Society expresses emphatic opposition to separating families at border

News and announcements

MDPH advisory: Rising opioid deaths involving cocaine  
Increasing numbers of opioid overdose deaths are occurring where cocaine is present, highlighting the role of polysubstance use in the opioid epidemic, according to a clinical advisory from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The advisory cites the most recent quarterly opioid report (click below) and the increasing presence of methamphetamine in the Commonwealth. Opioid overdoses likely include people who were unknowingly exposed to fentanyl that was present in cocaine. MDPH recommends that health care professionals:

• Administer naloxone in drug overdoses when non-opioids are suspected/indicated
• Educate individuals about dangers of illicit drugs potentially mixed with fentanyl
• Ensure patients who access any street-purchased drugs have naloxone
• Refer patients with substance use disorder to treatment

Richard Wolk, MD (right), received the award from MMS President Alain A. Chaoui, MD

Senior Volunteer Physician of the Year: "Most precious gift"

Richard B. Wolk, MD, is the 2018 recipient of the MMS Senior Volunteer Physician of the Year Award, recognizing his decades of service to vulnerable patients in the Commonwealth. Dr. Wolk received the award at a luncheon on Wednesday. He said, "I don’t believe that those of us committed to volunteer activities do so with an expectation or hope for accolades. Rather we do so because we get so much out of it; satisfaction, pride, and a sense of contribution. Often the most precious gift we get is by giving. Isn’t this one of the primary reasons we go into medicine?”

Dr. Wolk, a radiologist, has been a volunteer with the MetroWest Free Medical Program (MWFMP) for 11 years, where he cares for uninsured and underinsured patients. From 1987-2001, he founded and served as president of a not-for-profit mobile mammography service. 

What’s up in advocacy and policy

MMS points to "permanent harms" of family separation

Two MMS presidents today condemned the separation of immigrant families and the detention of children. The MMS stands in "emphatic opposition" to separating children and parents who are seeking asylum, President Alain A. Chaoui, MD, said in a statement. Henry L. Dorkin, MD, FAAP, immediate past president, said taking children and incarcerating families "go against everything I have ever learned about successful child nurturing and protection of our young."

Dr. Dorkin was speaking at a roundtable hosted by Senator Ed Markey at the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center. "Putting a halt to disrupting additional families, without also healing those already traumatized, is a job only half done," he said. Dr. Chaoui warned of "permanent emotional harm to innocent children" and urged the Trump administration to immediately reunite affected families. "As physicians, we recognize the medical harm – including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder – children endure while subject to confinement can cause subsequent and chronic medical conditions.We denounce a zero tolerance policy which leads to the detention of all children who are seeking asylum."

Get involved

Casual networking event on the Cape

The Massachusetts Medical Society invites you to join colleagues and friends for an evening of professional networking, complimentary hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and cheer. Connect with physicians from across organizations and specialties, catch up with colleagues, make new professional contacts, and meet members of the MMS leadership. The event will be held on Saturday, July 28, 6:30–9:30 p.m., at Cape Cod Beer, 1336 Phinneys Lane, Hyannis. RSVP no later than July 19 to sfrazier@mms.org or  mjussaume@mms.org. Questions? Call (800) 944-5562.  

Educational programs and events

Live event: Managing Workplace Conflict

Managing Workplace Conflict: Improving Leadership and Personal Effectiveness 
Thur.–Fri., November 1–2  

Featured online CME: Physician wellness

Running on Empty? Physicians' Path to Enjoying Life and Medicine More

Quote of the week

“It makes me want to stand up as a father, stand up as a pediatrician, to do what’s right for this country ... Even the experience of being separated from their mother and father causes short-term trauma and toxic stress — and that can have profound long-term implications for a child."

— Matthew Gartland, MD, director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Asylum Clinic and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Special Interest Group on Immigrant Health ("Doctors on Front Line in Immigrants' Pursuit of Asylum;" Boston Herald)

Tweet of the week

@AliciaSVentura - Public health professional working to improve systems of care for people with addiction and loved ones. Advocate for social justice. Views my own. Boston, MA. 

What’s new in health care

Check out the most clicked-on stories from this week's MMS Media Watch. Sign up for daily Massachusetts media roundups by email. Some publications are fully accessible only to their subscribers.

'Red flag' bill clears Senate hurdle 

The bill allows family or household members to petition a judge to remove guns from a person at risk of harming themselves or others and bar them from possessing firearms for up to a year. 
 
MGH study finds generic drug can reverse type 1 diabetes long-term
Research at Massachusetts General Hospital looks increasingly like a long-term cure for type 1 diabetes, with a newly released study on Thursday showing patients have normal blood sugar levels eight years after a clinical trial.  

Healthcare venture co-founded by Amazon to be based in Boston

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase have appointed Atul Gawande, MD, a former Brigham and Women's surgeon, as its new chief executive of their new health care company, which will be based in Boston.

Massachusetts House passes health care bill to help community hospitals 

The centerpiece of the House bill is a one-time fee on large hospitals and insurers that would provide funding for three years to community hospitals and community health centers.

Here's how the House and Senate hope to tackle health care costs 

The House and Senate are looking at how to help community hospitals remain financially viable, how to increase the use of telemedicine, how to contain the cost of drugs, and how to avoid surprise out-of-network billing.   

Business groups face tough fight on subsidized health care

One day after a court ruling killed a proposed tax increase on high-earners, three of the business groups that sued to block the proposal turned their attention to the state's Medicaid program, known as MassHealth.

Former pediatrician wins $1.9M in employment discrimination 

A Hampden Superior Court jury has awarded $1.9 million in damages to a former Baystate Medical Practices pediatrician born with cerebral palsy who claimed he was fired over his disability and age.

SJC: Nurse staffing ballot question can go to ballot

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled Monday that the initiative petition seeking to impose limits on the number of patients a nurse can be assigned to care for at a time can go to voters on the November ballot. 

Mass. police officers self-administer Narcan

Town police officers were treated at Baystate Medical Center Sunday after displaying symptoms similar to exposure to fentanyl or other opioids while responding to a fatal overdose.