By Tammy Daniels | iBerkshires.com   September 2, 2015

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Berkshire Medical Center on Tuesday unveiled a new community-oriented outpatient medical service designed around patient needs and population health.

"Neighborhood For Health" in North Adams is being touted as an innovative, holistic approach to chronic conditions and preventative care.

"It's a celebration in many respects of community, a celebration of the community of health-care caregivers that will be the life force of this place and it's a celebration of meeting the needs that we know are multiple here in Northern Berkshire County," said Dr. Mark Pettus, director of medical education and medical director of wellness and population health, at a press conference and open house on Tuesday.

"This is about helping people live in a healthier more proactive and personalized way."

Wicked Local Medford   August 31, 2015

MEDFORD
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The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons granted three-year accreditation to the cancer program at Hallmark Health System.

To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet 34 CoC quality care standards, be evaluated every three years through a survey process and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered care.

​Because it is a CoC-accredited cancer center, Hallmark Health takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases that requires consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists and other cancer specialists. This multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care.

By Mike Plaisance | Springfield Republican  August 26, 2015

HOLYOKE -- Holyoke Medical Center will open a satellite location for physical therapy at Healthtrax Fitness & Wellness in West Springfield Aug. 31 with plans for similar sites in Chicopee and South Hadley, a spokeswoman said Wednesday (Aug. 26).

The satellites are part of the hospital's commitment to physical therapy and rehabilitation services. That includes renovation and expansion of its in-house physical therapy, occupational therapy, pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation department, Marketing Director Rebecca MacGregor said.

The hospital will lease space from and share common space with Healthtrax Fitness & Wellness at 155 Ashley Ave, in West Springfield. At least two hospital employees, a physical therapist and a receptionist, will be working there in what the hospital is calling its Centers of Rehabilitation Excellence (CORE), she said in a phone interview.

Plans are to have physical therapy satellites in Chicopee and South Hadley, she said.

"The CORE satellite location speaks to our continued efforts to provide patients with medical care and treatment that is more accessible, convenient and personalized," Spiros Hatiras, president and chief executive officer of Holyoke Medical Center, said in a press release.

"Our partnership with Healthtrax, a respected leader in preventive health, will help ensure that the physical therapy and rehabilitation programs go the extra mile in supporting our patients in their recovery," he said.

Healthtrax Fitness & Wellness has offerings for people of all ages and fitness levels. These include a new training area, personal and group training programs, "over 60 motivating group classes," yoga, cycling and more, Healthtrax Executive Director Marina Lebo said in the press release.

HYANNIS – A new resource for up-to-date local health care information is launching Tuesday.

OneCape Health News is designed to be the health-related resource for all Cape Codders, according to Cape Cod Healthcare President and CEO Michael Lauf.

“What we want to do is make sure we’re launching real news that’s important to people—that’s timely, that’s up-to-date, that’s based on fact—and give that information to the community,” Lauf said. “It’s really our opportunity to be the go-to resource for health-related information.”

By Heather McCarron |  Milford Daily News   August 23, 2015

MILFORD – Milford Regional Medical Center just received a final boost toward completing its ambitious $54 million expansion project.

The hospital’s Healthcare Foundation announced an anonymous $1 million dollar-for-dollar match challenge gift in support of “Excellence … The Campaign for Milford Regional Medical Center.”

Of the $54 million cost of the project, $25 million was slated to come from donations to the non-profit hospital. The Milford Regional Healthcare Foundation has already raised $23 million toward that goal. The matching challenge, when fulfilled, will ensure completion of the campaign.

By Mike Plaisance | Springfield Republican   August 18, 2015

HOLYOKE -- Two hyperbaric oxygen chambers delivered to Holyoke Medical Center last week could signal relief for sufferers of pain related to chronic wound and soft tissue damage.

"These hyperbaric chambers are only one component of our long-term efforts to bolster community-centered care," said Carl R. Cameron, hospital chief operating officer.

The chambers, each weighing nearly 2,000 pounds and measuring 9 feet long, are part of the hospital's new $500,000 Wound Care Center set to open next month, officials said.

Business Wire   August 18. 2015

BROCKTON, Mass.-- Signature Healthcare, an award-winning non-profit integrated healthcare system, has partnered with Aegis Health Group to improve the health of its diverse community. This jointly-developed program focuses on building new relationships with local employers, businesses and community organizations through an employer-directed population health strategy. Signature Healthcare will identify health risks among workers and offer appropriate hospital-sponsored programs to promote better health – aligning participant’s needs with its network of physicians.

“Aegis is so pleased to have such a leading organization as Signature Healthcare partnering with us in the Boston marketplace”

This new collaboration with Aegis complements Signature Healthcare’s goal of bringing together medical professionals across many locations to communicate, collaborate, take advantage of technology and make a difference in the lives of its patients. One new technology solution Signature Healthcare will implement is OneCommunity, a population health website allowing consumers to record and track health information online - engaging them with personalized health reports and providing customized health content such as relevant hospital services. The partnership also includes the provision of a full-time “employer relations specialist” who will work within the Signature Healthcare system to oversee this program day-to-day.

WAREHAM, Mass. — Southcoast Health today announced that it received the Defect-free Care Award from the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) for its exceptional care of stroke patients at Tobey Hospital.

“This award is just one example of the high quality of care delivered by our expert team of emergency nurses and physicians. It gives me great pride to provide excellent service and care close to home. Patients and families don't have to choose larger hospitals or even the hassle of traveling to Boston. Individuals can safely chose the local hospital in Wareham and know that they are getting some of the best care around," said David McGinnis, MD, Chairman of Tobey Hospital Emergency Department.

The Coverdell Defect-free Care Award recognizes hospitals that, from the period of January to December 2014, provided defect-free care to 85 percent or more of their stroke patients by utilizing all of the interventions for which each patient was eligible. The number of Coverdell hospitals providing defect-free care to the majority of their patients has increased significantly over the last six years, resulting in many more patients receiving high-quality care.

Stroke is the fourth-leading cause of death in the Commonwealth, and a leading cause of adult disability. Immediate assessment and treatment is critical to help improve outcomes.

Southcoast Health was also recently recognized for its leading stroke care at Charlton Memorial Hospital with the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke℠ Honor Roll.

By Christian Schiavone |  Patriot Ledger  July 27, 2015

PLYMOUTH – A network of heroin and opioid addiction treatment centers plans to open a new location in Plymouth next week.

CleanSlate Addiction Treatment Centers, a Northampton-based for-profit company, will begin seeing patients at its new location at 110 Long Pond Road on Aug. 3. The center will operate as part of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth’s initiative to combat addiction to heroin and prescription painkillers.

Wicked Local Stoneham  July 25, 2015

For the fourth consecutive year, Hallmark Health System has been recognized as a Most Wired hospital/system, through the 17th annual Health Care’s Most Wired Survey conducted by Hospitals & Health Networks.

Health data security and patient engagement are top priorities for the nation’s hospitals, according to results of the 17th annual HealthCare’s Most Wired survey, recently released by the American Hospital Association’s Health Forum and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).