Hospitals expect backlog of patients awaiting transfers to other treatment will worsen this winterAbout 750 patients were stuck in hospitals on any given day in November as they waited to receive additional care at skilled nursing or rehabilitation facilities, according to a new...HealthDec 27, 2023With help from the community, a church opens its doors to provide overflow shelterThe state shelter system was capped earlier this year, and now many community members are stepping up to help homeless families. A church in Jamaica Plain has converted a former...HealthDec 26, 2023Here are WBUR’s top local health stories of 2023These stories of 2023 drew in lots of readers and listeners like you, and their implications are sure to last into the new year, and likely beyond.HealthDec 25, 2023A story years in the making: At-home overdose preventionWBUR's Martha Bebinger wanted to write about home-based supervised consumption for many years. She keeps hearing from parents, siblings, partners and kids who do it but wouldn't talk about it....HealthDec 15, 2023Provincetown moves to decriminalize psychedelics for adultsThe Provincetown Select Board voted to approve a resolution Monday that instructs police officers to deprioritize cases involving psilocybin, and calls for statewide decriminalization and for the Cape and Islands...HealthDec 14, 2023Advertisement'It allows doctors to be human beings': Mass. hospitals will stop asking clinicians about past mental health and addictionThe state’s hospitals and insurers say they will no longer ask clinicians about their history of mental health or substance use treatment. It's an effort to encourage health care providers...HealthDec 13, 2023Mass. Health Dept. says state needs controversial overdose prevention centersA report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health endorses overdose prevention centers where staff are on hand, if needed, to revive clients who use drugs. The report was released...HealthDec 13, 2023Boston fertility doctor accused of using his own sperm to impregnate patientA Maine woman has sued a prominent retired Boston fertility doctor, alleging he improperly impregnated her with his own sperm during an artificial insemination procedure performed more than four decades...HealthDec 13, 2023Fatal overdoses in Massachusetts remain at grim record highsIn Massachusetts, there’s no let up in the pace of deaths after a drug overdose. A state report out Wednesday showed the rate is expected to hold steady through the...HealthDec 13, 2023Commercial fishermen need more support for substance abuse and fatigue, lawmakers sayA group of lawmakers from New England and Alaska says a federal program that protects the health and wellbeing of commercial fishermen should be expanded to include substance use disorder...HealthDec 12, 2023Why a mom turned to supervising illegal opioid use at her homeIn Renae's backyard, people she loves trust that they can use drugs without fear of being raped, robbed or dying after an overdose. Renae keeps watch and revives people, if...ResumeHealth16:12Dec 12, 2023Outdoor boxes with Narcan getting plenty of use in Northampton and GreenfieldThe boxes found at various parks and city buildings in Northampton and Greenfield offer doses of naloxone, which can reverse an opiate overdose. Boxes in outdoor locations are generally seeing...HealthDec 6, 2023Mass. enacted strong abortion protections. Planned Parenthood's new leader wants it to go furtherDominique Lee, CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, says the state should end parental consent requirements for young people seeking abortions.HealthDec 6, 2023COVID rates are ticking up in Mass. Thanksgiving may not be the only reasonCOVID levels have inched up in recent weeks, but the trend began before many holiday gatherings took place. Overall, data suggests levels of the virus remain lower than in prior...HealthDec 1, 2023Overdose deaths rose among pregnant people, postpartum parentsThe study's authors say their findings have "profound implications for the way we discourage, directly or indirectly, women from seeking [substance use disorder] care during pregnancy."HealthNov 22, 2023War in Gaza feels personal for some Mass. health care workersThe war has triggered a devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Hospitals have not been spared. Most are no longer functioning. For many doctors in the Boston area, this far-away conflict...ResumeHealth03:52Nov 21, 2023State to house migrant families in government conference rooms amid shelter crisisThe move comes after the state shelter system exceeded Gov. Maura Healey's self-imposed 7,500-family cap earlier this month.HealthNov 20, 2023'I landed on love': Families try a different approach to addictionThe success of addiction treatment often depends on the person struggling. But there may be a crucial — and often overlooked — factor. Some experts say loved ones can play...ResumeHealth05:23Nov 20, 2023Hundreds of Salem Hospital patients warned of possible exposure to hepatitis and HIVSalem Hospital in Massachusetts says hundreds of patients may have been exposed to hepatitis and HIV over a two-year period but that the infection risk is extremely low.HealthNov 18, 20232 reports urge better access to maternal care and other medical services in Mass.Gov. Maura Healey ordered the review of maternal health access across the state, as well as medical services in northern Worcester County, following the controversial decision to close a Leominster...HealthNov 15, 2023 Previous PageNext Page
Hospitals expect backlog of patients awaiting transfers to other treatment will worsen this winterAbout 750 patients were stuck in hospitals on any given day in November as they waited to receive additional care at skilled nursing or rehabilitation facilities, according to a new...HealthDec 27, 2023
With help from the community, a church opens its doors to provide overflow shelterThe state shelter system was capped earlier this year, and now many community members are stepping up to help homeless families. A church in Jamaica Plain has converted a former...HealthDec 26, 2023
Here are WBUR’s top local health stories of 2023These stories of 2023 drew in lots of readers and listeners like you, and their implications are sure to last into the new year, and likely beyond.HealthDec 25, 2023
A story years in the making: At-home overdose preventionWBUR's Martha Bebinger wanted to write about home-based supervised consumption for many years. She keeps hearing from parents, siblings, partners and kids who do it but wouldn't talk about it....HealthDec 15, 2023
Provincetown moves to decriminalize psychedelics for adultsThe Provincetown Select Board voted to approve a resolution Monday that instructs police officers to deprioritize cases involving psilocybin, and calls for statewide decriminalization and for the Cape and Islands...HealthDec 14, 2023
'It allows doctors to be human beings': Mass. hospitals will stop asking clinicians about past mental health and addictionThe state’s hospitals and insurers say they will no longer ask clinicians about their history of mental health or substance use treatment. It's an effort to encourage health care providers...HealthDec 13, 2023
Mass. Health Dept. says state needs controversial overdose prevention centersA report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health endorses overdose prevention centers where staff are on hand, if needed, to revive clients who use drugs. The report was released...HealthDec 13, 2023
Boston fertility doctor accused of using his own sperm to impregnate patientA Maine woman has sued a prominent retired Boston fertility doctor, alleging he improperly impregnated her with his own sperm during an artificial insemination procedure performed more than four decades...HealthDec 13, 2023
Fatal overdoses in Massachusetts remain at grim record highsIn Massachusetts, there’s no let up in the pace of deaths after a drug overdose. A state report out Wednesday showed the rate is expected to hold steady through the...HealthDec 13, 2023
Commercial fishermen need more support for substance abuse and fatigue, lawmakers sayA group of lawmakers from New England and Alaska says a federal program that protects the health and wellbeing of commercial fishermen should be expanded to include substance use disorder...HealthDec 12, 2023
Why a mom turned to supervising illegal opioid use at her homeIn Renae's backyard, people she loves trust that they can use drugs without fear of being raped, robbed or dying after an overdose. Renae keeps watch and revives people, if...ResumeHealth16:12Dec 12, 2023
Outdoor boxes with Narcan getting plenty of use in Northampton and GreenfieldThe boxes found at various parks and city buildings in Northampton and Greenfield offer doses of naloxone, which can reverse an opiate overdose. Boxes in outdoor locations are generally seeing...HealthDec 6, 2023
Mass. enacted strong abortion protections. Planned Parenthood's new leader wants it to go furtherDominique Lee, CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, says the state should end parental consent requirements for young people seeking abortions.HealthDec 6, 2023
COVID rates are ticking up in Mass. Thanksgiving may not be the only reasonCOVID levels have inched up in recent weeks, but the trend began before many holiday gatherings took place. Overall, data suggests levels of the virus remain lower than in prior...HealthDec 1, 2023
Overdose deaths rose among pregnant people, postpartum parentsThe study's authors say their findings have "profound implications for the way we discourage, directly or indirectly, women from seeking [substance use disorder] care during pregnancy."HealthNov 22, 2023
War in Gaza feels personal for some Mass. health care workersThe war has triggered a devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Hospitals have not been spared. Most are no longer functioning. For many doctors in the Boston area, this far-away conflict...ResumeHealth03:52Nov 21, 2023
State to house migrant families in government conference rooms amid shelter crisisThe move comes after the state shelter system exceeded Gov. Maura Healey's self-imposed 7,500-family cap earlier this month.HealthNov 20, 2023
'I landed on love': Families try a different approach to addictionThe success of addiction treatment often depends on the person struggling. But there may be a crucial — and often overlooked — factor. Some experts say loved ones can play...ResumeHealth05:23Nov 20, 2023
Hundreds of Salem Hospital patients warned of possible exposure to hepatitis and HIVSalem Hospital in Massachusetts says hundreds of patients may have been exposed to hepatitis and HIV over a two-year period but that the infection risk is extremely low.HealthNov 18, 2023
2 reports urge better access to maternal care and other medical services in Mass.Gov. Maura Healey ordered the review of maternal health access across the state, as well as medical services in northern Worcester County, following the controversial decision to close a Leominster...HealthNov 15, 2023