Health Care
More than 600 businesses apply to help with coronavirus response in Massachusetts to make personal protective equipment
Charlie Merrow, a seventh-generation manager of Merrow Manufacturing in Fall River, estimates the company will produce up to 4 million medical gowns, coveralls and other protective items in the coming months in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Enlisting the help of the Baker administration, Merrow pivoted from making sewing machines and apparel to producing protective…
Read MoreMassachusetts employers lose more confidence in midst of coronavirus; but optimism grows about conditions 6 months from now
Businesses lost even more confidence in the current state of the Massachusetts economy last month but appear to hold out rosier hope for the future, according to survey results released Tuesday by Associated Industries of Massachusetts. AIM’s Business Confidence Index fell 1.8 points after suffering its largest monthly decline ever during March. The Index ended…
Read MoreHolyoke Medical Center gets ‘A’ for patient safety in national survey
Holyoke Medical Center received an ‘A’ grade from a national organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality and patient safety. The Washington D.C.-based Leapfrog Group, which assigns A, B, C, D and F letter grades to hospitals across the country, released its semi-annual report on Thursday. “Our goal is to inform patients about local hospitals with…
Read MoreSTCC Respiratory Care Program Lends Ventilators to Hospitals
Springfield Technical Community College’s respiratory care program is lending its five ventilators to area hospitals preparing for a surge in patients due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Christopher Scott, dean of the School of Health and Patient Simulation, said STCC is prepared to donate or lend any equipment hospitals need during the coronavirus emergency. The school…
Read MoreCoronavirus: Holyoke manufacturing business turns to making face shields to help medical employees
A company that specializes in specialized plastic packaging has joined in the fight to prevent the coronavirus from spreading to already-taxed health care workers. Employees at Walter Drake Inc. have gone from making clamshell packaging for electronics, blister packages for pharmaceuticals and trays for many uses to making much-needed plastic face shields for doctors, nurses…
Read MoreCOVID-19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley Issues Fourth Round of Grants
A fourth round of grants, totaling $226,000, from the COVID-19 Response Fund for the Pioneer Valley has been announced, with healthcare and medical centers in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties receiving the largest portion of the new round as they battle the impact of the disease on the region with surging admissions to hospitals. Grants…
Read MoreTechSpring Community Connect
We need your help! Baystate Health cares for a population of about 1M people in Western Massachusetts. That’s a lot of people that depend on us, right now more than any other time in modern history. Our care depends on medical supplies that are increasing in short supply, around the country, around the world.…
Read MoreThunderbirds, Uno, Nadim’s Team Up to Provide Meals to Baystate and Mercy
On April 16, the Springfield Thunderbirds teamed up with two of its local restaurant partners, Uno Pizzeria & Grill and Nadim’s Downtown Mediterranean Grill, to deliver more than 50 meals to staff at both Baystate Medical Center and Mercy Medical Center. “Though we are not able to play hockey at this time, we want to…
Read MoreHolyoke Company Tools Up to Manufacture Medical Face Shields
Walter Drake Inc., a Holyoke manufacturing company, has responded to the urgent need for medical face shields by healthcare systems. In a matter of days, workers have designed, prototyped, built tooling for, and manufactured a medical face shield of the type that is in desperate demand by hospitals, nursing facilities, and other essential workers during…
Read MoreHolyoke Medical Center Shares Personal Protective Equipment with First Responders
Holyoke Medical Center has shared personal protective equipment (PPE) with local first responders, including Action Ambulance, the South Hadley Fire Department, and the city of Springfield. “Holyoke Medical Center is incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support and donations received through this COVID-19 pandemic by many community businesses, Novanta, and the efforts made by the…
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