From celebrating the first birthday of a baby saved by newborn screening to recommending policies that will help people with psychiatric disabilities obtain and maintain employment, here is a selection of the most read Commonwealth Medicine stories of 2016. They illustrate the broad reach of our UMass Medical School division and its mission of increasing access to quality health care and training providers to meet patient needs.
- Baby Saved by New England Newborn Screening Program celebrates first birthday: To Juliana Salvi’s parents, it was fitting that her first birthday followed a snowstorm. The little girl was born during the January 2015 blizzard. Staff from the UMass Medical School New England Newborn Screening Program, who did not let the historic snowfall delay testing, have been credited with saving her life.
- The Kraft Group’s TeamOps and employee with cerebral palsy honored by Work Without Limits for advancing disability inclusion: Gillette Stadium ticket tacker William Fahey, a man with cerebral palsy, was honored with his employer, The Kraft Group’s TeamOps, by UMass Medical School’s Work Without Limits for advancing workplace diversity and inclusion.
- UMass President Martin T. Meehan recognizes outstanding performance of UMass Medical School Commonwealth Medicine division employees: Two programs and one employee of UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division are among those being honored by the 2016 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Performance Recognition Program. The State Supplement Program (SSP) and the Enhanced Coordination of Benefits program at the Center for Health Care Financing were among those recognized.
- High school, college students to get introduction to health careers at statewide UMass Medical School leadership conference: About two hundred high school and college students from across the state gathered for a hands-on look at careers in health care at the 2016 MassAHEC HOSA State Leadership Conference April 2 at UMass Medical School. The conference is hosted by the Massachusetts Area Health Education Center Network (MassAHEC) at Commonwealth Medicine.
- Health policy analysts to review MassHealth enrollment and spending in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation webinar: UMass Medical School health policy experts reviewed updated enrollment and spending data on Massachusetts’ Medicaid program, MassHealth, in a webinar hosted by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) Foundation.
- Medical interpretation expert co-authors CITI Program module on obtaining consent from non-English-speaking study populations: A UMass Medical School expert on medical interpretation and cultural competency has co-authored an advanced Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI Program) module to instruct researchers on strategies to obtain informed consent from potential study participants who do not speak English well.
- UMass Medical School pharmacists, clinical services staff support medically complex individuals through Community Case Management collaboration: A Massachusetts family is saving nearly $500 a year on a medication for an ill child, thanks to the collaboration between UMass Medical School’s Clinical Pharmacy Services and and its Community Case Management Program.
- Massachusetts Department of Higher Education and UMass Medical School launch consortium to improve direct care worker training and education: The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education and UMass Medical School have formed a statewide consortium to improve training and education for direct care workers, who provide assistance to elders, people with disabilities, or those with a chronic illness. The consortium held a project launch meeting March 28 at UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division.
- UHealthSolutions celebrates 15 years of serving Medicare and Medicaid populations, health plans: In the 15 years since its inception, UHealthSolutions, the nonprofit business affiliate of UMass Medical School, has grown from managing the Massachusetts pharmaceutical assistance program to delivering high-performance, customized health care solutions to a variety of clients nationwide.
- UMass Medical School, Bazelon Center highlight policy opportunities for promoting employment for people with psychiatric disabilities: A brief by UMass Medical School and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law outlines policy opportunities that can be leveraged to expand opportunities for people with psychiatric disabilities to successfully obtain and maintain employment, including increased access to career development, supported employment, and critical health services.