On April 15, 2013, registered nurses Susan Papalia and Lynn Landry were among the volunteers stationed near the Boston Marathon finish line, helping runners who'd pushed themselves to the edge and were now in medical trouble.

Then, two men set off pressure-cooker bombs in the crowd.

"It basically went from this relaxed feeling, like the city's united, to a mass casualty event in seconds," Papalia said. "You train for it, and you hope it never happens."

In 1986, a hospital nurse in Eugene, Oregon was in a room with a dying patient. He asked her to stay with him a while longer, but Sandra Clarke had other patients to tend to. When she returned later, the man had died. Profoundly affected by the experience, Clarke created No One Dies Alone, a program providing accompaniment for patients approaching the end of life, when a family member, friend or nurse is not available.

Following a realization that their hospital rooms projected an institutional feel and an outdated atmosphere, UMass Memorial Medical Center is launching a redesign project based on changes shaped by patient and staff feedback.

Dubbed the "Refresh" project, this plan included the design of a working mock-up. In Room 306B at the University Campus, the physical model reflects the proposed changes that UMass hopes to bring to the medical center’s hospitals in the next five to seven years.

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Longtime Bell Hill advocate Ana Rodriguez will receive the Caffrey Award Tuesday before the start of the City Council meeting.

The award has been given for the past 15 years to an individual in the community who has demonstrated courage, fortitude, and perseverance through deeds and actions, according to a communication to councilors from City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. announcing the award. 

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There are plenty of reasons why kids don’t receive proper health and dental care, and they are perhaps more complex than you think.

Aside from the obvious logistics associated with affordability and payment, there are language barriers, lack of education where proper care is concerned and the difficulties in scheduling appointments when both parents work or a single parent is the child’s sole caretaker.

Dr. Cynthia Ennis, a cardiologist and electrophysiologist at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, is the founder and director of the Women’s Heart Health Program. Ennis grew up in Shrewsbury and currently lives with her husband and three children in Westborough.

She is passionate about spreading the message that women need more information and resources in regard to heart problems.

Stephen Bird, MD, Emergency Medicine, notes in the article that some epidemiological studies show people over 55 have a greater risk of heart attack than those under. But it probably has to do with conditioning. 

Worcester isn't one of those industrial cities that is dependent on one employer for a majority of its jobs, but, still, when the city's and the region's largest employer is trending in a positive direction, the city and the region stand to benefit.

Pat Read can't remember what it felt like when, at age 19, she suffered a fall that gave her a concussion, but she will never forget the ripple effect it had on the rest of her life. 

Instant symptoms, like extreme fatigue, faded over time, but basic planning and organizational skills that had once seemed easy no longer did. 

"I was in my late 30s when I read an article about post-concussive syndrome. As I went through it, I realized I was experiencing just about every single symptom," said the Ashby resident.