2024 Power 100: Kurt Isaacson

Photo | Courtesy of Spectrum Health Systems Kurt Isaacson, president and CEO of Spectrum Health Systems

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Kurt Isaacson Title President & CEO Company Spectrum Health Systems, in Worcester Employees 1,075 Residence Grafton Colleges University of Arizona, University of New Haven Read all the Power 100 profiles here
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The opioid epidemic and other substance-use problems continue to haunt the Central Mass. community, as Worcester County had the largest increase of opioid-related deaths of anywhere in the state in 2022, the most recent year data is available.

Kurt Isaacson and Spectrum Health Systems stand at the forefront of treating the rising problem.

Isaacson joined Spectrum in 2013 as chief operating officer, the same year it accumulated $51 million in revenue. Three years later, Isaacson transitioned into the role of CEO and today, and the nonprofit’s revenue is advancing toward $130 million.

Spectrum serves 6,000 clients every day across its treatment programs and is in the process of building a 10,000-square-foot centralized admission building and a 38,000-square-foot headquarters in Westborough, which is set to open this summer.

Isaacson has overseen the development of multiple programs and organizations aimed at addressing opioid use. In 2022, Spectrum established its community impact committee to administer funding to nonprofits throughout the state. Since its creation, the committee has provided more than $500,000 in grants.

In February 2023, Spectrum launched its mobile treatment unit providing addiction treatment and other clinical resources at the South Middlesex Opportunity Council and St. John's Catholic Church, both in Worcester. The program served more than 291 individuals in its first six months of operation and more than 70% of the unit's patients have continued treatment. In June, the nonprofit announced the execution of its fourth peer recovery center, The Recovery Exchange in Lynn.

This year, Spectrum continued its efforts to support underserved communities by renewing its contract with the Massachusetts Department of Correction for two years to provide medication for opioid-use disorder treatment to those incarcerated.

Read all the Power 100 profiles here.