It’s Time to Think About the Next ‘Healthcare Heroes’

It might be a little too early to mark your calendars for the next Healthcare Heroes gala — Oct. 18 is 10 months away — but it’s not too early to start thinking about nominating individuals who might be honored that night at the Starting Gate at Greathorse in Hampden.

Healthcare Heroes, an exciting new recognition program involving the Western Mass. healthcare sector, was launched last spring by BusinessWest and Healthcare News. The program was created to shed a bright light on the outstanding work being done across the broad spectrum of health and wellness services, and the institutions and individuals providing that care. And the inaugural ‘heroes’ allowed the two publications to do just that.

Now, it’s time to start thinking about the next class of heroes, who will represent categories including ‘Lifetime Achievement,’ ‘Emerging Leader,’ ‘Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider,’ ‘Innovation in Health/Wellness,’ ‘Health/Wellness Administrator,’ and ‘Collaboration in Healthcare.’

Nominations are now being accepted, and will be until June 15. To nominate someone, visit healthcarenews.com or businesswest.com, click on ‘our events,’ and proceed to ‘Healthcare Heroes.’

Last year’s winners were:

This year’s honorees are:

• Lifetime Achievement: Sister Mary Caritas, SP;
• Patient/Resident/Client Care Provider: Michael Willers, Owner of the Children’s Heart Center of Western Massachusetts;
• Emerging Leader: Erin Daley, RN, BSN, manager of the Emergency Department at Mercy Medical Center;
• Health/Wellness Administrator: Holly Chaffee, RN, BSN, MSN, president and CEO of Porchlight/VNA Home Care;
• Community Health: Molly Senn-McNally, Continuity Clinic Director for the Baystate Pediatric Residency Program;
• Innovation in Health/Wellness: Andrew Doben, director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Baystate Medical Center;
• Innovation in Health/Wellness: Genevieve Chandler, associate professor of Nursing at UMass Amherst;
• Collaboration in Healthcare: The Healthy Hill Initiative.