CEO Corner

At Lowell General Hospital and Circle Health, we talk a lot about our mission – Patients First in Everything We Do. It is more than words; it is a deeply embedded culture that guides every decision, on good days and the most challenging ones.

That culture of providing the best possible care for our community has deep roots that were seeded and fostered by those who came before us. It is with that in mind that I want to acknowledge the impacts of three individuals who we lost in a short amount of time this fall.

Gil Campbell, Dr. David Pickul and Dr. Roy Maletz were men who took different paths, but who shared a passion for making this community a healthier, better place to live for all of us.

Whether it was Gil Campbell’s leadership and philanthropy, or Dr. Pickul’s and Dr. Maletz’s dedication to caregiving, they set the standard of care beyond what you would expect from a community hospital, and we continue to follow the trail that they blazed.

So when an unprecedented public health crisis arrived, despite all of the challenges it presented to our staff and operations, as an organization we did not recoil. We stepped forward for our patients, because that’s who we are.

Critically ill patients were cared for in the state-of-the-art Gil and Marilyn Campbell ICU. Our care teams innovated at the bedside. Our operations and clinical teams maintained a safe, healing environment in our hospital and set up a field hospital in a college gymnasium – twice. And when we saw a need for vaccine in the region, we set up a vaccination site that delivered more than 140,000 doses.

This kind of commitment carries over to the care and services we provide every single day, and has for a very long time.

I hope you will take some time to look through the Spring 2022 edition of Lowell General Hospital's For Your Health magazine, which will give you a closer look at the incredible care we deliver to our patients, at every stage of life.

Just as those who came before us, we believe you deserve the best possible care, close to home. When you or a loved one needs us, I invite you to find out what patient-centered care is all about.

As our physicians, nurses, and support teams work on the front lines to care for our community, I want to take this opportunity to thank the residents of the Merrimack Valley for their continued support and share the work being done at the regional and state levels to respond to this crisis. 

Since we first learned of the potential impacts of this pandemic, I have been working closely with healthcare leaders and local, state and federal officials to ensure Lowell General Hospital and our partners have the resources they will need now and after this crisis is behind us. We have also received great support from our partners at UMass Lowell as we worked to set up the alternative care site on their campus. 

A key resource in the statewide effort has been the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association (MHA), a nonprofit organization that represents 83 hospitals across the state, bringing our collective voices together on a range of issues to advocate on behalf of healthcare in the Commonwealth. In June, I had the honor of being named the 79th Chair of the MHA's Board of Trustees, and that one-year term was recently extended six months in light of the pandemic response. 

The MHA's ability to coordinate efforts among all of its member organizations during this crisis has been vital. Each morning I join the state's healthcare CEOs on a MHA call to discuss our needs and how we can work together to meet them. These calls often include the Governor and his team as discuss the needs of individual communities and how they can support our work. The MHA's advocacy has helped reduce regulation around issues like scope of practice and liability, secure much needed PPE and other equipment, and secure relief funding, of which allows us to focus on patient care. 

The MHA and our team are also working closely with the federal delegation to make sure we have the resources we need. A great example is the support we have received from Congresswomen Lori Trahan, who helped us secure additional ventilators through locally based companies like Zoll and Raytheon. 

Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not mention the incredible collaboration taking place through Wellforce. Under the leadership of new CEO Michael Dandorph, our system is accessing the supply chain, allocating resources across the system, and partnering in capacity and care like never before. 

All of this collective work is making an incredible difference in our ability to meet the significant challenges this pandemic has brought to our organization. Thanks to the teamwork and partnership being displayed across this region and state, we will be a stronger community once this is behind us. 

As we turn the calendar forward to a new year, Circle Health is now just 8 years old, yet much has happened in that time.

The goal of this progressive health system is to make sure our sickest patients can receive the highest quality care close to home, while less serious illnesses and injuries can be cared for in the communities we serve.

An important piece of that journey has been the creation of Circle Health outpatient centers, anchored by an urgent care, patient service center and primary care providers. The opening of Circle Health Tewksbury in 2019 was our fourth such facility, joining similar centers in Westford, Billerica and Dracut.

At the same time, we renovated our Intensive Care Unit at the main campus, creating two state-of-the-art units that are among the most advanced and patient-focused in New England. Soon we will shift our attention to updating the first floor and Emergency Department at our Saints campus, which remains vital to our region’s healthcare system.

If we can improve the quality of our care while making it more convenient, more people will choose to access that care, and we can create healthier communities for all of us. Healthcare is changing quickly, and Circle Health is poised to stand at the leading edge.

We are excited to see what the future holds in 2020, and discover how Circle Health can empower you to lead a healthier life