Affordable Care Act eases health care costs for families with children, study finds
On November 10, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on a case challenging the Affordable Care Act. With the ACA’s future in question, a study from Boston Children’s Hospital provides a reminder that the law has substantially reduced health care expenses for many families with children — particularly low- and middle-income families. Key takeaway ... Read More
Provider Spotlight: Meet Carla Coutinho
Before joining the clinical team at Boston Children’s Primary Care at Martha Eliot, Carla Reis Coutinho was a pediatric nurse in Lowell, Massachusetts. Earlier in her career, she provided educational and career counseling for students who speak English as a second language. What’s your job at Boston Children’s Primary Care at Martha Eliot? As a ... Read More
How Boston Children’s is supporting childcare during COVID-19
If you’re a parent who relies on childcare, you may be struggling with closures during COVID-19. You also may have questions about the reopening and the safety of the childcare classroom. For people who live in communities of color, which are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, the challenges associated with childcare are magnified. That’s why Boston ... Read More
The impact of COVID-19 on communities of color
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, it has become increasingly clear that some racial and ethnic groups have high rates of infection and death from the virus. Recent national data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that Black Americans are five times more likely than white Americans to get COVID-19, and Latino Americans ... Read More
Provider Spotlight: Meet Dr. Grant Hogue
Dr. Grant Hogue completed his fellowship in orthopedic surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2015. He spent the next five years at the University of Texas in San Antonio as division chief of pediatric orthopedics. Soon after he relocated to Massachusetts to join the Boston Children’s Hospital Spine Division, Governor Charlie Baker issued a stay-at-home ... Read More
A letter from our leadership
Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed a series of deeply troubling incidents of racism, hatred, and violence that have created an environment of hostility and fear. Our country, our communities, and our children are hurting. The pain of this moment is a call to all of us to stand up and to speak ... Read More
Cancer and COVID-19: Ethics guidelines for resource allocation
Main findings: Hospitals should create guidelines in advance to ensure cancer patients are fairly represented in possible resource allocation decisions — in COVID-19 and other emergencies.A cancer diagnosis should be considered as any other underlying health condition.Decisions about distributing limited resources should not be made by a patient’s physician. As the COVID-19 pandemic began surging ... Read More
Taking care of our community during COVID-19 and beyond
Although COVID-19 has affected the health of most children less acutely than adults, many young people who live in the communities surrounding Boston Children’s Hospital are experiencing the virus’s impact in other troubling ways as their families struggle with food insecurity and are having trouble meeting many other basic needs. “Right now, there’s been a ... Read More
The polio outbreak of 1955: Lessons from an epidemic
“This is going to be a tough year.” Claire McCarthy was a young physical therapist in early March 1955 when orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Grice, made this observation. At the time, Boston Children’s Hospital was the receiving center for adults and children with polio in New England. The hospital typically saw an upsurge in cases ... Read More
Biocontainment Unit supports nurses on the frontlines of infection control
When cases of COVID-19 began to mount this winter, Boston Children’s Hospital was ready to spring into action — in fact, the hospital has been preparing for such a pandemic for six years. In collaboration with Boston Children’s Chief of Medical Critical Care, Michael Agus, MD; Hospital Epidemiologist and Medical Director of Infection Prevention and ... Read More