MetroWest Medical Center's CEO is leaving after 16 months on the job
FRAMINGHAM — Ava Collins is leaving her position as CEO at MetroWest Medical Center after 16 months on the job.
No reason has been given by the hospital or its corporate parent, Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp.
In an internal memo obtained by the Daily News, Carolyn Jackson, CEO of Tenet Healthcare's Massachusetts market, said the organization is "thankful for her many contributions and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”
Among her accomplishments, Jackson said Collins contributed to the work of both MetroWest Medical Center and, before that, Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, “to better meet the needs of the community.”
Jackson, who also serves as CEO at Saint Vincent, wrote that she would be “spending more time” at MetroWest Medical Center during Collins’ transition and a nationwide search for a new CEO.
Jackson did not return Daily News requests seeking comment as of Wednesday morning.
Collins has been at the helm in Framingham since December 2020, when she took over for Andrew Harding. She previous served as chief operating officer and interim chief executive officer of Saint Vincent Hospital.
Related: Former St. Vincent Hospital executive takes the reins at MetroWest Medical Center
The pending leadership change comes amidst a period of consolidation and cost-cutting at MetroWest Medical Center, which includes Framingham Union Hospital and Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick, the latter of which has focused on behavioral health after its ER and acute care services were shuttered in 2020.
Earlier this month, MetroWest Medical Center announced that it would close its outpatient oncology unit and inpatient sleep medicine services. Patients were advised to use those services at Saint Vincent, which like MetroWest Medical Center is owned by Tenet, which is a publicly-traded company.
Also, MetroWest Medical Center confirmed that was eliminating live interpreters, opting instead for phone and video services.
Collins' departure continues a trend of MetroWest Medical CEOs having relatively short tenures.
Jeffrey Liebman served in the position for just over a year before resigning in August 2018. Harding, then the chief nursing officer, was named interim CEO before getting the permanent job in October 2018.
Collins took over from Harding and has been leading MetroWest Medical Center since December 2020.
Tenet Healthcare has owned MetroWest Medical Center since 1998, when it acquired the hospital for $75 million from Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., another for-profit operator of hospitals.
Response from local legislators
State Rep. Carmine Gentile, D-Sudbury, whose district includes part of Framingham, said he had recently met with Collins about the closure of the oncology department and hadn't known she was preparing to depart the CEO position.
"Ava Collins seemed to be a very able and effective manager there, and I'm sorry to see her leaving," he said.
He recalled that it was only a few years ago that the regional director of Tenet Hospitals met with legislators to announce changes in leadership. In this case, it was the Daily News request for comment that alerted him to the news.
"I think as long as it's a for-profit hospital, we're just going to get shortchanged on health care, period, end of story," he said. "It delivers very good service to many people. It also has its shortcomings, as any place does... We need a community hospital in Framingham."
In a prepared statement, state Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis, D-Framingham, also expressed concern about the role of profit in the way the hospital operates, given that it is one of more than 50 hospitals run by Tenet.
"I had the opportunity to get to know Ava Collins over the course of 2021 as part of (former Framingham) Mayor Yvonne Spicer’s regular COVID-19 meets with community leaders," Lewis said. "I always found her contribution to the conversation to be of vital importance, and I appreciate everything she and the entire team at the MetroWest Medical Center did to prepare for the various waves of this pandemic.
"However, her departure, the third in a series of CEO departures, further prevents the hospital’s leaders from deepening relationships with our community."
Lillian Eden can be reached at 617-459-6409 or leden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LillianWEden.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Ava Collins resigns as CEO at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham
