In Search of Heroes

In the spring of 2017, BusinessWest and its sister publication, HCN, created a new and exciting recognition program called Healthcare Heroes.

It was launched with the theory that there are heroes working all across this region’s wide, deep, and all-important healthcare sector, and that there was no shortage of fascinating stories to tell and individuals and groups to honor.

Two years later, that theory has been validated, and stories that needed to be told have been told.

Some of them have involved individuals known to many across this region, such as Sr. Mary Caritas, SP, former president of Mercy Hospital and an inspirational leader for more than 60 years. And Bob Fazzi, the first leader of the nonprofit that became known as the Center for Human Development, and later the founder of Fazzi Associates, a company that provides a variety of products and services to home-care, hospice, and community-based programs.

But many have involved lesser-known individuals and groups, many of them working on the front lines of healthcare, saving lives and improving quality of life for those they touch every day.

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of heroes whose stories we still need to tell. And that’s where you come in.

Indeed, BusinessWest and HCN are now actively seeking nominations for the Healthcare Heroes class of 2019. Nominations are due July 12, and we encourage you to get involved and help recognize someone you consider to be a hero in the community we call Western Mass. in one (or more) of these seven categories:

• Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider;

• Health/Wellness Administrator/Administration;

• Emerging Leader;

• Community Health;

• Innovation in Health/Wellness;

• Collaboration in Health/Wellness; and

• Lifetime Achievement.

Since we launched this initiative, many people have asked, ‘how do you define hero?’ We generally reply by saying, ‘what’s more important is how you define hero.’

A hero is someone you have come to recognize as a difference maker, a game changer — someone, or some group, that has stepped forward and changed the equation in a very positive way through what they do day in and day out.

People and groups like these — the Healthcare Heroes for 2017 and 2018:

Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider

• 2017: Dr. Michael Willers, owner of the Children’s Heart Center of Western Massachusetts;

• 2018: Mary Paquette, director of Health Services and nurse practitioner, American International College.

Health/Wellness Administrator/Administration

• 2017: Holly Chaffee, RN, BSN, MSN, president and CEO of Porchlight VNA/Home Care;

•2018: Celeste Surreira, assistant director of Nursing, the Soldiers Home in Holyoke.

Emerging Leader

• 2017: Erin Daley, RN, BSN, manager of the Emergency Department at Mercy Medical Center;

• 2018: Peter DePergola II, director of Clinical Ethics, Baystate Health.

Community Health

• 2017: Dr. Molly Senn-McNally, Continuity Clinic director for the Baystate Pediatric Residency Program;

•2018: Dr. Matthew Sadof, pediatrician, Baystate Children’s Hospital.

Innovation in Health/Wellness

• 2017: Dr. Andrew Dobin, director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Baystate Medical Center; and Genevieve Chandler, associate professor of Nursing at UMass Amherst;

• 2018: TechSpring.

Collaboration in Health/Wellness

• 2017: The Healthy Hill Initiative;

• 2018: The Consortium and the Opioid Task Force.

Lifetime Achievement

• 2017: Sr. Mary Caritas, SP;

•2018: Robert Fazzi, founder and managing partner, Fazzi Associates.

As we said, there are many more heroes to be recognized. To nominate one, visit HERE and click on ‘Our Events’ and then ‘Healthcare Heroes.’