HealthCare Review
by Ryan Foley
November 9 – December 21, 2007
Lawrence Memorial Hospital (Medford, MA), is privy to the indifference family members often encounter when a loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

“We've had people say that when the primary care physician made the diagnosis, they were told, 'Live with it – see you in a year,'” said Harnett. “That's the worst thing you can say.”

Lawrence Memorial's dementia caregivers are anything but apathetic. Under the facility's geriatric medical psychiatry unit (which includes an 18-bed open unit and a 16- bed secure unit), a patient's physical and psychiatric maladies are separated and fully treated. This “whole-person” model employs specialists of all kinds: psychiatrists, internal medicine specialists, psychiatric and medical nurses, occupational therapists, even social workers.

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.”