Page 25 - Healthcare News Jan/Feb 2022

DR. URSULAMCMILLIAN
KELSEYMCDONALD
JOYPETERSON
JOHN ANZ
AMANDAPOUSSARD
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 WWW.HEALTHCARENEWS.COM 25
CAREER PULSE CONT’D
for our healthcare system,” MHA President and CEO Steve Walsh said. “In just her short time at the helm of Cooley Dickinson, Dr. Watkins has emerged as an extraordinary advocate for the patients, caregivers, and communities
that the organization serves. Her expertise in care quality, patient safety, and financial management will be of tremen- dous value to the work of MHA and our members.”
MHA’s board of trustees continues to be at the center of the Commonwealth’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. It also steers the direction of the association’s advocacy efforts on Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill.
In addition, the 2022 board will oversee the association’s strategy to address diversity, health equity, and inclusion, including the recently announced push to ensure diverse representation on governing boards.
Watkins, an ophthalmologist and healthcare administra- tor and leader, took over as president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Health Care in September 2021. Prior to that, she was the group chief medical officer for the Baptist Health System/Tenet Healthcare – Texas Group.
Glenmeadow Welcomes McDonald, Peterson to Team
LONGMEADOW — Kelsey McDonald, director of Life Enrichment, and Joy Peterson, director of Sales, recently
began careers at the Glenmeadow life-plan community in Long- meadow.
McDonald previously worked as an occupational therapist, rehab technician, and certified nursing assistant with several area rehabili- tation providers and hospitals. She will oversee Glenmeadow’s life- enrichment programming, which is designed to nurture the whole person — mind, body, and spirit — using the six dimensions of wellness, which include physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, and social.
McDonald graduated with honors from Springfield Technical Community College and received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the
University of Massachusetts. She is currently enrolled in an online doctoral program in gerontology at UMass.
Peterson has more than 20 years of marketing and sales experience working for organizations providing senior- living and at home services in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. She believes in a consultative approach to support families in identifying needs and helping educate everyone about the benefits of community living to prevent isolation.
Peterson graduated from Westfield State University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and holds a master’s degree from Lasell College with a concentration in elder- care marketing.
Rogers Named Managing Director of Care Coordinate, LLC
MASSACHUSETTS — Care Coordinate, a statewide net- work that provides access to high-quality and cost-effective home- and community-based services, of which LifePath is a partner, named Sean Rogers its managing director.
A senior-level executive with extensive home-care and community-based experience, Rogers most recently served
as vice president of Strategy and Development at Amedisys, a leading provider of in-home healthcare for older adults. Additionally, he has held state government leadership positions at the Executive Office of Elder Affairs, where he served as director of Operations, and with the Department of Mental Health as director of Budget and Core Services for the metro-suburban region.
In this new position, Rogers will leverage the strength of Care Coordinate’s network of aging-services access points (ASAPs) to offer a single, statewide entity for insurance plans, accountable-care organizations, and other pro- viders and payers to manage and administer long-term services and supports that drive quality care and improved outcomes for its partners. Services offered include in-home case management, care transitions, provider-network management, third-party billing and claim operations, and consultative solutions.
Rogers received his education and training in human- resource management, financial systems, administration, and leadership from the U.S. Coast Guard. He is currently on the board of directors of the Home Care Aide Council and serves as president of the board of the Home Care Aide Foundation.
“I am excited to work with the exceptional leadership team of Care Coordinate’s board of directors and to lead the organization in the delivery of efficient, effective, and high-quality community-based care,” Rogers said. “I am looking forward to leveraging the decades-long expertise of the ASAP network and will work to further expand the value it has brought to the long-term services and supports community.”
Berkshire Health Systems Appoints Poussard to Staff of Operation Better Start
PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Health Systems announced the appointment of Amanda Poussard, a board-certified pediatric primary- care nurse practitioner, to the staff of Operation Better Start.
Poussard provides care for children and adolescents with failure to thrive, eating disorders,
and other nutrition-related illnesses. She is also passionate about LGBTQ+ health. Operation Better Start provides these services through Poussard in its Pittsfield and North Adams offices.
She received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from UMass Amherst and her master of science in nursing degree in pediatric primary care from Emory University in Atlanta.
Poussard describes her care as family-centered, adding that “I believe strongly in building a safe space and strong community for our children to be able to grow and develop to their greatest potential. My approach to patient care is holistic, attainable, and family-oriented. It is a privilege for me to be involved in the care of my patients.”
Cooley Dickinson Surgical Care Welcomes McMillian
NORTHAMPTON — Cooley Dickinson Health Care recently welcomed Dr. Ursula McMillian to the Cooley Dickinson Medical Group’s General Surgical Care practice at 15 Atwood Dr.
McMillian joins the practice’s current roster of surgeons that in- cludes Dr. Michelle Helms, Cooley Dickinson’s Chief of Surgery Dr. Holly Michaelson, and acute-care nurse practitioner Casey Fowler. McMillian’s arrival brings new surgical services to Cooley Dickin- son and helps to offset the recent
departure of longtime general surgeon Dr. Alvah Hinckley, who retired in 2021.
McMillian is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in Storrs, where she also earned her bachelor’s degree in physiology and neurobiology. Her general surgical internship was completed at UMass Medi- cal School in Worcester, and she completed residency at Yale New Haven Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, Conn. She earned a minimally invasive and bariatric surgi- cal fellowship at Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Conn., and is a credentialed robotic surgeon (DaVinci) after complet- ing a program at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, where she worked as a surgeon from 2013 to 2018. Board- certified by the American Board of Surgery, McMillian comes to Cooley Dickinson from Holyoke Medical Center, where she worked for the last three years.
Anz Joins Leadership
Team at Loomis Communities
SPRINGFIELD — The Loomis Communities an- nounced that John Anz, former director of Development and interim executive director for the Springfield Sym- phony Orchestra (SSO), has joined Loomis as director of Development and Community Engagement.
He will be responsible for fund development and outreach to the three Loomis-affiliated senior- living communities: Applewood in Amherst, Loomis Village in South Hadley, and Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing in Springfield.
Anz joined the SSO as Develop- ment director in 2019 and served
as interim executive director of the organization from April through December 2021. He has a 20-year career in devel- opment that includes independent schools, the YMCA, and music and the arts. Prior to joining the SSO, he worked as director of Development at Berkshire Hills Music Academy in South Hadley.
“Loomis has a century-plus-long reputation of excellence in Western Massachusetts, delivering locally managed independent living, assisted living, and skilled-nursing care on three beautiful campuses in our region,” Anz said. “I
am excited to be a part of this extraordinary team, and look forward to expanding development opportunities for the Loomis Communities and strengthening its well-earned reputation for engaging the region and people who live here.”
Cooke Appointed Commissioner of Public Health for State
BOSTON — Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders announced that Margret Cooke, acting commissioner for the Department of Public Health (DPH) for the past seven months, has been ap-
Please see Pulse, page 26