Health

HE A LTH • Winter 2020 5 Worcester dentist, under indictment for fraud, sells Lincoln Plaza office Healthcare and medical staffing company MSG Staffing, of Worcester, has purchased the former Lincoln Plaza office of a Worcester dentist under indictment for Medicaid fraud, at a discounted price of $450,000. The seller of 562 Lincoln St. officially was Anthony Realty Corp., which is an entity registered to Anthony DiStefano III. In January 2020, DiStefano, his office manager, and a Chelmsford dentist were all indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and one count of healthcare fraud. The Justice Department alleges after being denied access to treat MassHealth patients, DiStefano recruited Scott Cale, so DiStefano could submit MassHealth invoices through Cale's practice. Saint Vincent names new nursing chief, as strike enters fourth month Amid the long- term labor battle with the striking members of the Massachusetts Nurses Union, Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester has named Tim Clark as its new chief nursing officer, the hospital announced on June 4. Clark will replace Lisa Beaudry, who announced she will retire at the end of June. Clark most recently served as interim chief nursing officer at St. Mary's Medical Center in San Francisco. At the same time, Saint Vincent announced it has hired Anita Holbrook as chief human resources officer. Holbrook assumed her position several weeks ago. The leadership changes in the nursing and human resources departments come as the Saint Vincent nurse strike over staffing ratios enters its fourth month, with no clear end in sight. As it stands, both the striking nurses and Saint Vincent management maintain their demands are not being heard. Roughly 800 nurses have been on strike since March, with nearly 150 choosing to cross the picket line, according to Saint Vincent. Conn. pharmaceutical executive to lead MassBiologics Worcester's UMass Medical School announced in May that Mireli Fino will be the next executive vice chancellor for MassBiologics on July 1, leading the organization dedicated to improving worldwide health. Fino is a biotech executive with nearly 30 years of experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing. She will join MassBiologics from Protein Sciences, a Sanofi company in Meriden, Conn., where she has worked since 2012 as senior vice president for manufacturing operations. Fino is the site head for Protein Sciences' Pearl River and Meriden operations, where she oversees the production of vaccines and biopharmaceuticals. She previously worked for 16 years at New Jersey company Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer, Inc. of New York City. Mark Klempner, MD, who has led MassBiologics for the last nine years, will stay on and continue to lead research into therapies to prevent Lyme disease, diphtheria and enterotoxigenic E. coli. UMass Medical study shows safety of Moderna vaccine for children Early data in a trial, run in part at UMass Medical School in Worcester, for adolescents indicates the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine has a 95% efficacy with no serious safety concerns to date for individuals aged 12 to 17, as the pharmaceutical company works to receive approval for the vaccine's widespread use in children. UMass Medical School participated in the TeenCove trial, which began in early February and is continuing to collect data using more than 3,000 adolescent participants nationwide. The research center made an effort to include participants of underserved racial and ethnic identities, who are disproportionately likely to be affected by COVID-19. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only authorized the Moderna vaccine for adults 18 and older, the Pfizer vaccine received emergency use authorization for individuals aged 12 to 15 on May 10. UMass is enrolling participants in Continued on Page 6 KidCOVE, a Moderna vaccine trial for children aged 6 months to 11 years beginning in late May. Pfizer is currently studying the efficacy and effects of their vaccine on children. Although teens typically do not contract severe cases of COVID-19, UMass Medical School pediatricians report that they may be more likely to spread the disease to higher-risk household members, making vaccinating the age group important to limiting community transmission. "Results from both the Pfizer and Moderna trials indicate that these vaccines are both safe and effective for adolescents," said Robert Finberg, a professor of medicine at UMass and a member of Gov. Charlie Baker's COVID-19 Advisory Group. QCC offers free medical administration training This summer, Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester will offer a fully-funded administrative medical professional training program. The program will run Monday to Friday from June 28 to Aug. 3. It aims to prepare students to work as medical administrative assistants in healthcare facilities like hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Program participants will receive training in areas such as HIPAA compliance and diagnostic and procedural coding. Upon completion of the course, students will earn certification in contact tracing and infectious control. Students will be eligible to sit the National Health Career Association's Certified Medical Administrative Assistant Certification Exam and receive placement assistance and a $500 after working for two months. Students looking to apply or for more information can contact Jo Sundin at jsundin@qcc.mass.edu. The application deadline is June 14 and space is limited to 10 students. UMass Memorial rolls out new initiative aimed at reducing death in childbirth UMass Memorial Health of Worcester announced in May it helped create a new TeamBirth partnership with Wellesley insurer Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Boston health center Ariadne Labs to launch a new initiative at the UMass hospitals in Leominster and Worcester, aimed at improving maternal health and birth outcomes. The TeamBirth process will initially launch in May at UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital in Leominster and UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. The results of this effort will be used to establish a standard of care for all of New England. Americans today are 50% more likely to die during childbirth than previous generations, according to TeamBirth, as the maternal mortality rate has risen despite advances in health care. The negative results are higher for Black patients and American Indian & Alaska Native women. The innovation from TeamBirth aims at improving safety in childbirth by effectively communicating the necessary information between the patient and her healthcare team during each labor assessment. "This initiative will enhance and strengthen our care delivery processes, and improve the patient experience, for our expectant mothers, other birthing persons, and their families," said Dr. Tiffany Moore Simas, chair and professor of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UMass Memorial Medical Center. "Our academic medical center embraces an Quinsigamond Community College, in Worcester Health Care Br iefs Tim Clark, Saint Vincent chief nursing officer Mireli Fino, MassBiologics executive vice chancellor PHOTO/WBJ FILE

• Cover