Healthcare Heroes 2024

Back in 2017, BusinessWest created a new recognition program to recognize those working in the region’s large, and critically important, healthcare sector.

After much deliberation, we settled on the name Healthcare Heroes, and since then, many have asked the question, ‘how do you define hero?’

Our answer has always been simple, direct, and something along these lines: we don’t define ‘hero,’ you do.

Which explains why, over the years, we’ve honored a diverse cast of individuals and groups that are, in the eyes of those nominating them, true heroes for the ways in which they improve quality of life for those they touch. And the class of 2024 continues this tradition.

We tell the stories of eight Healthcare Heroes, each one different, but with common threads, especially a passion for their work and an ability to change lives.

Go HERE to see the 2024 Healthcare Heroes Digital Flipbook

Click on the names below to read each story of this years Healthcare Heroes:

Dr. Andrew Balder

Attending physician at Baystate Mason Square Neighborhood Health Center, honored in the Lifetime Achievement category for working tirelessly on behalf of those who are traditionally underserved, with a specific focus on the homeless population and infant mortality, child maternal health, and birth outcomes;

Bernice Drumheller

Past president of NAMI Western Massachusetts, another honoree in the Lifetime Achievement category, who, driven by the struggles of her son, Mark, has become a tireless advocate for those with mental illness and their families;

Lucinda Canty

Associate professor of Nursing and director of the Seedworks Health Equity Program at UMass Amherst, honored in the Community Health category for her efforts to improve health equity for traditionally underserved women of color;

Peta-Gaye Johnson

Director of Healthcare Workforce Initiatives for the MassHire Hampden County Workforce Board, honored in the Collaboration category for working tirelessly — and with a wide array of partners — to help ensure there is a reliable pipeline of healthcare workers

Maggie King

Occupational therapist at Baystate Health, honored in the Provider category for bringing passion and compassion to her efforts in the NICU to not only care for newborns, but help parents through perhaps the most stressful time in their lives;

Alexa Mignano

Director of School-Based Clinical Services at River Valley Counseling Center, honored in the Collaboration category for expanding an effective — and much-needed — mental-health counseling program to students in some 70 schools;

Dr. Laki Rousou

Chief of Thoracic Surgery, chief of Robotic Surgery, and medical director of the Lung Cancer Screening Program at Mercy Medical Center, honored in the Innovation category for using both advanced technology and screening to lower mortality rates in an all-too-deadly disease

Janet Williams

Professor of Biology at Elms College, honored in the Education category, whose work in the field of biology has influenced a generation of nursing and health-sciences graduates and significantly impacted the healthcare industry locally and beyond