WORCESTER — Carolyn Jackson, the CEO of Saint Vincent Hospital, will resign on February 14, according to an internal memo from Maggie Gill, eastern group president for Tenet Healthcare, the hospital’s Dallas-based, for-profit parent company.
Jackson, who also oversees Framingham Union Hospital and Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick, led Saint Vincent Hospital through one of the most turbulent periods in its history, including the longest nursing strike in Massachusetts history and multiple investigations into patient safety concerns.
“After serving nearly six years in a difficult union environment, Carolyn is choosing to focus on the next chapter of her career,” Gill wrote in a February 3 memo to hospital employees. Tenet has not announced Jackson’s successor, and Jackson has not publicly disclosed her next steps.
Jackson’s tenure has been fraught with labor disputes and allegations of unsafe conditions at Saint Vincent Hospital. The Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), which represents approximately 600 nurses at Saint Vincent, has been a vocal critic of her leadership, citing understaffing, unsafe working conditions, and patient care lapses.
In March 2022, Saint Vincent nurses went on strike, leading to a 301-day work stoppage, the longest in state history. The dispute ended in January 2023 when the MNA and Tenet Healthcare reached a four-year contract agreement, brokered by former U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. However, tensions between the hospital and union persisted.
Since June 2023, the MNA has filed six complaints with state and federal agencies, alleging inadequate staffing and deteriorating patient care. The most serious complaint, filed in December 2024, cited over 70 instances of substandard care, including two patient deaths in the ICU in September 2024 due to a lack of continuous dialysis. The December complaint also detailed that more than 200 patients developed preventable bedsores throughout 2024, which the MNA attributed to ongoing staffing shortages.
In January 2025, about 24 nurses in the MNA from Saint Vincent and Framingham Union hospitals met with Dr. Robert Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), to present evidence of ongoing safety concerns at Saint Vincent, Framingham Union, and Leonard Morse hospitals. Among the incidents they cited was a psychiatric patient who managed to fashion a noose from bedsheets due to a lack of supervision. Although the patient was not harmed, nurses pointed to the incident as a reflection of staffing shortages and unsafe conditions.
During the meeting, nurses urged the DPH to appoint independent monitors to oversee Tenet Healthcare’s hospitals in Massachusetts, emphasizing the need for state intervention to address ongoing staffing issues.
In a statement following the meeting, Commissioner Robert Goldstein described the concerns raised by nurses as “honest and heartfelt.” He reiterated that the Department of Public Health (DPH) investigates all complaints and conducts hospital visits as necessary, but did not commit to appointing monitors for Tenet’s hospitals.
Spokespersons for Saint Vincent Hospital and Tenet Healthcare have consistently denied allegations of inadequate care, asserting after Commissioner Goldstein’s meeting with nurses that the union was merely engaging in “publicity stunts.”
“There is no doubt that these unfounded attacks are related to upcoming negotiations with the union at Saint Vincent,” Tenet spokesperson Shelly Weiss Friedberg said, calling it a common union tactic.
Despite these denials, the MNA insists that Jackson’s departure is a turning point.
MNA President Katie Murphy said she couldn’t confirm whether union complaints influenced Jackson’s resignation, but she welcomed the news.
“We were sounding the alarm,” Murphy said. “You know when nurses met with the commissioner, I had nurses in tears. They were in tears over the circumstances their patients were in.”
Marlena Pellegrino, a 38-year veteran nurse at Saint Vincent and co-chair of the hospital’s MNA bargaining unit, was blunt in her reaction to Jackson’s departure:
“It should have happened a long time ago for the safety of our patients and the safety of our nursing practice.”
