The future of healthcare in Athol, Gardner and our surrounding communities is under threat. Under CEO Win Brown, Heywood Healthcare has been dismantling essential services and reducing access to care. “Temporary” closures of pediatric and mental health beds at Heywood Hospital have turned permanent, without public input. The hospital's emergency department is bursting with patients. Heywood has not taken the steps needed to retain and recruit additional staff. After Heywood's proposed merger with UMass recently collapsed, Brown cut community services, announced pay increase delays, and eliminated job postings for dozens of positions.

For more than a decade, Win Brown has reigned over Heywood Healthcare, controlling every aspect of the system's decision-making. He has prioritized profit seeking over ensuring care for all community members, even though Heywood and Athol are non-profit hospitals that receive 65% and 70% in taxpayer funding from Medicare, Medicaid, and other public sources. These are our hospitals, not Win Brown's. His tenure has led us to this precarious moment. Therefore, we are calling for a leadership change to ensure:

• Every member of our community receives access to the healthcare they need.
• All staff and community stakeholders are included in decision-making.
• Caregivers are truly respected and given the resources they need so that Heywood can improve its staffing and provide quality patient care.