2024 Power 100: Carolyn Jackson

Photo | Courtesy of Saint Vincent Hospital Carolyn Jackson, CEO of Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester

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Carolyn Jackson Title CEO Company Saint Vincent Hospital, in Worcester Employees 1,600 Residence Hopkinton Colleges University of Delaware, Harvard Business School Read all the Power 100 profiles here
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As the leader of the largest for-profit hospital system in Central Massachusetts and the region’s second largest hospital, Carolyn Jackson has been the focus of the ire of politicians and workers for nearly all of 2024, particularly the Massachusetts Nurses Association labor union.

After the MNA filed more than 600 complaints against the hospital largely surrounding a lack of staffing in January, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health began an on-site investigation of the hospital. In March, the national accrediting agency The Joint Commision said the hospital was at risk of losing its voluntary accreditation, and later that month, eight nurses filed a lawsuit against Tenet claiming wrongful termination. In April, the National Labor Relations Board filed a formal complaint against Saint Vincent.

Still, even as she remains the face of the conflict for Saint Vincent parent company Tenet Healthcare of Texas, Jackson has kept the 290-bed hospital moving forward. As leader of the Massachusetts market for Tenet, Jackson oversaw MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham and Natick as that hospital went through high executive turnover, including the sudden 2023 resignation of its then CEO. The turnover at MetroWest Medical Center appears to be settling, though, with Jackson and Tenet in July putting John Whitlock into the CEO role.

In the last year, Saint Vincent upgraded its electronic health record system and integrated new pieces of equipment into its practices, including a CT simulation for radiation oncology. The hospital was named amongst Healthgrades’ America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention Award in both 2023 and 2024.

Outside of Saint Vincent, Jackson serves on the boards of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, Worcester Regional Research Bureau, the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association in Burlington, and the Dr. Lillian R. Goodman Department of Nursing at Worcester State University.

Read all the Power 100 profiles here.