Major provider, with two South County offices, dodges the bullet
Thundermist’s Interim CEO Maria Montanaro states, “Achieving
this milestone assures that Thundermist will remain viable as one of the
state’s largest, independent community health centers, ensuring that it will be
able to fulfill its mission to the communities and the patients it serves.”
Thundermist had announced in early September it was facing a financial crisis and needed to close a budget gap of $2 million a month. Thundermist’s board of directors subsequently terminated its contract with former President and CEO Jeanne LaChance and reduced the health center’s workforce by 14%, along with implementing additional measures to help stabilize the organization.
The board hired Maria Montanaro as interim CEO to oversee
turnaround efforts. Montanaro had previously served as Thundermist’s president
and CEO 1997-2011.
“This has been a team effort,” Montanaro says. “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.”
Thundermist is deeply grateful to the partners and
stakeholders who have stepped up to assist Thundermist with its cashflow
emergency. These include Neighborhood Health Plan of RI (NHPRI), which was the
very first organization to closely partner with Thundermist and advance the
health center millions of dollars of earned payments. Without their immediate
assistance, Thundermist would have been closed by October 1.
“Peter Marino, CEO of NHPRI, was absolutely invaluable to me
and our team in working through this crisis,” Montanaro says. “His team spent
many long hours working with us as we confronted our fiscal crisis. We cannot
thank them enough.”
Thundermist appreciates the rapid response and assistance of the following stakeholders whose executives made themselves available to Montanaro the moment she called. Collectively, each provided hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars of assistance.
They are Blue Cross Blue Shield
of RI, Care New England, Delta Dental of RI, the Executive Office of Health and
Human Services (EOHHS), the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA),
Landmark Medical Center, Tufts Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare. Thundermist
continues in discussion with its remaining hospital partners.
In addition, Thundermist expects to receive an employee
retention tax credit from the Internal Revenue Service before the end of the
year. Thundermist’s application was expedited thanks to invaluable assistance
from Rhode Island Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse.
“The bulk of funds from our stakeholders are in the form of
advance payments, with a smaller amount in the form of grants and donations,”
Montanaro explains.
While the current cashflow crisis has ended, the hard work
is just beginning. To that end, Thundermist has also announced Chuck Jones will
be returning to Thundermist to serve as its president and CEO once again. Jones
previously worked as president and CEO at Thundermist 2011-16 before joining
Harbor Health in Boston. He is expected to begin on or before the start of the
new year.
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Thundermist Health Center is a full-service primary care
provider with dental and behavioral health services. The nonprofit community
health center aims to improve the health of patients and communities by
delivering exceptional healthcare and removing barriers to that care.
Thundermist has locations in West Warwick, Woonsocket, and South County. The
organization cares for patients regardless of insurance and ability to pay. In
2023, Thundermist cared for more than 62,000 patients. Learn more at thundermisthealth.org
or @thundermisthc.