Mount Wachusett Community College welcomed Senior Director of External Affairs, Marketing and Development at UMass Memorial Health – Health Alliance – Clinton Hospital, Patricia Pistone to its Board of Trustees after her appointment by Governor Charlie Baker.

“I am excited to welcome Tricia to the Board,” noted MWCC President James Vander Hooven. “I have worked closely with her over the last few years. She has been a committed liaison between her organization and our medical and health-related programs.”

Pistone joined UMass Memorial Health – Health Alliance – Clinton Hospital in April 2021, after a fourteen-year career in leadership roles at Making Opportunity Count, Inc. (MOC) in Fitchburg. Her history with MWCC dates to her time as Economic Development Director for Congressman John Olver, who was integral in sustaining grant funding for the construction of the colleges’ wind turbines.

“I am honored to join MWCC’s Board of Trustees,” stated Pistone. “I have had the privilege to work with MWCC in various capacities throughout my career and have always held the college in the highest regard as both an institution for higher education institution as well as an anchor organization in our region.  I look forward to working closely with the Administration and Board of Trustees to continue that strong legacy into the future.”

“Ms. Pistone has been a great supporter of the college through her career, and it is a pleasure to have her with us,” stated Chairman of the Board of Trustees Robert Antonioni.

In addition to Chairman Antonioni, Pistone joins MWCC alumna Irene Hernandez Guzman, Leominster City Councilor Clair M. Freda, Weston Public Schools Director of Health Services Jamy Gaynor, Professor Emerita, Western New England University, Denise Kindschi Gosselin, CEO of GAAMHA, Inc. Tracy L. Hutchinson, President and CEO of Workers Credit Union Douglas Petersen, ACT, Inc. President Kenneth Tomasetti, and student trustee Cody Nathanson.

Workers Credit Union donated more than $400,000 to 175 charitable organizations in 2021. This year they are launching a new program called “Workers Kindness,” which gives its members a voice in how some of that money is allocated each quarter. “There is no one better to determine where we should donate than our members living in the communities we serve,” says Workers Credit Union President and CEO Doug Petersen. “This program ensures our giving is aligned with the causes that are important to them.”

Under the Workers Kindness program, each quarter members receive a voting call to action via email, online/mobile banking, and web alerts. By clicking on the survey link, members can “vote their kindness” from a slate of pre-selected charities and nominate organizations for inclusion on future ballots. Early reaction to the program has been strong with thousands of members responding. Donations will be made to the organizations that are proportional to the support they receive from members.

This program reflects Workers Credit Union’s overall commitment to charitable giving and improving the lives of both its members and their communities. Workers Credit Union staff devoted more than 2,000 hours to volunteering in 2021. The credit union also returned $2.2 million to its members through its Workers GiveBack program, now in its ninth year and having returned more than $25 million to members.

Exceeds expectations with a record year, strong growth in commercial loans and deposits

The year 2021 was an historic year for Fidelity Bank as annual results exceeded expectations including strong growth in commercial loans and deposits. The bank remained focused on its LifeDesign Banking approach of helping clients get where they want to be by providing the clarity, confidence, and care needed to make informed decisions about their financial future. Fidelity Bank shared its 2021 financial data and community growth at the Fidelity Bank Mutual Holding Company annual meeting on April 19.

The community bank, with headquarters in Leominster and 13 full-service offices, grew by 9.8 percent reaching total assets of $1.2 billion as of December 31, 2021, which is up from $1.1 billion as of December 31, 2020.

“As we recognize the strongest year in our 133-year history, we are grateful to those who have trusted us to guide them toward financial success,” said Ed Manzi, Chairman and CEO, Fidelity Bank. “Our results are a true testament to the commitment of our colleagues who provide service with care and develop innovative products to respond to the evolving needs of our clients.”

Highlights of Fidelity Bank’s Community Growth include:

• Fidelity Bank’s LifeDesign approach was introduced to 2,398 new client households in 2021 and 392 businesses for a total of 2,790 new deposit accounts.
• Experienced more than $398 million in new loan production by providing businesses $138 million in commercial loans, up from $93 million in 2020, and more than $229 million in mortgage loans and home equity loans, resulting in a more than 10 percent growth.
• Completion of a second round of 291 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling $25.9 million, with a two-year overall total of 738 loans resulting in $80.4 million in PPP loans.
• Growth of $43.9 million in retail deposits from December 31, 2020 to December 31, 2021 across all business segments, including consumer, business and municipal.
• Exchange Authority, a leading consultant and facilitator for Section 1031 exchanges and a wholly owned subsidiary of Fidelity Bank, experienced a record year with a 30 percent increase in clients and a 42 percent increase in the average monthly balances. In 2021, the Exchange Authority appointed John Peculis to President and CEO, and announced it moved its offices to the Fidelity Bank Shrewsbury Street banking center in Worcester in February 2022.

Bank officials also announced the election of six new corporators of Fidelity Mutual Holding Company.

They are Melane Bisbas, Winfield Brown, Jody Guetter, Michael O’Neal, Roseanne Timmerman, and Jonathan Vitale, who will all serve a ten-year term. Matthew Campobasso, Janet Chambers, John Flick and Ronald J. (Joe) Salois were re-elected to serve a ten-year term as corporators of Fidelity Mutual Holding Company. Sheila Harrity, Scott Howard, and Mark Puccio resigned as corporators. Winfield Brown and Mary Ritter were elected to serve a one-year term as directors of Fidelity Mutual Holding Company. Brian Cirelli, Patricia Leonhardt and Ronald Marchetti were re-elected as directors of Fidelity Mutual Holding Company for a three-year term, and Maureen Marshall was re-elected as a director of Fidelity Mutual Holding Company for a one-year term. Alvin Collins was elected to Clerk of Fidelity Mutual Holding Company for a one-year term, and Judy Khallady was elected to Assistant Clerk of Fidelity Mutual Holding Company for one-year term.

Treating people with care and respect has always been a guiding principle at Fidelity Bank. Expanding on last year’s creation of the Fidelity Bank Inclusion and Diversity Advisory Board, the bank developed inclusion and diversity targets for client acquisition and colleague hiring and created a Vendor Management Policy to ensure inclusion and diversity among companies with whom the bank does business.

In 2021, Fidelity Bank continued to support the communities through its Community Dividend Program by supporting more than 220 causes totaling more than $400,000. Organizations receiving contributions in 2021 included Indian Hill Music of Littleton (soon to be Groton Hill Music Center when the organization opens its new home in Groton) to support outreach programs and provide scholarships for students at public schools across Fidelity Bank’s service area as well as Entrepreneurship for All, Inc., Black Box Theatre, Heywood Healthcare, Reliant Foundation, WooSox Foundation, March of Dimes Foundation, Needham Community Council, NewVue Communities, Inc., The Shine Initiative and the Worcester County Food Bank to name a few, as well as several causes promoted through Fidelity Bank’s weekly Caring Casual Fridays. Fidelity Bank has given out approximately $2.75 million since the program was renamed in 2013.

Click here to view Fidelity Bank’s 2021 Annual Report.

In a recent poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), LGBTQ+ people reported different, and in some cases more challenging, experiences accessing care than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. They were more likely to report that a provider did not believe they were telling the truth, suggested they were personally to blame for health problems, assumed something about them without asking, and/or dismissed their concerns. Over 36% of LGBTQ+ people reported at least one of these experiences with a provider, compared to fewer than one in five (22%) in their non-LGBTQ+ peers.

The National League of Nursing (NLN) seeks to address these issues through the development of instructional resources with the goal of equipping nurse educators with the tools necessary to teach care of LGBTQ+ people and help them graduate a new nursing workforce that is both knowledgeable and culturally competent to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ individuals and decrease the health disparities they experience.

Mount Wachusett Community College was selected by the NLN to run a pilot simulation program to aid in the development of these instructional resources. A significant component of this pilot program is that the scenarios are based on caring for an LGBTQ+ individual. The Mount was fortunate to have volunteers from the community to serve as patient actors for these simulations.

Collene Thaxton, Faculty Chair of the Practical Nursing program, facilitated the simulated patient encounter with students and volunteer patient, River Luck, a group therapist who identifies as trans-masculine non-binary.

“Often individuals who are trans or transitioning avoid seeking health care due to the scrutiny they receive with regards to their chosen identity and what their legal documentation lists,” notes Professor Thaxon. “The goal of these trainings is to teach our students to be affirming and accepting as they provide care. These skills will help in overcoming the patient’s reluctance in obtaining healthcare, ultimately leading to outcomes.”

The NLN simulations moved through three scenarios with the patient, Jayla, who is in transition and non-binary.  The classroom is a simulated hospital room equipped with cameras and microphones connected to a nearby observation room where Thaxon and other faculty members can identify areas for improvement for both the students and the program. Following each scenario session, the students debrief with Thaxon and can ask questions to assess their performance.

In the first, the patient is presenting in a clinic setting with an injury that is several days old and needs attention. The students obtain the patient medical history and administer a tetanus shot. The student pairs then switch out for the second scenario, which involves the cleaning and dressing of the wound while continuing to learn more about the patient and encourage them to return for follow-up care. Finally, the third scenario is six months in the future, “Jaylen” has returned to the clinic and the nurses discuss continuing care and routine screenings.

For many of the students involved in the simulation, this was their first experience with a live patient, their work previously was conducted on patient simulation mannequins.

“Now is the time to do this, even if you don’t feel entirely comfortable, just do it. It’s how you will become comfortable,” Thaxon told her students. “We are so lucky to have someone like River here to help.”

“Having had negative experience in accessing healthcare myself, I was more than happy to participate in this program,” Luck notes. “These students did a wonderful job making “Jaylen” feel comfortable and accepted.”

“It is so important to not make assumptions about your patients. Encourage sharing by offering your own pronouns,” Luck adds. “Don’t make a big deal about it if you accidentally misgender the patient. Apologize quickly, fix it, and move on. If you get flustered and make it an issue, the patient will feel like it is an issue.”

“These educational resources will help train nurses to treat these patients in accepting and affirming ways, while still ensuring that the medical records of the patient are accurate,” Thaxon adds.

“MWCC is honored to be working with the NLN to help develop these vital instructional resources,” commented Dean of Nursing, Kimberly Shea, DNP, RN. “This is a valuable experience for our students and faculty alike. It is rewarding to know that we are playing a role in the advancement of equity and access to healthcare for LGBTQ+ individuals in our communities and beyond.”

About the National League of Nursing
The National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers professional development, networking opportunities, assessment services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its nearly 45,000 individual and 1,100 institutional members. NLN members represent nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education, health care organizations, and agencies.