Announcements

April 20, 2020

Help Accelerate Research During COVID-19

The Alzheimer’s Prevention Trials (APT) Webstudy engages people in their own homes, on their computers, and uses technology to identify those potentially at risk for Alzheimer’s. Anyone aged 50 or over can participate in the APT Webstudy. Monitor the health of your brain online and learn if a research trial is right for you by visiting: www.aptwebstudy.org

 

 

Attachment: 
PDF icon APT Webstudy Flyer.pdf

April 17, 2020

MGH Chelsea Opens Respiratory Illness Clinic

The MGH Chelsea Health Center has now opened a new Respiratory Illness Clinic (RIC) to evaluate patients with respiratory symptoms and determine whether they can be treated safely in the outpatient setting. The RIC is designed to serve patients who are seen at MGH health centers in Chelsea, Revere, Charlestown and Everett, however, it is open to all – MGH patients or not – and regardless of their health insurance status and their immigration status. Make an appointment through your MGH doctor or call 617-724-7000.

The Chelsea clinic marks the third RIC that is seeing, screening and testing patients as part of our COVID-19 response. RIC patients are those who have acute respiratory symptoms along with risk factors for severe illness. An evaluation at the RIC will determine whether a patient can be managed at home or requires ED care or inpatient admission. Testing for COVID-19 is available, but only for those who meet the current testing criteria. Patients who test positive will receive further guidance on home supportive care and protecting their loved ones from exposure. They will also receive follow-up calls from clinical staff at designated intervals. In Chelsea, medical interpreters are available for multiple languages. RIC visits are by appointment and walk-in. The clinic is open from 8 am to 8 pm, 7 days a week. Please note, the RIC is located in the Chelsea Health Center (151 Everett Ave, Chelsea, MA 02150), and the recently assembled tent in the parking lot will be used for initial patient screenings in the future.

April 16, 2020

COVID-19 Screening and Education Site in Hyde Park

In an effort to better serve the Boston-area communities disproportionally affected by the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Brigham Health is working to expand access to those communities most in need of testing. Starting April 16th, we will offer COVID-19 testing for residents of Hyde Park who are experiencing symptoms or who have been in contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19. We are working to expand testing and education sites to additional communities. More information will be shared soon.

Here are the details about the Hyde Park location:
- The temporary testing site will open April 16.
- Location: Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital community physicians practice location, 1337 Hyde Park Ave., Hyde Park
- COVID-19 testing will be available for Hyde Park residents every day, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., on a first-come, first-serve basis. No appointment is necessary.
- Residents do not need to be Brigham patients, do not need health insurance and will not be asked about their immigration status.
- In addition to testing, educational resources will be available at the site related to food, housing and safety.

April 15, 2020

COVID-19 Healthcare Disparities Information

Across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities, particularly African Americans.

African Americans comprise approximately 13% of the population in the United States but according to the hospital data from the first month of the U.S. epidemic released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (*attached below), nearly 33% of African Americans were hospitalized. In addition, 90% of all the patients (including African Americans) admitted to the hospital had an underlying health condition. The most common conditions were hypertension, obesity, chronic lung disease, and diabetes mellitus. Unfortunately, African Americans are more likely to develop these chronic conditions which can impair their immune system leading to further complications from viruses such as COVID-19. https://bit.ly/2K3qePB

Less access to healthcare, unemployment, lack of affordable and healthy food in their neighborhoods are some of the reasons that lead to detrimental health outcomes for many African Americans. COVID-19 is not novel in highlighting the enormous amount of health disparities in the United States amongst African Americans, this is the same story for diseases such as Alzheimer's.

To help address the disparities in the Greater Boston area, Partners Community Health has launched a new COVID-19 Strategy with four main goals:

-Expanding testing to better identify COVID-19 positive individuals in these communities
-Mitigating the spread of COVID-19 with door-to-door distribution of multilingual information and “care kits” with masks and other key items
-Identifying housing and support mechanisms for those individuals who are COVID-19 positive but cannot safely isolate at home without the risk of spread
-Creating routine channels of communication with community members, using care managers and community health workers, to focus on COVID-19 positive individuals and those at-risk to assess ability to isolate, symptoms and the need for additional service

The Partners COVID-19 Hotline can be reached at 617-724-7000. Links to additional resources are located below: https://www.boston.gov/departments/food-access/map-meal-sites-boston
https://www.boston.gov/news/covid-19-resource-guide-bostons-immigrants
https://www.boston.gov/news/coronavirus-disease-covid-19-boston

For information on how the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center is addressing healthcare disparities in research participation, contact: oburke@bwh.harvard.edu.

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