Massachusetts Tenet hospital CEO to step down

Carolyn Jackson, CEO of Tenet Healthcare’s St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Mass., and its Massachusetts market, plans to step down Feb. 14.

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“After serving nearly six years in a difficult union environment, Carolyn is choosing to focus on the next chapter of her career,” Maggie Gill, Tenet’s eastern group president, wrote in a Feb. 3 email to staff obtained by Becker’s.

During Ms. Jackson’s tenure, nurses at the hospital held a 301-day strike in 2021 to 2022. The Massachusetts Nurses Association had long raised concerns about the hospital, citing patient safety and working conditions. In a Dec. 3, 2024, complaint, the union described the hospital as facing “an ongoing and dire crisis.”

Following more than 600 safety and staffing complaints, The Joint Commission found in February 2024 that St. Vincent was noncomplaint with some CMS conditions. In March, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said that five of the six concerns raised by union nurses were unsubstantiated.

MNA said St. Vincent nurses are “relieved” by Ms. Jackson’s departure and hoped it “signals an opportunity for new leadership at Tenet’s hospitals in Massachusetts,” including Framingham (Mass.) Union Hospital and Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick, Mass., MNA said in a statement shared with Becker’s.

“We look forward to meeting with new leadership in hopes of mutual good faith efforts to build a positive culture that ensures best care for our patients and dignity and respect for staff,” MNA said.

During Ms. Jackson’s tenure, the hospital upgraded its EHR system and integrated clinical technology to enhance care, Ms. Gill said in the letter. She previously served as COO of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

St. Vincent Hospital is part of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare.

Becker’s has reached out to St. Vincent Hospital and will update this story if more information becomes available.

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