Family Health Center sticks by CEO after medical employees request leadership change

Photo: Matthew Wright Family Health Center of Worcester President and CEO Lou Brady

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By Timothy Doyle

The Family Health Center of Worcester’s board opted to stand by President and CEO Louis Brady after medical personnel from the healthcare provider requested a change in leadership amid layoffs, furloughs, resignations, and low morale.

On Thursday, Brady and Philip Bolduc, a family medicine doctor at the medical center representing the group who requested the leadership change, met with the Worcester City Council’s Standing Committee for Public Health and Human Services, chaired by District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera, for the second time in October for an open forum related to a number of layoffs and furloughs at the hospital.

“The hospital made a series of unforced errors of the past year that has led us to where we are now,” Bolduc said, “We approached the board about a change in leadership.”

The group presented their concerns about Brady’s leadership to the FHCW board in two meetings. The board decided to stick with the current leadership because of what the board members see as positive changes at the hospital over the previous weeks, said Bolduc.

The request for leadership change and board’s decision to stick with Brady were confirmed by Nicolas DiBella, FHCW marketing and communications manager.

“Lou inherited an organization that already had significant structural problems and there have been external challenges that made things very difficult for us and other community health centers,” said Bolduc.

During the two-hour meeting, medical personnel, and former workers at the hospital spoke in person and remotely to the committee and described low morale at the hospital, a lack of communication from leadership, understaffing, and difficult working conditions.

Alicia Gonzalez, a certified addiction registered nurse, described the lack of staffing in the addiction program at the medical center.

“There’s 400 patients enrolled in [the addiction program]. We have two full-time nurses and two medical assistants. We’re supposed to have four nurses and at least three medical assistants,” Gonzalez told the city committee.

“In July of 2021, they decided to do a reorganization. They let go of 25 people, and it has not stopped. Being here today, I feel that I’m at risk of losing my job because I’m here sharing this information. But, I am an addiction nurse, and I am passionate about what I do. There is a need in the city when somebody get to a point to say ‘I need help,’ which is not easy, and they are calling the health center where there is no one there to answer the call, that is concerning,” she said.

DiBella confirmed there was a reorganization in July 2021, including 24 roles shifts and title changes, 20 roles eliminated, and 14 new positions added.

Gonzalez testified that team leaders at the hospital were not held accountable after the reorganization.

“Part of the reorganization, the goal was to hold people accountable. So, if managers are supposed to hold their team accountable, who is holding the team accountable? Because it has to start from the top,” she said.

Brady, in responding to the committee, admitted the hospital leadership response had been lackluster.

“We are acknowledging and recognizing the problems that we have. The problems that Lily [Gonzalez] referenced are on our agenda to address and fix over time; and it's been a difficult road, and we’ve not done a great job of that,” said Brady.

Brady said the administration has a new effort called Better Together, a 120-day plan to address optimizing billing, grant health, workforce revitalization, the organization’s education mission, and clinical operations.

“We’ve come up with an approach that we think will get us out of that. It is a high participation accountability, high transparency, high visibility process. It’s a turnaround plan that addresses the issues of concern to our stakeholders and brings to the table the people who are impacted by these issues,” he said.

Rivera concluded the meeting by stressing the importance of the Family Health Center to the Worcester community and in Southbridge and Webster, where closures of FHCW facilities have been announced.

“Do what you need to do to stabilize your staff. You’re not going to have a clinic without staff, and you need the committed staff that Family Health is known to have,” said Rivera.

The committee, consisting of Rivera, Councilor-at-Large Morris Bergman, who was not present at the meeting, and District 5 Councilor Etel Haxhiaj, is planning on following up on the progress of the organization with future public meetings to improve communication between the health center and the community.