Home Industries Health Services Thundermist’s finances now stabilized, hires new CEO and president

Thundermist’s finances now stabilized, hires new CEO and president

By

James Bessette

-

10/25/2024

THUNDERMIST HEALTH CENTER will remain open after worked with a variety of partners and stakeholders to secure the operating capital it needs fulfill budgetary obligations going forward. / COURTESY THUNDERMIST HEALTH CENTER

WOONSOCKET – Thanks to local health care stakeholders, Thundermist Health Center is officially out of the financial intensive care unit and on the mend. Additionally, Chuck Jones, a familiar face to the organization, is returning to once again lead Thundermist as its CEO and president. The health care nonprofit announced Friday that it has worked

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WOONSOCKET – Thanks to local health care stakeholders, Thundermist Health Center is officially out of the financial intensive care unit and on the mend. Additionally, Chuck Jones, a familiar face to the organization, is returning to once again lead Thundermist as its CEO and president. The health care nonprofit announced Friday that it has worked with multiple partners and stakeholders to secure the operating capital it needs to remain open, operate at full capacity and fulfill its budgetary obligations moving forward. Friday’s declaration by Thundermist that it has been bailed out ends a brief, but quite tumultuous period in which the future of the organization, which cares for approximately 62,000 people, looked quite bleak. The crisis began last month when Thundermist had to lay off 14% of its workforce, or 124 employees. That decision came after the organization ousted Jeanne LaChance as CEO and president after LaChance, according to Interim CEO Maria Montanaro in a previous interview with Providence Business News, did not run the fiscal analysis needed to build a budget for 2025. The financial situation was to the point where Thundermist needed an $8 million bailout from health care stakeholders or else it faced going into receivership and close down permanently. On Friday, Thundermist reiterated that Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island was the first organization to step up with more than $1 million of earned payments. Without Neighborhood Health Plan’s early assistance, Thundermist would have closed by Oct. 1, the organization said. [caption id="attachment_479974" align="alignleft" width="253"]

CHUCK JONES is returning to Thundermist Health Center to again become its CEO and president. / COURTESY THUNDERMIST HEALTH CENTER[/caption] Thundermist also received “hundreds of thousands to millions” of dollars of assistance from other prominent health care organizations, it says. Among them were Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Care New England Health System, Delta Dental of Rhode Island, the R.I. Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the Health Resources Services Administration, Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, Tufts Health Plan and UnitedHealthcare of New England. The health organization also reiterated Friday it anticipates receiving a one-time employee retention tax credit from the IRS worth $9.8 million. That credit, which was applied for last November, will be used to pay back loans Thundermist receives for this emergency need throughout the current fiscal year. “This has been a team effort,” Montanaro said in a statement. “Our dedicated staff, leadership, and board have worked tirelessly to enact the changes that are needed to close the operational deficit that led to Thundermist’s fiscal crisis. While there is still much work to do, we are on the road to recovery.” Regarding its new CEO and president, Thundermist says Jones previously lead the organization from 2011 through 2016 before joining Harbor Health Services Inc. in Boston – which he was its CEO and president since 2017. Jones is expected to return to Thundermist either on or before the start of the new year, the organization says. James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.