Haywood Hospital says cyber event resolved; plans radiology expansion and more behavioral-health capacity

Dr. Frank Sweeney, introduced by the mayor as a family physician and Haywood Hospital chief medical officer, told the mayor’s recorded update that Haywood experienced a cyber event that disrupted systems but that IT restored operations “in a record short time period.” He said emergency, imaging and other clinical services are fully restored and that staff are working through backlogs created during downtime operations.

Sweeney described Haywood’s choice not to participate in the voluntary LeapFrog hospital survey after emerging from bankruptcy, saying leadership prioritized internal quality reporting and regulatory submissions. He criticized the LeapFrog grading approach for non-participants: “LeapFrog decides that if you don't participate in its survey, it gives you a D. So it's like getting a D on a test that you never took.” Sweeney said some metrics—falls and UTIs—are “fantastic” under Haywood’s internal reporting but were not submitted to LeapFrog.

On services, Sweeney said Haywood added Commonwealth Radiology Associates to expand imaging capacity and plans to offer interventional radiology locally in 2026, reducing the need for patients to travel. He also said Haywood is expanding primary care providers and has reopened psychiatric inpatient capacity that closed during COVID-related staffing shortages, with further growth underway to meet local demand.

Both the mayor and Sweeney emphasized Haywood’s continued local ownership after bankruptcy and its role as a community hospital serving Gardner and neighboring towns. No formal action, vote or external audit was recorded in the update.