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By LISA SPEAR

It’s a Monday night and Em Peyton, 59, of Putney, Vermont is in a room full of strangers in the basement of Forbes Library in Northampton where everyone is acting silly and laughing hard.Peyton curls her fingers into claws and bares her teeth as she...

By LISA SPEAR

Story, an enormous St. Bernard, lies down on Dennis Ashworth’s feet, as the 90-year old relaxes in his easy chair in his apartment in Amherst. The dog is panting hard, his long pink tongue hanging below his jaw.“He is going to drool on you and leave a...

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

WASHINGTON — Somewhere along the way, the Republican crusade to repeal “Obamacare” also turned into an effort to limit the future growth of Medicaid. That bit of mission creep is complicating prospects for the GOP, and could lead to deadlock.The...

By LISA SPEAR

Masseuse Nanci Newton of Hadley places a folded towel under Sue Monahan’s shoulder as she prepares her client for a massage.“Are you comfortable? ...Say uncle if you need to,” she says as she begins to work her hands across Monahan’s back. Newton uses...

By AMANDA DRANE

Ah, farts. Can’t live with ’em and can’t live without ’em. When I started this column nearly two years ago, I knew that at some point I would have to broach the issue of passing gas in yoga class. It’s an endless point of fascination for folks who...

By JOSHUA SOLOMON

GREENFIELD — In response to the one-day strike by nurses planned for Monday, Baystate Franklin Medical Center has decided to lock out nurses from the hospital starting Sunday evening and lasting until Wednesday evening, according to a letter sent by...

By ALAN FRAM and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans would cut Medicaid, end penalties for people not buying insurance and erase a raft of tax increases as part of their long-awaited plan to scuttle President Barack Obama’s health care law, congressional aides and...

By ALAN FRAM

WASHINGTON — The Republican effort to secretly craft a health care bill and whisk it through the Senate is drawing fire from members of both parties. But it’s not uncommon for either party to draft bills or resolve stubborn final hurdles behind closed...

As communities confront the opioid epidemic in their homes, on the streets and in treatment centers, a new program aims to widen the prevention effort to middle schools through a public-private partnership.Attorney General Maura Healey this month...

By LISA SPEAR

Doug Adler opens his mouth as wide as he can and out booms his voice, “Ahhhhhhhhhh,” smooth and low like an a cappella baritone.He is a slender man, 68, with perfect pitch, but he isn’t in a recital hall, he is a Parkinson’s patient strengthening his...

By JACK SUNTRUP

NORTHAMPTON — Despite recent news cycles not dominated by health care — think Russia, “covfefe” and climate change — the fate of the American health system remains very much an issue.On Sunday, about 60 activists held a “die-in” at Pulaski Park in...

By DUSTY CHRISTENSEN

AMHERST — Just before taking the stage before thousands at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s commencement Friday, health care was on U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s mind.With Republicans holding a firm grip on both houses of Congress and the...

By LISA SPEAR

When polio swept the nation in the early to mid 20th century, Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton had a ward full of cribs for sick babies. Some children spent weeks in the hospital, behind glass, not able to touch another human being, survivors...

By EMILY CUTTS

Many of the schools that didn’t take part in recent voluntary state tests for lead and copper in water say they already have programs in place to detect potential threats to student health.When they find a problem, district officials say they solve it...

By JACK SUNTRUP

The state has completed a first-round probe into lead and copper levels in school water sources, and found 21 out of 25 participating Hampshire County schools have high levels of lead in at least one fixture.The voluntary program, coordinated by the...

By LISA SPEAR

Aisha Russell is a blur of motion, her knees bent in a semi squat, her feet taking tiny, quick steps, as she darts from side to side. Arms raised in front of her, elbows bent, too, she makes circular motions with her hands as if she is washing a...

By EMILY CUTTS

NORTHAMPTON — Residents in the Northampton Housing Authority’s more than 600 apartments will soon have to go outside to smoke.The housing authority’s board had discussed a smoking ban in the past but no action was taken before the Department of...

By LISA SPEAR

Air Force veteran John Paradis’ snoring stutters like a chainsaw before he stops breathing.Paradis, 53, of Northampton gasps for air, choking back to consciousness after his airways collapse over and over again throughout the night. He is fighting to...

By Marlene Quinlan, LICSW

It’s that special time of year, and for many people who are managing to live their lives with a cancer diagnosis, the holidays may bring additional challenges. Yes, the season can be stressful, and, yes, cancer brings its own unique stressors.An...