"I don't know how anyone could believe that allowing the most expensive, largest health care system in the state to expand at the expense of smaller, less expensive health care systems could reduce the cost of health care in the state," said Dr. Eric Dickson, CEO of UMass Memorial Health. "It just doesn't pass the sniff test."

Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday he is activating up to 500 members of the National Guard to assist hospitals with the COVID-19 surge and updating the state's mask advisory.

The state Department of Public Health released an updated mask advisory Tuesday urging all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, to wear a mask or face covering in indoor public spaces.

FITCHBURG — Rollstone Bank & Trust announced Friday a donation of $50,000 to the UMass Memorial Health’s HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital to expand local complementary care resources to cancer patients, according to a press release from the bank.

The donation will also be used to increase access to those most vulnerable populations that historically do not have access to life-saving preventative measures or subsequent cancer care.

Amid surging COVID-19 infections, overflowing hospitals, and exhausted healthcare workers, Massachusetts hospital leaders are hanging on a glimmer of hope: some treatments, vaccines, and hard-won knowledge from the earlier outbreaks have meant fewer severely ill COVID patients.

And those who do need intensive care generally are recovering more quickly, doctors say.

Hospital and health system CFOs have navigated many changes and challenges in the industry in 2021, including staffing shortages and rising inflation.

This year, dozens of finance leaders from hospitals and health systems across the U.S. shared their perspectives on a variety of topics with Becker's Hospital Review via podcasts and interviews. Below are quotes from 11 of those executives, discussing everything from the best piece of advice for their peers to their most pressing concern.

When Eleni Nicolau became sick with COVID after Thanksgiving, a breakthrough infection that hit the 83-year-old hard, she found herself alone in a hospital room, separated from her family and struggling to breathe.

Then doctors gave her a new option: Did she want to finish her hospitalization at home?

DOUGLAS BROWN, president of UMass Memorial Community Hospitals, put it bluntly: “We’re going through the worst staffing crisis in our history.” 

Yet, UMass fired more than 200 employees earlier this month, many of them working in clinical care. The reason: those employees did not comply with the health system’s mandate to get vaccinated against COVID-19. 

As Americans gather to toast the end of another particularly difficult year, many loved ones will be notably missing from holiday celebrations, a glaring reminder of the tragic realities of the coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, the United States reached yet another staggering milestone, with 800,000 Americans now confirmed lost to the coronavirus, according to newly updated data from Johns Hopkins University.

Between 25 percent to 43 percent of fully vaccinated patients at major Massachusetts hospitals tested positive for COVID-19 in the week ending Dec. 10, WBUR reports.