Health

HEALTH • Fall 2017 5 Tully Family Medicine expands in Athol Heywood Medical Group's Tully Family Medicine practice has relo- cated to a new, expanded office in the North Quabbin Commons Plaza in Athol, the Gardner-based physi- cian group announced. Formerly located in Phillipston, Tully Family Medicine is led by Dr. Beth Nottleson. Heywood to provide veteran care Gardner-based Heywood { Health Care Briefs } Healthcare has signed a provider agreement with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide health- care services to veterans who are under the care of the VA, Heywood announced. The agreement allows veterans to receive specified health- care services at Heywood facilities and allows direct communication between the VA and Heywood pro- viders, with the need for a third-par- ty referral service, according to a statement. The provider agreement was made possible under the Veteran's Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, and is part of a strategy to increase access to healthcare services for veterans while controlling costs, Heywood said. Reliant, Fallon in, UMass out of ACOs Worcester-based health care orga- We offer: • Long-term and short-term care • Ancillary Services: dental, eye, podiatry provided at the nursing home • Respite and Hospice Care • PT/OT/ST Rehab services; 7 days a week • Full time Physician Assistant • Continuing Care Community: Assisted Living services and Independent Living cottages & apartments on the Briarwood Community campus "Healthcare Environment State of the Art" • Restaurant-style dining room • Bright and airy rooms • Activities; 7 days a week • Cable TV and telephones available in each room • Resident computer and free access to internet • Pet therapy through Tufts Veterinary Program Schedule a Tour Today! www.knollwoodnursingcenter.com 87 Briarwood Circle, Worcester, MA 01606 508-853-6910 Harrington expanding to Northeastern Connecticut Southbridge-based Harrington HealthCare is moving forward with an expan- sion in Northeastern Connecticut, with plans to open a behavioral health center in Putnam in the fall, CEO Edward Moore said in an interview on Aug 31. Moore said the system is finalizing a lease on just under 6,000 square feet of space on Kennedy Drive, which is just off of I-395 and about 12 minutes to Harrington's Webster campus. The site will house a child and adolescent outpa- tient program and a substance-abuse recovery services program, he said. It's slated to open in November or December. It is Harrington's first out-of-state location, and the news follows an announce- ment last fall that the system was weighing expansion in the region primarily served by Putnam-based Day Kimball Healthcare. Day Kimball and Harrington overlap somewhat, each servicing towns on the border of Connecticut and Massachusetts, but until now, neither system has had a brick-and-mortar site in each other's territory. Moore said there could be additional opportunities to expand in Connecticut, but those haven't been determined. P H O T O / N A T H A N F I S K E CEO Ed Moore nizations Reliant Medical Group and Fallon Health are joining together in a planned new feature of MassHealth to begin next March, they announced. UMass Memorial Medical Center will not be one of the 17 such groups statewide. Reliant and Fallon announced their plan to form a pro- viders group known as an account- able care organization or ACO, to be called Fallon 365 Care. Each ACO will be part of MassHealth, the state Medicaid program that is being reformed with the new organizations. Anyone eligible for MassHealth in the coverage area with a primary-care provider with Reliant Medical Group or Southboro Medical Group will be enrolled in Fallon 365 Care. Reliant and Fallon said physicians, hospitals, insurers and other providers will work together to improve health and contain costs. Saint Vincent offering laughing gas for childbirth Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester is among a growing num- ber of U.S. hospitals opting to offer nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, to women in labor. The hospital said it chose to add nitrous oxide as a pain-management method as it has gained popularity in recent years in U.S. hospitals, and as the American College of Nurse Midwives has said it should be an option for women in labor in the U.S. It is commonly used in other developed nations. Saint Vincent said the analgesic can be used along with other treatments, such as epi- durals. Workers press Baker for metal detectors at mental health facilities Workers at inpatient mental health facilities around the state fear they lack specific infrastructure to keep Continued on Page 6 Saint Vincent

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