Six in 10 Americans have a chronic disease, and 4 in 10 have received a diagnosis of 2 or more chronic diseases.¹ Millions of Americans live with and manage cancer; diabetes; epilepsy; Alzheimer disease; heart, lung, and kidney disease; rheumatoid arthritis; and other conditions. Many participate in ongoing medication therapy, prescribed regimens, and regular medical support.

The American Red Cross has declared its first-ever national blood crisis in the U.S., warning the public about the worst shortage in over a decade.

The nonprofit said in a statement this week that U.S. blood centers in recent weeks have reported "less than a one-day’s supply of blood of certain critical blood types—a dangerously low level." It noted a decline in donor turnout since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to blood drive cancellations, staffing challenges and donor eligibility misinformation.

Starting Monday, Massachusetts hospitals will differentiate between patients they admit primarily for COVID-19 and those admitted to be treated for something else who end up testing positive.

The idea is to give the public a better understanding of how many people are in the hospital because of the virus. But while that data began to be collected Monday, it won't be released by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health until January 17, officials said.

WORCESTER — COVID-19 continues to wallop Central Massachusetts, with UMass Memorial Health President and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson reporting a 40% positivity rate Monday at testing sites, while hospitalizations that have surpassed previous pandemic highs.

“This is crunch time for us,” Dickson said in an interview Monday. “It’s just put an enormous, enormous strain on the hospital.”

The president of UMass Memorial Health last week expressed to staff that “all hands-on deck” were required to help with COVID-19 testing sites both in Worcester and Marlborough as the omicron variant continues to surge within the region.

Last Friday, President and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson explained the urgency of the situation in a message sent to UMass Memorial Health’s Core Management team, the organization said.

Worcester, Massachusetts (CNN) - An incoming tide of patients is slowly drowning UMass Memorial Medical Center, and the US military's National Guard is working to plug the gaps. In wave after daily wave, the emergency crews pull up to the ambulance bay, dropping off patients for which there is no room.

"It's just the perfect storm for a nightmare here in the emergency department," says Dr. Eric Dickson, the CEO of the hospital and an emergency physician.

WORCESTER, Mass. — A COVID-19 testing site in Worcester made an emergency call for staffing help Friday night

The UMass Memorial Health President and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson said the Mercantile Center in Worcester and the testing site at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, both need more workers to help run the operations.

Hospital officials in Massachusetts are warning that intensive care unit (ICU) beds are nearing capacity as the state's positivity rate nearly doubled in a week due to the highly contagious Omicron variant.

"I was searching for an ICU bed for one of our patients, and every single facility is full. They are at full capacity. They have no ICU beds left," Dr. Melisa Lai-Becker, the medical director for the emergency department at Cambridge Health Alliance's Everett Hospital, told WGBH on Monday.

WORCESTER, Mass. - In just one week, the City of Worcester has reported its highest one day increase, one week increase and seven-day average of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.

Since last week, Worcester reports 3,513 new confirmed positive cases, adding to the city’s total of 38,342 cases since March 2020. On Wednesday alone, the city reported 1,094 new cases.