Latest news with #Klibanski
Boston Globe
15-04-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Mass General Brigham CEO says Harvard funding freeze shouldn't apply to health system
Advertisement Unlike other teaching hospitals in the country, which are owned by universities that receive federal grants, Harvard's affiliated hospitals are independent nonprofit institutions. Under an affiliation agreement that has been in effect for decades, the hospitals agree to teach Harvard medical students and Harvard agrees to give hospital physicians appointments at Harvard Medical School. That legal distinction might come to bear in legal efforts to challenge research funding cutbacks. As a practical matter, it didn't deter the administration from previously threatening to cut funding to Harvard and its affiliates as it undertook a 'review,' announced March 31, of $9 billion in federal funding. But the Trump administration's announcement of a freeze on Monday night didn't mention Harvard affiliates. One physician at MGB criticized Klibanski's letter distancing the health system from Harvard. Dr. Marjorie Curran, a pediatrician at Mass General for Children who helped write a letter signed by more than 200 physicians and other MGB workers that Advertisement 'It is difficult to believe that cuts directed at Harvard will not affect the MGB hospitals,' Curran said in an email. 'Now is the time for clinical and academic centers to stand together, not create space between them.' Hours after Harvard defied the Trump administration's attempt on Monday to force policy changes and federal oversight of the school's affairs, the government The Trump administration had said it was reviewing in an effort to 'root out antisemitism,' according to the government's antisemitism task force. The task force issued a list of demands, including ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, implementing 'merit-based' admissions and hiring practices, cooperating with federal immigration authorities, and changing student disciplinary procedures. The government expanded the list of demands last Friday. Trump and his allies contend the measures will help combat antisemitism on campus. They allege that Harvard failed to protect Jewish students from harassment during pro-Palestinian protests. But after the government sent Harvard the broader demands, Harvard president Alan Garber on Monday 'No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,' he said in a letter to the Harvard community. Advertisement This is a developing story and will be updated. Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at
Boston Globe
02-04-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Mass General Brigham said layoffs wouldn't affect patient care. Some disagree.
They include six full-time chaplains — at least half of whom worked directly with patients and families facing health crises and end-of-life decisions. Also laid off: the director of domestic violence programs at Brigham and Women's Hospital who counseled patients who had survived human trafficking and other abuse; and an employee in Massachusetts General Hospital's Living Tobacco-Free program who helped hundreds of patients quit smoking each year. Advertisement Tara Deonauth, a board-certified chaplain and graduate of Harvard Divinity School who served as spiritual care manager at Faulkner Hospital, said she was 'shocked and heartbroken' when she was laid off on March 10. 'I could not have worked more closely with patients,' said Deonauth, who estimated she saw about 25 patients a week and spent up to an hour with each, listening to stories of grief and hopelessness. Most were in intensive care or a secure psychiatric unit for patients at risk for harming themselves or others. Deonauth said she was 'on call 24-7″ and responded to requests in the middle of the night, including arranging for a Catholic priest to deliver last rites. A number of employees who were laid off signed confidentiality agreements and declined to comment out of fear of jeopardizing severance packages. However, the Boston Globe confirmed the layoffs from co-workers who kept their jobs. Advertisement Jessica Pastore, a spokesperson for MGB, said the job cuts focused on nonclinical managers and administrators and that Klibanski never said all employees who worked with patients would be excluded from layoffs. Individual hospitals, she said, made decisions 'to ensure there would be no negative impacts to patient care.' Six weeks ago, MGB announced it would make Mass General Brigham announced the most layoffs in its history in February. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff Klibanski said in her email the system would streamline its administration by making cuts 'focused on non-clinical and non-patient facing roles' and complete The Globe MGB declined to specify how many people have been laid off. Among those who have been especially hard hit were MGB's chaplains. The system laid off two of its nine chaplains at MGH and the hospital's head of spiritual care, the Rev. Donna Blagdan, who oversaw them and is a board-certified chaplain. She declined to comment, but multiple remaining MGB chaplains confirmed her departure. By the end of August, the system also plans to end the Clinical Pastoral Education program at MGH, which for about 90 years trained people to work as chaplains at hospitals, prisons, fire departments, and other settings inside and outside of Massachusetts. The program is said to be the first at a general hospital in the country. Advertisement MGB is laying off Rabbi Shulamit Izen, director of the program, in August when the last five students complete their training. The program will then close, according to multiple current hospital employees and graduates of the program. Izen declined to comment. During the yearlong program, trainees work 27 hours a week as chaplains 'in residency' at MGH, counseling sick or dying patients, helping families navigate the decision to take loved ones off life support, and comforting employees struggling with traumatic situations at the hospital. Jonathan DeWeese, a psychiatric nurse practitioner and psychotherapist in Cambridge who completed the program a decade ago, said he worked overnight shifts, supporting patients and families as they grappled with terminal illnesses and agonizing loss. 'Doctors don't have the time or the skill to sit with the distressed family that just lost their teenager or 20-year-old son in a car accident,' said DeWeese, who serves as an adviser to the program. 'That's one of the many scenarios in which a chaplain is really needed.' Meanwhile, Brigham laid off one of its two educators of chaplains at that hospital's residency program who also worked directly with patients, according to the Rev. Jennie Gould, the remaining educator and a chaplain. Ruth Delfiner, a part-time chaplain at MGH, said the job cuts by MGB 'shows their absolute lack of sympathy for what it is that we do.' 'These are programs which they put in place for appearances, but when they're concerned about the bottom line, they're going to be the first to go,' she said. Pastore, the MGB spokesperson, said 'patients and families will continue to have access to chaplains from a variety of religious backgrounds and especially in instances of emergent care, which is available every day of the week, at all times.' She also said the system is merging MGH's and Brigham's chaplain residency programs. Advertisement With the layoffs, Gould said she doubted Brigham will be able to have a chaplain on site at all times, as it had before, or be able to respond to every cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, and request by relatives of deceased patients to view bodies in a room near the morgue. A photo shows Tara Deonauth, a chaplain who was recently laid off, with Faulkner ICU Clinical Leader Ellen McCarthy, left, who nominated her for an I Care Award when Tara worked in the hospital. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Multiple employees said Loftus provided direct therapy services to nearly a dozen victims of human trafficking. Loftus also provided training on how to care for survivors of trauma and violence to more than 900 front-line clinicians last year alone. About 100 health care providers were so alarmed by Loftus's dismissal that they signed a petition urging leadership to rehire her. 'While her official title is Clinical Program Director, Jessica provides direct patient care to hundreds of patients throughout our system,' said the letter. Loftus said patient care 'inevitably suffers' when clinicians are 'seen as job titles rather than humans.' Pastore, the MGB spokesperson, said Loftus had a 'management role that was consolidated from two managers managing a group of social workers down to one manager. This was a reduction of a management layer, not the elimination of a clinical care role.' In response, Loftus said, 'They can classify it however they want, but my role in our human trafficking program was direct patient care.' Advertisement MGB has also laid off both employees of the Mass General Living Tobacco-Free program, which the health system decided last year to end in 2025, Pastore confirmed. One of the employees was a tobacco treatment specialist who helped several hundred smokers a year try to quit, according to a staffer at a community health center and another person familiar with the program. Both sources insisted on anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic. The other laid-off employee was the program manager. The program operated at community health centers in Charlestown, Chelsea, Revere, and Everett, and featured one-on-one coaching, support groups, yoga, and other tools. Pastore said there are still multiple tobacco treatment programs in Boston run by other groups. Dr. Mark Eisenberg, who worked for 37 years as a primary care physician at MGH Charlestown and now works part time helping patients with addictions at the hospital, said he often referred patients to Tobacco-Free. 'It was a great resource for a physician who didn't have the time during a 15-minute appointment to effectively counsel patients,' he said. Dr. Michael Barnett, a primary care physician at Brigham and associate professor of health policy and management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said he was dismayed by the layoffs of staffers who worked with patients, but he wasn't particularly surprised. 'As primary care doctors, we know that MGB doesn't invest in interventions that improve public health unless they generate huge profits,' said Barnett, Advertisement In March, Pastore did not respond to Barnett's criticism. Gould, the Brigham chaplain, said layoffs of employees who dealt directly with patients was short-sighted and often affected workers with relatively modest salaries. 'Look,' she said, 'chaplains are not breaking the MGB bank.' Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mass General Brigham investing $400 million in cancer care
BOSTON, Mass. (SHNS)–A week after conducting a second round of layoffs, Mass General Brigham announced a four-year, $400 million investment Tuesday into MGB Cancer as the health care giant braces for its split from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Anne Klibanski, the system's CEO, acknowledged the layoffs as she announced the new investment, which involves renovations at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Faulkner Hospital to create new outpatient spaces. Medicaid cuts may affect millions of Massachusetts residents 'As we navigate a period of challenging but pivotal change, I appreciate your continued dedication to our patients and to each other,' Klibanski wrote to employees in a Tuesday message, which was shared with the News Service. 'Our reorganization and financial stewardship will strengthen our foundation and enable us to make strategic investment in our patients, our care teams and our mission – preparing us for the ongoing headwinds facing our industry.' MGB did not specify how many total workers lost their jobs, though The Boston Globe pegged it at around 1,500 positions across the layoffs in March and February. The system said the layoffs affected mostly management and administrative positions, as MGB contended with a $250 million budget gap over the next two years. MGB argued the layoffs were needed to follow through with planned investments, including for workforce support, new clinical spaces and modernizing facilities. Klibanski said the $400 million commitment will 'advance medical oncology, radiation oncology, cancer surgery, digital pathology, technology upgrades, support staffing, and patient navigation across MGB.' It will also be used to 'recruit top oncologists, implement digital pathology and enhance clinical support staffing,' MGB said. 'We begin this work now with the goal of ensuring that MGB Cancer is fully operational using our own resources, ready to serve patients before the conclusion of our current agreement with Dana-Farber in Fall 2028,' Klibanski wrote. The state Public Health Council on Thursday is slated to vote on a determination of need request from Dana-Farber, which is looking to build its own cancer hospital with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. MGB Cancer plans to 'extensively' renovate three floors at the Brigham's Hale Building for Transformative Medicine in the Longwood area to support outpatient clinical space, plus one floor at Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Klibanski said. MGB is also looking to relocate clinical, office and research space in the Longwood area, which the system said is 'currently housed mainly at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.' In other efforts to bulk up oncology services, work is underway at Massachusetts General Hospital, where a new tower is expected to provide 'large-scale new resources for MGB Cancer patients,' Klibanski said. The system is also working on a new exam room and infusion capacity at MGH-Waltham. 'Our goal is to immediately begin to execute on our cancer strategy and provide space for both our existing and new cancer teams to work, perform research and care for patients,' Kevin Giordano, MGB's senior vice president of operations, said in an internal article shared with the News Service. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
10-03-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Mass General Brigham begins second round of large-scale layoffs
'This decision was reached by clinical, academic and administrative leaders from across our system after thoughtfully considering the current healthcare landscape and our poor financial performance over the past several years,' Klibanski said. 'As we look to the future, we will continue to build a culture of resource stewardship and financial sustainability that enables us to withstand the unrelenting pressures facing healthcare systems everywhere and allows us to continue with critical planned and future investments to support our patients, our care teams and our mission.' She added that the organization would treat all employees with dignity and respect: 'We all feel a sense of loss when valued colleagues depart.' A spokesperson added that all laid-off workers would receive benefits coverage and market-competitive severance packages. Advertisement The cuts in workforce have added to the uncertainty that many employees have voiced in recent weeks. 'Who is going to do that work? Are you going to dump it on people already buckling under?' said Dr. Peter Grinspoon, a primary care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. 'Any organization has to be mindful of who they are employing and is it efficient and worthwhile. But you can't just lay off 1,200 people. These people were all doing something … They were helping with the team-based medicine we all need to practice to make it doable.' With such a sprawling organization including 26 hospitals and other entities spread across 400 locations, it is difficult to assess where layoffs were targeted, or even how many people it will ultimately affect. The organization has repeatedly declined to specify final numbers. Given how disperse the layoffs have been and occurring in multiple waves, the reductions have not Advertisement However sources suggest approximately 1,500 positions will ultimately be affected, out of 82,000 employees. Similarly, the expense reduction is looking to save approximately 2 percent of MGB's salary and benefits costs. Executives have previously said the reductions would be primarily focused on administrative and management levels, and would not affect front-line clinical workers or staff that supportpatient-facing care. Two doctors who help oversee the care of patients involved in clinical trials, though, said 'You just don't know who is going to be laid off,' Grinspoon said. 'It hurts morale to have this Damocles [sword] hanging over your head.' Frustrations go far beyond the disruptions and uncertainty of the layoffs. Many physicians are burned out, so much so that nearly 300 of MGB's primary care physicians in November signed documents to unionize. Frustrations range from the massive demands placed on primary care physicians ' time to the increasing 'corporatization' of medicine, in which front - line physicians feel they have less of a voice. The layoffs have added to the overall chaos, Grinspoon said. Consolidation is stepping on toes, as longtime department heads have had to fight for the job they've held for decades. Other employees don't have faith that integration will make things better because for the last several years, things have gotten progressively harder. Doctors make less but are expected to care for more patients, and there is far more work to do for each patient. Advertisement 'No one has faith in leadership,' Grinspoon said, adding: 'You can't do (integration) if most of your staff don't trust or believe in you in the first place.' Leadership has pressed that the integration is necessary to improve patient care and streamline operations across its 12 hospitals. A spokesperson added Monday that the reductions would enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and maximize support for frontline clinicians. 'This decision is necessary despite years of diligently promoting a culture of responsible resource stewardship and developing initiatives that generate diversified sources of revenue,' said Jennifer Street, a spokesperson for Mass General Brigham. Consolidation efforts have been underway for years, setting out a transformation of what had been a collection of often-competitive hospitals to one of a unified system. The effort began in 2019, with a rebranding from what used to be Partners HealthCare to Mass General Brigham. Since, leadership has slowly been rethinking jobs and eliminating roles through attrition. The signs of financial challenges have started to appear in reported financials. Though the organization has posted positive operating margins in The system's investment portfolio helped propel the bottom line to $281.7 million in net margin, a figure that experts have pointed to as a marker of resiliency. But earnings on that money are largely either restricted by donors to certain uses or earmarked to capital projects, executives have previously said. Advertisement Jessica Bartlett can be reached at
