Three top executives will exit Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Health, effective Oct. 23, amid ongoing financial challenges, The Boston Globe reported Sept. 24.
Peter Banko, president and CEO of Baystate Health, shared with employees in a staff note, obtained by The Globe, that the executives are Chief Information and Digital Officer Kevin Conway, Chief Human Resources Officer Kristin Morales-Lemieux and Chief Quality Officer Doug Salvador, MD.
No explanation was shared for why the executives are leaving the health system.
"In the next week, we will be engaging in discussions internally to establish a new operating model, system organizational structure and streamlined decision-making processes," a spokesperson for Baystate said in a Sept. 24 statement shared with Becker's.
The leadership exits come after Baystate shared plans in late February to delay annual pay increases for qualified workers due to financial issues, including expense growth outpacing revenues, workforce shortages and payment rates from insurers not covering the cost of care.
The statement pointed to "multiple years of significant operating losses" that have impacted the system's balance sheet. It also noted an increased reliance on one-time funding sources, the system's flagship hospital Springfield-based Baystate Medical Center, a laboratory sale and planned sale of Health New England, Baystate's health insurance agency, "for a large portion of our earnings."
Baystate lost around $177 million in 2022 and $63 million in 2023. The system utilized more than $151 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act during the pandemic, The Globe reported.
"There are no definitive restructuring plans in place to be shared internally or externally today," the statement shared with Becker's said. "We are diligently focused on our efforts over the next two years to transform our 141-year organization and create a clear path to consistency, predictability, profitability and growth."