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Date: 8/9/2023
SPRINGFIELD — After a decade-long run in leadership roles, Baystate Health President and CEO Dr. Mark Keroack announced that he will retire next summer.
Baystate Health made the announcement on Aug. 2 that Keroack would officially step down in July 2024.
“It has been and continues to be the privilege of a lifetime to serve as CEO of Baystate Health and partner with the amazing people who provide such outstanding care to our communities,” said Keroack as part of Baystate Health’s prepared statement. “While I look forward to spending the next chapter of my life with my family, I plan to be fully engaged in both day-to-day leadership and our strategic efforts to address the challenging dynamics in healthcare today in a way that prioritizes the health needs of our communities and continues our role as an employer of choice.”
The Board of Trustees will launch a national search for his successor, according to the health care system.
“Baystate Health plays a unique role as a major employer, community asset and safety net for our most vulnerable community members and their health needs. Mark leads with a focus on mission; even though the financial environment has been challenging, his decisions always prioritize local health needs,” said Board of Trustees Chair Harriet DeVerry. “While Mark’s strengths, vision and commitment to the community will not be easy to replace, the board recognizes this transition as an important opportunity to plan for the future needs of Baystate Health and the patients, families and communities at the heart of our mission.”
Mayor Domenic Sarno gave public well-wishes to Keroack, saying, “Having spoken to Dr. Mark Keroack yesterday, it is truly bittersweet to hear of his retirement. He has always been the gentleman, class act and a good and strong leader with a measured temperament. The city of Springfield and Baystate Health, being the only level one trauma center in Western Massachusetts, have always had a solid working partnership to deliver world-class health care to our Springfield community and beyond. Personally, Dr. Keroack has been a good friend to me and my family. You will be missed, but your legacy will live on. Thank you and congratulations — I wish you, your wife Ann and family good health, luck and continued success in all your future endeavors.”
Keroack was named Baystate Health’s CEO in 2014. He initially joined the system in 2011 as president of Baystate Medical Practices and was promoted in March 2013 to chief physician executive and president of medical practices.
Keroack became a more recognizable figure in recent years as a public face and advocate for expanded health measures, restrictions and vaccinations during the coronavirus pandemic, often appearing at regular public health updates delivered by Sarno and Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris.
“I bet we all don’t miss doing those COVID-19 pandemic press conferences every Monday morning for a year and half too!” Sarno added in his remarks.
To that point, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said in his own congratulatory statement, “His partnership during his time as president and CEO over the past nine years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been irreplaceable. He is a true advocate for the Greater Springfield community, and he is a true believer in facts, always following the science to achieve the best possible outcome for his patients.”
Also under Keroack’s leadership, Baystate Health took on several improvement and expansion projects, including some recent developments. The new $72-million Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke is set to open this month after breaking ground in March 2022. The company said the 23,000-square-foot space will increase capacity for inpatient behavioral care by 50%.
In March, Baystate Medical Center opened its new operating rooms in the Daly Building, an upgrade of the previous 40-year-old facilities, unveiling 24 total operating rooms, eight heart and vascular and neurology interventional procedure rooms and 80 prep and recovery bays, expanding from the previous 20 bays.
Baystate Health also increased its disaster capacity and resiliency with a $27 million heat and power plant that provides non-grid energy sources to critical facilities in the event of power loss during a disaster.
There have also been changes that resulted in losses for communities, including the closure of the Baystate Mary Lane Outpatient Center in Ware. Keroack said in January 2021 when it was announced the facility was closed that “despite our significant investment in this location during the past several years, patients are choosing to receive care in other locations.” Additionally, the closure of the mental health units at Baystate Noble Hospital in Westfield, Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, and Baystate Wing Hospital in Palmer were planned in concert with the opening of the new Holyoke facility.
Keroack’s Western Massachusetts roots run deep. An alum of Amherst College, Keroack’s father. Dr. Alvin Keroack, was a general practitioner in Springfield’s Sixteen Acres neighborhood and his mother, Mary Phaneuf Keroack, was a nurse who graduated from what is now known as the Baystate School of Nursing. When his medical training took him away from the Pioneer Valley, he remained in-state, attending Harvard Medical School before receiving his master of public health degree from Boston University. He also trained in internal medicine and infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.