Dr. Abha Agrawal, the president CEO of Lawrence General Hospital who last fall successfully brought Holy Family Hospital under the institution’s fold, is being welcomed by her peers as a trustee of the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association.
Agrawal was elected to the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association board of trustees Jan. 30. The organization serves as the voice for the Commonwealth’s hospitals, health systems and health care providers.
“Dr. Agrawal has already made an immeasurable impact on her community just one year into her time at Lawrence General, and we know she will bring the same changemaking spirit to our board’s mission,” said MHA President and CEO Steve Walsh. “She understands the needs of underrepresented populations, the unique dynamics of community hospitals and how to create positive change for patients and their caregivers. She is an important voice for MHA and our members as we think big and build a better system of the future.”
Agrawal and Lawrence General Hospital acquired Holy Family Hospital’s Methuen and Haverhill’s campuses from Steward Health Care last October following Steward’s bankruptcy.
“Our mission when we set out to create a regional health system is a simple one: We want to be big enough to serve you, small enough to know you and close enough to love you,” Agrawal said. “Our goal now is to deliver on that promise.”
Considered by many as a triumph against all odds, Agrawal first outlined her plans to save Holy Family Hospital less than a month after taking over at Lawrence General a year ago. At a ceremony on Lawrence General’s first day of Holy Family ownership, state Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh described Agrawal’s commitment.
“What I was so impressed by was the commitment and leadership of Lawrence General who, once they started to envision taking responsibility for this community, would not rest until we provided the services and support that would make this transition possible,” she said.
As part of the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association board, officials said, Agrawal will help support the recovery of local hospitals and health systems, “all of which have absorbed a relentless series of pressures dating back to the beginning of the pandemic. The board will advocate with a united front to ease the capacity pressures, workforce shortages, and administrative burdens that are now challenging timely patient care across the Commonwealth, and to restore financial stability to the state’s most important sector.”
She also serves on the boards of the American Board of Internal Medicine, American College of Medical Quality and the Indian American Medical Association Charitable Foundation in Illinois.
Agrawal is a Fulbright scholar and recipient of numerous awards for her work in healthcare, including quality and safety, health informatics, transformational leadership, and health equity.