News & Updates

Showing results for ""

Meet Priscilla, Massachusetts POLST Program Director

February 4, 2024

We’re excited for you all to meet Priscilla Ross, our state’s new (first ever) Massachusetts POLST Program Director. Learn more about why Priscilla took the job and what she sees on the road ahead for the MOLST to POLST transition.

A Call to Action: Using Curriculum Mapping at Four Medical Schools in Massachusetts to Advance Serious Illness Communication Training in Undergraduate Medical Education

January 1, 2024

This article discusses a collaborative effort to enhance serious illness communication training through curriculum mapping across four Massachusetts medical schools. The aim of this is to identify gaps and integrate comprehensive training in serious illness communication into undergraduate medical education.

Welcome to three new members!

December 8, 2023

We are excited to announce four new member organizations to our Coalition!

Elder Life Directions
3C Patient Advocacy
Feltin Comunity Care

Our members are working towards our shared goals in many different ways, strengthening communication, collaboration, and connection. Read more about these organizations and why they have chosen to partner with us.

Launching the Serious Illness Care Education Forum series!

October 10, 2023

The Serious Illness Care Education Forum virtual series is the newest work to come out of our Medical Schools' Collaborative and is designed to bring faculty members from across Massachusetts together to learn about new developments in serious illness care undergraduate medical education and to catalyze collaboration across institutions.

Massachusetts Patient and Community Review Board

June 21, 2023

The Massachusetts Patient and Community Review Board is designed to provide a thoughtful space for community members to share their insights and experience with healthcare researchers and program developers as they start new initiatives.

Chair of the Massachusetts Medical School Collaborative: All Med School Students Should Learn Serious Illness Communication

May 22, 2023

Dr. Jennifer Reidy believes that anyone who graduates from medical school should be able to lead effective, compassionate conversations with people with serious illnesses. As the chair of the Massachusetts Medical School Collaborative and an associate professor at UMass Chan Medical School, she is leading an effort to integrate palliative care into the core medical school curricula in her home state.

Initial POLST testing begins; EOEA is hiring!

May 22, 2023

Last week, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) announced that small-scale clinical testing of the POLST Program elements will begin in June. Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington and Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, along with their local partners in EMS, Skilled Nursing Facilities, and outpatient practices, will lead the clinical testing phase.

In memory of Richard Averbuch

May 2, 2023

It’s with great sadness that we share the news that our Coalition’s first Executive Director, Richard Averbuch, passed away last week. Richard led the Coalition from 2016 to 2019 –he took it from an idea to an organization. And he did it all with a spirit of kindness, humility, collaboration, and care.

Mini-Summits coming to a town sort of close to you!

April 6, 2023

Do you enjoy seeing people in three dimensions? ‘Cause we last held an in-person Summit on May 16, 2019 and just a few things have happened since then. We’ve got four Mini-Summits this spring to bring us back together! Thank you to our Coalition members who will be graciously hosting us around the state, including Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Care Dimensions in Danvers, Blue Cross in Boston, and UMass in Worcester.

Translating Doctor Speak: Circle Advocacy

March 13, 2023

We have a new member joining us at the Coalition: Circle Advocacy, founded by Judy Korik Weinstock, a practicing physician and patient advocate. Judy spoke to us about the experiences that drove her to create this organization, dedicated to supporting patient agency and well-being.