Jane Albert to Retire from Baystate Health After 20 Years

SPRINGFIELD — Dr. Mark Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health, announced that Jane Albert, senior vice president and chief consumer officer, will retire on July 1, following 20 years of service with Baystate.

“In all of her work for the health system, she has demonstrated a steadfast focus on our communities, transformative and nurturing leadership skills, and a deep understanding of data-driven learning and improvement,” Keroack wrote in a letter to the Baystate community. “She has been a trusted partner to me and enjoys the respect of all across Baystate Health and the communities we serve as a source of timely and trusted communications that promote our vision of advancing care and enhancing lives.”

Albert joined Baystate Health in 2002 as manager of Medical Practices Marketing and developed the first marketing plan to integrate legacy physician groups into the organization known today as Baystate Medical Practices (BMP). She then expanded her scope as manager of Corporate Marketing for the whole health system. She went on to deepen her focus on the external environment in subsequent roles in Public Affairs, Strategic Communications, and Community Relations.

“Her underappreciated background in accounting led her to focus on metrics in these and subsequent roles, helping the organization adopt and embrace the value of social media and other digital technologies as vehicles to gauge the impact and reach of our communications efforts,” Keroack wrote.

Albert then returned to BMP to stand up its first Office of Physician Referral Services, with a focus on improving access to care. She was recruited back to the system level with a promotion to vice president of Philanthropy and executive director of Baystate Health Foundation (BHF). During four years at the foundation, she developed a comprehensive strategic plan that led to a more balanced portfolio of events, major gifts, and planned giving, all tracked by a dashboard of performance metrics. Her work led to significant growth in overall giving and greater diversification of BHF’s philanthropic activities.

She was promoted again in 2017 to senior vice president of Marketing, Communications and External Relations, a role which included the areas of BHF and Government & Community Relations. She brought in experienced leaders for all three areas and oversaw dramatic growth across all her areas of responsibility. Key activities included the “Advancing Care. Enhancing Lives” brand campaign, the growth of more broad and sophisticated governmental advocacy efforts, and continued growth in philanthropy.

The results of all this work, Keroack noted, included a new appreciation by the public of Baystate Health, national and international awards for marketing and communications, dramatic increases in government funding, and record charitable donations of all types to BHF.

“But it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that Jane’s leadership truly shone through,” he added. “The work of our marketing and public-relations teams positioned Baystate Health as a thought leader in a time of great public concern, with thousands of stories featured in local, statewide, and national media.”

During this turbulent period, Albert’s scope was enlarged yet again to her current role. She collaborated with other members of the President’s Cabinet to develop the health system’s 2025 Consumer Strategy with a focus on access to care, a new digital platform, and the importance of recognizing the unique needs of individual patients and families.

“The new structure includes the areas of patient experience and patient relations, with a view to coordinating our efforts across the system in order to take the hassles out and put the kindness in for every encounter with the system,” Keroack wrote. “Throughout her 20 years with Baystate Health and across her multiple and varied roles, Jane has shown an unwavering commitment to our mission of improving the health of our communities every day. She has helped us see that this mission entails recognizing and respecting the uniqueness of every individual, listening to diverse voices in the community, and elevating the experience of patient care to a level on par with our other goals of safety and quality. I will miss the energy and passion with which she advanced these worthy goals, and I will honor her time with us by pursuing the road map she has left for us with vigor.”