Healthcare Heroes
Healthcare Heroes
4thAnnual Healthcare Heroes Awards
Healthcare Heroes 2020 to Honor the Heroes of COVID-19
Since the phrase COVID-19 came into our lexicon, those working in the broad healthcare field have emerged as the true heroes during a pandemic that has changed every facet of life as we know it. And over the past several months, the world has paid tribute to these heroes, and in all kinds of ways — from applauding in unison from apartment-complex windows to bringing hot meals to hospital and nursing-home workers; from staging parades in front of these institutions to donating much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE).
BusinessWest and its sister publication, the Healthcare News, will pay tribute in their own way, by dedicating our annual Healthcare Heroes program in 2020 to those who are have emerged as true heroes during this crisis. We invite you to nominate one, or several, for what has become a very prestigious honor in Western Mass. — the Healthcare Heroes award.
Save the Date
4th Annual Healthcare Heroes Gala
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020
5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Sheraton Springfield One Monarch Place Hotel
2020 Nominations Have Closed
Deadline to submit nominations is July 17, 2020, 5 p.m. NO EXCEPTIONS.
2020 Presenting Sponsor
2020 Partner Sponsors
2020 Supporting Sponsor
Look Back at the 2019 Healthcare Heroes
When BusinessWest and Healthcare News launched Healthcare Heroes in 2017, there was no doubt this was a long-overdue award program in Western Mass. — in fact, we knew the challenge wouldn’t be finding quality nominations, but choosing just a handful to honor each year. Indeed, this year’s judges (see below) carefully studied about 100 different nominees in seven categories to choose the impressive group to be honored at this year’s gala in October.
Collectively, they are innovators and game changers in the region’s rich and vibrant healthcare community, and their stories — told on the following pages — reveal large quantities of energy, imagination, compassion, entrepreneurship, forward thinking, and dedication to the community.
There are eight winners in this third class, with two in the category of Lifetime Achievement, because two candidates were tied with the top score. The Heroes for 2019 are:
• Lifetime Achievement (tie): Katherine Wilson, president and CEO, Behavioral Health Network Inc.; and Frank Robinson, vice president, Public Health, Baystate Health;
• Health/Wellness Administrator/Administration: Emily Uguccioni, executive director, Linda Manor Assisted Living;
• Collaboration in Health/Wellness: Carol Constant, convener, Dementia Friendly Western Massachusetts; and director of Community Engagement, Loomis Communities;
• Community Health: Amy Walker, certified nurse midwife, Cooley Dickinson Health Care;
• Emerging Leader: Tara Ferrante, program director of the Holyoke Outpatient Clinic, ServiceNet;
• Innovation in Health/Wellness: Cristina Huebner Torres, vice president, Research & Population Health, Caring Health Center Inc.; and
• Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider: Shriners Hospitals for Children – Springfield.
View the 2019 Healthcare Heroes Program Guide Flipbook HERE
3rd Annual Healthcare Heroes
Scenes from the Healthcare Heroes 2018 Gala
Passion is the word that defines these heroes. And it was on clear display Oct. 25 at the Starting Gate at GreatHorse in Hampden, site of the Healthcare Heroes Gala. Go HERE to view the 2018 Healthcare Heroes Program Guide.
This was the second such gala. The event was a huge success, not because of the venue (although that was a factor) or the views (although they certainly helped), but because of the accomplishments, the dedication, and, yes, the passion being relayed from the podium.
The Healthcare Heroes Sponsors for 2018:
American International College and Baystate Health/Health New England are presenting sponsors for Healthcare Heroes 2018. Additional sponsors are National Grid, partner sponsor, and Elms College MBA Program, Renew.Calm, Bay Path University, and Trinity Health Of New England/Mercy Medical Center as supporting sponsors.
The Healthcare Heroes for 2018 are:
Mary Paquette
Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider:
Mary Paquette, director of Health Services/nurse practitioner, American International College
Celeste Surreira
Health/Wellness Administrator/ Administrator:
Celeste Surreira, assistant director of Nursing, the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke
Peter A. DePergola II
Emerging Leader:
Peter DePergola II, director of Clinical Ethics, Baystate Health
The Consortium and the Opioid Task Force
Collaboration in Health/ Wellness:
The Consortium and the Opioid Task Force
Meet the Judges
There were more than 70 nominations across seven categories for the Healthcare Heroes Class of 2018. Scoring these nominations was a difficult task that fell to three individuals, including two members of the Class of 2017, with extensive backgrounds in health and wellness. They are:
Holly Chaffee, MSN, BSN, RN: Winner in the Healthcare Heroes Health/Wellness Administrator/Administration category in 2107, Chaffee is president and CEO of VNA Care, a subsidiary of Atrius Health. Formerly (and when she was named a Healthcare Hero) she was the president and CEO of Porchlight VNA/Homecare, based in Lee.
Dexter Johnson: A long-time administrator with the Greater Springfield YMCA, Johnson was named president and CEO of that Y, one of the oldest in the country, in the fall of 2017. He started his career at the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA, and, after a stint at YMCA of the USA, he came to the Springfield Y earlier this decade as senior vice president and chief operating officer.
Dr. Michael Willers: Winner in the Patient/Resident/Client-care Provider category in 2017, Willers is co-owner of the Children’s Heart Center of Western Mass. Formerly a pediatric cardiologist with Baystate Children’s Hospital, he founded the Children’s Heart Center of Western Mass. in 2012
Healthcare Heroes 2017 Celebration
Healthcare Heroes 2017 Event
October 20, 2017
Scenes from the October 2017 Gala Photos by Dani Fine Photography There were more than 70 nominations for the inaugural Healthcare Heroes class, and each
HERO (n.) a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.
BusinessWest and Healthcare News have created Healthcare Heroes to honor those who live up to that word’s definition. This region’s health and wellness sector is large, diverse, and dominated by heroes of all kinds. They’re on the front lines, in the administrative office, the research lab, the neighborhood clinic, the family dentist’s office, the college health and science building. They’re making real contributions to the quality of life in our communities, and it’s time to recognize their efforts!
