Joyce Murphy stepping down from Commonwealth Medicine

Photo | Matt Volpini Joyce A. Murphy

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By Zachary Comeau

Joyce Murphy, executive vice chancellor for Commonwealth Medicine at UMass Medical School in Worcester, will step down from her role in August and be succeeded by the former CEO of Clinton Hospital.

Murphy joined the medical school in 2006 and spent the last seven years in her current position alongside Chancellor Michael Collins.

Murphy is the fourth highest-paid state employee in Massachusetts, earning a total $616,174 in 2017. Only Collins, medical school Provost Terence Flotte Dean and Mark Steven Joel Kempner, the executive vice chancellor for MassBiologics earned more, according to WBJ research.

Prior to joining the medical school, Murphy was a nine-year president of Carney Hospital, a community teaching hospital in Dorchester. She received the Massachusetts Hospital Association’s William L. Lane Hospital Advocate Award in 2005. Murphy was named as a WBJ Outstanding Woman in Business in 2015.

She sits on a number of boards, including as a director with both Meridian Bancorp and East Boston Savings Bank, as well as a director with Harvard Pilgrim.

Replacing Murphy will be Lisa Colombo, who will assume the duties in October. Colombo is the senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at UMass Memorial Medical Center.

“I am honored and excited to join Commonwealth Medicine and to support the mission and vision of improving the health and well-being of those served by public programs,” Colombo said in a statement. “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to translate my knowledge and skill in health care operations across the continuum and work alongside the tremendously talented and committed staff.”

From 2015 to 2017, Colombo took the helm of UMass Memorial-Clinton Hospital, where she helped manage the merger resulting in UMass Memorial-HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital.

Under her leadership, the hospital grew key business lines, increased patient volume and improved operations and employee performance. She’s also taught doctoral-level courses at the Graduate School of Nursing since 2017 and has served as an associate dean for clinical practice.

Prior to her work at UMass, Colombo was a founding partner and principal consultant at Milford-based Healthcare Management Partners.Her other academic health care management roles were as senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center and vice president of patient care and chief nurse at Milton Hospital.

John Lindstedt, executive vice chancellor for administration and finance at UMass Medical School, will support Commonwealth Medicine on an interim basis.