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Author: Joseph Bednar

Cristina Rivera and Dr. Katie Krauskopf
Features Special Coverage 

Opioid Addiction Remains a Persistent Problem in Massachusetts

December 15, 2022December 12, 2022 Joseph Bednar 104 Views Christine Palmieri, Crisis, Massachusetts, Opioid Addiction, overdose deaths

Crisis State By Joseph Bednar Christine Palmieri has read the numbers regarding a spike in overdose deaths in Massachusetts over

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Features Special Coverage 

Sports Betting Brings Uncertain Benefits, but Well-known Addiction Risks

October 6, 2022October 6, 2022 Joseph Bednar 194 Views addiction, health, legal, Massachusetts, potential risks, Sports Betting, wellness

In on the Action When Rachel Volberg and her team of researchers started examining the potential impacts of legal sports

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Healthcare Heroes 

The Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation

October 6, 2022October 19, 2022 Joseph Bednar 158 Views 2022, Elaine Marieb Center, Engineering Innovation, Healthcare Heroes, Western Mass.

Innovation in Health/Wellness Here, Shared Research by Nurses and Engineers Will Benefit Patients Everywhere Intravenous (IV) infusion pump systems are

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Healthcare Heroes 

Dr. Paul Pirraglia

October 6, 2022October 3, 2022 Joseph Bednar 127 Views 2022, Baystate Health, Dr. Paul Pirraglia, Healthcare Heroes, Western Mass.

Collaboration in Health/Wellness Division Chief, General Medicine and Community Health, Baystate Health He Convened a Broad, Effective, Street-level Response to

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Features Special Coverage 

What’s in Massachusetts’ New, Wide-ranging Mental-health Law?

August 25, 2022August 25, 2022 Joseph Bednar 309 Views ABC Act, Access, Law, Massachusetts, Mental Health

The ABCs of Access Rene Pinero says the state’s recent action on mental-health access — in the form of a

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Features Special Coverage 

Over-the-counter Hearing Aids Expected to Hit the Market in October

August 25, 2022August 25, 2022 Joseph Bednar 263 Views available, device, Hearing Aids, October, OTC

Volume Sales About 30 million adults in the U.S. could benefit from the use of a hearing aid. But, according

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Features Special Coverage 

JGS Lifecare Incorporates Memory Care into Entire Continuum of Services

February 25, 2022February 21, 2022 Joseph Bednar 543 Views assisted-living residence on the JGS Lifecare campus in Longmeadow., Dementia, JGS Lifecare, Memory Care, Ruth’s House

Peace of Mind By Joseph Bednar The connection between music and memory is a complex and often surprising one. Just

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Mary Flahive-Dickson
Features Special Coverage 

Healthcare Workforce Shortage Has No Easy Solutions

December 15, 2021December 13, 2021 Joseph Bednar 668 Views COVID-19, Healthcare, Shortage, Western Mass., Workforce

Critical Condition By Joseph Bednar While workforce shortages in healthcare are not a new story, Spiros Hatiras said, COVID-19 certainly

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Goodwin House opened in 2017 focusing solely on substance abuse
Features Special Coverage 

Goodwin House Sets Teenage Boys on a Path to Recovery

December 15, 2021December 17, 2021 Joseph Bednar 605 Views addiction, Goodwin House, recovery, substance abuse, Teenage Boys

New Lease on Life By Joseph Bednar Daniella Grimaldi has worked with young addicts long enough to know it can

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Healthcare Heroes 

Collaboration In Health/Wellness: Doorway to an Accessible, Safe and Healthy Home

October 6, 2021October 6, 2021 Joseph Bednar 351 Views 2021, Collaboration In Health/Wellness, Doorway to an Accessible, Healthcare Heroes, Safe and Healthy Home

This Coalition Keeps People Healthy in Ways Its Partners Couldn’t Achieve Alone By Joseph Bednar If there’s anyone who understands

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Healthcare Heroes 

Lifetime Achievement: James Goodwin

October 6, 2021October 6, 2021 Joseph Bednar 549 Views 2021, Healthcare Heroes, James Goodwin, Lifetime Achievement

President and CEO, Center for Human Development In His Long History with CHD, He’s Seen Plenty of Lives Changed By

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Features Special Coverage 

As Delta Variant Lingers, Hospitals Gird for an Uncertain Fall

August 30, 2021August 30, 2021 Joseph Bednar 444 Views Delta Variant, Hospitals, uncertainty

Crowd Control By Joseph Bednar More than 18 months into the pandemic, not much about COVID-19 surprises doctors anymore, but

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Sarita Hudson says local officials began paying more attention to climate change, and the people it affects, after the freak weather of 2011.
Features Special Coverage 

Initiative Aims to Tackle Climate Change, Health as Equity Issues

August 25, 2021August 23, 2021 Joseph Bednar 1103 Views Climate Change, Live Well Springfield Climate Justice Initiative

The Sky’s the Limit By Joseph Bednar Dozens of stakeholders in what’s known as the Live Well Springfield Climate Justice

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HCN News & Notes 

Nominations Sought for Healthcare Heroes Class of 2021

June 23, 2021June 23, 2021 Joseph Bednar 721 Views

SPRINGFIELD — In the spring of 2017, the Healthcare News and its sister publication, BusinessWest, created a new and exciting

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Features Special Coverage 

Opioid Overdose Deaths Rise in Massachusetts, Nationwide

June 16, 2021June 14, 2021 Joseph Bednar 793 Views deaths, Massachusetts, Opioid, rise

Hard Pill to Swallow By Joseph Bednar It’s been a tough year in the battle against opioid addiction, Jessica Collins

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HCN News & Notes 

Opioid-related Overdose Deaths in Massachusetts Rose by 5% in 2020

May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 Joseph Bednar 775 Views

BOSTON — Opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts increased by 5% in 2020 compared to 2019, with rates among black, non-Hispanic

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HCN News & Notes 

‘Black Lives/Black Lungs’ Screening, Discussion to Be Held on May 27

May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 Joseph Bednar 518 Views

SPRINGFIELD — A Zoom presentation and discussion of the short film Black Lives/Black Lungs will take place on Thursday, May

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HCN News & Notes 

Nominations Sought for Healthcare Heroes Class of 2021

May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 Joseph Bednar 526 Views

SPRINGFIELD — In the spring of 2017, the Healthcare News and its sister publication, BusinessWest, created a new and exciting

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Cover 

Pandemic Ratchets Up the Stress on Kids, Teenagers

April 7, 2021April 14, 2021 Joseph Bednar 987 Views Kids, Mental Health, Pandemic, Stress, Teenagers

Youth in Crisis By Joseph Bednar Alane Burgess began by stating the obvious. “It’s not normal for kids to be

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Features Special Coverage 

New Inpatient Beds Will Meet a Long-time Regional Need

April 7, 2021April 7, 2021 Joseph Bednar 617 Views Inpatient Beds, Regional Need

Mental Block By Joseph Bednar The health anxieties, economic stresses, substance abuse, and feelings of isolation exacerbated by COVID-19 aren’t

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Features Special Coverage 

Vaccinating Massachusetts Is a Thorny, Complicated Challenge

February 24, 2021February 22, 2021 Joseph Bednar 1294 Views COVID-19, distribution, frontline, healthcare workers, Massachusetts, vaccinating

Arms Race By Joseph Bednar Back in December, the news was all good. COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna

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Jeanette Wilburn (left) and Stephanie Nascimento
Features Special Coverage 

Providers Grapple with Pandemic’s Toll on Physical, Mental Health

February 24, 2021February 22, 2021 Joseph Bednar 621 Views Anxiety, Be Vital Wellness, emotional health, Pandemic

Impact Statements By Joseph Bednar Stephanie Nascimento and Jeanette Wilburn have long explored the connections between physical and emotional health

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Cover 

Here Come the COVID Vaccines — but Hurdles Remain

December 15, 2020December 15, 2020 Joseph Bednar 1282 Views COVID-19, doubt, production, start, Vaccines

Shot in the Arm By Joseph Bednar As COVID-19 vaccines begin to roll off production lines, many questions remain —

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The new hair stations at SkinCatering
Features 

SkinCatering Moves into Larger Space in Tower Square

December 15, 2020December 14, 2020 Joseph Bednar 648 Views move, Pandemic, SkinCatering, spa, Tower Square

Urban Oasis By Joseph Bednar When spas were allowed to reopen several months ago following a statewide economic shutdown, clients

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Features Special Coverage 

The Healthcare News Celebrates 20 Years

October 20, 2020October 20, 2020 Joseph Bednar 817 Views 20 Years, celebrates, Change, The Healthcare News

The Only Constant Is Change It’s not easy to find the oldest issues of HCN. But we managed to dig

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Guy DiStefano
Special Coverage 

Hospitals Bleed Millions in Revenue from Lost Volume During Pandemic

August 11, 2020August 10, 2020 Joseph Bednar 812 Views

Critical Condition By Joseph Bednar Back in March, when COVID-19 was just starting to crest, hospitals took steps to brace

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Jennifer Hixon gathers with a group
Special Coverage 

College Health Programs Tackle Challenge of Hands-on Learning

August 11, 2020August 10, 2020 Joseph Bednar 773 Views college, COVID-19, Hands-on Learning, health, Programs

Face to Face Weeks before COVID-19 shut down Massachusetts, Jennifer Hixon could read the signs. “In February, I sat with

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HCN News & Notes 

Phase 3 of State’s Economic Reopening Begins July 6

July 2, 2020July 2, 2020 Joseph Bednar 672 Views

BOSTON — The Baker-Polito administration announced that phase 3 of the Commonwealth’s reopening plan will begin on Monday, July 6,

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Special Coverage 

Childcare Centers, Camps to Reopen Under Strict Guidelines

June 16, 2020June 12, 2020 Joseph Bednar 804 Views camps, Childcare Centers, COVID-19, Kids Safe, Open, summer

Keeping the Kids Safe Reopening an early-education center in the COVID-19 era isn’t easy, Kristine Allard says. In fact, it’s

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Cover COVID-19 Updates 

Pandemic Sparks Wave of Mental-health Concerns

May 19, 2020May 15, 2020 Joseph Bednar 1017 Views concerns, COVID-19, Healthcare News, Mental Health, Pandemic

High Anxiety By Joseph Bednar Most people have plenty of experience preparing for things, Alane Burgess says, whether that’s surgery,

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Dr. Mark Kenton says COVID-19 patients are kept separate from non-viral patients at Mercy.
COVID-19 Updates Special Coverage 

Non-COVID-19 Hospital Visits Plummet — and That’s a Problem

May 19, 2020May 15, 2020 Joseph Bednar 1026 Views Hospital, Mercy Medical, Non-COVID-19, problems, visits

Don’t Ignore the Signs By JOSEPH BEDNAR Dr. Mark Kenton wonders where all the appendectomies have gone. “People are sitting

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respiratory-care students
COVID-19 Updates Special Coverage 

Health Graduates Enter the Field at an Anxious Moment

May 19, 2020May 18, 2020 Joseph Bednar 800 Views Careers, COVID-positive, Health Graduates, start

Trial by Fire By Joseph Bednar Tallon Tomasi used to punch the same clock everyone else does when starting her

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COVID-19 Updates Special Coverage 

Excel Dryer Touts Virus Filtration, Donates Mobile Units

May 19, 2020May 18, 2020 Joseph Bednar 786 Views Donates, Excel Dryer, Mobile Units, Virus Filtration, XLERATOR

Drying Times By Joseph Bednar When it comes to the XLERATOR, his company’s signature hand dryer, filtration is nothing new,

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Dr. Andrew Artenstein
Cover COVID-19 Updates 

Hospitals Gird for a Potential COVID-19 Surge

April 7, 2020April 6, 2020 Joseph Bednar 867 Views COVID-19, Front Lines, Hospitals, Surge, Western Massachusetts

Life on the Front Lines Dr. Andrew Artenstein isn’t the first to notice the lack of cars on the roads,

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Features 

Home Care Grapples with the Challenges of an Evolving Sector

February 19, 2020March 19, 2020 Joseph Bednar 1285 Views Elderly, home care, Visiting Angels

Shifting the Balance By JOSEPH BEDNAR When Michele Anstett opened a Visiting Angels franchise with her husband in 1999, it

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Features 

Mercy LIFE Strives to Keep Seniors Engaged and Healthy

February 19, 2020March 19, 2020 Joseph Bednar 1002 Views healthy, Mercy LIFE, Seniors

Care Connections By JOSEPH BEDNAR Celina Conway tells the story of a man who arrived at Mercy LIFE after five

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Events/Specials

Events Events/Specials HCN News & Notes 

BFAIR’s Summer Kick Off Festival Brought the Heat

July 8, 2022July 8, 2022 HCN Staff
Events Events/Specials HCN News & Notes Healthcare Heroes Healthcare News Briefs News Special Coverage Specialty Publications 

 Nominations Sought for Healthcare Heroes Class of 2022

July 8, 2022July 8, 2022 HCN Staff
Events Events/Specials HCN News & Notes Healthcare Heroes Healthcare News Briefs Healthy Outlook On the Calendar Special Coverage Specialty Publications 

Nominations Sought for Healthcare Heroes Class of 2022

July 7, 2022July 7, 2022 HCN Staff
Events Events/Specials HCN News & Notes Healthcare News Briefs Latest News 

HCC Accepting Applications for Free Community Health Worker Program

July 6, 2022July 6, 2022 HCN Staff

Special Information Pages

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Senior Living Options in Western Massachusetts October 2019

October 25, 2019October 25, 2019 HCN Staff
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Senior Living Options in Western Massachusetts February 2019

February 8, 2019February 8, 2019 HCN Staff
Custom Content 

Senior Living Options in Western Massachusetts October 2018

November 12, 2018November 16, 2018 HCN Staff
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Senior Living Options in Western Massachusetts February 2018

February 15, 2018February 15, 2018 HCN Staff