Whittier Health Network
Company News
Caring for our patients and employees is part of Whittier Health Network’s tradition of excellence since 1982. Read on and see first hand why WHN is your first choice in Health Care.
John Evans on his road to recovery at Whittier Westborough: “They believed in me. It was their belief in me that gave me the confidence to believe in myself.”
When John Evans was first evaluated by his therapist, he was asked the usual questions. One of which was, "What are your goals?" There was no hesitation in his reply, “I want to walk out of this hospital.” This goal would be a lofty one for John, and that was a fact...
Three Whittier Health Network facilities have been rated among Best in Massachusetts by U.S. News & World Report
Masconomet Healthcare Center, Port Healthcare Center, and Whittier Bradford Transitional Care Unit have all been recognized as Best Nursing Homes for short-term rehabilitation for 2022-2023 by U.S. News & World Report. The annual Best Nursing Homes ratings, now in...
A talk with Traci Aubin, OTR/L, Corporate Director of Business Development for Whittier Health Network, on building and cultivating partnerships in healthcare.
Traci Aubin is the Corporate Director of Business Development for all 16 Whittier Health Network facilities and services. She brings her passion for treating patients like family to all levels of post-acute care: LTAC, IRF, TCU, SNF, Outpatient, and Home Care. What is...
Hannah Duston Healthcare Center was voted the #1 Senior Living facility in the Greater Haverhill area by readers of the Eagle Tribune and the Haverhill Gazette!
Over 20,000 votes were cast for more than 1,800 different businesses, people, and places by over 1,200 different residents of the Greater Haverhill Area, and Hannah Duston was voted Greater Haverhill’s Best of 2022. “The staff at Hannah Duston Healthcare Center are...
Clinical Wound Specialist Maura Bucher is a valuable resource for Whittier’s wound patients.
The ABWM (American Board of Wound Management) Foundation has named June as Wound Healing Awareness Month (WHAM). This month is meant to recognize the challenges experienced by individuals whose lives are affected daily by chronic wounds and to bring awareness to the...
Jess Villnave, RN, on the rewards of being a valued member of the LTAC patient care team at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital-Westborough.
Jess Villnave has been a nurse at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital-Westborough for nearly 14 years, starting as a graduate nurse out of college. Jess works in the Long Term Acute Care unit (LTAC), where she cares for medically complex patients. "There is such a...
For Amber Abderrazzaq, RN, working at Whittier is full of opportunities and professional growth.
Amber Abderrazzaq will be the first to admit that she did not know what to expect when she applied and interviewed at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital-Westborough. Two years later, she is thrilled with her decision. "After learning about the LTAC unit and the acuity...
Michaela Carlson, LSW Director of Social Services at Hannah Duston Healthcare Center, discusses the role of the Social Worker in the skilled nursing setting.
We recently sat down with Michaela Carlson, LSW, Director of Social Services at Hannah Duston Healthcare Center, to talk about the role of the Social Worker in the skilled nursing setting and how that role has become even more important in these last few years. What...
A Dietitian and a Speech-Language Pathologist at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Bradford explain how they work closely together to tailor dietary needs to care for our compromised patients: “It’s a balance between keeping people safe but also piquing their interest in food.”
Speech-Language Pathologist Holly Sylvestre, MS CCC-SLP and Dietitian Ashley Iannaco, RD, LDN met with us recently to talk about their different roles and to explain how they collaborate to meet the nutritional needs of the patients under their care at Whittier...
Barbara Kruschwitz, PT, DPT at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Bradford with a Physical Therapist’s advice on “Is a wheeled walker best for me?”
Barbara says: Yes it is! Wheeled walkers and grocery carts help improve both lung tidal volume AND youthful appearance! Many patients are eager to progress from using a wheeled walker to using a straight cane. It’s a sound idea. A cane is less cumbersome and it lets...
Whittier’s Director of Psychology and Neuropsychology, Michael Sefton, Ph.D., offers advice on winter sports and traumatic brain injury.
Michael Sefton, Ph.D., Director of Psychology and Neuropsychology at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Westborough, has treated a lot of winter sports traumatic brain injuries during his career. Here he shares some thoughts on the causes, treatments, and prevention of...
The Differences Between LTACHs, IRFs, and SNFs
When you are a patient at a hospital following an injury, critical illness, or surgery, you might still require additional monitoring and care upon discharge. Several different types of facilities can assist you. These facilities can give you the extra time,...
An interview with NaDarron Fort, Nurse Practitioner at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Westborough: “Always treat your patients as you would want to be treated. It’s just as easy as that.”
Our clinician spotlight at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Westborough is NaDarron Fort, NP, a licensed Nurse Practitioner who has been working under the guidance of Dr. Deborah Markowitz of Pulmonary Associates of Metro West. For over 5 years now, NaDarron has been...
Celebrating our employees and their years of service at Whittier Health Network!
At Whittier, celebrating milestones is an annual event! Every year, all of our network facilities hold Years of Service celebrations. We gather to honor and recognize our employees and thank them for their contribution and longevity with the Whittier team. Our...
The Whittier Way: Michael Griffin, MSPT, discusses the different approach to Physical Therapy at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital-Westborough’s Outpatient Clinic
Michael Griffin is a Physical Therapist specializing in helping patients reduce pain, restore mobility, rehabilitate an injury, and increase movement and overall function. Michael is going on 7 years of service at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital, Westborough's...
Paul Renfrew’s recovery at Whittier-Westborough Outpatient Center: “…an enjoyable, pleasant and forward thinking physical experience.”
Perseverance, by definition, is the continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure or opposition. Paul Renfrew is perseverance personified. As a retired physical education teacher and coach for fifty years, Paul has always taken great joy...
A heartfelt goodbye as Dr. Malcolm Murdoch retires after 25 years at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Bradford.
We had a big send off last week as Dr. Malcolm Murdoch, one of the “pillars of BRN,” retired after 25 years of service at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Bradford. It was bittersweet day at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Bradford when we bid a fond farewell to Dr....
A talk with Tyler Soucy, Nursing Staff Coordinator at Masconomet Healthcare Center
“If you want to always have a good time at work, that’s what Whittier is all about.” -Tyler Soucy, Nursing Staff Coordinator at Masconomet Healthcare Center Tyler Soucy is only 23 years old, but he’s already been a part of the Whittier Health Network for six years!...
An interview with Laurie Faust Lemire, Director of Rehabilitation Services @ Bradford “We take a truly holistic approach when it comes to caring for a patient”
At Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Bradford, patients work to recover what’s been lost due to a medical/traumatic event, such as functional mobility after a bad break, learning to communicate after a stroke, or gaining endurance to dress and bathe upon being weaned...
An Interview with Leah Carlin, Director of Rehabilitation Services at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Westborough: “We spend a lot of time getting to know the patients here.”
“Westborough is not a traditional hospital setting; there’s a really different vibe here. If you have to go to rehabilitation, this is the place to be.” -Leah Carlin, Director of Rehabilitation Services @ Whittier Health Network’s Whittier Rehabilitation...
A Conversation with Kelley Porazinski, OTR/L Staff @ Bradford Rehabilitation Hospital- “I love knowing I can make a difference on such a higher level.”
As a child, Kelley Porazinski loved medicine but hated needles. “And you can’t be a nurse if you do!” she laughs. “But I wanted to do something in healthcare even then - I just didn’t know what.” Today, Kelley Porazinski has been with the Whittier Health Network for...
A Conversation with Brenda Miller, Admissions Coordinator at Masconomet Healthcare Center in Topsfield MA
Meet Brenda Miller from Masconomet Health Center in Topsfield, Massachusetts! Brenda worked in the Whittier Health Network for nine years before taking a break and moving to an assisted living facility. Now she’s back with Whittier and going into her thirteenth...
An interview with Marie + Ed Udas (and Sharon Gosling) at Nemasket Healthcare Center: .”..it’s a joy to be able to be with each other every day.”
Ed Udas has been a resident of Nemasket Healthcare Center for six months, and his wife of 59 years, Marie, has visited him every one of those days, even when she couldn't be inside the building. One winter day, Marie sat outside his window in 21-degree weather with...
A Conversation with Dr. Joan Breen, Director of Neurology Day Rehabilitation Program @ Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital Bradford
A graduate of Harvard College and Dartmouth Medical School, Dr. Joan Breen completed her internship in internal medicine at Brown University with a residency at Miriam Hospital and her neurology residency and fellowship in cerebrovascular disease at Tufts-New England...