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By MARY BYRNE

HOLYOKE — Construction of a $72 million behavioral health hospital at the former Holyoke Geriatric Authority property on Lower Westfield Road is expected to wrap up in about a month, officials announced this week. When the 150-bed Valley Springs...

By Sam Doran

BOSTON — A proposed pilot program for Massachusetts hospitals could be “game-changing” in identifying medical error cases and the causes behind them, the Betsy Lehman Center’s executive director said Monday, and several hospitals have expressed...

By DOMENIC POLI

WHATELY — Chang Farm on River Road has voluntarily recalled mung bean sprouts due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination, according to the state Department of Public Health.The farm recently recalled all 10-pound bulk bags, as well as...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

When Shelly Bathe Lenn traveled to the other side of the country three years ago to visit one of her old friends, she didn’t think it was the start of a journey that would end in her donating one of her kidneys.Lenn, who works in Northampton as a...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Thousands of Massachusetts residents from marginalized backgrounds could gain health insurance coverage should policymakers move to expand eligibility criteria for state-subsidized plans and remove administrative hurdles, a report released...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — Proposed additions to the city of Northampton’s tobacco regulations would reduce the number of permits allowed for tobacco shops, effectively preventing any new retail outlets from selling tobacco products in the future. The city’s Board...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — From fish being reeled in by anglers in Taunton to the drinking water at an elementary school in New Salem, so-called forever chemicals known as PFAS are everywhere, the questions and comments from lawmakers from various corners of...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — What’s the first step in dealing with an overflowing bathtub?That’s the question MASSPIRG legislative director Deirdre Cummings asks to make her pitch for a sweeping new bill aimed at wrangling the presence of PFAS chemicals in food...

By Sydney Ko

BOSTON — Despite the 2020 passage of the ROE Act and a multimillion-dollar investment in reproductive health care access, infrastructure, and security last year, advocates say Massachusetts still faces a threat from efforts to restrict interstate...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — The city’s health director is leaving her job next month to become a regional public health trainer for Hampshire and Franklin counties, one of the first positions being filled as part of a large overhaul of public health services in the...

By KATE MCINTOSH

The holidays are over and the long trudge to spring is here. For many, the gray skies, cold weather and shorter days are a drag. For people with anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses, winter can make their struggles even harder.January and...

By JIM and LISA MCGOVERN

You have cancer. Words nobody ever wants to hear — but each year, nearly two million of our fellow Americans hear them. More than 600,000 die annually after battling these diseases, including over 12,000 people in Massachusetts alone.But it does not...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — Almost every morning, Robin Bialecki is up at 5 a.m. to make her rounds at grocery stores like Big Y and Stop & Shop, salvaging unsellable food items that can be distributed to those in need through the food pantry at the Easthampton...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — A few months ago a resident asked the city’s Health Department how they could acquire fentanyl test strips, one of several harm reduction products the city makes available for free upon request, without having to ask for them in person...

GRANT ABy MARY BYRNEStaff WriterNORTHAMPTON — ServiceNet, the large nonprofit human service agency headquartered in Northampton, intends to use a significant $4 million grant from the federal government to extend and expand a two-year-old pilot...

By ANNA GUARACAO

As the temperature drops and Bay State residents spend more time indoors, public health experts and health care professionals are concerned about an increasing viral mix of COVID-19, RSV, and the flu, while staffing shortages and overflowing emergency...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — Students and staff members returning to Northampton public schools will return to temporary masking for nine days, as the school looks to add precautionary measures in light of climbing COVID-19 and flu cases across the country.In a...

By EMILY THURLOW

EASTHAMPTON — In the wake of two highly contentious public hearings that packed the City Council chambers, At-Large City Councilor Owen Zaret came before the Board of Health Tuesday night to present a proposed ordinance designed to stop deceptive...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — A new town department that will provide an alternative to police, with unarmed employees responding to calls that don’t feature violence of serious crime, has its inaugural leader.Earl Miller, regional director of recovery for the...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Medical Center intends to close its maternity services unit, leaving Holyoke residents with no place to give birth and receive obstetric care within the city.The decision comes after HMC temporarily closed its Birthing Center in...