Heywood Healthcare replaces CEO with two executives

PHOTO | Edd Cote Win Brown is being replaced as president and CEO of Heywood Healthcare.

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By Isabel Tehan

Heywood Healthcare in Gardner is replacing the CEO who has led the hospital system for 12 years, citing the changing healthcare landscape and the need to continue meeting its community's goals.

Win Brown, president and CEO at Heywood, will be replaced in his role by co-CEOs, according to a Tuesday press release from Heywood. Rozanna Penney, current vice president of patient care services, chief nursing officer, and chief operating officer, and executive director of Heywood Medical Group, as well as Tom Sullivan, current vice president of financial services, will share in the top leadership role.

Brown has been removed from the Heywood website where the organization lists its senior leadership team. At the top of that page now are Penney and Sullivan.

“This is an untraditional model, but one that capitalizes on the internal strength of the leadership team and the work before us, focused on community healthcare accompanied by financial and operational excellence. The Board is highly confident that this leadership structure, along with the help of our dedicated employees, will carry forward the Heywood Healthcare mission, to provide exceptional patient-centered care,” said Robert Chauvin, Heywood Healthcare board chair, in the press release.

The release did not indicate if Brown’s departure from the role was voluntary, and Heywood Healthcare did not respond to WBJ request for comment Wednesday morning. The date the leadership change will take effect was not made available, but the Gardner News reported the change is taking place immediately, citing an email Chauvin sent to employees Tuesday.

Heywood has two hospitals in its system: a 134-bed facility in Gardner and the 25-bed Athol Hospital. Heywood Healthcare also operates Heywood Medical Group, which has an 86-bed mental health and substance abuse recovery facility in Petersham.

For fiscal year 2021, Brown received an annual compensation of $911,680, according to the most recent available data on Guidestar.

In January, Heywood’s planned merger with UMass Memorial Health fell through due to what UMass Memorial President and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson at the time called changed circumstances and the difficult healthcare environment.