Porten to Step Down as HMC President, CEO

HOLYOKE — After nearly 28 years as president and CEO of Holyoke Medical Center and its affiliates, Hank Porten will be stepping down from his current position this summer.

According to a statement released by HMC, “Mr. Porten has guided the hospital and its affiliates through many turbulent and challenging times while continuing to provide high-quality healthcare services to the patients and communities these organizations serve. He will continue to work with these organizations through the parent company, Valley Health Systems Inc., as they navigate through the continuing challenges facing the healthcare delivery system.”

In recent years, Porten has emerged as a key voice advocating for and talking about the fiscal challenges facing community hospitals, like Holyoke, which serve a disproportionate percentage of low-income residents and rely on public payers that have, in recent years, covered around 70{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} of the cost of care. “Unless the state and federal government come to the table and be good partners and pay for the cost of medical care,” he told HCN in 2010, “it’s going to continue to be very tough for hospitals.”

At the same time, Porten has overseen a significant physical expansion of the hospital and its services in recent years.

HMC’s board of directors has formed a search committee, chaired by Pricilla Mandrachia, and recruitment efforts for a new president are underway.