Justine Carr has helped Nashoba Valley Medical Center achieve the highest caliber of care, benefiting countless area families.

Chief Medical Officer of the Steward Health Care System (Steward) Dr. Justine Carr recently announced her retirement, leaving behind a legacy of improvements in patient care across area community hospitals, including at Nashoba Valley Medical Center.

During Dr. Carr’s tenure, Nashoba Valley Medical Center has seen improved patient outcomes in quality, safety, prevention and timely care, standardization of policies and procedures, improvement in behavioral health care access and quality, and reduction in Emergency Department wait times. Dr. Carr was instrumental in the introduction of information technology and developed innovative enhancements to better serve patients. She oversaw the development of tele-ICU ensuring continuous back up coverage of all ICU patients. Under her direction, Steward hospitals received Leapfrog A Safety Scores 94 percent of the time and Steward hospitals were consistently found in annual Leapfrog Top Hospitals. Dr. Carr was also served on the Steward Health Care Network Board, overseeing the development of Accountable Care, including top performance in the Pioneer Accountable Care Program, which saved more than $30 million in its first three years while also improving quality and patient outcomes.

“Dr. Carr has helped Nashoba Valley Medical Center achieve the highest caliber of health care, benefiting countless area families,” said Christine Basil, vice president and chief nursing officer at Nashoba Valley Medical Center. “By increasing the quality of patient care and access for the community, Dr. Carr’s imprint on our hospital will be a constant reminder of her contributions.”

Dr. Carr has also held national health leadership positions. In 2003, Dr. Carr was appointed by then U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson under President George W. Bush to serve on the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, an 18-member public advisory board to the Secretary on health data strategy and implementation of HIPAA privacy and administrative simplification. She was appointed chair of the Committee in 2012 and in 2014 served as the first chair of the Working Group on HHS Data Access and Use. She has also been invited to participate in initiatives such as the Agency for Health Research and Quality, and the Institute of Medicine Digital Learning Collaborative.

During Dr. Carr’s tenure, Steward has invested in a quality infrastructure focused on best-in-class outcomes and experiences for patients while becoming a leading innovator and provider network in New England.

Steward will be announcing its new chief medical officer in the coming weeks.

About Nashoba Valley Medical Center
Nashoba Valley Medical Center (NVMC) offers community-based primary care and specialty
services. NVMC was a recipient of the Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval and was named
to The Leapfrog Group’s annual list of Top Hospitals in 2014. Areas of clinical strength include emergency medicine, diagnostic imaging, cardiology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, oncology, orthopedics, physical therapy and general surgery. NVMC also offers a comprehensive Center for Pain Management, Diabetes and Endocrine Center, Travel Clinic and Occupational Health Services. Nashoba Valley Medical Center is part of the Steward Health Care System LLC, the largest integrated community care organization in New England which combines over 3,000 physicians, 10 acute care hospital campuses, managed care, insurance programs, home care, an imaging operation, and a number of other post-acute services, to provide the most cost effective and highest quality of integrated patient care. Additional information is available at www.nashobamed.org.

About Steward Health Care
Steward Health Care is the largest fully integrated health care services organization and community hospital network in New England. Headquartered in Boston, Steward is the fourth largest employer in Massachusetts with more than 17,000 employees in more than 150 communities. Steward comprises of Steward Medical Group, Steward Health Care Network and Steward Hospital Group. Steward Medical Group provides approximately 1 million patient encounters per year in 152 sites and manages home care and hospice with 300,000 and 35,000 encounters respectively. Steward Health Care Network, a fully integrated care management company, has 3,000 physicians, with approximately 4 million patient encounters per year and affiliates or joint ventures with approximately 30 urgent care centers. Steward’s Hospital Group includes Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, Norwood Hospital, Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill and Methuen, Morton Hospital in Taunton, and New England Sinai Hospital in Stoughton. Additional information is available at www.steward.org.

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