Updated: October 28, 2019
/
Outstanding Women in Business 2019
Campbell has turned around Masonic Health
Photo | Matthew Wright
Tameryn A. Campbell, president & CEO of Masonic Health System of MA Inc. & The Overlook in Charlton
By LIVIA GERSHON
2019 Outstanding Women in Business Award winners
More Information
- Tameryn A. Campbell President & CEO of Masonic Health System of MA Inc. & The Overlook in Charlton
- Linda T. Cammuso Owner & partner of Estate Preservation Law Offices in Worcester
- Christine Cassidy Chief communications officer of Fallon Health in Worcester
- Lori Fontaine Vice president of global clinical affairs for Hologic, Inc. in Marlborough
- Rita Kapur Vice president of operations for Atech Turbine Components, Inc., Auburn
- Kate Shamsuddin Senior vice president for product strategy at Definitive Healthcare in Framingham
More Information
To a lot of us, the idea of coming into a longstanding but struggling organization as a complete outsider and making painful, necessary changes sounds like a nightmare. But Tameryn A. Campbell said, in a way, that was the easiest part of the five years she’s spent in her current position.
“I’m stronger at the strategic turnaround,” Campbell said. “You’re coming in with your machete. There’s a lot of adrenalin that goes with that. There’s an adventurous side to me.”
Campbell is the first female leader of Masonic Health, which operates The Overlook retirement community, as well as other housing and long-term care facilities. When she was hired, the operation was bleeding money and suffering from bad press and low morale.
Campbell thought she was taking on a six-month gig. Usually, people hired to make tough decisions to get an organization back on its feet end up leaving. But she ended up staying on for more than five years to build Masonic Health back up into a cohesive institution.
That work didn’t come as naturally to her as the machete part, but she has found it much more gratifying.
“I much prefer being in a role where I don’t have to impact people’s livelihoods,” she said.
Jim Rouse, who runs a peer-support group for CEOs in the region, said he’s been impressed with Campbell’s work.
“She is always willing to help with advice and suggestions to any of our members that are bringing issues to the group,” Rouse said. “She is extremely intelligent. She is very well-versed across the board in organizational development and running a business.”
The desire to build supportive systems for older people and those facing health challenges drew Campbell into the industry. After graduating from college, she worked for a large pharmaceutical company in Washington state.
“I became very disillusioned very quickly,” she said.
So, in her late 20s, she traveled to South America, volunteering to provide social, education, and health services. She ended up contracting several serious diseases, giving her first-hand experience as a patient.
Another influence in her career path was her grandparents, who maintained their emotional, spiritual, and physical wellbeing into their 90s.
“We are a society that is obsessed with staying young,” she said. “We tend to ... discriminate against older adults. We kind of make them invisible.”
For her part, she’s pushing Masonic Health into new endeavors. The system opened a pulmonary care program and offers an adult day program for people with dementia, providing a respite for family caregivers. The Overlook campus is creating more features and events aimed not just at its own residents but at people from around the area. It has hosted farmers’ markets and concerts on its common. Overlook residents even run their own beer-brewing club, which they call Senior Moment.
“It’s very good,” Campbell said. “It’s almost as good as Tree House.”
Rouse said no other healthcare industry CEOs are in his support group, but Campbell has ideas to share relevant to industries from manufacturing to software. She brings that larger perspective to bear in her own organization.
“One thing that stood out to me is some of the things she’s doing with the Overlook, taking a player in a fairly conservative type of an industry and implementing some really visionary ideas,” he said.
Campbell said she has a lot more thoughts on how to keep improving care and quality of life for seniors.
“We’re just kind of getting started,” she said.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
Anonymous
January 9, 2020
Awesome, fantastic. Happy New Year 2020!!!
1 Comments