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PREVENTION & MEDICAL CARE TO HELP YOU LIVE BETTER, LONGER.

Valley Medical Group Patient News

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May 26, 2021

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Information for Patients, Families and Visitors  

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Masks/face coverings will continue to be required for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals at all times at Valley Medical Group effective May 29,th in accordance with the order by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

April 1st, 2021

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Dear Valley Medical Group Patients and Families,

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I hope this communication finds you well. As vaccinations continue to be rolled out across Massachusetts and the country, we need to keep a few contradictory ideas in mind. The vaccination process is going great; it has not been smooth and has been far too complex, but 70% of older Americans have had at least 1 dose of a COVID vaccine and by the second week of April, all adults in Massachusetts will be eligible. At the same time, cases are climbing, including in our communities. This is due in part to new variants but also relaxed behaviors around masking and distancing. While many high risk people are vaccinated, many are not. Things will be better by summer; until then, it is up to us to get vaccinated as we are able and stay masked and distant to prevent a spike in illnesses and death in the next 8 weeks.

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Valley Medical Group is still not receiving doses of vaccines from the State. For those of you awaiting a second dose of vaccine at VMG, I am sorry if your appointment has been cancelled or delayed; we do still hope to be able to complete your series. As supplies increase in the coming weeks, we hope primary care practices like ours will be included so we may begin to offer vaccines again in our health centers. Please continue to use vaxfinder.mass.gov to search for shots at mass vaccination sites, pharmacies, hospitals, and sites run by Boards of Health. You may also use vaccinesignup.mass.gov to pre-register at mass vaccine sites and be notified when a dose is available to schedule your appointment. If you are not on the web, call 211. If you are homebound, call 1-833-983-0485 to schedule a vaccine in your home.

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In our Health Centers, we are working to increase in person appointments every week to meet your needs. It has been over a year since many of you have been inside our buildings and we have made changes to our processes and spaces for your safety. I would encourage you to schedule any care you have put off in the last year, since heart disease, cancer, and depression have not been idle during the pandemic. We will continue to provide telehealth visits even as the pandemic winds down when appropriate at your preference.

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Be well,

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Paul D. Carlan, MD

President, Valley Medical Group

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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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patient centered care at VMG​

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OUR STAFF TAKES PRIDE IN SERVING ADULTS, ADOLESCENTS, AND

CHILDREN IN A COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL MANNER.