Banko thanked them for their work and gave no explanation for why they are departing. Later this week, Banko said, he will announce a “new operating model” for the health care system and a “new senior leadership team structure.” Morales-Lemieux and Salvador referred questions to the hospital’s spokesperson. Conway could not be reached for comment. Like many hospital systems in the state, Baystate has faced serious financial challenges in recent years. It lost $63 million in 2023 and $177 million in 2022. During the pandemic, it relied on more than $151 million that the federal government provided through the CARES Act’s Coronavirus Relief Fund. In February, in an attempt to avoid layoffs, the health system said it was delaying pay raises that employees were scheduled to receive in two months, according to Western Mass News. On Monday, in response to an inquiry from the Globe about a possible restructuring at Baystate, the health care system said in a statement that “we have experienced multiple years of significant operating losses” that have affected its balance sheet. To generate cash, Baystate has sold a laboratory, the statement said. In February it also announced that it has signed an agreement to sell Health New England, a not-for-profit health insurance plan with about 180,000 members, to Point32Heath, the state’s second-largest health insurer. Although the statement Monday said Baystate had no restructuring plans to announce yet, it said that the system intended “to create a clear path to profitability and stability” over the next two years. Banko succeeded Dr. Mark Keroack, who retired after serving as Baystate’s leader for 10 years. Banko most recently served as president and CEO of Centura Health, in Centennial, Colo., which was a part of the national system CommonSpirit Health. Baystate Health serves more than 800,000 people throughout western New England, with roots dating to the founding of Springfield Hospital in 1883. Baystate Medical Center is a 716-bed academic medical center and a teaching site of the UMass Chan Medical School. The hospital includes Baystate Children’s Hospital, the Wesson Women and Infants’ Unit, and the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center.
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