Latest news with #BaystateHealth
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Easthampton Fire Department teams with Baystate Health for blood drive
EASTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – The Easthampton Fire Department held a blood drive in collaboration with Baystate Health. Blood drives are held around the country every day, but this drive is special for western Massachusetts residents since the drive is held in collaboration with Baystate Health, and all of the donated blood stays right here in western Massachusetts at the Baystate Health hospitals. Five injured after Taunton crash in speeding BMW The Red Cross says that 13.6 million units of blood are collected through donations every year in the United States, but donated blood expires every 42 days, depending on the method used to store the blood. 'It is always a need, especially within the local communities. traumas, cancer center patients, heart and vascular patients,' said Baystate Health Transfusion Medical Services Supervisor, Nicole Vanzandt. 'We are always in need of blood.' Through just one blood donation, participants saved up to three lives. The average person donates about a pint or unit of blood when they donate, and the Red Cross says one car accident victim could need up to 100 units of blood, which would be 100 donors. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
34 firearms collected during Hampden County gun buyback event
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Thirty-four firearms and a substantial amount of ammunition were turned in on Saturday during Hampden County's annual gun buyback event. The event is a community safety initiative coordinated by the Hampden District Attorney's Office, Baystate Health, and the West Springfield Police Department. Commission votes to decertify Springfield officer who used stun gun on pregnant woman Held at West Springfield Town Hall, the event provided residents with a safe and anonymous way to dispose of unwanted guns and ammunition. All items collected will be securely destroyed to reduce the potential for gun-related accidents, theft, or misuse. 'Each gun turned in represents a potentially life-saving decision,' said Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni. 'Whether it's a firearm that a family no longer feels safe keeping, or one that's simply no longer wanted, removing these weapons from homes and our streets helps prevent tragedies before they happen.' The initiative is a key part of the Hampden District Attorney's Office's broader violence prevention strategy. Public health data consistently show that access to firearms significantly increases the risk of suicide and accidental injury. By offering a judgment-free, community-centered opportunity to surrender guns, organizers aim to promote safer homes and neighborhoods. In exchange for firearms and ammunition, participants received gift cards to Big Y Supermarkets, with $50 for a handgun, rifle, or shotgun, and $100 for an assault weapon. The gun buyback program is one element of a multifaceted public safety plan that includes youth outreach, school partnerships, and collaborations with health care providers and local law enforcement agencies. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Palmer Fire Department honors lifesaving heroes during annual EMS Week Cookout
PALMER, Mass. (WWLP) – The Palmer Fire Department hosted its annual EMS Week Cookout, recognizing the exceptional care during two critical incidents. During the cookout held on Thursday, members of both the Palmer and Ware Fire Departments were recognized with awards from the Hampden County EMS Council and Baystate Health. Holland murder case heard in Palmer District Court The Palmer Fire Department said that in November 2024, crews were called to a report of a cardiac arrest. Upon arrival, first responders provided CPR and used an AED to successfully restore the patient's heartbeat. They were taken to Baystate Medical Center and have since recovered. In February 2025, crews were called to a serious motor vehicle crash and used specialized tools to help a critically injured patient out of the vehicle. The person was taken to Baystate Medical Center and has since been released. The Baystate Health honored the Fire and EMS unit with the Medical Director Clinical Excellence Award, an honor awarded to only one other agency over the past year. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Baystate CEO Peter Banko faces plagiarism accusations over company blog posts
SPRINGFIELD — Peter Banko, Baystate Health's president and CEO, has been accused of plagiarizing other writers in a number of internal blog posts. 'We are aware of a complaint to our compliance hotline in January and May and it is being managed as an internal compliance matter,' said Heather Duggan, a spokesperson for the hospital. 'The Baystate Health Board of Trustees has discussed and addressed it with our President & CEO.' When asked Thursday how the board addressed it, and if Banko was available to speak about it, Duggan declined to comment. A review of internal blog posts obtained by The Republican shows that items appearing under Banko's name contain sections that are identical or very similar to other previously published materials, from sources including Wikipedia, NPR and Harvard Business School's blog. The original authors are not credited. The allegations were first reported Thursday morning by The Boston Globe. 'This is not a one-off mistake, this is a pattern of behavior,' said a Baystate Health employee who submitted a complaint to the hospital system. The person did not want to be named for fear it would impact their employment. Banko writes in a January 2025 post about five Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speeches one should know — the same topic of an NPR article published almost a year earlier. Not only is Banko's list of speeches the same as the NPR story, but multiple paragraphs in his post are nearly identical to sections of the NPR article. Jonathan Eig, author of a biography on King, is quoted in the NPR story commenting on King's 'I've Been to the Mountaintop!' speech that he delivered in 1968. 'The speech really does feel a bit like his own eulogy,' Eig told NPR. 'He's talking about earthly salvation and heavenly salvation. And, in the end, boldly equating himself with Moses, who doesn't live to see the Promised Land.' Banko's post includes nearly the same quote, but he writes it as his own words. 'The speech does feel a bit like his own eulogy. He talks about earthly salvation and heavenly salvation. And, in the end, boldly equating himself with Moses, who doesn't live to see the Promised Land.' The same post by Banko contains several other sentences and phrases that are nearly the same as those from another expert source NPR interviewed about an MLK speech. The blog posts by Banko are for employees and meant to be 'digestible, informative, and inspirational,' Duggan said. 'Metaphors, analogies, pop culture trends and other ideas are referenced to make the content relatable and tangible to the work we are doing right here in Western Massachusetts,' she said of the posts. Banko has been president and CEO of Baystate since June 2024. He was previously CEO of Centura Health, in Centennial, Colorado, and took the job at Baystate replacing now-retired Dr. Mark Keroack. In another post, 'Over a Bowl of Gumbo,' Banko writes about Leah Chase, known as the 'Queen of Creole Cuisine.' One paragraph in his post is, aside from the omission of a phrase, just a few words different from a passage in a Wikipedia article about Chase. In a post entitled 'I want the Truth!' Banko writes about lying. 'When I was growing up, one of the principles in my parent's house was that we had to tell the truth, no matter how painful it might be. Lying wasn't something you could get away with (although my sister and I tried). Like Pinocchio's nose, it would be apparent to others.' He later wrote: 'However as we get older, the truth becomes more nuanced — and there are times when a little white lie or the absence of some key facts might be appropriate. The problem is that all of us have different standards for when, why, and how we shade the truth." Those paragraphs are nearly identical to a 2013 blog post from entitled 'Why Organizational Truth Has Many Shades of Gray.' To the employee who reported the suspected plagiarism to the hospital, it wasn't a gray area. 'It violates the legal, ethical, and professional standards that he himself laid out in our code of conduct,' they wrote in the complaint, which they shared with The Republican. 'Simply put, it is terrible leadership. Baystate employees and our patients deserve so much better than this.' The employee said they were reading a post from late April called 'All apologies,' in which Banko talks about a letter an Apple CEO wrote in 2007. Banko's post reads: 'On September 6, 2007, the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs wrote an open letter to 'all iPhone customers' that was published on Apple's website. It's no longer available there, but I am sure you can find it through a Google search.' The employee did their own Google search and found a 2022 opinion article on It reads: " ... on September 6, 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs wrote an open letter to 'all iPhone customers,' that was published on Apple's website. (It's no longer available there, but you can read the entire thing via a copy on the internet archive.)" The story says of the letter: 'the entire thing is a masterclass in admitting when you're wrong.' Banko writes that: 'The entire thing is a masterclass in admitting when you are wrong.' Read the original article on MassLive.
Boston Globe
08-05-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Largest owner of R.I. community health centers to lay off 70 workers, citing Medicaid reimbursement rates
Despite what he called a 'strong balance sheet, the layoffs were directed by PCHC's board, Thomas said, which has 'a fiduciary responsibility to PCHC and its patients." Advertisement 'These are difficult but necessary decisions to ensure we are here for the community for years to come,' said Thomas. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up The news comes as other health care organizations around the state and region are facing deteriorating financial situations. In Springfield, Massachusetts, Baystate Health In Rhode Island, primary care network Anchor Medical Associates is permanently shutting down this spring, Advertisement Prior to cutting more than 70 of its employees, Providence Community Health Centers was on track to lose $5 million in 2025, executives say. Those losses are a result of Medicaid rates not keeping up with inflation, and promised relief from the state that rates would be raised, but never delivered, said Brett Davey, PCHC's director of development. PCHC, which also cares for homeless individuals and families, relies on Medicaid for 70 percent of its funding. But over the last five years, reimbursement rates have been increased 10 percent, while costs to deliver care have risen by 30 percent, said Davey. Facing mounting public pressure to find a solution for health care, Governor Dan McKee Related : PCHC also relies on the 340B pharmacy program, a federal program that requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to sell certain drugs at discounted prices to Advertisement Enacted under former President George H.W. Bush, the 340B Drug Pricing Program is a lifeline for many nonprofit providers. But in recent years, while the program has expanded – discounts have risen from $6 billion in 2015 to $46.5 billion in 2022, according to the Lown Institute in Massachusetts – drug manufacturers have sought to scale it back, and have looked to restrict how many community pharmacies can use such discounts. 'PCHC remains committed to fighting at the state and federal levels for relief,' the system wrote in a statement. Alexa Gagosz can be reached at
