A New Era in ICU Care at Harrington Hospital

When COVID-19 hit, Harrington Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) quickly reached capacity. Ventilated patients often had to be treated on other units, and some were sent as far away as Boston or Hartford. And since the pandemic, meeting patients’ need for critical care has remained an ongoing challenge.

The solution: a brand-new eight-bed ICU, with rooms much larger than before. We opened the unit at Harrington in February 2025.

“Walking into this ICU now, you feel the difference immediately,” said Frank Powers, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Harrington. “Procedures run smoothly, equipment is accessible, and our staff can monitor patients efficiently.”

“The unit is full, with an average daily census of seven,” added Jess Calcidise, Vice President, Patient Care Services, Chief Nursing Officer/Chief Operating Officer, Harrington. “Patients get more attention, families can stay overnight and transfers are rare.”

The ICU is integrated with UMass Memorial Health’s eICU telehealth system and Epic, our electronic medical record platform. Harrington also partners with Brook Health to offer a remote patient monitoring program, enabling specialists to track patients remotely and manage chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The hospital has seen the fastest growth in remote patient monitoring enrollment across the UMass Memorial system.

“The results are spectacular,” said Dr. Powers. “Readmissions for high-risk patients, including those with congestive heart failure, have been cut in half.”

Expanding the ICU is also an equity issue, Dr. Powers noted. Central Massachusetts has fewer hospital beds than other regions, and transfers to larger hospitals can create hardship for families. He credits Harrington’s President Ed Moore and its Board of Trustees for planning ahead and choosing to partner with UMass Memorial through a corporate affiliation in 2021. “The partnership gave us not just financial stability but access to advanced tools we could not have implemented on our own.”

Another benefit of the modern ICU is the ability to attract and retain top staff. The addition of a dedicated intensivist allows Harrington to keep even more complex cases local. With a modern ICU, Harrington Hospital shows that advanced, patient-focused care doesn’t have to be distant — it can happen right in our own community. •

Harrington leaders and state legislators cutting the ribbon to open the new ICU at Harrington Hospital. From left: Representative John Marsi, Sixth Worcester District; Representative Joseph McKenna, Eighteenth Worcester District; and from UMass Memorial Health – Harrington, Frank Powers, MD, Chief Medical Officer; Thomas Johnson, MD, Medical Staff President; Meaghan Krajcik, Inpatient Nursing Operations Manager; Edward Moore, President; and Michael Engel, Board Chair.