Emerson Hospital executive named chair of Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association
Christine Schuster has been member of MHA board
LOWELL >> Emerson Hospital President and CEO Christine Schuster will lead the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association Board of Trustees as its 82nd chair.
Following a vote at the MHA’S annual meeting last week, Schuster held her first executive committee meeting Feb. 1 with the Executive Office of Health and
Human Services.
Already, her work is cut out for her — post-pandemic, the healthcare industry faces widespread workforce shortages, which also impact access to care and cause financial constraints.
Schuster said it’s become difficult to get patients into tertiary centers for care, as well as to post-acute services, because there’s simply “no availability.” The staffing shortage and mental health are two of her top priorities she plans to address in the new role.
“We have the best and the brightest minds working on this stuff,” Schuster said. “And I do feel like it’s a tough time, but together we’ll get through it.”
Prior to the election, Schuster was a member of the MHA board for close to nine, nonconsecutive years. There’s a reason why she came back to the association about three years ago.
“I’ve been very active in the (MHA), love the collaboration that I’ve witnessed with my colleagues over the years and am honored to have been just elected the chair,” Schuster said. “I’m really going to continue to do what I’ve been doing, working on behalf of all the citizens in the commonwealth to try to improve access and equity and affordability across the board.”
Composed of 70 licensed member hospitals, MHA acts as an advocate and “leading voice” for Massachusetts healthcare agencies at the State House and beyond, according to its website.
Schuster began her career as a nurse out of Boston University, later earning her MBA at the Uni
versity of Chicago Booth School of Business and working in healthcare management consulting.
But she soon “set her sights” on a bigger role: hospital president and CEO. After serving in leadership roles at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester and then at Quincy Medical Center, Schuster joined Emerson in 2005.
Schuster’s now been in healthcare for more than 25 years, 18 of which have been at Emerson.
MHA President and CEO Steve Walsh, who previously worked alongside Schuster when he led the Massachusetts Council of Community Hospitals, said the new chair has “always been a go-to voice in healthcare” and truly understands the system.
Having met Schuster while he chaired the House Committee on Health Care Financing, Walsh said her experience navigating different types of hospitals in different places makes her an excellent candidate for
weaknesses of individual officers,” the release states.
The expansion of the Training Division will also allow for more advanced use of the Virtra-300 simulator.
According to the release, the simulator enables police to train for use of force, deescalation, and other techniques in a virtual-reality environment. The expansion will allow the Training Division to create scenarios based on actual buildings and locations within the city.
News of the Training Division’s expansion comes less than a week after the release of footage that captured the fatal beating of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police the job.
“She’s a great fit,” Walsh said. “Her background and vocation really was as a nurse, and we are at one of the most critical times in our commonwealth’s history, and workforce being our No. 1 priority, she certainly was the right person to lead at this moment and has the respect of her colleagues. And we’re looking forward to a great year with Chris.”
To lead the organization and the industry forward, Walsh said they need to work on recruiting more people to the field, and
officers last month. After the disturbing footage was released, the Lowell Police Department issued a statement condemning the violence.
“The mission of the Lowell Police Department is to continue building and maintaining strong partnerships with the diverse communities of the city of Lowell,” the statement said. “We strive to work without community to reduce the incidence and fear of crime, and to ensure public safety. We will do this while working to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Lowell.”
Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis that includes recent graduates and those still in school.
“As the general public has kind of gone back to doing their everyday things, our healthcare workforce has not had a time to really relax since the beginning of the pandemic,” Walsh said. “So we really need to focus on retaining, appreciating, listening and talking with the healthcare workers we currently have, and then growing the pipeline for the future.”
Behavioral health is another critical dilemma,
Walsh said, and with Schuster’s passion for pediatric care in that area, she will serve as a “great leader” in the current moment.
Jody White, CEO of Lowell General Hospital and Circle Health, served on the MHA board for six years, chairing it during the height of the pandemic, from June 2019 to January 2021. As chair, White led weekly meetings with former Gov. Charlie Baker’s office and various state healthcare leaders in their response to COVID.
White called Schuster a “collaborative leader” in the industry and in the other committees she chairs, including the MA Council of Community Hospitals and MA Value Alliance. He wrote in a statement that he believes Schuster “will be a tremendous asset” to the association and continue serving as a successful partner to the various hospital systems in Massachusetts.
“Christine is a deeply experienced healthcare leader who has led her organization with clinical passion and a focus on her team,” White wrote.