Marlborough Hospital Welcomes Interim President | Search to replace John Polanowicz expected to take six months
Douglas Brown
Douglas Brown, senior vice president and general counsel of the Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health Care system, said he looks forward to bringing a systemwide perspective to his new gig as interim president and CEO of Marlborough Hospital.
Earlier this month John Polanowicz, who has led Marlborough Hospital for the past eight years, accepted the top job at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, a Caritas Health Care hospital in Brighton.
Brown has been named as the temporary head of the organization while a six-month search to find a permanent replacement for Polanowicz is conducted.
While it may only be an interim appointment, Brown plans to make the most of his time at Marlborough, and said the future of health care is about convergence and finding efficiencies, all while delivering higher levels of care.
Coming from the five-hospital UMass Memorial Health Care system will allow him to bring a new and different perspective to Marlborough Hospital, he said.
Sad Farewell
Brown said he was disappointed that Polanowicz will be moving on from Marlborough Hospital, but said that he's not surprised that officials with St. Elizabeth's would recruit a person with Polanowicz's skill and background.
Other members of Marlborough Hospital's board of directors echoed the sentiment.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for John, and a real honor, I'm sure, to run a major teaching hospital," said Arthur Bergeron, hospital board member and chairman of the Marlborough Economic Development Corp. "His leaving really sets the bar for us in terms of looking for a replacement."
Richard Bennett, chairman of the board of directors and president of Marlborough Savings Bank, will head up the search for a new, permanent CEO.
In the meantime, Brown will oversee operations at the hospital. His first day of work on the new job will be May 6. Brown said he would not apply for the permanent position, but will remain SVP and general counsel at UMass Memorial Health Care while he's serving as interim president of Marlborough Hospital.
One of his goals is to continue to work on a recently announced cancer center that Marlborough Hospital will be constructed during the next two years. While it's not set to open until 2013, Brown said one of his top priorities is to ensure a smooth implementation of those development plans.
Brown said he's also interested in contributing to the overall mission of the UMass system.
The entire health care system, he said is going through a "profound change" in how health care is provided and paid for.
UMass Memorial Health Care, which is made up of five hospitals, has specific opportunities to create more integrated, holistic patient care.
Marlborough Hospital, he said, has already taken such steps. For example, last year hospital officials opened UMass Memorial at Southborough, a partnership between the hospital and a team of physicians at Southborough Medical Group.
Brown said even more can be done.
Furthermore, Brown said health care officials should not wait for government legislation to force the issue. Market demand, he said, will drive more efficient and better care, he predicts.
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