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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.

The uptick in cases is playing out similarly in other parts of the state. Dr. Kimi Kobayashi, interim co-president of UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, said that in recent months, before the current uptick, COVID-19 hospitalizations appeared to be close to an all-time low. With the number of mutations the virus has undergone in almost three years, Kobayashi said the virus is continuing the trend of becoming more transmissible.

WORCESTER, Mass. - September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and Tuesday night, police from across central Massachusetts came together for UMass Memorial's annual “Bright Lights” for pediatric cancer patients.

UMass Memorial Health's boarding practices reduce the length of time kids are hospitalized in the emergency department, allowing them to receive care in their homes, clinics and in psychiatric units as appropriate. To dig deeper into these initiatives, Julia Resnick, director of AHA Strategic Initiatives, chats with two people who are deeply involved with UMass Memorial's highly effective program. Dr. Brian Skehan and is director of Pediatric Emergency Mental Health Services, and Jemima Amankwah is nurse manager of emergency mental health at UMass Memorial Health.

UMass Memorial Health and Milford Regional Medical Center may merge, signing a letter of intent that will allow the organizations to explore a potential corporate affiliation.

Doctors at UMass Memorial Medical Center are trading in their white coats for something a little more fashionable to help raise awareness for cancer.

Local medical professionals, city leaders and cancer survivors are getting ready to strut the catwalk Friday at the first annual Vintage Fashion Show. The fundraiser aims to raise money and awareness for colon cancer and research. Organizers are hoping to raise more than $20,000 for the cancer division, caretakers and patients in the hospital.  

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. “So if you’re in a crowded space breathing the same air as other people, chances are someone there may have COVID-19 — and you will get COVID-19.”

At UMass Memorial Health, there is enough supply of the 50 milligram dose to last for the next three to four weeks, said Dr. Wendy Timpson, clinical chief of the hospital’s neonatology division.

Worcester, Mass. - As holiday season approaches, health experts are once again warning of an expected rise in flu, COVID-19 and RSV cases. Dr. Robert Klugman, internal medicine specialist for UMass Memorial Health, said people should consider getting up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations, particularly if they're over the age of 65 or immunocompromised.