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UMass Memorial Health President and CEO Eric Dickson reflects on 5 years since the start of the COVID pandemic
Local hospitals were filled quite literally to the brim with sick patients for months on end. Field hospitals even needed to be opened. Creating challenges some healthcare leaders never fathomed.
As I think about COVID, I think about how every health care system, how every governmental agency came together and worked together to solve, really, the biggest healthcare crisis of our time.
Dr. Eric Dickson, President and CEO of UMass Memorial Health

5 years after COVID pandemic, lessons and sorrow resonate
It's been nearly five years since former Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts and COVID-19 upended public health, commerce, education and practically every facet of life.
COVID infections on the rise: Here's what you need to know to protect yourself
There's no doubt the number of COVID-19 infections are on the rise this summer. If it’s not an official surge, it’s a steep upward curve, and the numbers prove it.
It won't be easy: Doctor wants to open long COVID clinic in Worcester
Dr. Michael Hirsh, Medical Director for the Department of Public Health and a Pediatric Surgeon at UMass Memorial Medical Center, and his plans to establish a long COVID clinic in Worcester.
'No joke': Mass. doctors urge vaccination as COVID, flu rates rise
Leaders at UMass Memorial Medical Center are hoping that more mask-wearing cuts down on the number of employees catching infections and calling out sick.
UMass Memorial to require masks for employees starting Tuesday, encourage visitor masking
As rates of respiratory illness increase throughout the state including COVID-19, UMass Memorial Medical Center will be temporarily requiring masks for employees during every patient encounter and in common areas starting Tuesday.
Season of sickness: COVID-19 and flu cases rising in Massachusetts
In Worcester, wastewater COVID-19 is double the national average, and emergency department visits recently tripled at UMass Memorial Health.
Health experts urge COVID-19, flu shots ahead of holiday season
Worcester, Mass. - As holiday season approaches, health experts are once again warning of an expected rise in flu, COVID-19 and RSV cases. Dr.
CDC projects moderate COVID-19 wave this winter
One thing clinicians DO know is that the currently circulating COVID-19 variants are highly transmissible. “Meaning it takes less viral particles to get sick,” said Robert Klugman, MD, a professor of medicine and head of employee health at UMass Memorial Health.
Health officials say COVID-19 is in an uptick, but not as deadly as previous waves
The uptick in cases is playing out similarly in other parts of the state. Dr.
UMass Memorial Health, one of Massachusetts' largest health systems, reinstates mask rules for staff
Citing "dramatic" recent increases in the number of COVID-19 cases among employees over the past two weeks, UMass Memorial Health is reinstating a mask mandate for staff members whenever they interact with patients.
Proposed COVID and flu vaccination rules for health workers allow many exceptions
In the interim, hospitals have enacted their own COVID rules, and they vary greatly. UMass Memorial Health, the largest health system in Central Massachusetts, does not require COVID shots.