I am very pleased with the continued fiscal and operational improvement of UMass Memorial Health Care. This was a year of stability and progress as we continued to execute on our plan to transform our health care delivery system into a financially sustainable organization that meets the needs of our communities.

Significant achievements contributing to our successful year include increased demand for our services; significant progress executing our long-term strategic plan, including reconfiguration of services to align with new industry models and to keep and grow our patient base; improved patient access by extending patient scheduling call center hours and providing 24/7 access to online scheduling; and introduced affiliations with experienced partners to offer a wide array of specialized services, including high-quality, low-cost urgent care services.

Most importantly, with your help, we were able to improve our operational efficiency and manage costs and expenses. This is fueled by our collective commitment to the employee idea system which resulted in more than 20,000 ideas submitted and implemented in FY 2014 and FY 2015. Those ideas helped us to devote even more time to patient care, improve service and save money.

Thanks for all your great ideas and for taking great care of our patients and one another,

Eric