Press Release

Worcester, MA: John Smithhisler, President and CEO of Saint Vincent Hospital announced today that the Hospital has entered into an agreement with the Associated  Physicians of the Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, (“HMFP”) for the staffing of its Emergency Department. 

“Saint Vincent Hospital nurses and our other health care professionals have been providing prompt access to high quality emergency care to the citizens of Central Massachusetts for more than 100 years.  We recently conducted a review as to how we might best be able to continue this tradition and concluded that a partnership with the emergency medicine specialists of the  Associated Physicians of Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center was the best vehicle to accomplish this objective”, said Mr. Smithhisler. 

“Over the last several months, we have made a significant number of investments, upgrades and facility improvements in our Emergency Department.   With the patient experience in mind, we have also re-evaluated our processes in order to improve patient flow and reduce patient wait time – both of which contribute significantly to overall patient satisfaction.  We believe the reconfiguration furthers our goal of providing our patients with easier access and enhanced patient experiences. Listed below are additional highlights as they relate to the improvements in our emergency department:

• We have renovated the waiting room, triage, and fast track areas. Additionally, we also designed a separate emergency behavioral health unit to provide a calm and soothing environment better suited to serve the specific needs of these patients.

• We have implemented an enhanced five-point triage protocol to facilitate and treat patients in a more timely and efficient manner.

• We have recently completed the first phase of the installation of our new state-of-the-art electronic emergency documentation and tracking system.

• We recruited Fred Mollica this past Fall to become Director of Emergency Services. Fred’s leadership and clinical skills have proved to be invaluable in our quest to provide our patients with timely, efficient care in a compassionate environment of healing. “

The transition in the Emergency Department with HMFP has already begun and should be fully realized by early spring.    Dr. Octavio Diaz is assuming a leadership role as Chief of Emergency Services, while Dr. Mike Burns is assuming a leadership role as Vice Chair of Harvard Medical Faculty Practice at Saint Vincent Hospital.  Other members of the talented team of emergency physicians coming on board specialize in toxicology, EMS, disaster management, quality assurance and medical education.  The depth and breadth of health care experience these physicians bring to Saint Vincent is unparalleled.