Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 12, 2026 | Worcester Business Journal 9 Worcester. e American Bar Association reports one out of every 41 Black children in the nation will have their relationship with their parent or parents terminated, juxta- posed by the national average of one out of every 100 children. is is in part due to the conflation of poverty with neglect, according to the ABA. Fears and struggles like these can contribute to PPD symptoms in the first place, said Gleckel. Especially today, many parents are concerned about pay- ing their rent, keeping the lights on, and struggling to collect their government benefits. "is is not a setup that screams suc- cess," said Gleckel. Path forward In August 2024, Gov. Maura Healey signed the state's maternal health bill, which was supported by Colbert and Massachusetts Mind the Gap Coalition, to create a grant program for nonprofits community health centers supporting maternal mental health and substance use. is was a big win, said Colbert. "For many people, social support is really important," she said. "Some of the improvements in care around midwifery and doula care just will do a lot." Diversifying the maternal health workforce is a way to both help identify PPD symptoms in the community and treat them, including with providers who speak multiple languages, said Gleckel. Many patients don't want to sit with a translator and instead want to communi- cate directly with their provider. ese forms of advocacy, fiscal invest- ments in treatment, and purposeful efforts to broaden diverse care for mothers all go into ensuring that they have equitable access to treatment of PPD symptoms, whether through medication, talk therapy, or non-drug therapies, like SAINT. "A stable parent is the safest thing for a baby," Gleckel said. Postpartum depression in New England Percentage of mothers who experienced frequent postpartum depressive symptoms State Percentage Vermont 12.9% New Hampshire 12.2% Connecticut 11.9% Massachusetts 10% Maine 9.8% Rhode Island 8.0% U.S. 12.7% Source: March of Dimes, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data Greater Worcester is a healthcare innovation hub UMass Chan Medical School, home to two Nobel Prize winners, Craig Mello in 2006 and Victor Ambros in 2024, just announced it has been selected to participate in a U.S. Department of Defense trial for a non-drug therapy for treatment resistant postpartum depression. In fiscal year 2024, the medical school received $200.75 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, while Worcester Polytechnic Institute received $4.96 million and Helixbind Inc. in Marlborough received $7.98 million in NIH funding. When polled online, the majority of WBJ readers said they consider the region to be an innovation hub for health care. Do you view Greater Worcester as a healthcare innovation hub? GROW WITH US GROW WITH US As one of the region's leading independent CPA firms, we have continued to experience significant growth while maintaining our deep commitment to the Central Massachusetts community. We are deeply appreciative of our dedicated staff, and thank our valued clients for naming us the BEST CPA FIRM again for a record 9th time. 89 Shrewsbury St. Suite 200 • Worcester, MA 01604 508-755-7107 • www.bolluslynch.com BOLLUS LYNCH CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS & CONSULTANTS An Independent Member of the BDO Alliance USA Committed to the success of your business 2 0 2 5 W I N N E R W Yes 52% It's getting close. 25% No, it's not there yet. 23%

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