Business Bulletin

Glenn Becomes Board Chair of Merrimack Health—Lawrence, Haverhill, Methuen Hospitals

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Northern Essex Community College President Lane A. Glenn is now leading regional hospital group Merrimack Health’s board of trustees. Glenn, who has served on the board since 2021 when it governed only Lawrence General Hospital, was elected during the trustees’ recent annual meeting and succeeds Rosemarie Day. She will continue to serve as a volunteer advisor to the board throughout 2026. “Lane is a thoughtful and respected leader who has been instrumental in the unification of our new health system. I look forward to further working with him and the rest of the board as we set a new standard for integrated, community-focused care in the region,” said Diana Richardson, president and CEO of Merrimack Health.

Business Bulletin

Leapfrog Group Awards ‘A’ Safety Grade to Anna Jaques Hospital for Patient Safety

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Anna Jaques Hospital of Newburyport recently earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit watchdog focused on patient safety. Leapfrog assigns a grade to general hospitals across the country based on more than 30 measures of errors, accidents, injuries and infections as well as the systems hospitals have in place to prevent them. “Earning an ‘A’ Grade means Anna Jaques Hospital made a true commitment to put patient safety first,” explained Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We congratulate the leadership, Board, clinicians, staff and volunteers that all had a role to play in this achievement.”

Tom Sands, market president—north shore, Beth Israel Lahey Health, and president of Addison Gilbert, Anna Jaques, BayRidge, and Beverly Hospitals, said, “Receiving an ‘A’ safety grade from Leapfrog is reflective of the dedication that all our physicians, nurses and staff have to following the highest standards of care with every patient.”

Anna Jaques is an 83-bed hospital, part of Beth Israel Lahey Health. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program focused solely on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries.

Haverhill

Planned Riverbend Bradford Group Home Schedules Sunday Open House to Allay Concerns

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(Additional photographs below.)

Riverbend Bradford, a planned recovery home in Haverhill for 24 adult men who are both recovering from substance abuse and have mental health challenges, is opening its doors to the public for tours Sunday, Nov. 16. Tours will be offered from 3-4 p.m., at 11 Kingsbury Ave., according to Program Director Kyle Evans. The open house marks the second time in a week Riverbend has opened its doors to the public. Neighbors were invited in last Tuesday after 1,200 people signed a petition protesting the group home.

Haverhill

Follow-up: Haverhill Native Bradley Gets Kidney After Extensive ‘Tom’s Kidney Crusade’

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Tom Bradley, a Haverhill High School basketball and track standout in the 70s, has a new lease on life thanks to a successful kidney transplantation. Now a resident of Knoxville, Tenn., Bradley, 66, received his new kidney at Ascension St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville two weeks ago after a wait of just a year and four months. Bradley said his Tom’s Kidney Crusade included a Facebook page, posters and bumper stickers with a QR code. “I had a very, very successful campaign not just because I got a donor match but because of the number of people who were inspired to get involved which will ultimately help others,” Bradley told WHAV, noting his bumper stickers were spotted in locations across the country.

Haverhill

State Appears Poised to Give $374 Million in Closeout Budget to Sustain Former Steward Hospitals

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By Michael P. Norton and Sam Drysdale

House Democrats are ready to act on a $2.25 billion spending bill that steers more than $2 billion to MassHealth and former Steward Health Care hospitals while withholding a $162 million request from county sheriffs pending an investigation into their spending practices. The House Ways and Means Committee voted Tuesday morning on the legislation, which appears headed for approval during a formal session planned for Wednesday. It was not immediately known how much of the aid would be allocated to former Steward Hospitals, now known as Merrimack Health, in Haverhill and Methuen. The legislation outlines $1.67 billion in spending for MassHealth and $374 million in payments to former Steward hospitals. It also sets aside $10 million to help cover Massachusetts’ hosting costs for the 2026 World Cup and creates a new $15 million Sports and Entertainment Fund to attract large-scale events to the state.

Business Bulletin

Richardson Accepts Appointment as Permanent Head of Merrimack Health Local Hospitals

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Diana L. Richardson, who became interim president and CEO of what is now Merrimack Health in April, has accepted the position permanently. In a release Thursday, the board credited Richardson with leading “the unification of the Merrimack Valley’s first regional health care system.” As WHAV reported a month ago, Merrimack Health is the new name of what was Lawrence General Hospital and Holy Family Hospitals in Haverhill and Methuen. At the time, Richardson outlined her vision. “We are not just unveiling a brand. We are reaffirming our shared promise to deliver exceptional care close to home for generations to come,” she said.

Haverhill

Podcast: Merrimack Health CEO Richardson Outlines Possible Expansion for Haverhill Hospital

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The newly renamed Merrimack Health Haverhill Hospital could soon be home to the healthcare system’s expanded state-of-the art sleep study center. Diana L. Richardson, interim president and CEO of Merrimack Health, formerly Lawrence General and Holy Family Hospitals, a recent guest on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast,” discussed what will stay the same at Haverhill’s hospital and what services are expanding. As of Oct. 1, any patient who comes into the emergency department and needs to be admitted will be transported to another healthcare center— most likely to its sister Merrimack Health Methuen Hospital, formerly Holy Family Methuen, as the few in-patient beds in use will be shut down, Richardson explained. Services provided by the stand-alone emergency department, however, will not change, she said.

Haverhill

Haverhill Celebrates Start of Federal Home Lead Removal Program; 75 Households to Benefit

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With the support of the federal government, low- and moderate-income Haverhill families with children six and under and who live in houses built before 1978 may apply to have any lead paint removed at no cost to them. City officials took a moment Monday to celebrate the beginning of a historic lead paint removal program paid entirely with a $2.4 million federal lead abatement grant and matching federal Community Development Block Grant funds. Noting that lead paint poisoning is a “100% preventable” risk, Mayor Melinda E. Barrett said the federal grant is historic both because it is the largest lead abatement grant awarded to any community in the country during the 2024 grant cycle and because it is the first federal lead paint removal grant the city has received. “It’s also the first time the city of Haverhill has had its own federal resources ever to deal exclusively with lead paint,” Barrett noted. U.S. Congresswoman Lori Trahan attended the event and noted Haverhill is behind other Massachusetts cities in remediating the risk of lead paint poisoning because it couldn’t qualify for a grant until recently.