Dr. Dickson leads UMass Memorial Health, the largest nonprofit health system in Central Massachusetts, overseeing more than 20,000 employees, 2,400 physicians, four owned hospitals on eight campuses, 135 community practices, five urgent care centers, a behavioral health services agency, and an ACO. A practicing emergency medicine physician for more than 30 years, Dr. Dickson has continued to work emergency department shifts throughout his tenure as CEO in order to maintain a direct connection to patients and caregivers. He also serves as a professor of emergency medicine at UMass Chan Medical School. His leadership is grounded in a culture of frontline innovation, allowing the system to implement more than 200,000 employee-generated ideas since 2013 via team huddles and collaborative problem-solving. Dr. Dickson has formalized this commitment to creativity through an annual “Innovator of the Year” award. He has led major access-preservation initiatives in response to regional hospital closures, including the construction of a satellite emergency facility in Groton, Mass. He also secured Department of Public Health approval to integrate Marlborough (Mass.) Hospital under the UMass Memorial Medical Center license to strengthen quality and specialty care. Dr. Dickson is establishing a governance structure within the system, aiming to guide the responsible use of AI in reducing administrative burden and supporting clinical decision-making. He was an inaugural recipient of the Boston Business Journal‘s “Innovators in Healthcare Award” for chief executive leadership in 2023, and received the Massachusetts Health Council “Health Care Star Award” in 2024.
