Page 51 - Healthcare News August 2021

CAREER PULSE (CONT’D)
and Wellspring Harvest Greenhouse, as well as a board member of the League of Women Voters of Northampton. She is president of the Indian Orchard Citizens Council and president of the Springfield Community Land Trust, whose mission is to bring permanent, affordable housing to Hampden County. She also started community-garden efforts in both the Indian Orchard and Mason Square neighborhoods.
Govan attended the University of South Carolina in Columbia and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Springfield College, including a master’s degree in social work and human services.
CHC’s Barber Honored by Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers
SPRINGFIELD — Caring Health Center (CHC) of Springfield announced that its president and CEO, Tania Barber, received the prestigious Outstanding Massachu- setts Community Health Center Executive Director/CEO Award presented by the Massachusetts League of Com-
munity Health Centers. This honor was bestowed to her during the league’s virtual award gala on June 25.
Barber leads Caring Health Center, the only federally funded (Section 330) institution in the Greater Springfield area. The center provides a wide range of essential health services to patients regardless of ability to pay. Caring Health Center is one of the most culturally diverse organi- zations in the area and offers translation services in 39 dif- ferent languages at three locations throughout the city. The center employs a staff of more than 250 and serves close to 20,000 patients annually.
A commitment to excellence and growth underscores Barber’s tenure with CHC. She is a strong advocate for a better healthcare system and believes in the importance of providing patients with an integrated and comprehensive approach to healthcare. She transformed CHC by adding new programs and services such as behavioral health,
a wellness center, an on-site pharmacy, dental services, urgent care, and a recovery program for people with sub- stance disorders. And in response to the pandemic, CHC opened a new vaccine clinic on Sumner Avenue to make access to the COVID-19 vaccine easier for members of underserved communities.
Craney Named VP of Sales at Insurance for Students, FutureHealth
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Michael Craney has been named vice president of Sales with Insurance for Students and FutureHealth. With more than a decade of experience in the insurance and financial industries, he is a part of a dedicated team that works together to provide clients with the highest possible level of service.
Craney is responsible for sales and management of stu- dent health-insurance accounts at colleges and universities nationwide. His goal is to understand the needs of both the institution and its students and to deliver a program that eliminates unnecessary costs, delivers innovative health and wellness solutions, and provides a campus with a cus- tom plan design that fits in with its overall health objective.
Craney earned a bachelor’s degree in business admin- istration from Millersville University and holds his 2-15 Resident Health & Life license.
COVID
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number of ‘breakthrough’ infections among those vaccinated, in reality, fewer than one- third of 1% of all vaccinated individuals na- tionwide have been infected, and cases are almost always much milder than equivalent infections in unvaccinated people, who, again, make up about 97% of COVID-19 patients in hospital beds.
“We would strongly encourage people to get vaccinated,” Desai said. “What we’re seeing is that people who are vaccinated may contract COVID, but it’s less severe, with fewer deaths and hospitalizations. So,
yes, yes, yes — we’re encouraging people to get vaccinated.”
Staying Vigilant
With that encouragement comes an acknowledgement of the medical commu- nity’s role in stemming the COVID tide in Western Mass.
“It’s fair to say we’ve never worked harder in our lives,” Desai said. “It’s been a herculean effort to stay current and stay safe, and we’ve done it with tremendous success. The staff here have demonstrated tenacity and dedication to the community. We have been here for the community and will continue to be here for everyone. It’s been nothing short of amazing, the work that has been done within these walls.”
And it’s not over, which is why the hos-
pital continues to promote mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing when possible, following public-health guidelines.
“We’re well that aware people have to live,” she added. “I think it’s about balance and caution and knowing who you’re with.”
Roose has begun encouraging people to gird against COVID on a daily basis in the same way they’d check the weather before getting dressed. In other words, “think about who you’ll be around, whether it’s indoors or outdoors, will they likely be vac- cinated, and what are the rates of transmis- sion in the community that day or week?”
He said mask wearing, hand washing, and distancing are safety measures as thor- oughly proven as wearing a seatbelt in the car — and no less relevant than they were when the pandemic emerged in the public
consciousness a year and a half ago. Dr. Benjamin Linas, a professor of
Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and senior author of the recent simulation analysis, agreed.
“If you are not vaccinated, you are at high risk because of the Delta variant. August 2021 is potentially more dangerous to you than August 2020,” he noted. “If you are vaccinated, you are much safer, but you should still care about this ongoing trans- mission because it creates the circumstanc- es that generate new variants. If we want
to end this pandemic, then all Americans need to be vaccinated — and, at least right now, we should be masking when in public indoor spaces.” v
State Announces Apprenticeship Grant, Touts Job-Training Investments
BOSTON — The Baker-Polito admin- istration announced a $4 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to expand Massachusetts’ apprenticeship programs, with a focus on connecting women, people of color, and individuals with disabilities with these training and employment opportunities.
The administration also highlighted its $240 million proposal to provide ad- ditional funding to apprenticeships and other job-training programs as part of its $2.9 billion plan to invest a portion of Massachusetts’ federal funds from the
American Rescue Plan Act into urgent priorities. With federal pandemic-era enhanced unemployment benefits slated to expire for more than 300,000 workers the first week of September, the adminis- tration urged action on these workforce investments.
The new federal grant awarded to Massachusetts will connect an additional 500 individuals to employment through apprenticeship opportunities over the next four years, with a focus on high-demand fields like healthcare, clean energy, IT, and advanced manufacturing. These fields
were also identified in the administration’s recently published Future of Work Report as areas of growth for Massachusetts over the next decade, with upwards of 300,000 to 400,000 workers potentially needing
to transition to different occupations or occupational categories. These economic changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the importance of the administration’s $240 million plan to scale up proven job-training programs like apprenticeships.
“Our administration has long seen the value of apprenticeships, launching
a program several years ago to expand
this model in the technology space, and this new federal grant is an affirmation of Massachusetts’ approach to promoting access to these training and employment opportunities,” Gov. Charlie Baker said. “Through our plan to invest $240 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act into apprenticeships and other proven job-training programs, we’re proposing
to do even more to connect workers with high-demand fields and good-paying jobs.”
AUGUST 2021
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