Health

HEALTH • June 15, 2015 5 WORCESTER - Moody's Investors Service has upgraded its debt out- look for UMass Memorial Health Care from negative to positive, cit- ing an upturn in the Worcester- based organization's finances. In a statement, Moody's affirmed UMass Memorial's Ba1 debt rating, which indicates that investing in its debt would pose a low to moderate level of risk. Moody's said it upgraded the outlook based on recent changes to bank debt agreements that reduce near-term risk to UMass Memorial's capital structure. It also cited operat- ing performance in the organiza- tion's 2014 fiscal cycle that exceeded expectations, with stronger perfor- mance at UMass Memorial Medical Center, and continued positive oper- ations during the first half of its cur- rent fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. WORCESTER — University of Massachusetts Medical School professor Job Dekker has won a cov- eted scientific honor. He has been named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, the medical school's seventh. Dekker, co-director of the schools' program in systems biology and professor of biochemis- try and molecular pharmacology, is a pioneer in the study of the three- dimensional structure of the genome, the school said in a state- ment. The statement said Dekker developed the chromosome confor- mation technologies used to map the topography of the genome. WORCESTER — Spectrum Health Systems of Worcester has been awarded a contract by the Virginia Department of Corrections to pro- vide therapeutic community pro- gramming at three state facilities, the private, nonprofit substance abuse treatment and mental health service organization announced. Spectrum will provide services to more than 1,000 high-risk offenders, it said. Spectrum has been providing cor- rectional treatment programs around the country for 22 years. More recently, Spectrum announced the opening of a peer recovery cen- ter in downtown Lawrence to serve people trying to overcome addic- tions. It's the third such facility Spectrum operates in the Bay State. WORCESTER — UMass Memorial Medical Center is seeking a minor- ity stake in a subsidiary of the com- pany that bought its clinical out- reach laboratory business in 2012, according to documents filed by both organizations with the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. The documents, filed May 1, said the medical center wants to purchase an 18.9-percent share of the subsidiary, Quest Diagnostics Massachusetts LLC. That would allow it to nominate one of five directors of the subsidiary, according to the filings with the commission, which must sign off on the proposal. A statement from UMass Memorial said the organization expects the transaction to be completed this summer. WORCESTER — CareWell Urgent Care will open two urgent-care cen- ters in Worcester later this year, the Quincy-based firm said. CareWell has signed a lease for one of the two sites, at 500 Lincoln St., real estate broker Glickman Kovago & Company confirmed. Dave Low, director of marketing at Quincy- based CareWell, said the target date for opening the Lincoln Street site is midsummer. He also said CareWell will open a second location at around the same time at 244 Greenwood St. in Worcester. It will occupy 2,450 square feet at Lincoln Street, alongside tenants Kohl's, ALDI and AT&T, Glickman Kovago said. Compliance with new provisions of the Affordable Care Act were cited as factors in the first-quarter losses reported by four major Massachusetts health insurers. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan, Tufts Health Plan and Fallon Health each reported operating losses in the first quarter: Blue Cross, the state's largest insurer, incurred an operating loss of $73.1 million, and a net loss of $41.8 million; Harvard Pilgrim, the second largest, lost $19.6 million and $17.6 million, respectively; Tufts, the third largest insurer, lost $24.2 million and $19.9 million, while Worcester-based Fallon reported an operating loss of $6.6 million and a net loss of $4.2 million. WORCESTER — Karen M. Laganelli was named the new CEO of the Notre Dame Health Care Center Inc. in Worcester. Laganelli, who has a master's degree in health care administration, "brings to this role a deep commitment to compas- sionate care and to the mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur as well as familiarity with the greater Worcester health care community," Ellen Agritelley, chairwoman of the care center's board of trustees, said in a letter to the Worcester Business Journal. Notre Dame Health Care Center operates du Lac Assisted Living, a hospice, and the Educational Bridge Center at 555 Plantation St.; and a long-term care center at 559 Plantation St., Worcester. MARLBOROUGH — A new study has affirmed encouraging results for treating macular degeneration using Ocata Therapeutics' stem-cell line RPE, the Marlborough company reported. The company, formerly Advanced Cell Technology, said treatment with the fully differentiat- ed cells — RPE is short for retinal pigment epithelium — had positive results in Asian patients in a South Korean study. The new research, Ocata said, supports earlier findings reported in in October. The Korean study has been published online in Stem Cell Reports. It features 12 months of post-transplant follow-up data from four Asian patients; two with Stargardt's macular degenera- tion (SMD) and two with dry age- related macular degeneration (AMD). GARDNER — Plans are moving for- ward for Heywood Healthcare of Gardner to open an in-patient facili- ty providing detox and behavioral care services at the Sisters of Assumption property in Petersham. The Zoning Board of Appeals in Petersham voted unanimously to grant Heywood a special permit for the project, known as the Quabbin Retreat. Heywood can now pursue permitting, licensing, purchase and development of the property, accord- ing to a statement from Heywood spokeswoman Marissa Torres. The 21-acre property is located on North Main Street (Route 32). GRAFTON — The Foster hospital at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton will undergo an $8.6-mil- lion renovation that will boost exam and treatment areas, the organiza- tion announced. The 30-year-old Henry and Lois Foster Hospital for Small Animals treated more than 29,000 patients last year and is expected to treat more than 32,000 this year, according to Tufts. The renovation will increase the number of state-of-the-art examination rooms, create larger treatment rooms for specialty services, and increase clients' comfort. The reno- vation will also give Cummings stu- dents more opportunities for learn- ing, research and collaboration. Funds for the renovation were raised through a campaign launched in 2013. WORCESTER — UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester is receiving more than $600,000 in state funds, part of a $12-million push to enhance MassHealth pay- ment rates and improve the quality of service in behavioral health. The inter-agency funding agreement between the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EHS) aims to enhance Medicaid payments at "dis- proportionate share hospitals," according to a statement from the HPC. Hospitals with that designa- tion serve a significant number of lower-income residents. The $12 million will be prioritized for chil- dren and adolescents. WORCESTER — Medical compa- nies swept The Venture Forum's Five-Minute Pitch Contest, with the producer of a "smart pancreas" taking home $3,500 in prizes. Admetsys, of Boston, won both the $2,500 first prize and the $1,000 Audience Choice Award at the forum's ninth annual contest, according to a statement from the organization. Admetsys won for a product that automates glucose and insulin delivery to hospitalized dia- betic patients. It expects to improve the economics of health care by addressing the nation's diabetes epi- demic. VitaThreads, a company founded by WPI professors which makes rapidly absorbent sutures, took the $1,500 second prize, and Articulate Labs won special mention from the judges for an orthopedic device that speeds recovery from { Health Care Briefs } Continued on Page 6

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