One thing clinicians DO know is that the currently circulating COVID-19 variants are highly transmissible. “Meaning it takes less viral particles to get sick,” said Robert Klugman, MD, a professor of medicine and head of employee health at UMass Memorial Health. “So if you’re in a crowded space breathing the same air as other people, chances are someone there may have COVID-19 — and you will get COVID-19.”

Pediatricians may encounter children who are unable to see the world as a safe, secure place, and others who may have depression, anxiety, problems with learning, or an inability to self-regulate…

UMass Memorial Health's boarding practices reduce the length of time kids are hospitalized in the emergency department, allowing them to receive care in their homes, clinics and in psychiatric units as appropriate. To dig deeper into these initiatives, Julia Resnick, director of AHA Strategic Initiatives, chats with two people who are deeply involved with UMass Memorial's highly effective program. Dr. Brian Skehan and is director of Pediatric Emergency Mental Health Services, and Jemima Amankwah is nurse manager of emergency mental health at UMass Memorial Health.

The uptick in cases is playing out similarly in other parts of the state. Dr. Kimi Kobayashi, interim co-president of UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, said that in recent months, before the current uptick, COVID-19 hospitalizations appeared to be close to an all-time low. With the number of mutations the virus has undergone in almost three years, Kobayashi said the virus is continuing the trend of becoming more transmissible.

Residents and people who work in Grafton, Shrewsbury, West Boylston and Worcester are encouraged to participate in the 2023 Community Health Assessment. 

The assessment will be a tool for community members to know more about health concerns, resources and the priorities of the residents, students and workers in the region. It will ensure that resources will go toward the issues that are the most pressing. 

In the interim, hospitals have enacted their own COVID rules, and they vary greatly. UMass Memorial Health, the largest health system in Central Massachusetts, does not require COVID shots. In a statement, spokesperson Debora Spano said that the health system is following the new federal rules, which do not require the shots, but that UMass “strongly encourages our caregivers to get the vaccines.”

UMass Memorial Health has awarded more than $1 million to local non-profit organizations working to make Central Mass. healthier.

A man who survived a plane crash in the MetroWest area of Massachusetts is on track to be discharged a week after it happened…

"Never mind that I shouldn't be alive, I shouldn't be able to walk," he said. "But thanks to (the hospital staff), I've got full mobility. I can wiggle my toes. I could dance if I tried. It's incredible."

Community Healthlink in Worcester has received a slice of $519,457 of MassDevelopment funding announced Monday, in order to remake its cafeteria.