Accountable Care Associates moves to downtown Springfield
Date: 3/21/2013
By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.comSPRINGFIELD — Another business is making downtown Springfield its home.
On March 28, Accountable Care Associates (ACA) will officially note its relocation to Monarch Place where it now has the entire 10th floor, Lisa Hahn, the director of Client Services, told Reminder Publications.
The company, founded in 2010, had been in offices on Birnie Avenue and Hahn explained additional space was needed.
Most of the company's 100 employees are located downtown and Hahn said an additional 30 jobs are expected to be added within the next year.
The company was born out of Hampden County Physicians Associates and manages a network of 700 care providers across three Western Massachusetts counties, according to the company's website.
"Providers and hospitals all over the country are nervous about changing national standards and are trying to improve outcomes in the most efficient ways possible. Our systems address both of these issues at the same time," Dr. Philip Gaziano, CEO and chairman of ACA, said. "Healthcare has to change; and with the right kind of support we can make those changes in healthcare not scary, but exciting and beneficial to all."
Hahn said the move to downtown was not just to find necessary space for the growing company but also to make a statement.
"Springfield is a beautiful city and we feel it's important to invest in the city by not only coming here to run the commercial side of the business, but participate in the community," she said.
Hahn noted the company is working with photographer James Langone and the Springfield Museums to create a permanent display of archival images from the city's past in its offices that includes the medical history of the city.
That commitment to the city is being seen in two initiatives undertaken by the business. ACA is sponsoring "Get Moving," which uses the readings of the children's book, "Henry Gets Moving," by athletes from the University of Massachusetts in city schools to motivate healthy habits.
The company is also establishing a scholarship fund for selected Springfield students who want to pursue careers in the medical fields attending Massachusetts' colleges or universities.
"With the addition of Accountable Care Associates, a homegrown company, the Springfield revival continues," Mayor Domenic Sarno said.
