Welcome to Valley Medical Group

Valley Medical Group Patient News

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December 14th, 2021

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Information for Patients, Families and Visitors  

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Valley Medical Group is not providing COVID-19 vaccines at this time.  Please visit: https://vaxfinder.mass.gov/ to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine.

 

If you need COVID-19 testing for travel please visit: https://www.mass.gov/covid-19-testing

 

​Masks/face coverings continue to be required for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals at all times at Valley Medical Group in accordance with the order by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

 

 

 

September 30th, 2021

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Dear VMG Patients,

 

I hope this message finds you and your loved ones well though I suspect some of you are ill with COVID or quarantining due to an exposure. We are seeing rates in our communities spike to unprecedented levels, driven by the infectious Omicron variant, and vaccination and booster rates which are lower than the state average.

 

Our offices and all services remain open. We have switched to telehealth for many visits and are recommending telehealth for wellness and medical management visits for those over 65 or with chronic health conditions which increase risk of severe COVID. We suggest you contact us by portal if your upcoming visit is not marked virtual and you wish to be seen by telehealth.

 

Please contact us if you have a non-life threatening problem before going to the Emergency Room. ERs are swamped with COVID patients, as well as those with other physical and mental illnesses, and are struggling with staffing shortages. We will do our best to help you to be evaluated and avoid the long waits and high risks of catching COVID in local ERs.

 

Due to unprecedented call times and staffing difficulties, wait times on our phones are lengthy. I am very sorry for this. We will do our best to answer your calls but suggest instead you message us through the portal.

 

If you have tested positive for COVID and are asymptomatic or mildly ill, or have been exposed to COVID, we recommend you follow guidance from the CDC. You do not need to notify us. We are not able to provide return to work advice or notes at this time.  If you are over 65 or high risk for severe disease and have tested positive, or are very weak, experiencing shortness of breath, or chest pain, please notify us by phone or portal, or seek emergency care if you fear your symptoms are severe. We are offering limited COVID testing at our health centers for those who are sick or have been exposed to COVID, but testing can also be done at home or in the community.

 

We have entered a new phase in the pandemic. COVID is present in large volumes in our communities. We cannot count on avoiding those with infection to stay safe. The most important things we can do to protect ourselves and each other is to get boosted, wear masks, and distance. There is hope that the Omicron surge will burn hot but pass quickly, leaving us with much more immunity than we had before. I hope your immunity comes in the form of a booster and wish those who are sick a speedy recovery.

 

Stay safe and be well,

 

Paul D. Carlan, MD

President and Chief Executive Officer

Valley Medical Group |Greenfield Health Center |329 Conway Street Greenfield, MA 01301 | (413) 774-6301 Ext. 3305 (clinical)/1329 (admin)

(he/him)

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VMG Working to be an Anti Racist Practice

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In honor of Black Maternal Health Week (April 11-17th), we want to raise awareness of the Kaiser Family Foundation's report on Racial Disparities in Women's Maternal Health. VMG stands firmly in the belief that "It Takes A Village" to raise a child, to raise awareness, and to undo racism! Therefore, we are sharing resources so our whole community can become more knowledgeable on this topic, starting with the Black Mamas Matter Toolkit!

 

Where better to begin than in utero to assert the birthright of our children, mothers, and all humans to live in a world free from racism. This past year, COVID highlighted the racial differences in access to healthcare and the prevalence of illnesses that co-exist among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Now, let us take the recent CDC statement committing to address racism as a serious threat to public health as a collective call to action to encourage systemic interventions to address the factors that impact the health and wellbeing of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. These include stress, food insecurity, police brutality, inequities in the legal system, poverty, employment discrimination, environmental hazards, educational inequities, etc.

 

We hope this holistic, race conscious approach to health will redirect resources to racially marginalized groups and support funding for research on the long term impacts of racism and intergenerational trauma on mental and physical wellbeing. Valley Medical Group, for its part, has committed to a Climate Survey and Interrupting Racism trainings for our whole staff to root racism out of public health and provide culturally sensitive and proactive, racially responsive care to all our patients.  

 

For further resources, please check out: 

Nine Organizations Working to Save Black Mothers

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