CAREER PULSE – February 2017

Fazzi Associates Announces Leadership Transition

NORTHAMPTON — Dr. Robert Fazzi, founder and managing partner of Fazzi Associates, announced that Tim Ashe has been promoted to chief operating officer and is now responsible for the firm’s day-to-day leadership.

Ashe joined Fazzi in 2006 and became a partner in 2007. Since that time, he has led the firm’s Operational Consulting Division to provide organizational, operational, turnaround, and change-management services to home-care and hospice agencies across the country. Under his leadership, Fazzi has helped hundreds of agencies improve outcomes and profitability through best practices in organizational structure, clinical and operational processes, and new models for staffing, supervision, and care management. More recently, he also assumed responsibility for the company’s Outsourced Billing, Finance, and Information Technology divisions.

Along-time leader in the field of home care and hospice, Ashe’s expertise and career has included a unique blend of clinical, operational, fiscal, and academic roles. He is a frequent presenter at national and state conferences and is often asked to contribute to industry forums. He is also the co-director of the 2016-17 National Home Care and Hospice State of the Industry Study.

Dr. Robert Fazzi, the firm’s founder, will continue as Fazzi’s managing partner. But in transferring the leadership of the firm’s daily operations to Ashe, Fazzi will devote more time to the company’s future investments as well as to national and international community-based-care issues that are near and dear to his heart.

“I want to say, at this milestone in Fazzi’s history, that I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished and contributed to our industry thus far, and I’m also incredibly excited about what the future holds,” Fazzi said. “Tim is an incredible leader. I am looking forward to working closely with him as we expand our national and international efforts.”

HealthSouth Welcomes Barone to Leadership Team

LUDLOW — HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Western Massachusetts recently welcomed Susan Barone to its senior leadership team as director of Marketing Operations. She brings extensive healthcare experience to HealthSouth, as she has worked in the Western Mass. community for 25 years as a registered nurse and has held roles in hospital operations and medical practice leadership.

Barone’s area of expertise includes healthcare business development and marketing, with a vast knowledge of the area’s healthcare community. She received her nursing education from Baystate Medical Center School of Nursing, a bachelor’s degree from Bay Path University, and an MBA in healthcare leadership from Elms College.

JGS Lifecare Names Petruccelli Vice President of Quality Improvement

LONGMEADOW — JGS Lifecare recently named Karen Petruccelli vice president of Quality Improvement. She is responsible for quality improvement of all JGS Lifecare services, including the resident/patient experience, risk management, and regulatory affairs.

Petruccelli is a registered nurse who brings more than 20 years of post-acute nursing experience to this position. Previously, she served as director of Clinical Services for Athena Healthcare Systems. In this role, she was responsible for the nursing clinical management for multiple nursing and rehabilitation centers in several states. Prior to that, she served as a nursing consultant for various skilled-nursing facilities.

“Karen clearly brings to JGS Lifecare a wealth of administrative experience in clinical sub-acute settings,” said Martin Baicker, president and CEO of JGS. “Her skills and expertise are critical assets as we undertake the challenge to elevate our standard of care, and not only maintain but continually improve the skilled-nursing care we provide in our nursing home, rehab center, assisted-living residence, adult day healthcare program, and our home-health and hospice-care agency. We feel confident that, under her leadership, we will create a culture of excellence that will improve our organization’s performance and outcomes.”

Petruccelli has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Canyon College and an associate’s degree in nursing from Quinnipiac University’s School of Allied Health.

Tremblay Merges Practice with Florence Dental Care

FLORENCE — Florence Dental Care announced that Dr. Donald Tremblay has merged his dental practice into the Florence Dental Care practice. Tremblay and his staff now see patients at his new location at 41 Main St., Florence.

Tremblay practiced in Easthampton for almost 40 years. He received his doctor of dental medicine degree from the University of Louisville in 1977. He joins Drs. George Falk, Patrick Lang, Benjamin Falk, Mark Stevens, and Theresa Hoang. Florence Dental Care has provided dental services to children and adults in the Pioneer Valley since 1974.

Tremblay’s patients now have the added benefits of receiving expanded dental treatment options with the doctors at Florence Dental Care. In addition, emergency dental care is provided by Tremblay or one of the doctors seven days a week.

Community Enterprises Welcomes Tessier

GREENFIELD — Dick Venne, president and CEO of Community Enterprises, announced the appointment of Paula Tessier as director of Employment and Training Programs at the Greenfield office. She will manage all aspects of those programs and implement the organization’s mission and values by overseeing community-based employment and training services for individuals with disabilities.

Previously in Boston, Tessier managed statewide community programs in youth violence and suicide prevention and also managed federal grants that refined protocols for the state Department of Public Health. She has a history of assisting Greenfield residents, as she was previously responsible for overseeing the coordination of five local, grass-roots, anti-poverty programs. She also managed the Woman in Action Center and the local Food Pantry sites while serving as the Community Programs director for Community Action of Franklin County.

Tessier earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of Connecticut and completed master studies in international and intercultural service, leadership, and management at the School of International Training in Brattleboro, Vt.

Four Baystate Dietitians Earn Key Recertification

SPRINGFIELD — Four Baystate Health dietitians — Leatrice Finck, Alice O’Connor, Lora Warren, and Young Hee Kim — were recently recertified as certified nutrition support clinicians (CNSC). The National Board for Nutrition Support Certification and its credentialing program promote the safe delivery of nutrition support by certified professionals who have the necessary level of knowledge and skills to provide quality care. Nutrition support is the delivery of feedings through tubes or IV when a patient is unable to eat.

The CNSC examination measures an individual’s knowledge of safe and effective multi-disciplinary practice in nutrition support and provides formal recognition of nutrition-support knowledge. A total of seven CNSC-registered dietitians work in the Baystate Health system. In addition to these practitioners, Cecilia Wei, Lois Levin, and Anne Maher have also passed this rigorous exam and are certified in nutrition support.

Nationally, there are only 4,200 certified nutrition support clinicians in practice, 90{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} of whom are registered dietitians. The remaining practitioners are nurses, pharmacists, physicians, and physician assistants. While all registered dietitians working in an inpatient setting must demonstrate competency in nutrition support, these practitioners are practicing at an advanced level.

STCC Names Barb Chalfonte to Institutional Effectiveness Role

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) announced the promotion of Barb Chalfonte to serve in the newly created role of Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness. The creation of the new position elevates Institutional Effectiveness (IE) and underscores the importance of seeking to enhance the college’s processes and promote student success, said STCC President John Cook. With Chalfonte at the helm, IE will become its own division and have a broader reach. Previously, Institutional Effectiveness had been nested under Academic Affairs. Chalfonte, who came to STCC in 2010, had served as dean of Institutional Effectiveness and senior research analyst. In her new role, Chalfonte will report directly to Cook and serve as part of his cabinet. Created in 2012, Institutional Effectiveness helps sustain and improve the teaching and learning environment through ongoing data and research-based planning, assessment, and improvement processes. The work of this division going forward will be to facilitate and promote planning and analysis throughout the college. “We collaborate with diverse groups to review the college’s mission, goals, and outcomes and demonstrate the achievements of our faculty, staff, and students,” Chalfonte said. Often colleges have several offices charged with enhancing pedagogy, institutional research, enrollment analysis, and assessment. STCC, however, is one of only a few community colleges in the Northeast that integrates this work into a single entity.