Hands-free CPR is taught to families while a loved one is in the Cath Lab. 70% of non-hospital heart issues occur in the home.
President Joe Biden is expected to extend a mask mandate on all public transportation Thursday through mid-March as the first case of the new omicron COVID-19 variant has been detected in the United States.
He also wants inbound international passengers to take a COVID test within 24 hours of departure and plans to increase the availability of free at-home rapid tests.
The omicron variant will be met in the U.S. by a health-care system accustomed to Covid-19 surges yet battered by almost two years of fighting the pandemic with no end in sight.
The availability of vaccines, treatments and steady supplies of protective gear have made many hospitals better equipped than ever to cope with Covid admissions that have been rising nationally since early November.
Governor Charlie Baker has asked hospitals to reduce the number of elective surgical procedures, but at UMass Memorial Medical Center, that won’t change things too much.
As the omicron variant of COVID pops up across the globe, stock markets are falling, travel bans are being enacted, lines are forming to get vaccines and boosters, and mask mandates are once again entering the political debate.
Author and advocate Elijah J. Stacy is using what he has learned through adversity in battling Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) to help others overcome their own challenges.
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives is pleased to announce that UMass Memorial Health, parent company of UMass Memorial Health – HealthAlliance-Clinton, Leominster Campus, has earned 2021 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired recognition as a certified level 8 organization.
Health officials in Brockton and Worcester say they are on high alert and bracing to handle the first cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, should it spread to Massachusetts.
Scientists and public health experts are still learning about the variant's potential impact, from how easily it spreads to whether it makes people more severely ill than other variants. Until they know more, city officials are encouraging people to follow the same precautions as earlier stages in the pandemic: wear a mask, wash your hands, maintain distance in public spaces and get vaccinated.
WORCESTER, Mass. - A new variant of COVID-19 discovered in South Africa is spreading and a local doctor says there are a number of mutations in this one and it could become the primary variant going forward.
Omicron has led at least 44 countries including the U.S. to impose travel restrictions from several African countries. There are currently no known cases in the U.S., but UMass Memorial Health internal medicine specialist, Dr. Robert Klugman, says there's a high chance there will be.
New policies to combat an increasing number of hospital patients go into effect Monday.
Some surgeries could be put on hold as rising COVID-19 cases put a strain on local hospitals.
BOSTON — Health officials say it appears the omicron variant is more contagious, but it’s unclear if it will result in more severe illness.
And it’s not yet clear how the current vaccines hold up against it.
Massachusetts is requiring hospitals and health systems to reduce non-urgent scheduled surgical procedures. But the top reason isn't a surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
The state’s public health department released guidance this week to hospitals that aims to conserve inpatient hospital capacity, with a major staffing shortage and a wave of non-COVID-19 care key drivers of the decision.
Coronavirus booster shots are now authorized for everyone 18 years and older and can be given six months after mRNA vaccines and two months after a Johnson & Johnson shot.
Massachusetts hospitals, which are once again facing critical staffing and bed shortages, will soon be limiting non-essential pre-scheduled procedures to preserve resources and capacity.
“The current strain on hospital capacity is due to longer than average hospital stays and significant workforce shortages, separate and apart from the challenges brought on by COVID,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders in a statement.
The Baker administration on Tuesday ordered Massachusetts hospitals, already teeming with patients who delayed care during the early days of the pandemic, to reduce nonurgent surgeries to help manage a potential winter rush of people sick with respiratory illnesses, including the flu and COVID-19.
The order comes as the coronavirus is again causing a surge of infections throughout New England with the onset of cold weather, with Massachusetts and Connecticut experiencing the steepest rise in cases in the country.
Amid an uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations headed into the holidays, Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration is ordering Massachusetts hospitals with limited bed capacity to cut back on non-urgent, scheduled procedures.
However, officials say the reason isn’t the recent increase in COVID-19 patients.
WORCESTER — In the bay outside the crowded emergency department of UMass Memorial Medical Center, the ambulances keep coming.
Just inside the doors, a pair of paramedics wait with their patient, an elderly woman on a stretcher.
Countries in the Northern Hemisphere are facing an unpredictable winter as COVID-19 continues to spread during the flu season, experts have warned.
Last year, when governments recommended a range of protective measures such as mask-wearing, social distancing and lockdowns to slow COVID-19 infections, the number of influenza cases dropped dramatically compared with the seasonal average.
A perfect storm is brewing in the world of medicine, as the wave of an aging population collides with a shortfall of future surgeons.
Yet, the vascular surgery specialty in Central Massachusetts is breaking this troubling trend with technological innovation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a multitude of problems long lingering in the healthcare system: staffing shortages, racial inequities, increasing mental health needs, lack of access, lack of funding, rising costs, mistrust in the medical establishment. And there are concerns the system is increasingly being structured to limit exposure for insurers, rather than primarily serving the patients or providers. The sheer number of issues is daunting, yet areas can be addressed without breaking the bank.
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