Massachusetts
Cluster of Massachusetts nurses reportedly diagnosed with brain tumors
A cluster of nurses at Newton-Wellesley Hospital have reportedly been diagnosed with brain tumors, according to hospital officials who are assuring staff and patients that there’s “no environmental risk” at the facility.
But the Massachusetts Nurses Association says the hospital’s environmental testing was “not comprehensive,” as the union continues to investigate the situation.
The nurses diagnosed with brain tumors have worked in the maternal care labor/delivery unit on the hospital’s fifth floor.
As of earlier this week, 11 staff who worked at some point and for varying durations on the fifth floor had been interviewed by the Mass General Brigham Occupational Health Service.
Five cases were determined to be brain tumors of three different types — all of which were benign (non-cancerous). The only type of benign tumor that had more than one case was meningioma.
Six cases were determined to not be brain tumors, but rather other health concerns.
“Based on the results of the extensive and deliberate investigation… we want to reassure our dedicated team members and all of our patients that there is not an environmental risk at Newton-Wellesley Hospital,” Mass General Brigham wrote in its “Fifth Floor Work Environment FAQs” after a staff town hall about the situation.
“We take this very seriously; our top priority is providing high-quality care in a safe and healthy environment for our staff and patients,” Mass General Brigham added.
This situation at Newton-Wellesley Hospital was first reported by WBZ.
After hospital officials learned of the reported brain tumors, they conducted an investigation with the Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Newton-Wellesley Safety Officer, radiation and pharmaceutical safety offices, and external environmental consultants.
“Every staff member who came forward was given the opportunity to be interviewed by the Occupational Health and Safety team to evaluate each diagnosis in the context of their individual medical history and risk factors,” hospital officials said in a statement. “To evaluate for any possible environmental exposures in that area of the hospital, comprehensive environmental assessments following CDC guidelines began in December.
“The investigation found no environmental risks which could be linked to the development of a brain tumor,” the officials said, later adding, “Based on these results, we can confidently reassure our dedicated team members at Mass General Brigham/Newton-Wellesley Hospital and all our patients that there is no environmental risk at our facility. As always, the health and wellbeing of our staff, clinicians, and patients is our absolute top priority.”
Staff members have raised several concerns about this cluster of cases. The hospital addressed questions about whether brain tumor cases can be related to: wearing masks during the pandemic, the drinking water, use of x-rays, or the pharmacy on the floor below.
“There is no scientific evidence linking long-term mask use (including processing/re-wearing of masks) to the development of brain tumors,” reads the Fifth Floor Work Environment FAQs.
Water serving the hospital is tested regularly by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.
“Out of an abundance of caution, additional water samples from the tap and ice machines have been sent for additional testing by Triumvirate Environmental, an independent environmental testing firm,” reads the FAQs. “Those results should be available in the coming week.”
Hospital officials said they use appropriate x-ray safety techniques throughout the hospital.
“To make sure that there was not another, unknown, source of ionizing radiation on the Fifth Floor, radiation levels were surveyed across the Fifth Floor using Geiger counters,” the hospital wrote. “This did not find any abnormal/increased levels of ionizing radiation.”
The pharmacy located on the fourth floor processes chemotherapy medications.
“These are handled within an independently ventilated, closed system and with appropriate precautions and controls that have been validated as part of this investigation,” the hospital wrote. “The hoods used in the Fourth Floor pharmacy have been installed and tested to ensure that they are functioning properly and safely ventilating away from the building. This system was re-tested by Triumvirate Environmental, an independent environmental firm, as part of the investigation, and was found to be operating properly.”
The Massachusetts Nurses Association’s division of health and safety, consisting of occupational health nurses, is investigating the situation.
“We do not have a specific number (of nurses) we are releasing now because we are still verifying diagnoses via medical records. We do not have a specific cause as we are still investigating,” a spokesperson for the union said in a statement.
“We brought this to the hospital in December to urge an investigation by MGB,” the union spokesperson added. “We have been in communication with NWH nurses about this regularly and specifically with nurses who are self-reporting.”
The union spokesperson said the investigation is focused on the maternity unit, though they have reports from other areas as well.
“We are engaging with the hospital about their inquiry,” the union spokesperson said. “They only spoke to a small number of nurses and their environmental testing was not comprehensive. The hospital cannot make this issue go away by attempting to provide a predetermined conclusion.”
Originally Published:
Police shot and killed a man who officials say rushed officers with a knife during a call in Lexington, Massachusetts, on Saturday.
Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said the situation started around 1:40 p.m. when Lexington police received a 911 call from a resident of Mason Street reporting that his son had injured himself with a knife.
Officers from the Lexington Police Department and officers from the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC), who were already in town for Patriots’ Day events, responded to the call.
Police were able to escort two other residents out of the home, initially leaving a 26-year-old man inside. According to Ryan, while officers were setting up outside, the man ran out of the home and approached officers with a large kitchen knife.
She added that police tried twice to use non-lethal force, but it was not effective in stopping him. The man was shot by a Wilmington police officer who is a member of NEMLEC. The man was pronounced dead on scene and the officer who fired that shot was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.
The man’s name has not been released.
Ryan said typically in a call like this where someone was described as harming themselves, officers would first try to separate anyone else to keep them out of danger, which was done, and then standard practice would be to try to wait outside.
“It would be their practice to just wait for the person to come out. In the terrible circumstances of today, he suddenly rushed the officers, still clutching the knife,” Ryan said.
The investigation is still in the preliminary stages and more information is expected in time. Ryan said her office will request a formal inquest from the court to review whether any criminal conduct has occurred, which is the standard process.
This happened around the same time as the annual Patriots’ Day Parade, and just hours after a reenactment of the Battle of Lexington, which drew large crowds to town.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Massachusetts
‘An impossible choice’: With little federal help to combat rising costs, Head Start looks to Massachusetts for more help – The Boston Globe
In Massachusetts, roughly 1,300 slots for children across Head Start’s 28 agencies have been eliminated in the last three years because federal funding has plateaued over that time, while the cost of running the program continues to rise, according to the Massachusetts Head Start Association. Nationally, Head Start enrollment dropped from 1.1 million kids in 2013 to around 785,000 in 2022, according to research by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
“If they didn’t get into a Head Start program, they would be sitting at home,” said Brittany Acosta, a Head Start parent in Dorchester.
It’s teachers are drastically underpaid, and there’s a serious need for a rainy day-type fund should the federal government shut down again, the association says. As they’ve done in years past, state lawmakers have offered to provide financial relief, but the Massachusetts Head Start Association’s request for 3 percent above the amount it received last year, an additional $4.6 million to help its staff keep up with the state’s rising cost of living, so far has not been allocated.
Last year, President Trump’s leaked budget proposal revealed he considered eliminating Head Start entirely. Then, in the summer, he cut off Head Start enrollment for immigrants without legal status. And during the fall’s government shutdown, four Head Start centers in Massachusetts closed because they couldn’t access their funding.
Trump’s latest budget proposal shows a fourth year without increasing funding for the program, which was established in the mid-1960s.
Michelle Haimowitz, executive director of the Massachusetts Head Start Association, said the program doesn’t want to eliminate more child slots than it already has, but paying teachers a competitive salary is equally important in order to keep them from leaving for higher paying jobs. Head Start teachers make under $50,000 annually compared to over $85,000 for the average Massachusetts kindergarten teacher.
“It’s an impossible choice,” Haimowitz said. “When we reduce the size of our programs, we’re not reducing the size of the need.”
Massachusetts is one of few states that supplements federal funding for Head Start, and last year it increased the program’s state grant from $5 million to $20 million, adding to the $189 million in federal aid it receives in this state.
“We can’t run a program without giving staff a raise for three years,” Haimowitz said. “Our next fight now is not just for survival, but it’s for thriving and growth.”
The Massachusetts House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday released its budget, which doesn’t grant Head Start’s request of a 3 percent boost. But state Representative Christopher Worrell filed an amendment for additional funding. Worrell, whose district covers parts of Dorchester and Roxbury, said he loves Head Start’s embrace of culture, recalling one visit to a center where he could smell staff cooking stew chicken, a traditional Caribbean dish.
“I’ve been to dozens of schools throughout the district, and you don’t get that home-cooked meal,” Worrell said. “[The state is] stepping up and doing the best we can with what we have.”
At the Action for Boston Community Development’s Head Start and Early Head Start center in Dorchester, the children of Classroom 7 arrived one Monday morning and dove into bins of magnetic tiles before their teachers, Paola Polanco and Leolina Rasundar Chinnappa, served breakfast. Acosta dropped off her 4-year-old daughter, Violeta, before reporting to her teaching position at the center, where several other Head Start parents also work.
“It’s important for all Head Start parents to have the opportunity to give their child an experience in a learning environment before they actually start kindergarten,” Acosta said.
Beyond providing early education and care to children of low-income families, from birth to age 5, the program helps them access other resources, including mental health services, SNAP benefits, homelessness assistance, and employment opportunities.
It also serves as daycare for parents who might not be able to afford it, while they’re at work.
Research has shown the importance of preschool in a child’s development with one 2023 study, focused on Boston public preschools, finding that it improves student behavior and increases the likelihood of high school graduation and college enrollment.
For Rickencia Clerveaux and Christopher Mclean, the Dorchester Head Start center is the only place they feel comfortable sending their 3-year-old son, Shontz, who is on the autism spectrum. Shontz’s stimming — repetitive movements that stimulate the senses — has reduced, and his speech has improved since he joined the center in 2024, Clerveaux said.
His parents say he’s also come out of his shell. Mclean now drops his son off and gets a simple “bye” as Shontz joins his classmates, he said.
He and Clerveaux said they appreciate the specialized attention Shontz can receive from teachers, such as when staff identified that Shontz might have hearing issues. His parents were able to follow up with their doctor and get Shontz to have surgery to improve his hearing.
“It’s a safe net for parents,” Clerveaux said. “There’s so many ways that him being here helps him grow better.”
Without Head Start, Clerveaux said a lot of pressure would be put on parents to find care for their children, “knowing that they’re already struggling or not getting the ends to meet.”
“That’s a burden for everybody in the community,” she said. “If there’s no funding, there’s no daycare and parents cannot work.”
Lauren Albano can be reached at lauren.albano@globe.com. Follow her on X @LaurenAlbano_.
Enter your email and we’ll send a secure one-click link to sign in.
WPRI.com is provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.
Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.
WPRI.com is provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is a leading, diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports, and entertainment content across its television and digital platforms. The My Nexstar sign-in works across the Nexstar network—including The CW, NewsNation, The Hill, and more. Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.
-
New Jersey4 minutes agoThe Maple House Is Planning To Open In Two Locations In New Jersey This Year
-
New Mexico10 minutes agoASU baseball to host New Mexico State, Baylor
-
North Carolina16 minutes agoThree Underrated UNC Football Seniors To Watch in 2026
-
North Dakota22 minutes agoFinley, North Dakota without water after watermain leak.
-
Ohio28 minutes agoBonnie Sue Reed-Tilton-Hetzel, East Liverpool, Ohio
-
Oklahoma34 minutes agoIowa State wrestling adds Brayden Thompson from transfer portal
-
Oregon40 minutes agoOregon Ducks Recruiting Target Darius Johnson Announces Finalists
-
Pennsylvania46 minutes agoPennsylvania utilities appreciate market signals — but not market prices