Health

6 HEALTH • Winter 2018 { Briefs } Continued from Page 5 umassmemorial.org/appointment 855-UMASS-MD (855-862-7763), Monday – Friday, 7 am to 8 pm Schedule care from anywhere. 24/7 ONLINE SCHEDULING For both current and new patients, our website allows 24/7 access to hundreds of primary care providers and a growing list of specialists. So, you can find a doctor and schedule an appointment all from the comfort of … anywhere. UMass Memorial – Community Healthlink | UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital UMass Memorial – Marlborough Hospital | UMass Memorial Medical Center | UMass Memorial Medical Group company said, while The Bridge was known for providing evidence-based treatments and services. UMass research nearing clinical trials for ALS therapy Researchers at UMass Medical School think a new kind of gene therapy may safely treat patients with ALS. A study from professors Christian Mueller and Robert Brown Jr. shows a gene therapy delivered to motor neurons via a viral vector was able to silence proteins in animals that are believed to cause ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease. Mueller said the team was able to silence the SOD1 protein by more than 90 percent in some motor neutrons. Boston Scientific planning $150M restructuring, 'limited' layoffs Marlborough medical device maker Boston Scientific has announced a restructuring plan including up to $150 million in annual cuts. The biotech giant plans to begin the cost-cutting activities in 2019 with the goal of substantial completion by the end of 2021. The program is expected to reduce annual pre-tax operating expenses by $100 million to $150 million by the end of 2022. A substantial por- tion of the savings will be reinvest- ed in strategic growth initiatives. Assumption adding nursing bachelor's program Assumption College has received pre-requisite approval from the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing for a bachelor's degree in nursing program. The program still requires approval from the New England Commission of Higher Education, which the Worcester college said is expected by the end of the year. Assumption is looking to add a nursing program at a time when the nursing industry is expected to grow significantly. UMass medical device center gets $7.9M grant The Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center, which the UMass Medical School runs in a partnership with UMass Lowell, will establish a new center to help those working on new technologies to fight heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders. The medical device and biotech business incubator M2D2's new initiative will be established thanks to a $7.9-million National Institutes of Health grant. The space, called the Center for Advanc- ing Point-of-Care Technologies, is expected to open in Lowell by the end of the year. It will bring entre- preneurs together with scientists, business developers, legal experts and other resources. Heart, lung, blood diseases combine for 41 per- cent of deaths in the U.S. and lead to more than $400 billion in healthcare expenses and lost income, accord- ing to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Milford Regional, Leonard Morse, Heywood are region's safest hospitals Milford Regional Medical Center, Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick and Heywood Hospital in Gardner have been rated the safest hospitals in Central Massachusetts. The new twice-a-year ratings released by the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit tracking hospital safety, are the latest to score hospitals nationwide based on reported safety issues, problems with surgeries, communication with hospital staff and practices in place to prevent errors. Of 10 Central Massachusetts hospitals ranked, three received A's (Milford Regional, Leonard Morse and Heywood), four received B's (Harrington Hospital, MetroWest Medical Center, Saint Vincent Hospital and UMass Memorial Medical Center - Memorial Campus) and three received C's. (Marlborough Hospital, UMass Memorial HealthAlliance Clinton Hospital, and UMass Memorial Medical Center - University Campus). H

• Cover