Latest on Healthcare in Massachusetts

This November, the number one question on Massachusetts ballots is the Nurse-Patient Assignment Limits Initiative. This is the most controversial question of the three posed to Massachusetts residents and it can be assumed the vote will be a YES vote. From the very beginning this has been an actively dividing hot button topic between all workers involved with healthcare across the state. Big money has been spent trying to get this question front and center and force you to be anything but ignorant on this question. So what exactly is Question 1? what exactly is Question 1? Question 1 is about setting patient limits on nurses who work in hospitals. A vote in favor, "YES," for question one would be for having a set number or patients each nurse can have in their care at hospitals. A vote of "NO," would allow only hospitals to determine how many patients a nurse can care for at any time regardless of the level of care that each patient needs. On the surface ...

Doctors in Massachusetts hospitals have confirmed two cases acute flaccid myelitis also known as AMF. This Polio-like diseases is causing paralysis in its victims nation wide mostly being contracted by children around the age of four. Massachusetts General Hospital is working with patients to try and help find the cure and hopefully discover its cause. The disease cripples the patient by causes muscle weakness and paralysis. AMF does this by attacking the spinal cord and or brain stem. After it infects it shows it's symptoms in any number or ways including, loss of bladder control, difficulty breathing, and weakness in an arm or a leg that can spread to other extremities sometimes with pain. Slurred speech, difficulty moving the eyes, facial weakness in one so young can also be a sign of AMF.  The CDC has been following this disease since 2014 and there are fewer than 70 patients across the country with it. This makes the disease extremely rare even though it can feel as t...

Depending on your personal and family interactions with the hospital systems, you may have some strong feelings about question one on this years upcoming vote here in Massachusetts. A few different media outlets have reported that the nurses in the field seem to be split on the way the vote should go. As someone who has been out talking to the nurses on the front line, I say this split is not so wide as may be portrayed. Most nurses say they vote YES! What is question 1? Question one has to do with nurses to patient limits in hospitals. At the moment only the ever changing policies of the hospital administrators can dictate how many patients a nurse can care for. The problem is that while most the time this may work for both patients benefit and nurses stress level, sometimes priorities shift and the idea of  what a correct nurse to patient limit is becomes fluid based on overtime pay, scheduling needs and hiring managers situation. The patients care while important, some...

Fairhaven is a beautiful town with a small town feel to it. There are three nursing homes in the town, two of which are in older mansions. The population of the town sits around 16,000 and is situated next to New Bedford. The town comes in with two exits on the highway of 195 and the roadways getting around to the nursing homes is fairly easy to navigate. Royal of Fairhaven Once an old Mansion, this nursing home may seem cramped at first visit but upon spending a little time there you realize it is cozy. The staff are friendly and attentive, the Director of Nursing is on the ball, and the Administrator is a friendly compassionate man who takes pride in running the home and always makes himself available to anyone who wishes to see him. This is a for profit nursing home that is part of a larger corporation and as such has an extensive support system and solid management team. They offer a wide range services for those of long term and short term care. They also work with ...