Page 33 - HealthcareNews May/June 2021

EMMAREDMAN
TARAJACOBSON
DR. CAROLE ALLEN
MAY/JUNE 2021 WWW.HEALTHCARENEWS.COM 33
CAREER PULSE CONT’D
the promotion of its spa coor- dinator, Emma Redman, to its leadership team as the new salon & spa manager. Redman will oversee daily operations and social-media coordination, while leading a growing unit of nine employees.
After several years in customer service at Six Flags New England,
acting in local theatre productions, and working as a special-effects and bridal makeup artist, Redman began as a part-time front-desk employee at SkinCatering in 2019 and was quickly promoted to full-time spa coordinator just a few months later.
In 2020, Redman’s support during the spa’s temporary closure during the COVID-19 pandemic was invaluable as she adeptly navigated the unknown to help preserve Skin- Catering’s extensive client base for their return.
As SkinCatering Spa evolved into SkinCatering Salon & Spa in December with its expansion in its new location on the first floor of Tower Square, Redman’s responsibili- ties increased, and she continued to show great leadership promise, SkinCatering owners Leanne Sedlak and Kim Brunton Auger said.
National Council for Behavioral Health Names Jeffers to Board
NORTHAMPTON — Karin Jeffers, president and CEO of nonprofit behavioral-health agency Clinical & Support Options (CSO), has become the newest board member of the National Council for Behavioral Health. Jeffers earned the greatest number of votes during a recent special elec- tion to replace outgoing board member Tomas Jankowski.
Jeffers will be one of two representatives for the National Council Region 1, which includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. She will serve out the remainder of Jankowski’s term (until June 30, 2023) and be eligible to run for two additional three-year terms thereafter.
The National Council for Behavioral Health is a mem- bership association that advocates for policies ensuring
all Americans have access to comprehensive, high-quality behavioral healthcare. It is made up of 3,381 member organizations across the U.S. that deliver mental health and addiction treatment and services.
“As the president and CEO of a nonprofit, Massachu- setts-based agency, I am a knowledgeable supporter of National Council priorities,” Jeffers told her National Council constituents. “These include certified community behavioral-health-clinic expansion to all 50 states; policy to address the addiction crisis in the U.S.; the imperative need for policy supporting our workforce; and improved oppor- tunities for mental-health first aid across our nation.”
Jeffers has served as CSO’s president and CEO since 2005. During her tenure at the helm, the agency has grown from a $4 million organization with fewer than 90 employ- ees across just three Greenfield locations to what is now
a $44 million agency with more than 750 employees at 20 locations across Western and Central Mass.
Joining the National Council Board is not Jeffers’ first foray into public policy. In addition to being a longtime National Council member, she also serves on the board of the Assoc. of Behavioral Health (ABH), which is instru- mental in lobbying for positive change in statewide and national policies governing healthcare. In fact, she served as ABH’s board chair from 2016 to 2018, and as its chil- dren’s CEO policy committee chair from 2012 to 2020. She
currently chairs the ABH CEO committee on emergency services.
BFAIR Welcomes Jacobson as Fundraising & Grants Manager
NORTH ADAMS — BFAIR, a provider of adult family care; residential, in-home clinical services; employment; and day services for adults and children with develop- mental disabilities, acquired brain injury, and autism, announced that Tara Jacobson has been named to the new position of Fundraising & Grants manager.
Jacobson recently relocated to Berkshire County after living in Seattle for the past few years. In both her personal and professional life, she works to create systems and relationships that are based in empathy, accessibility, and fairness. She has been working in fundrais- ing and community engagement
for the past eight years.
What started as volunteering at a local nonprofit in
Boston led to her passion of working in partnership with others who were also interested in making a difference in their community.
“We are thrilled to welcome Tara to our dynamic team,” said Rich Weisenflue, CEO of BFAIR. “With her consid- erable experience in community engagement, it will be
a pleasure to introduce Tara to businesses and residents who have so generously contributed to support BFAIR’s mission.”
Allen Elected President of Massachusetts Medical Society
WALTHAM — Arlington resident Dr. Carole Allen was elected president of the Massachusetts Medical Society,
the statewide professional association of physicians and medical students, with more than 25,000 members. She will serve until May 2022, succeeding outgoing president Dr. David Rosman, who recently completed his one-year term.
Allen, a longtime trustee and delegate to the medical society, is a board-certified pediatrician who practiced in Massachusetts for 37 years before retiring in 2011. After retirement, she served six years on the board of directors of the American Academy of Pediatrics. A staunch advocate for improving
access to and quality of healthcare, she spent five years as
a gubernatorial appointee commissioner to the Massachu- setts Health Policy Commission. She is the former chair of the Tobacco Free Mass Coalition and was a strong voice in the passing of the Massachusetts Smoke-free Workplaces law.
Allen will continue the organization’s work as a leader in collaborative efforts to mitigate the effects of the CO- VID-19 pandemic, while also focusing on addressing social determinants of health.
“It is humbling and inspiring to represent Massachu- setts physicians who have played a pivotal role in combat- ing the pandemic,” she said. “I hope to use my platform as MMS president to advocate that every person has the opportunity for optimal health and access to high-quality, affordable health care. And I will work with stakeholders and our membership to continue our important work to
eliminate racism affecting our members, our patients, and the public.”
Allen operated a private pediatric practice in Arlington from 1989 to 2002 and served on the Arlington Board of Health, which she chaired for nearly a decade. A gradu-
ate of Cornell University and Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM), she completed her pediatric residency at Boston City Hospital and Boston’s Floating Hospital
for Children. She has held faculty positions as a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School and Boston Uni- versity School of Medicine, and served as president of the TUSM Medical Alumni Council. In 2017, she completed an executive MBA program for physicians through Brandeis University.
Bharel Announces Departure as Public Health Commissioner
BOSTON — Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders announced that, after serving as the commissioner of the Department of Public Health for more than six years, Dr. Monica Bharel is stepping down effective June 18.
Appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker in 2015, Bharel has steered the Department of Public Health through sig- nificant public-health challenges, including the opioid epidemic, vaping-associated lung disease, eastern equine encephalitis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The longest- serving commissioner of Public Health since 1997, Bharel brought a health-equity lens to all of the department’s work. A primary-care physician with more than 20 years of clinical experience, she holds a master’s degree in public health in healthcare management and policy.
Bharel called it “an honor and privilege to serve residents of the Commonwealth as the state’s top physician and the commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. After serving in this role for more than six years, which is longer than any Public Health commissioner
has served in nearly a quarter of a century, it is the right time to begin a new chapter. DPH staff have helped make Massachusetts a national leader in COVID-19 testing and vaccination while demonstrating a tireless commitment to placing health equity front and center of that work. Because of our work these past six years, Massachusetts now consis- tently ranks as one of the healthiest states in the nation.”
Margret Cooke, currently serving as the department’s deputy commissioner, will serve as interim commissioner. Cooke joined the Department of Public Health as general counsel in 2015 before becoming deputy commissioner. Previously, she served as deputy bureau chief in the Public Protection and Advocacy Bureau in the Massachusetts At- torney General’s Office.
Visiting Angels Names
Prefontaine Caregiver of the Month
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Visiting Angels of West Springfield announced that Alissia Prefontaine was named Caregiver of the Month for March. She has been with Visit- ing Angels since November 2015 and has had more than 30 clients in that time.
As the agency notes, “Ali is a very warm individual and takes her time with each of her clients to make sure they have whatever they need. She has a gentle personality that allows her to get along with each and every client.
Please see Pulse, page 34