Baystate Franklin Names Dr. Thomas Higgins Chief Medical Officer

GREENFIELD — Dr. Thomas Higgins has joined Baystate Franklin Medical Center and the Baystate Health Northern Region as chief medical officer.

A graduate of Boston University with a bachelor’s degree in medical science, Higgins continued at BU to earn his medical degree. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. He completed a residency in anesthesiology, was chief resident, and completed a fellowship in critical care at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also earned an MBA at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.

Higgins joined Baystate Health in 1996 as chief of Baystate Medical Center’s Critical Care Division. Since 2012, he has served as vice chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Medicine and as interim chief in the Division of General Medicine/Community Health. He is a professor of Medicine, Surgery, and Anesthesiology at Tufts University School of Medicine.

In his new role, Higgins will be responsible for completing the integration of clinical services lines with Baystate Medical Center and enhancing BFMC’s ICU and hospital-medicine capabilities. He will also be working on increasing the number of residents and medical students in BFMC and the Northern Region, further developing telemedicine capabilities with BMC, and ensuring that physician quality of care meets national standards.

Higgins has co-authored two medical textbooks on critical care, and has over 100 publications in medical journals. He recently co-authored a pictorial history of Baystate Medical Center. “Originally, my plan was to make a little brochure to give to our residents,” he admitted. “As I got into the project, it just became more fascinating, and it morphed into a full-length book. I hope to eventually write similar books for the other entities that make up Baystate Health.”

An enthusiastic overseas traveler and photographer, Higgins volunteers every other year with the Himalayan Health Exchange, a month-long expedition that combines service, education, and adventure to provide care to the underserved populations in select, remote areas of India. “My trips have allowed me to both provide much-needed and much-appreciated care to people in very remote areas, while getting a taste of the culture and enjoying the opportunity to take some amazing photographs of both the people and the landscapes,” he said.

Also a musician, Higgins plays guitar in a rock band called SutureSelf; most of the band members are Baystate Health physicians. “We have a great time at our rehearsals, and tend to play mostly for charity events,” he explained. “It’s a fun release from the stresses of careers as doctors.”