NEWSROOM

 It's approximately 4 feet tall, has expressive eyes and a childlike voice that will melt your heart. 

Its name is Robin, and it's the newest caregiver in pediatrics at UMass Memorial Medical Center - University Campus. 

As the weather gets colder, health officials are advising everyone to get a flu shot.

Weight bias in medical care settings, which involves health care professionals stigmatizing and judging patients with the disease of obesity, is widespread. Obesity as a disease state leads to dangerous consequences for more than 40% of U.S. adults and 20% of U.S.

In late May, CHL was chosen by the City of Worcester to develop a new model for 911 calls, where CHL crisis teams accompany police officers to certain emergency calls, such as welfare or safety checks.

There is widespread concern about what the pandemic is doing to the mental health of adolescents. In Worcester, a new school-based program aims to address the issue. UMass Memorial Health’s Community Healthlink C.A.R.E.S. Club (Create. Achieve. Respect. Elevate.

“For a radiologist who has been reading scans and always had IV contrast, to ask them to read without it, they will miss things,” said Dr. Eric Dickson, CEO of UMass Memorial Health. “It’s a horrible shortage. And it has significantly impacted operations.

UMass Memorial Health has also delivered approximately 8,000 courses of either Paxlovid or the monoclonal antibody therapy bebtelovimab since last July — almost 2,000 of which were delivered since April 10. It also hosts clinics for Evusheld for patients on Saturdays. Dr.

UMass Memorial Health – Community Healthlink is teaming up with the city’s Health and Human Services and public safety departments to design a program where mental health experts respond with officers to certain emergency calls.

Dr. Eric Dickson, chief executive of UMass Memorial Health Care, said these factors make the timing of the latest COVID wave particularly tough.

Community Healthlink, an organization within the UMass Memorial Health system that provides mental health services, has been chosen by the City of Worcester to assist a new crisis response model for 911 calls. 

Speaking on children’s mental health, Dr. Abita Raj, a child and adolescent psychologist with Community Healthlink, said it’s important to keep an open dialogue. 

Giving new nurses the first-hand experiences they need is the goal of UMass Memorial Medical Center’s Graduate Residency Program.