Health

HE A LTH • Spring 2020 5 UMass Memorial names chief philanthropy officer UMass Memorial Health Care has named a chief philanthropy officer to lead its new fundraising division. Kathleen Driscoll is its new senior vice president and chief philanthropy officer, joining the Worcester-based health system from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, where she is the secretary for institutional advancement. She will begin working for UMass on April 6. At the archdio- cese, Driscoll led the church's first capital campaign in 17 years and began a program that raises more than $23 million a year. She led a school fundraising campaign that has raised more than $100 million to ben- efit Catholic schools in the Boston area. Driscoll has a bachelor's degree in education from Boston College and a master's degree in education from the College of New Rochelle in New York. GWCF creates $535K coronavirus response fund The Greater Worcester Community Foundation has created a new fund to support a community-wide response to the coronavirus with initial funding of $535,000. Named the GWCF COVID-19 Response Fund, money will be distrib- uted by grants to support the interim and long-term needs of organizations working with communities dispropor- tionately impacted by the outbreak. Grants will target organizations with deep roots in the community, many of which work with populations without health insurance, access to sick days, healthcare workers, seniors, and those with limited English profi- ciency, according to the GWCF. Nonprofits seeking assistance can con- tact the foundation at COVID19grants@greaterworcester.org. "COVID19 is both a current emer- gency and a phenomenon that will have long-term effects on vulnerable populations and the viability of some of the nonprofits that serve them," said Barbara Fields, president and CEO of GWCF. "We anticipate multiple phases of funding to address both acute needs and the longer-term impacts of the outbreak and recovery." Funds will be released on a rolling basis, according to the GWCF, with fundraising continuing on an ongoing basis. Worcester health agency penalized $400K over wage violations The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office has cited more than $400,000 in penalties and restitution against Worcester home care agency Prestige Health Care Services for vio- lating the state's wage and hour laws. Prestige and its president Isdhory Lyamuya received two citations for fail- ing to maintain accurate payroll and timekeeping records and for failing to pay overtime wages to 128 employees, according to the attorney general. Former employees had complained to the Attorney General's Office alleg- ing nonpayment of wages and over- time. The union 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East also made complaints against Prestige to the Attorney General's Office. Prestige was previously fined $21,060 in 2019 for failing to provide records, make timely payment of wages and overtime. Mass. offers $10M in loans to small businesses hurt by coronavirus The Gov. Charlie Baker Administration announced on March 16 a $10-million fund has been created for small businesses reeling from the impact of the effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Businesses with less than 50 full-time and part-time employees can apply for loans up to $75,000 through the quasi- public organization Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp. The loans are offered with no pay- ments due for the first six months, fol- lowed by 30 months of principal-and- interest payments with no prepayment penalties. Both for-profit and nonprofit busi- nesses are eligible to apply, and appli- cants must verify the negative impact from the coronavirus. In an effort to prevent the spread of the disease, Baker has instituted a num- ber of measures designed to keep peo- ple from interacting with each other, including banning all gatherings of more than 25 people and closing the dining rooms of all restaurants, although they can still offer takeout and delivery. As these social distancing measures were ramping up in the middle of March, retailers around Greater Worcester were reporting significantly less foot traffic and revenue. Restaurants and outdoor venues announced temporary closures. To apply for a loan of up to $75,000, Massachusetts small businesses can complete the application found on MGCC's website, EmpoweringSmallBusiness.org. Doctors urge against assisted dying bills More than 100 doctors and health care professionals from around Massachusetts signed onto an open let- ter urging state lawmakers to sink pro- posed bills that would open the door to allowing doctors to prescribe lethal doses of chemicals for terminally ill patients. Bills that would legalize medical aid in dying — sometimes referred to as doctor-assisted suicide or death with dignity — were filed by Rep. Louis Kaf ka and Sen. William Brownsberger and are pending before the Joint Committee on Public Health with a reporting deadline of April 1. "As physicians and healthcare profes- sionals, we embrace a culture where ALL people receive appropriate medical care, regardless of economic state, eth- nicity, age or disability," the physicians wrote in an open letter organized by the Massachusetts Alliance Against Doctor- Prescribed Suicide. "We believe that the most vulnerable patients will suffer from legalization of lethal drugs by creation of a financial incentive for insurance companies and governments to save money by approv- ing coverage of cheaper lethal drugs and denying lifesaving treatment, as has happened in states where assisted sui- cide is legal." UMass Memorial canceling elective procedures UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester is canceled most elective pro- cedures starting March 16 to leave capacity for potential coronavirus cases at the hospital, days before a state-man- dated order for all hospitals goes into effect. The hospital said it has also been making significant progress in planning how to handle patients under investiga- tion for coronavirus onto designated medical-surgical and critical care units on both its Memorial and University campuses. The postponement of elective proce- dures affects the University, Memorial, Hahnemann, and Eastern Avenue cam- puses, with the hospital deciding how to handle procedures for the following week in the coming days, according to a staff-wide memo. "Physician leaders and providers are determining which procedures are truly elective and can be deferred without any negative impact on patients," the notice said. Gov. Charlie Baker on March 15 ordered all non-essential elective sur- geries to be postponed until further notice starting March 18. Facilities operated by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health or the Department of Mental Health must screen all visitors and limit visitation. Kathleen Driscoll, UMass Memorial chief philanthropy officer Allurion sets goal of 40K patients by year's end Allurion Technologies, a Natick company developing a weight-loss bal- loon for the American market, chose World Obesity Day on March 4 to announce an ambitious goal: treating 40,000 people by the end of the year. Allurion didn't say how many people it has treated so far, but the company's Elipse Balloon is available today in Europe, the Middle East, and South America. The firm is working toward U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to hit the United States. In three years, the company has sold 15,000 balloons, Allurion CEO and co- founder Shantanu Gaur said last September when Allurion moved into a new 10,000-square-foot office and lab on Erie Drive in Natick. Gaur said the company could get FDA approval this year and make a market debut in 2020. The Elipse Balloon is swallowed in a capsule in a doctor's office visit, and is inf lated through a catheter to about half the size of the stomach, large enough to help a patient lose 10% to 15% of their body weight. After four months, a polymer wears away, the bal- loon def lates and then passes naturally through the body, differentiating it from prior gastric balloons requiring a medical procedure. Marlborough firm releases COVID-19 tracking module Marlborough technology company Persivia on March 17 announced it launched a new module within its healthcare platform it says will use data from multiple sources to identify patients who may have a COVID-19 novel coronavirus infection. The new surveillance module can be used with the company's Soliton AI engine as part of its CareSpace plat- form. The module will be provided free to customers and uses data to help healthcare professionals more effective- ly target patients who need to be tested, according to the company. Patients who are identified as having three or more relevant symptoms, as identified by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, such as fever, shortness of breath, and cough, are f lagged with a level one alert. The patient's physician is prompted to edu- cate the patient about COVID-19 and monitor their status. If Persivia also identifies a travel or exposure history the alert gets raised to a level two, where a CDC test is recommended. Patients receive a level three alert when they are presumed positive for COVID-19 and level four when they are confirmed with symptoms. Medical professionals are able to search for all patients f lagged as possibly having COVID-19, and can filter them by alert level and symptoms. H

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