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Stepping in the front doors of UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, greeters instruct visitors to sanitize with a palmful of Purell and supply them a fresh face mask.
As the rate of new COVID-19 cases started to ease and some visitors were finally going to be allowed back into hospitals to see loved ones in June, employees of UMass Memorial Medical Center had to think fast.
New member leaders for America's Essential Hospitals and its research, education, and dissemination arm, Essential Hospitals Institute, today officially began their roles guiding the organizations' work.
Eric Dickson, MD, MHCM, president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care, in Worcester, Mass., becomes the board's treasurer.
UMass Memorial Health Care in Worcester, which used internet-based medical appointments rarely before the coronavirus pandemic hit, has now held more than 100,000 such telehealth visits.
That news, given Sunday in a memo to caregivers from the health system's top information and virtual medicine officials, came with another announcement: UMass Memorial will be switching to Zoom for telehealth visits on a pilot basis starting July 13, using the popular video conferencing platform in a professional version integrated into Epic, UMass Memorial's online patient health records system.
Before the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in a patient back in March, the UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital Leominster Campus was preparing for the worst.
Hospital officials knew the pandemic was heading their way for weeks, and they responded by taking several key steps to prepare for it.
Four months later, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Charlie Cavagnaro says that while the virus surges in other states, he believes the facility succeeded under difficult circumstances and is better prepared for a pandemic in the future.
Children in Massachusetts have gained almost 10 pounds on average since March when schools, parks, playgrounds and other activities shut down as people began staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent survey.
The survey of 5,000 parents in states along the East Coast shows children under 16 in Massachusetts gained 9.8 pounds on average, 2.8 pounds more than the average weight gain of 7 pounds regionally.
Safwat Basha walked into UMass Memorial Medical Center about three months ago concerned that he might have COVID-19.
The 41-year-old new father, who had no history of serious illness, would not emerge from the building for more than two months. He was put on a ventilator, with a breathing tube inserted in his trachea, as he battled the disease.
Tuesday, Basha walked back into UMass to thank the doctors and nurses who saved him.
“We want to thank all of them,” said Sarwat Basha, the man’s brother.
When he was attending grade school, Dr. Mark Johnson, now chair of neurosurgery at UMass Memorial Health Care, he was regularly attacked for being a black student in a mostly white school. During a road trip after his high school graduation, he and his family came under gunfire from a group of men at a rest stop. Even as he ascended the ranks of Harvard University, racism was still part of his life.
My colleague Lynn Reardon and I, registered nurses at UMass Memorial - Hahnemann Campus day surgery, returned to that department after being deployed to the COVID-19 CCU and SICU at UMass Memorial - Memorial Campus for two months.
We knew our journey would not be complete without recognizing the manager, Erin Guyette, and her amazing staff there.
UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester marked a sweet milestone Thursday, when Table Talk Pies donated its 10,000 pie to health care workers since the start of the state’s Covid-19 crisis in March.
The city’s hometown pie maker dropped off 256 individual-sized pies, including blueberry, chocolate eclair, lemon and other flavors, boosting the total to a whopping 10,000 flaky crust pies.
With the peak of coronavirus over, Dr. Eric W. Dickson, CEO and president of UMass Memorial Health Care, has diagnosed himself with writer’s cramp from penning so many thank-you notes enclosed with bottles of his homemade maple syrup.
“I’ve got a lot of people I’ve got to thank,” Dickson said. “Twenty-seven gallons (of maple syrup) I’ll give out - give it all to the people that helped us, that helped get us through.”
But the ending of what Dickson called the pandemic “response” phase doesn’t mean that the challenges are over.
A few hundred UMass Memorial Medical Center staff, including the hospital system's CEO, stood for 10 minutes outside the Worcester hospital Friday in support of racial equality at a time when Black Lives Matter protests are being held around the world in response to the police killing of Minneapolis black man George Floyd.
In the middle of the day Friday, at Worcester’s UMass Memorial Medical Center, 200 caregivers, maintaining COVID-19 precautions, stood silent outside the hospital’s main entrance for nine full minutes.
"It was overwhelming to stand her and just think about that poor man laying with somebody on his neck,” said Angela Halloran, a registered nurse.
In the middle of the day Friday, at Worcester’s UMass Memorial Medical Center, 200 caregivers, maintaining COVID-19 precautions, stood silent outside the hospital’s main entrance for nine full minutes.
"It was overwhelming to stand her and just think about that poor man laying with somebody on his neck,” said Angela Halloran, a registered nurse.
UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester has received a $350,000 state grant for a mobile addiction services van, one of five such programs in the state.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said Wednesday it gave the same funding amount to other agencies in Boston, Fall River, New Bedford and Springfield.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put in clear relief how important access to workplace protections and affordable health care is.
UMass Memorial Health Care has taken a financial beating during the coronavirus pandemic, as it, like other hospital systems, has forgone revenue-generating procedures during the outbreak.
But the Worcester-based system is committed to not laying off or furloughing any workers despite the financial hit, President and CEO Eric Dickson said in a staff memo Wednesday.
UMass Memorial Medical Center is testing about 70% of its admitted patients for coronavirus and has plans to soon test all.
The Worcester hospital already tests pregnant women who have coronavirus symptoms, as well as some arriving for procedures, including vascular and urology patients. Now the hospital's leadership is working with its infectious disease and clinical operations teams to figure out how to test everyone admitted, Chief Nursing Officer Justin Precourt said in an online staff forum Friday.
UMass Memorial Medical Center is testing about 70% of its admitted patients for coronavirus and has plans to soon test all.
The Worcester hospital already tests pregnant women who have coronavirus symptoms, as well as some arriving for procedures, including vascular and urology patients. Now the hospital's leadership is working with its infectious disease and clinical operations teams to figure out how to test everyone admitted, Chief Nursing Officer Justin Precourt said in an online staff forum Friday.
"We just want to get that additional 30%," Precourt said.
Family members caring for a parent or spouse with dementia are fighting new battles during the coronavirus pandemic as they try to enforce rules of hygiene and social distancing with loved ones who can’t always grasp how high the stakes are.
“The idea of telling someone with Alzheimer's disease that they need to quarantine in their room and stay in there is almost impossible,” said Nicole McGurin, the head of family services at the Massachusetts-New Hampshire chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
When Alex Dube followed the inspiration of her mother, Jonna Dube, by becoming a nurse, neither could have expected they would both be a part of the front-line battle against a pandemic.
Now the mother/daughter nursing duo from Dudley has an intensified mutual pride in each other - and in what they are doing in their respective roles with UMass Memorial Medical Center.
“I can’t help crying to be honest with you. I’ve always felt nursing is a privilege, ” said Jonna Dube, senior director of ambulatory services at UMass Memorial.
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