I grew up in Bedford, and my mom is from Springfield! This all rings true to our experience. There is a fantastic former CEO out of Springfield/Ludlow, though, that has been pivotal in changing rural healthcare in MA. If you want an intro, shoot me a DM!
I work at the MGH and have done so for almost 30 years. The healthcare economics are clear. When you are everything to everyone all the time, you become a mile wide and an inch deep. Except that we are deeper in some areas than others. Quality exists all over and quality surgeons for sure, are outside this system. The problem is the gravitational pull to a giant system with marketing that doesn't always jive with outcomes. The real value is the patient outcome. The cost is only part of the equation. I'd make the point that patients now can search for value, and it is not always the largest medical center in the major metropolitan area.
Thanks so much for sharing your deep experience. I'm sure you're more than an inch deep!
Ben Schwartz wrote a great write-up after this as well about how other areas also have great care that is not as recognized. And I think it's super important that we make sure that it's not just the best hospital survives, but the whole ecosystem depends on lots of players to improve access for patients.
This is so interesting! All my MA friends say there’s no better place to get sick than Boston 😂 The steward piece really hits home though, I worked for Steward for 3 years and though I learned a hell of a lot, it was so unbelievably chaotic. I saw the writing on the wall and left in 2022 but it makes me so mad that the closures of these hospitals have resulted in care deserts. Steward is the perfect example why we need to start reclaiming the 80’s term for “private equity”: vulture capitalists.
I grew up in Bedford, and my mom is from Springfield! This all rings true to our experience. There is a fantastic former CEO out of Springfield/Ludlow, though, that has been pivotal in changing rural healthcare in MA. If you want an intro, shoot me a DM!
I work at the MGH and have done so for almost 30 years. The healthcare economics are clear. When you are everything to everyone all the time, you become a mile wide and an inch deep. Except that we are deeper in some areas than others. Quality exists all over and quality surgeons for sure, are outside this system. The problem is the gravitational pull to a giant system with marketing that doesn't always jive with outcomes. The real value is the patient outcome. The cost is only part of the equation. I'd make the point that patients now can search for value, and it is not always the largest medical center in the major metropolitan area.
Thanks so much for sharing your deep experience. I'm sure you're more than an inch deep!
Ben Schwartz wrote a great write-up after this as well about how other areas also have great care that is not as recognized. And I think it's super important that we make sure that it's not just the best hospital survives, but the whole ecosystem depends on lots of players to improve access for patients.
This is so interesting! All my MA friends say there’s no better place to get sick than Boston 😂 The steward piece really hits home though, I worked for Steward for 3 years and though I learned a hell of a lot, it was so unbelievably chaotic. I saw the writing on the wall and left in 2022 but it makes me so mad that the closures of these hospitals have resulted in care deserts. Steward is the perfect example why we need to start reclaiming the 80’s term for “private equity”: vulture capitalists.
Excellent analysis and writing filled with genuine empathy - thank you for sharing such thoughtful insights.
great writing!