigham & Women’s Hospital; Kevin Coughlin, executive director, Greater Lowell Health Alliance; Holle Garvey, nurse practitioner, Sisters of Providence Health System; Katherine Howitt, senior policy analyst, Community Catalyst; Jacqueline Johnson, chief operations officer, Caring Health Center; Stacey King, director, Community Health & Wellness Program, Cambridge Public Health Department; Joanna Kreil, quality initiatives manager, Mass. League of Community Health Centers; Nancy Mahan, senior vice president, Program Services, Bay Cove Human Services Inc.; Matthew McCall, senior consultant, the Home for Little Wanderers; Anne McHugh, director, Chronic Disease Prevention & Control, Boston Public Health Commission; Lenore Tsikitas, health access and promotion coordinator, Mass. Department of Public Health; Rossana Valencia, clinical policy analyst, UMass Medical School; Jennifer Valenzuela, national director of program, Health Leads; Alyssa Vangeli, policy analyst, Health Care for All; and Cathy Wirth, project manager, Healthy Kids, Healthy Future.

 

Job Gains Remain Elusive in Region, Commonwealth

BOSTON —The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported that the August 2012 seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates in Massachusetts were down in 17 labor areas, unchanged in three areas, and up in two areas over the month. Over the year, the rates are down in all 22 labor areas. Statewide, the August seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate was 6.4%, down 0.2% from July. Over the year, the statewide unadjusted rate was down 0.8% from the August 2011 unadjusted rate of 7.2%. In August, the Greater Springfield area, which includes most of Hampden County and parts of Hampshire County, saw unemployment fall to 7.8% from 8% in July, and from 8.4% in August 2011. However, the seasonally adjusted statewide August unemployment rate, released on Sept. 20, was 6.3%, an increase of 0.2% over the July figure, and down 1.1% from the 7.4% rate recorded in August 2011. The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed a 4,800 job loss over the month. The national unemployment average, adjusted for seasonality, was 8.1% in August.

Back to School

By
Melissa Morriss-Olson
Nonprofit Management Sections
Colleges Tout the Value of Degrees in Nonprofit Management

Melissa Morriss-Olson

Melissa Morriss-Olson says nonprofits increasingly recognize the need to be more business-savvy.

“No money, no mission.”

That’s a commonly heard saying in the Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy graduate program at Bay Path College, a catchphrase repeated by professors and absorbed by students, many of whom already work for nonprofit organizations.

“You have to be able to manage the bottom line to fund your mission,” said Melissa Morriss-Olson, a professor in the program and Bay Path’s provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. “If you lose sight of that, all the good you want to do is not going to happen. You can’t have one without the other.”

Nonprofit organizations face tough sledding these days — with the economy sluggish and societal needs on the rise, fund-raising and program implementation is more difficult than it used to be (see story, page 16), and nonprofits increasingly realize that to compete and thrive in this environment, they have to run like for-profit businesses. One way that trend manifests itself is a proliferation in college degree programs centered on nonprofit management.

“I had founded a similar program in Chicago, one of the first academic centers for nonprofit management in the country,” Morriss-Olson said. “At the time, there were maybe 30 graduate programs in that field, and now there are well over 100 — and more than 300 colleges offer some kind of course in nonprofit management.

“That increase reflects a growing awareness of the nonprofit sector,” she continued. “It used to be that you fell into a job in the nonprofit sector; now it’s a much more well-defined career path for people who want to work in the sector. It’s everywhere in our country; in this area alone, probably once a month, a new nonprofit is starting.”

Kathryn Carlson Heler, director of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Springfield College, said such programs are attractive not only to executives and employees of nonprofits who want to advance their skills and improve their organizations, but young people and older career changers alike who are looking to launch new enterprises or take roles in established ones.

“It’s a wonderful time for people to get an education in the nonprofit world because there are so many upcoming openings in the field,” she noted. “So many of the executives are looking forward to retirement, and there’s no one behind them.”

That said, “I’ve found that a business background is a perfect background for people in the nonprofit realm, because a nonprofit is a business — a business with a mission — and having the knowledge and skills to run a business is so important.”

Bay Path and Springfield are two area schools that have created graduate programs in nonprofit management, launching their efforts in 2006 and 2010, respectively. In this issue, BusinessWest examines the different shades of such programs — and why nonprofits, and those who lead them, are starting to take notice.

 

Different Flavors

Bay Path actually offers two separate degree programs for nonprofit professionals and those who want to get into some aspect of that world.

“One is an MS in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy, and one is an MS in Strategic Fundraising and Philanthropy,” Morriss-Olson said. “They are distinct, both in the type of student who enrolls and the careers that each leads to.

The MS in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy, she noted, is geared toward those who see themselves in a management role, such as executive director, director of operations, or chief financial officer. “It gives you a really good foundation for understanding the unique management and operating context that nonprofits have.

“When I came here,” she explained, “rather than just taking the Chicago program and dumping it at Bay Path, we convened a group of about 30 nonprofit leaders in the region. We invited them to campus and discussed what they saw as the more critical leadership needs of their organizations. We took that and turned it into an advisory group, and the courses are a direct response to what those leaders told us.”

Class topics range from board governance to strategic management; from finances to law and policy matters.

“One of the biggest issues we heard is the need to know how to manage a double bottom line — being not only financially viable, but also effective in realizing the mission,” Morriss-Olson said. “In the business world, you just worry about the bottom line, but in the nonprofit world, that’s not enough. You need to be mission-driven but also smart from a financial perspective.”

That unique perspective, she explained, informs the foundation of all the courses offered. “That emphasis is the focus of every single course you take, so when you graduate, you really are schooled in management issues through the lens of that unique operating context.”

Bay Path’s other track in nonprofit education is an MS in Strategic Fundraising and Philanthropy, and it was developed after the first degree program after students began requesting more coursework in fund-raising,” she explained. The program certainly provides that, with classes in communication and relationships, donor behavior, grant writing and foundation relations, capital campaigns, planned giving, and more. “Fund-raising and getting revenue is so critical for these organizations, and they want to know as much about it as they can.”

Springfield College included Nonprofit Management as a concentration in its MBA program launched just two years ago. The track is attractive to people eyeing opportunities in health care, recreation, youth, the arts, sports, and as fund-development officers, to name just a few possible career paths.

In creating a two-pronged MBA program, “we looked at what areas would be common between a for-profit business and a nonprofit, and we have a number of courses that both types of students take,” Carlson Heler said. “Those include courses on entrepreneurship, financial management, accounting, economics, and marketing. And then there are a couple of areas that are very specific to nonprofits; one is fund-raising and philanthropy, and another is governance of an organization, so we developed courses that focus on those.”

The overlap is natural, she said, at a time when nonprofits need to become more bottom-line-driven to survive.

“Foundations and corporations that donate are beginning to say, ‘we want the nonprofits who receive our money to be run like a business; we don’t want our money to be wasted,’” she noted.

Citing the research of Dennis Young of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Carlson Heler noted that there are two different classes of nonprofits. One comprises bodies that come together to meet an immediate need over a finite period of time; the groups that responded to Springfield’s tornado destruction last year are a good example.

“Then there’s the nonprofit that’s a real business. They need all those business skills because they’re competing not only for dollars, but also for customers.”

Even colleges that don’t specifically offer nonprofit management degrees recognize the overlap. David Stawacz, assistant vice president for Marketing and External Affairs at Western New England University, said MBA programs in general are valued in the nonprofit world.

“It’s the most recognized degree,” he said. “The skills you pick up in an MBA are readily transferable to running a nonprofit — strategic planning, qualitative analysis, leadership, finance, marketing, even organizational behavior. It’s not the same as running a for-profit business and going to shareholders, but you still need to have all those pieces of the puzzle in place.”

WNEU has seen the interests of the business and nonprofit communities interlock in other ways, too, including its eight-week Leadership Institute offered from February through April each year in conjunction with the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield.

“A lot of our MBA faculty teach the workshop. Once a week, people take one afternoon off a week and go downtown and focus on leadership and strategic thinking,” Stawacz said. “It’s open to all, and it was geared in the beginning toward business, but a lot of nonprofit organizations found it valuable, and it has grown quite popular with some of the nonprofits.

“It has a lot of the same principles behind an MBA, but in a much shorter time, with a much broader view of things,” he added. “In eight weeks, you can only accomplish so much, but there are definitely a lot of skills you can take back to a business or nonprofit. It also helps with networking opportunities between the nonprofit world and the business world.”

 

Moving On Up

Morriss-Olson said many nonprofit employees see a degree in philanthropy studies as a sort of career ladder.

“We get a lot of people, in both degrees, who have worked their way up, then got to the point where they realized they needed a graduate degree to jump to the next level. And we have executives who may not need the degree, but want to add to their experience,” she said, adding that they’re finding it to be a worthwhile endeavor.

“They tell me, ‘finally I’ve got a vocabulary to help me understand the work I’ve been doing all these years.’ The coursework has helped them frame their own experiences in a way they find very helpful.”

It also helps them develop new strategies for dealing with the myriad demands placed on nonprofits today.

For many just entering the field, she said, “what surprises them is how much time and attention they have to spend managing constituencies, whether it’s community leaders, board volunteers, donors, client families — it goes on and on. We have a course in the curriculum on board governance and volunteer management; it focuses on how to recruit and then effectively manage a board, but also how to effectively deal with the volunteers who will help you with your mission.”

But it’s not only established professionals who are signing up for the degree. “A number of our students want to start nonprofit organizations, and they’ve found that enrolling in this program is a great way to get help doing that,” she continued. “One of the wonderful things about our country is, if you have an interest and want to do some good, it’s very easy to get together and get state and federal recognition for your cause,” she said.

In either case, Morriss-Olson said, it helps that many courses are taught by actual nonprofit executives who bring real-world experience to the classroom. “That’s helping us marry theory to practice.”

Carlson Heler said enrollment in the nonprofit side of Springfield College’s MBA program is low, but growing steadily. “As I go around and talk about it, more and more individuals are interested in the degree and see its worth,” she said, adding, however, that efforts to boost the numbers encounter two problems.

“One is that the nonprofit world has, in the past, relied heavily on workshops and conferences to pass along the knowledge that is needed to run a nonprofit,” she explained, “and people have the attitude of, ‘well, I can just go to a workshop on how to do an audit, or a workshop on how to market my program,’ instead of thinking, ‘hey, how about a degree?’

“The second thing,” she continued, “is that it costs money to get a graduate degree. It can be expensive, and a lot of nonprofits do not have the funds to send their people back to school.”

She hopes that’s changing. “I have a wonderful student out of Connecticut who is an executive director; her board is paying her whole way because they do see the benefit.”

As those benefits become more apparent, expect enrollment to rise — not only locally, but across the country. After all, knowledge is power, and nonprofit organizations fighting for every dollar can never have too much of that.

 

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Well Developed

By
Features
Business Expo Offers Inspiration and Education to Attendees

A man who climbed Mt. Everest. A woman who built her business from nothing and sold it for over $200 million. The head of the company that makes FiveFinger running shoes. These dynamic speakers and more are all at the Western Mass. Business Expo on Oct. 11. Why would you be anywhere else?

“This Expo is exceptionally well-developed this year,” said Kate Campiti, associate publisher of BusinessWest, which is producing this second annual event. “The variety of our inspiring, high-level speakers, informative programs, and the depth of our educational seminars are unmatched.”

From the Expo Kickoff Breakfast, with Mass. Commissioner of Higher Education Richard Freeland, presented by the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield (ACCGS), to the Expo Luncheon with Michael Clayton, Ambassador for Trust, who led the most successful BBB in the nation, and 12 educational seminars throughout the day, the schedule is fully packed. After only one year, the success of the Expo’s outreach and the audience that it attracts demonstrate how it has evolved into yet another educational experience.

“We’ve created what we’re calling ‘co-located’ events,” said Campiti. “These are events that would have occurred elsewhere, but the ease of opening up to our public has brought them to the Expo.”

Of those events, the first, from 8 to 9:30 a.m., includes the Purchasing Management Association of Western New England, a membership organization that serves the manufacturing community and the purchasing arm of those companies. The group will host their monthly meeting with Herb Robins, who will speak on “Lean 8 Wastes and Inefficiencies.”

From 10 a.m. to noon, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, UMass, and the Scibelli Enterprise Center at STCC will sponsor a Business Service Provider MeetUp. This event offers the nonprofits and agencies that serve small startups and entrepreneurs a chance to meet each other and learn more about how each agency helps their clients.

From 1 to 4 p.m., the Assoc. of Operations Management, a group that supports the manufacturing sector, will welcome Birgit Matthiesen of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Assoc., who covers Capitol Hill and the Executive Branch, and works closely with U.S. associations toward heightened North American competitiveness.

In addition to more than 180 exhibitors, other highlights include Michael Matty of St. Germain Investment Management, who just recently climbed Mount Everest; Nancy Butler, author of Above All Else: Success in Life and Business; Michael Martin, GM of Vibram FiveFingers running shoes; four sessions about e-mail marketing and social media by Constant Contact; a Health Care Corridor; and the aforementioned co-located events that will provide impetus for the region’s business community to learn, build lasting relationships, and grow.

And speaking of relationships, the day will close out with what has become known simply as the Expo Social, where exhibitors and visitors can converse with each other from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Again, why would you want be anywhere else?

Sponsoring this entire event is Comcast Business Class, in addition to silver sponsors Health New England, Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, and Stevens 470. Booths are going fast, but a few are still available and can be ordered by calling (413) 781-8600, logging onto www.wmbexpo.com or www.BusinessWest.com, or e-mailing [email protected].

Dream Weaver

By
Cover Story
Entrepreneur Matches People with Business Opportunities

BW0812bCOVER
More than a decade ago, after the downsizing of his family’s business, Serv-U, Steve Rosenkrantz was trying to decide what to do next. He knew he wanted to run his own business, but didn’t know exactly which path to take. He enlisted the help of a company called Entrepreneur’s Source, which links clients with franchises — and the franchise they linked him with was Entrepreneur’s Source. Since then, he’s helped dozens of couples and individuals take charge of their lives and turn dreams into reality.

Tim Scussel still has many good things to say about the McDonald’s corporation.
“They were great … they made me an owner when I had no money,” said Scussel, who would eventually go on to operate three outlets for the fast-food chain — one at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield and the others in Enfield.
But things didn’t end well between Scussel and the company. Indeed, frustrated by what he considered unreasonable demands for him to essentially tear down and rebuild one of the Enfield locations — among many other things — the franchisee eventually sold out and commenced a search designed to identify what he would do next in terms of business ownership.
He didn’t know exactly what he wanted, but he had some parameters. He wanted to remain the kind of hands-on operator he was at McDonald’s — “I was at the stores every day; I was behind the counter working most days,” he said. But he also wanted a franchise, or corporate parent, that was more supportive and less combative. Meanwhile, he and his wife and full business partner, MaryAnn, desired fewer hours, a considerable drop in the number of times their beepers went off, and, overall, far greater control of their own destiny.
And Steve Rosenkrantz managed to find all that for them in an outfit called The Maids Home Services.
As the name suggests, this is a company that provides cleaning services, in this case for mostly residential clients. The Scussels now manage two such franchises, one serving Western Mass. and the other in the Greater Hartford area.
They arrived at this stage thanks to a process that Rosenkrantz, himself a franchisee with a company called Entrepreneur’s Source, describes with a number of words, phrases, and acronyms (like ILWE — income, lifestyle, wealth, and equity — more on that later), but boils down succinctly by saying that he helps people take charge of their lives.

Judy and Peter Yaffe

Judy and Peter Yaffe had never worked with seniors or the disabled before taking over a franchise of Homewatch Caregivers.

And by that, he meant that he often helps people transition from the corporate world to the realm of entrepreneurship. Put another way, he said he provides people with the resources to take a dream and make it reality.
Elaborating, he described his role as being not that of a consultant, but rather much more like a life coach and business coach combined. “People tell me what they want their life to be like,” he told BusinessWest, adding that, through an exhaustive process that could last from a few months to several years, he helps them find that life.
“We call ourselves coaches, not consultants,” he explained. “I think of a consultant as someone who’s an expert in a certain area, brought in to fix something; they get compensated, and they leave. A coach, quite simply, puts up guardrails on the highway and lets the client steer the car. We provide the inspiration.”
And very often, it’s with a business they would never have imagined being in.
Such was the case with the Scussels, and also with Jim Brennan and Rick Crews, two local businessmen, neither with anything approaching a background in health care, who wound up starting a Doctor’s Express franchise and now have several locally and in the Boston area.
And it was that way with Peter and Judy Yaffe, who had never worked with seniors or the disabled, but now operate a franchise of Homewatch Caregivers based in West Springfield. Over the course of roughly a decade in business, they’ve expanded into larger quarters twice, and now have eight office employees and about 100 caregivers in the field, who provide non-medical services to more than 80 clients a week, on average. And like most who have made the transition from employee to employer, they thoroughly enjoy that status.
“It was really a rush at the beginning — I really enjoyed the idea of not working for anyone else,” said Peter. “It was a complete and utter change for me, a 180-degree shift from what I had been accustomed to, and I loved it. I loved the free expression and the independence, and the idea of not needing a committee of people to agree with what I wanted to do. It was extremely exhilarating and stimulating.”
For this issue, BusinessWest takes an indepth look at Rosenkrantz’s entrepreneurial gambit, taken just over a decade ago, and how he assists others when they arrive at what he called the “career crossroads.”

Franchise Players

Tim and MaryAnn Scussel

Entrepreneur’s Source helped Tim and MaryAnn Scussel find a career that offers them far greater control over their own destiny.

As part of his efforts to market himself and stay in touch with clients and potential clients, Rosenkrantz sends out a number of company-produced correspondences that blend words and pictures to get some messages across — and remind people that he’s there and available for free consultation. Together, they pretty much tell the story of what he does and, to a large extent, how he does it.
There’s one with three portable toilets on the front and the headline, “you don’t have to love a product or service to capitalize on it.”
“Some people think you have to have an emotional connection to a business to be successful; the reality is, successful people are ‘in the business of business’ — they don’t have a love affair with the product of service,” it reads on the back. “The type of business you choose is less important than its ability to get you where you want to be.”
There’s another with that time-honored image of a needle in a haystack, with the headline “finding new career directions can be a little daunting.”
“On their own, most people find themselves wasting time, looking in all the wrong places,” it reads on the back. “They hunt for the business that will make them successful. But the business doesn’t make you successful: you make yourself successful. The business is just a vehicle.”
And then, there’s the one with a monster under a child’s bed and the one-word headline “boo!” On the back, the card explains what Rosenkrantz calls the FEAR (false evidence appearing real) factor. “Fears need a reality check,” the missive explains. “Exploring change can be uncomfortable, stirring up feelings like fear. But just because you have a feeling doesn’t mean events will bear it out. Give yourself permission to dream a little. We’ll take care of the monsters.”
In essence, what Rosenkrantz has been doing for the past 11 years is putting a strong touch of reality to all that hyperbole and, in the process, encouraging people to dream a little and help make their dreams real. Perhaps it’s best summed up with one more of those correspondences, the one with a closeup of a doorknob and the simple message, “you can’t open new doors with a closed mind.”
Opening minds to the full range of franchise opportunities has become an art and a science for Rosenkrantz, a process he knows intimately, because he went through it, from the other side of the desk — figuratively speaking, because most of his work is now carried out virtually, and there is no desk.
The story starts with the dramatic downsizing of what was once a chain of Serv-U hardware and home-improvement stores, owned and managed by Rosenkrantz and five cousins. When most of those pieces were sold off — a locksmith operation and decorating center remain — Rosenkrantz commenced a search for what to do next and turned to Entrepreneur’s Source for some guidance.
Like many of the people he now helps, he was intent on being in business for himself, and in an interesting twist of fate, one of the franchise opportunities put in front of him to consider was Entrepreneur’s Source.
“I was a model client; I went through the whole process in 2001,” he explained. “And I liked it so much that I said to my Entrepreneur’s Source coach, ‘I want to do what you’re doing.’ And he said that, coincidentally, one of the opportunities he had for me was that company.”
Over the past 11 years, Rosenkrantz, who is paid by franchisors when successful matches has made, has helped script many transition stories for individuals and couples, following those axioms printed on the company’s correspondences, especially the ones about keeping an open mind and finding opportunities in places that one wouldn’t expect.
And as he talked about what he does, he returned to that notion of being a life coach and business coach rolled into one.
“We are very empathetic about our clients,” he explained. “We get to understand what their emotions are, where they’ve been, and where they want to go to. It’s more than just looking at a résumé; it’s understanding the whole personal and family dynamics to be the best of our ability, to then fit the right business culture to their personality and what drives them. We don’t just throw ideas at them … we find out what makes them tick.”
And with that, he summoned that acronym (or phrase) ILWE, which pinpoints the four things he works to help people find.
“What we tell people is that you can have a great job and get the first two — income and, if it’s the right kind of job that gives you flexibility and autonomy, the lifestyle as well. What you generally can’t build as easily in the working-for-someone-else corporate world are the last two, wealth and equity.
“Building equity is about something of substance that you call yours,” he continued. “It’s your business to sell, or hand down to your children, to do what you want. Often, the first thing people say to me is, ‘the appeal to me of owning a business is that I want a clear, 10-year exit plan on my terms, not someone else’s.’”

At Home with the Idea
Many of these factors came into play with the Yaffes, who together launched a search for a business to run after Peter parted ways with Casual Corner in the fall of 2001 after a 20-year stint in which he served in many roles, including director of merchandise control.
Finding a job, especially one with the salary and benefits he was earning, wasn’t easy in the downturn that followed 9/11, said Yaffe, who told BusinessWest that his search took on a different complexion after he took in a PowerPoint presentation given by Rosenkrantz at a meeting involving the outplacement group he was involved with.
“I had never owned a business, but my background was a really good background for owning one,” he explained. “I just didn’t understand the product or service — but you can learn the product or service more easily than you can gain the financial background.”
The next step was a host of questions that comprise a big part of what Rosenkrantz calls the “discovery process.” Such questions cover everything from personal and financial background to the type of business the potential client believes he or she would be suited for and like to pursue.
“He has 500 franchises in his database, and he came up with five he wanted me to validate,” said Yaffe, adding that, while a few of these sparked some interest, he eventually asked for five more. That first batch included a paint business, a stained-glass operation, and a health-and-wellness outfit with a name that escaped him.
“Inches Away … Pounds Away … something like that,” he recalled, adding that, while he and Judy gave this option some real consideration, they ultimately concluded that the price — and the opportunity — were not quite right.
Somewhere along the way, Yaffe started thinking about home care, and while one of the companies he researched wasn’t in the Entrepreneur’s Source database, Rosenkrantz included a different company, Homewatch Caregivers, in the next batch of five.
Making a long story somewhat shorter, Peter Yaffe said he did some extensive research on the Denver-based company, and found it to be the match that the couple was looking for. It wasn’t something they knew a lot about from a business perspective, but they understood from personal experience both the importance of the service and its vast potential at a time when people are living longer and, in many cases, desiring to remain in their homes.
“The key to buying it was that we saw the potential for helping all these people because we had gone through it ourselves,” she said, noting that her mother needed some forms of assistance in the home, which she and others provided, and Tim’s parents also needed care. “We saw the potential for a business that would grow.”
So while Judy stayed on at a job as program director of the Hatikvah Holocaust Education Center in Springfield to secure needed benefits (she would join the venture roughly a year later), Peter leased a small space in West Springfield and commenced the process of getting the business off the ground.
The learning curve was fairly significant, he said, while echoing some of Rosenkrantz’s literature when he said that it’s not necessarily the type of business one gets into that determines success, but the skills and drive that one brings to the table.
“I never felt frightened,” said Peter. “I felt determined, and there was no question that I would be successful; failure never entered my mind — I wouldn’t allow it to enter my mind.”
As they talked with BusinessWest, the Yaffes stopped to offer a quick tour of their new offices — larger quarters in the same professional building on Union Street in West Springfield they’ve been in from the beginning. They’ve occupied the new space for several weeks now, but wall art and other forms of décor still sit in boxes waiting to be hung — testimony to how busy they’ve been and how successful their business has become.
It’s also an indicator of how well Rosenkrantz’ process works, and how people with the right skill sets and requisite measure of resolve can succeed in a business they probably couldn’t have imagined being in.

A Clean Break
Rosenkrantz, who said that he’s typically working with 30 or 40 people at a time and at all of the various stages of the process, told BusinessWest that his clients’ stories vary widely, but a common denominator is that they’re going through change — loss of a job, divorce, and relocation are just some of the triggers — and figuring out what to do with their lives.
And while he works with people of all ages, he says most of his clients are in their 40s, 50s, and 60s and might have achieved the first two parts of the ILWE equation (that’s might have), but are probably still searching for the others. And they possess many of the attributes necessary to be in business for themselves.
“They have good street smarts — they have some common-sense skills,” he said of those who have successfully made the transition. “They’ve lived a life, they understand personal and family battles and career battles, and they’ve persevered in many ways. Franchising really tends to embrace these people, while the corporate world, while it can’t say anything, generally doesn’t embrace that 63-year-old male.”
Franchising certainly embraced Tim Scussel. Indeed, as he talked about his relationship with McDonald’s, he noted that it lasted 35 years — and for roughly 33 of them, things were generally good.
But those last two … well, he summed them up with an anecdote or two that effectively conveyed his frustration with the corporate giant.
“They wanted me to rebuild the Enfield Street location, which I did,” he recalled. “A few years later, they said they wanted me to knock down the Elm Street location and rebuild it. I told them there was nothing wrong with it — it had all the latest equipment. When I said ‘no,’ they harassed the heck out of me for two years every single day, to the point where I finally said, ‘I’m done.’”
Long before he officially parted ways with the company, Scussel began the search for what would come next. He knew Rosencrantz from his days at Serv-U and counted him as a customer in a small swimming-pool cleaning-and-maintenance business he also operated.
“I was working on his pool one day and said to him, ‘Steve, it’s time to talk; what is out there for other businesses?’ I knew I was leaving McDonald’s — the train was leaving the station, and there was nothing I could do to stop it, short of knocking a building down. It was time to move on.”
After a lengthy period of discovery — ascertaining what the Scussels wanted from their next business venture — Rosencrantz presented them with several options, including a dry-cleaning outfit, a picture-framing operation, and The Maids. None seemed particularly appealing, Tim Scussel recalled, but he did copious amounts of homework on each, eventually had several conversations with the owner of The Maids, and liked what he saw and learned.
The couple started with the Hartford location and expanded into Western Mass. with what Tim called a satellite operation in 2006. The Great Recession certainly took its toll — maid service would, in most cases, anyway, fall into the category of discretionary spending — but they rode out the storm and are climbing back to something approaching pre-downturn business volume.
Meanwhile, they also have the lifestyle and supportive franchise that were both missing from the equation years ago.
“The culture here is to support the franchisee, not criticize,” he said. “The focus is on helping people grow their business, which is a breath of fresh air for me. That’s one of the things I was looking for, and I was able to find it.”

Taking Ownership of the Situation
A quick look around the Scussels’ facility in West Springfield reveals that they’ve traded golden arches for all things yellow and blue (mostly yellow)  — the corporate colors of The Maids Home Services.
The walls, marketing materials, uniforms for field employees, and business cards all feature that scheme, and they even have a bright yellow station wagon, decked out with the company name and logo, with which to visit clients and travel between the two locations.
But beyond the new colors, they also have a new and different relationship with their franchisor, and, in many respects, a different and better lifestyle. It came about through a unique business matchmaking process, which is both an art and a science, said Rosenkrantz, and a method by which people can truly take charge of their lives.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Learning Experiences

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Features
Business Expo Will Feature a Wide Array of Educational Programs

Mobile marketing. E-mail marketing. Social-media marketing.

These are terms that most people in business has no doubt heard, and that most have uttered themselves. But not many can truly say they fully understand them, or know how to effectively utilize them to move their company or organization forward.

They’ll have a much better appreciation after attending the Western Mass. Business Expo 2012 on Oct. 11 at the MassMutual Center. Indeed, among the nearly two dozen informational programs to be presented that day will be “The Growing Role of Mobile Marketing: New Trends in Mobile and Why Consumers Love It,” “The Power of E-mail Marketing,” and “Social-media Marketing Made Simple.”

“E-mail marketing is the most cost-effective, targeted, trackable, and efficient way to build and maintain relationships for all types of businesses and organizations,” said Corissa St. Laurent, director of Regional Development for Constant Contact New England, which will present the latter two programs. “In this [e-mail] session, participants will discover how communicating with customers regularly can help a small business stay connected and generate increased referrals and repeat sales, as well as unwavering customer loyalty.”

As for mobile marketing, Tina Stevens, president of Stevens 470, who will present that program, said research shows that the number of mobile Internet users will exceed desktop users by 2014, and business owners must be prepared for that eventuality.

“Mobile devices have become so easy and convenient to use, they are now an integral part of our on-the-go lifestyle,” said Stevens. “Many of us are using a mobile device as much as, or more than, our desktop computer. We want businesses to realize that this is happening, and help them find ways to use this mobile technology to their advantage.”

These programs, part of the broader Sales & Marketing category of programs, are good examples of the way in which the Expo is much more than a networking event and opportunity for a company to gain exposure — although those opportunities exist as well, said Kate Campiti, associate publisher of BusinessWest, which will again produce the event.

“We want to provide attendees with tools, resources, and knowledge that business owners and managers can take back to their offices or plants and put to use the next day,” said Campiti. “That’s why we’ve made educational programs such a big part of the Expo. The expertise offered by our many speakers is one of many ways of providing value to attendees and exhibitors alike.”

The full roster of educational programs will be finalized over the next few weeks, said Campiti, adding that, in addition to Sales & Marketing, other categories will include Management & Leadership and General Business. In addition to the 21 seminars, there will be a number of Show Floor Theater presentations, including a talk by Michael Martin, vice president of Sales for Vibram FiveFingers, who will tell that company’s intriguing story, while also addressing the broader subject of innovation and how one development — such as the FiveFingers product — can lead to a number of growth opportunities for a company.

Details of the Expo are emerging, said Campiti, adding that organizers have been meeting through the spring and summer to finalize programs and fill in a schedule of events that will begin with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and conclude with the popular Expo Social starting at 4:30 p.m., a get-together that has become one of the more highly anticipated networking events of the year.

Highlights will include more than 180 exhibitors, breakfast and luncheon speakers, presentation of the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Awards, educational seminars and special programs, a Technology Corridor, a Health Care Corridor, and a number of co-located events that will bring more people, energy, and opportunities for doing business to the MassMutual Center.

The event is being sponsored by Comcast Business Class (presenting sponsor), and silver sponsors Health New England, Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, and  Stevens 470. Additional sponsorships are available.

Booths are also still available, and can be ordered by calling (413) 781-8600, logging onto www.wmbexpo.com or www.businesswest.com, or e-mailing [email protected].

 

— George O’Brien

Making Their Case

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From left, Louis Moore, Tracie Kester, Cal Annino, Mark Draper, and Trant Campbell.
Law Sections
Annino Draper & Moore Charts a Growth Strategy

From left, Louis Moore, Tracie Kester, Cal Annino, Mark Draper, and Trant Campbell.

From left, Louis Moore, Tracie Kester, Cal Annino, Mark Draper, and Trant Campbell.

Cal Annino says most law firms, especially smaller boutique operations like his, don’t traditionally embrace those proverbial five-year operating plans.

“Things change much too quickly in this business for that,” he explained, referencing all that’s happened over the past half-decade to get his point across. But this doesn’t mean that firms can’t undertake strategic planning, he stressed repeatedly.

At Springfield-based Annino Draper & Moore, or ADM, as it’s called, the firm he started with Mark Draper and Louis Moore (former colleagues at the firm Ryan & White) in 1990, planning is a year-round assignment usually focused on the shorter term, said Annino. And often, track is laid at a year-end meeting of the minds, or planning session, in the firm’s conference room.

At the most recent one, last December, the partners decided to move ahead with everything from a larger and more visible satellite office in Westfield (it has another, similar facility in Northampton) to more extensive marketing, including a revamped and expanded Web site and an electronic newsletter, to a hard push into the realm of alternative dispute resolution, or ADR.

“We’ve jumped with two feet into the arbitration and mediation aspects of alternative dispute resolution,” said Annino, the firm’s managing partner, adding that the creation of the ADR Group was an aggressive step taken in response to ongoing trends toward greater use of ADR and thus less work in the courts, and the recognized need to fill voids in business in such areas as estate planning, family law, and others.

Draper is a certified arbitrator who has handled a number of cases, and others at the firm have taken mediation training, Annino noted, adding that ADR services could become a strong growth area for the firm moving forward, especially if marketed aggressively, which ADM intends to do.

“With the reputation that this firm has in the marketplace now, once we let people know that we’re in the mediation and arbitration business, this will be a good source of business for us,” he explained, adding that, with ADM’s expertise across many areas of the law, it could mediate or arbitrate a wide range of matters.

The past several months have been spent putting the ADR Group and other strategic initiatives into effect, said Annino, adding that these steps, coupled with the firm’s wide diversity of specialties — covering everything from construction law to estate planning; environmental law to general business law — has Annino Draper & Moore positioned for continued growth.

For this issue and its focus on business law, BusinessWest turns the spotlight on a two-decade-old firm that is shedding its comparatively low profile and taking intriguing steps in response to changes in the legal profession, as well as the local business community.

 

Firm Resolve

Tracing the history of the firm, Annino said it is one of several that were essentially spun off from Ryan White, which at one time had more than two dozen lawyers and was one of the largest firms in the area.

Lawyers in that firm were “compartmentalized” into certain practice groups, he continued, adding that, with their backgrounds in diverse areas, the three individuals with the names now over the door decided there was proper chemistry and synergy for a partnership.

The firm had a solid foundation in the form of clients that stayed with the three partners after they left Ryan & White, and continuously built on that foundation over the years.

“We’ve been able to grow because many of the clients who came with us when we left Ryan & White are still with us,” he continued. “We have very loyal clients, and, frankly, we do a great job for them. We do excellent work, and we’re responsive; that’s what a small firm has to do in order to compete.”

Trant Campbell, who specializes in everything from family law to dispute resolution, joined the firm in 2007, and the latest addition is Tracie Kester, Annino’s one-time assistant and paralegal, who earned her J.D. at Western New England Law School, became an associate at the firm soon thereafter, and was named partner earlier this year.

From the beginning, the firm’s success has been attributed to its diversity and ability to provide a wide range of services to specific clients.

Annino, the firm’s managing partner, focuses on corporate law, municipal and health care law, banking and finance, commercial and residential real estate, estate planning, and elder law, while Draper specializes in construction law and civil litigation. Moore’s areas of practice include environmental law, land-use issues, municipal law, insurance law, civil litigation, and dispute resolution, while Campbell focuses on family law and domestic relations, estate planning, business and corporate law, and dispute resolution, and Kester specializes in business and corporate law, commercial and residential real estate, estate planning and elder law, and civil litigation.

“The work I do in residential and commercial real estate works out well with Mark’s construction practice and Lou’s environmental practice,” said Kester, offering just one example of the synergies within the company and how the various specialties complement one another and improve the overall quality of service. “Any time I have a hint of an environmental problem with one of my real-estate deals, I go down to hall — I don’t pass ‘Go,’ don’t collect $200, and go straight to Lou’s office.”

There is similar synergy between estate-planning work and real estate, noted Campbell, adding that ADM can handle a full range of client needs, and often without having to go outside the firm for an expert.

“Clients’ legal needs don’t necessarily fall in one area,” he explained. “If there was an estate administration going on, there may be a piece of real estate involved, and there may be some environmental issues and some title issues. What I found when I came here was a willingness and a desire on the part of the other members of the firm to help us reach a solution; it’s a great level of comfort.”

Moore agreed. “We don’t do everything that the large firms do,” he said, “but the things we do, we do well and more cost-effectively than most other firms.

“It’s not unusual, especially in some more complex matters, when you’re dealing with a larger firm on the other side, to see them have two or three lawyers in a meeting or at a hearing,” he continued. “And maybe not in every instance, but many of them, clients are getting billed for that.”

The firm’s diversity and cost-effective service have served the company well during the recent — and in many ways still ongoing — economic downturn, he continued, adding that the firm, like most all others, struggled during the leanest of times, especially in hard-hit fields like construction, where most activity came to a grinding halt, but persevered without cutbacks or salary cuts because of its broad range of specialties.

 

Case in Point

Looking ahead, Annino said the business community, and society in general, are moving increasingly in the direction of ADR, and the firm is responding accordingly — and proactively — with its new ADR Group.

He noted that in addition to divorce and other areas where ADR has been used effectively for many years, there is vast potential for the firm to gain business in such areas as environmental law, construction law, and family law.

“When people find out that we’re doing environmental, family, and contract mediation and arbitration — and we really haven’t told them yet, but we’re starting to — I think we’re going to be very busy,” he said. “I see the family-mediation piece as one where there is growth potential — I’m not aware of it being done extensively now.

“You look at a case where the parents die and now there’s an issue with the estate,” he continued, offering an example of the type of work he anticipates. “You’ve got four children, and everyone is going to get a lawyer. If you’re well-thought-of as being able to mediate or arbitrate those types of issues, rather than fighting them out in the courtroom, that would seem like the perfect venue to resolve family disputes — privately, quietly, and less expensively.”

When asked how a firm, or a specific individual, gains a solid reputation in the realm of ADR, Draper said it does so by becoming known for both expertise and fairness, which can only be attained through time, experience, and thoughtful resolutions.

“The first thing you need to do is get the word out, which we’re trying to do,” he told BusinessWest, noting the use of the firm’s Web site and other vehicles to introduce the service. “Beyond that, it’s just like any aspect of a legal practice — if the parties in the mediation or arbitration perceive you to be fair, then I think you’ll get a good recommendation from the parties and the attorneys. On the other hand, if you’re perceived as being unfair or biased toward one party or the other, you’re not going to get a good recommendation from either side.

“If I see someone who has a bias as an arbitrator, I’m disinclined to use that person,” he continued, “because I’m not sure where the bias is going to fall next time. So it’s just like building any other kind of practice.”

While working to build its portfolio in ADR, the firm is making strides with many of the other strategic initiatives identified last December.

For example, the firm has relocated into larger quarters on Broad Street in Westfield, providing improved visibility. Annino and Kester (both Westfield residents) spend at least one day in a week in that city, which has recorded significant residential and business expansion in recent years and offers strong growth opportunities.

Meanwhile, the firm is moving ahead with plans to market itself more aggressively and become much more visible than it has been in the past.

Specific steps include the revamped Web site, which will, in addition to offering information about the firm, its lawyers, and their areas of expertise, provide visitors with information on timely issues of the day, as well as a new e-newsletter sent to hundreds of clients and prospective clients.

The first edition, which came out in June, chronicles the Westfield relocation, announces Kester’s new status as partner, introduces the new ADR services, and even offers a bit of commentary on the economy.

“We have definitely noticed an uptick in business and consumer confidence and a resulting demand for legal services,” it reads. “There is also new optimism in our clients. Much of our new work results from clients expanding business operations or taking advantage of new business opportunities. It is exciting to be part of this emerging vitality, and to see long-time clients optimistic again about the future for their families and businesses.”

 

Closing Argument

Whether this perceived uptick and rise in optimism translates into new growth opportunities for ADM remains to be seen. But it’s clear that the firm is taking solid steps to effectively position itself within a changing economic and legal landscape.

As Annino noted, five-year plans don’t generally work out in the legal industry. But firms still need to look down the road and anticipate where opportunities will be found and take proactive steps to capitalize on them.

And ADM has a firm resolve — both literally and figuratively — to do just that.

 

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]