News

Academic medical centers are obligated to train medical professionals about the health needs of inmates and ways to provide them with quality care, a UMass Medical School correctional health expert told the AAMC Reporter, a publication of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
Joyce A. Murphy, MPA, executive vice chancellor of UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division, joined NAMI Massachusetts Medical Director Ken Duckworth, MD, on WBZ Nightside with Dan Rea July 29 to discuss the stigma of mental illness in the workplace and how it can be eliminated.
Autism research at UMass Medical School’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center aims to reduce barriers to diagnosis and both understand and meet the unique needs of this population, according to a July 26 article in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
UMass Medical School researchers have developed a computer-based battery of neurobehavioral tests designed to conduct informative evaluations of the cognitive capabilities of both children and adults, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Educating employers about hiring people with disabilities and training staff at state career centers to better serve this population is the goal of a partnership between UMass Medical School’s Work Without Limits program and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Joyce A. Murphy, MPA, executive vice chancellor of UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division, is co-chair of the Massachusetts Health Council’s Annual Award Gala Nov. 3 at the Sheraton Boston Hotel in Boston
In 1990, disability rights activists crawled up the steps of the U.S. Capitol to highlight the inaccessibility of the building to those with disabilities. This act of civil disobedience by Linda Long-Bellil and many other activists provided the impetus needed for Congress to pass stalled legislation aimed at prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities – the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Employers have not been as comfortable addressing mental illnesses in the workplace as physical illnesses, Joyce A. Murphy, MPA, executive vice chancellor of UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division, told the Worcester Business Journal. She believes the NAMI pledge will lead to change.
UMass Medical School researchers recommend physicians and clinicians look into the mealtimes of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) after their study found that this population of children has high food selectivity and more mealtime behavior problems, and their parents experience higher levels of stress during mealtimes. The study was featured in an Autism Speaks Science News article July 7.
Adults of all ages with intellectual or developmental disabilities have the same risk of falling as people in the general population over age 65, but most programs to prevent falls have been designed for the elderly. UMass Medical School’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center is studying whether a new program that uses customized care plans can reduce falls among people with disabilities.
UMass Medical School is working with MassHealth to ensure that its members who struggle with drug and alcohol addiction receive treatment when it is needed.
Joyce A. Murphy, MPA, executive vice chancellor of UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division, is one of the first 25 CEOS in Massachusetts to sign a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) pledge to end the stigma of mental illness in the workplace.
Melody Rush, a lab technician in UMass Medical School’s New England Newborn Screening Program, was honored as an Unsung Heroine in a packed Statehouse ceremony June 17 for braving a blizzard to pick up a newborn baby’s blood sample and helping save her life.
Amy K. Weinstock, founding director of UMass Medical School’s Autism Insurance Resource Center, has been honored for outstanding service in the disability field by Northeast Arc.
Reforms in Massachusetts have shown that health care access and usage improve when inmates are enrolled in Medicaid before release, a UMass Medical School correctional health expert told Stateline, a newspaper of The PEW Charitable Trusts.