• New Vascular Center opens at MassGeneral West
  The MGH Vascular Center recently opened a second location at MassGeneral West in Waltham, offering specialized, state-of-the-art services at a convenient location for residents west of Boston.

• Universal protocol: No room for mistakes
  An important component of fostering a culture of patient safety in a health care setting is having all health care providers adopt common procedures and safeguards to decrease the risk of harm to patients. This is the goal of the universal protocol that was implemented nationwide in 2004 to help prevent medical injuries and deaths caused by wrong-site, wrong-procedure or wrong-identity of a patient during surgery or other invasive procedures.

• Training milestone for safety reporting system
  The new web-based safety reporting system reached an important milestone last week. More than 2,000 MGH employees have attended the training sessions to learn how to use the new system, which should dramatically improve the way employees can report any safety concerns, incidents or "near misses." By replacing the paper incident reports, the new system makes safety reporting easier, allows faster follow-up on reports and provides an opportunity to make quicker improvements.

• In memoriam: Michael T. Ty, MD
  Michael T. Ty, MD, 28, a resident in the Partners Neurology Training Program died April 3 in a tragic construction accident on Boylston Street, Boston. He was one of three men who died when scaffolding fell from a 14-story building.

• Pediatric residents rally on Beacon Hill
  More than 30 pediatric residents from hospitals across Massachusetts — including MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHC) — gathered March 28 at the State House to support a variety of legislative measures that promote the health and well-being of children. The residents met with a number of legislators and leading children's advocates — including Massachusetts Senate Majority Leader Frederick Berry and Margaret Blood, president of Strategies for Children — to discuss the agenda's key issues of car safety, obesity prevention and early childhood education.

• Risk for misuse of ADHD medications
  A major concern regarding the use of stimulant medications to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in young people has been the risk that drugs will be misused or diverted to those for whom they have not been prescribed. A new study from MGH researchers finds that while the great majority of those with ADHD use their medications appropriately, a small percentage is likely to abuse or to sell prescribed stimulants.

• Health Information Privacy and Security Week
  As part of National Health Information Privacy and Security Week, the MGH Privacy Office, MGH Information Security and MGH Police and Security will host information tables from April 10 through 14 to educate MGH employees, staff, volunteers, patients and visitors about the hospital's policies and procedures to protect private health information. The tables will be located in the Main Corridor April 10 and 14, from 7 to 10 am and April 12 and 13, from 11 am to 2 pm.

• Health fair for kids

• What's Happening

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