Boston Herald
By Gary Band
November 7, 2007
http://www.wickedlocal.com/wakefield/homepage/x1149880675

Growing up in Melrose, Joanne Sagarino said she remembers walking past nurses in their white uniforms on her way home from high school. Inspired by that constant image, she decided to attend the then Melrose Hospital School of Nursing and was hired to work in the med-surgery ward in January 1957.

Half a century later, and still working three days a week in the labor and delivery ward where she has worked for the past 35 years, Sagarino was recently honored at the Annual Employee Service Awards dinner for her 50 years of service at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital.

“I really like helping people, and that’s why I’m still there,” said the 71-year-old Hillcrest Road mother and grandmother. “I never wanted to be or work anywhere else.”

Health Leaders
November 2007
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/magazine/view_magazine_feature.cfm?content_id=200934&category_id=426

The Office of Inspector General and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services relaxed the Stark and anti-kickback laws in August 2006 in an effort to increase electronic medical record adoption by allowing hospitals to assist affiliated physicians. But the new rules haven’t affected Jim Nania much. The chief financial officer of Hallmark Health in Boston, Nania wasn’t waiting for the feds to act; Hallmark formed a joint venture two years ago to spur EMR adoption—and that was before the laws were relaxed. Still, despite the elimination of a regulatory barrier, many hospitals remain cautious about providing financial help in this area.

Why haven’t more hospitals followed Hallmark’s lead?

Malden Observer
October 12, 2007
Malden Family Medical Center — located on Savin Street at the former Malden Hospital site — was a vacant building, with no medical staff.

Now, the fully employed facility is literally coming to life.

The staff roster is fleshed out with four family medicine specialists, and the interior buzzes with business. Patients wait in a newly decorated lobby, and enjoy appointments where the latest technology is used. One of the portraits lining the walls features the likeness of at least one doctor’s child, adding what practice members see as softer, welcoming touch.

The entire practice — from its calming decoration style to its flexible hours — is dedicated to the field of family medicine, which centers on serving family members comprehensively from birth through death.

For Malden Family Medical Center, that means delivering babies, performing health screenings, counseling patients at all ages and making themselves available at hours when families need care — not just during the business day.

“We’ve already delivered a couple babies,” said Dr. James Bath, one of the newest additions to the medical staff. “We really do get to take care of the entire family. And we’re very lucky that Malden is such a very diverse town.”

Boston Herald
By Jessica Fargen
September 16, 2007
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/healthcare/view.bg?articleid=1031900

Innovative program gives moms, newborns precious quiet time

MELROSE — No phones, no visitors, no clanging food trays or nurses peeking in to check on you.

For two hours each afternoon, new moms at Melrose- Wakefield Hospital can take a deep breath and escape the post-birth hubbub.

The hospital has started the area’s first maternity ward “serenity time,” a two-hour daily quiet period when new moms can bond with their bundles uninterrupted.

“I love the words ‘serenity time’,” sighed first-time mom Elizabeth Cobb, who gave birth to son Liam on Sept. 8. “I knew it would be for me and Liam to spend quality time together.” She sang him lullabies, nursed in private and read to him.

“I felt at peace watching him during those times. I made a connection with him through his eyes,” said Cobb, cradling her sleeping newborn in her hospital bed last week. “Right now, all he knows is my voice. It was important for me to have quiet time to say, ‘Hi, it’s me, it’s mommy.’ “