News Briefs

BLOOD DONATIONS NEEDED

The American Red Cross has extended its urgent call for donors of all blood types to give blood or platelets. With influenza escalating across the country and preventing some donors from giving, and winter weather threatening to cancel blood drives, the Red Cross now has a critical shortage of type O blood and urgently needs donors to restock the shelves.  

Currently, the Red Cross has less than a three-day supply of type O blood available for patient emergencies and medical treatments. Type O positive blood is the most transfused blood type and can be given to Rh-positive patients of any blood type. While just 7 percent of the U.S. population has type O negative blood, it can be transfused to patients with any blood type and is what hospital staff reach for during emergencies when there isn’t time to determine a patient’s blood type. 

Every day, the Red Cross must collect nearly 13,000 blood donations and more than 2,600 platelet donations for patients who rely on blood to survive. Shortfalls in donations can cause delays in essential medical care for patients like 12-year-old Dagan Hawkins. 

Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in November, Dagan has required platelet and blood transfusions during his cancer treatments. “There was a time when they needed to have blood products delivered from another hospital because they were unavailable there,” said Dustin Hawkins, Dagan’s father.

Donors of all blood types – especially types O positive and O negative – are urged to make an appointment to give blood or platelets now using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.

McGrath Named to Dean’s List at Dean College

Dean College is pleased to announce that Alyssa McGrath of Revere has earned a place on the Dean’s List for the Fall 2019 semester.

Founded in 1865, Dean College is a private, residential college located in Franklin Massachusetts, 45 minutes from Boston, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island. Dean College offers baccalaureate degrees, associate degree programs, as well as a robust schedule of part-time continuing and professional education credit and certificate programs throughout the calendar year.

Local residents named to Dean’s List

Becker College recognized the following local residents who were named to the dean’s list for the fall 2019 semester. The Dean’s List recognizes all full-time students (24 or more credit hours earned for the academic year; 12 minimum each semester – September through May) whose term grade point average is 3.50 or higher with no grade below a B- and no incomplete (I) or withdrawal/failing (WF) grades.

Monique Cohen, of Revere is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Veterinary Science, Pre-Veterinary Concentration.

Emma Nayiga, of Revere is pursuing a Associate of Science degree in Nursing.

Becker College is an undergraduate and graduate, career-focused private college, providing a supportive and inclusive learning community that prepares graduates for their first to last careers. Nearly 1,700 students from the United States and around the world live and learn on the College’s Worcester and Leicester campuses. With nationally recognized programs in nursing, game design and animal studies, Becker has been consistently ranked as a “Best College” for undergraduate education by The Princeton Review.

Alsubaie Named to Lasell University Dean’s List

Faisal Alsubaie of Revere was named to the fall 2019 Dean’s List at Lasell University in Newton, Massachusetts.

To be named to the Dean’s List, they needed to complete at least 12 credits as a full-time student and achieve a semester GPA of 3.5 or higher.

House Passes Legislation to Help Protect Persons with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities 

On Wednesday House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo along with his colleagues in the House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation to create a registry of care providers who harmed a person or persons with an intellectual or developmental disability. The bill seeks to prevent those providers from being hired for programs funded or operated by the Department of Developmental Services (DDS).

The legislation, An Act to Protect Persons with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities from Abuse, creates a registry of care providers against whom the Disabled Persons Protection Commission (DCCP) has made a final decision regarding “substantiated findings” of acts resulting in serious physical or emotional injury of a person with an intellectual or developmental disability.

“I’m proud that the House to action today to further ensure the safety and wellbeing of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities,” said Speaker DeLeo, (D – Winthrop). “Thank Chair Michlewitz and Chair Khan for their important work on this issue. This legislation will save lives.”

“I am proud to join my colleagues in the House in voting to pass Nicky’s Law, which will protect our most vulnerable residents with developmental disabilities against abuse from caretakers,” said Rep. RoseLee Vincent (D-Revere).  â€œThank you to Chairwoman Khan and Chairwoman Dean-Campbell for ushering this important piece of legislation through the House under the leadership of Speaker DeLeo.  Many lives will be improved, and many families will have peace of mind because of Nicky’s Law.”

The bill requires care provider employers to check the registry prior to hiring or retaining any person as a care provider and prevents employers from hiring or retaining any provider who appears on the registry.  Those employers include those with DDS licenses for day services, those that have contracts with DDS, and those receiving funding from DDS.  Under the bill, DCCP imposes monetary fines or other penalties on any employer that fails to comply. The legislation also includes due process protections for care providers.

 The legislation builds on ongoing increased support for those departments serving adults and children with intellectual or developmental disabilities. From 2012 to 2020, DPPC funding has increased by 93 percent.

 â€œIt was an honor to work with Speaker DeLeo, Chair Campbell, Vice Chair Cutler, dedicated families, advocates and other stakeholders to address the abuse of individuals with disabilities,” said Rep. Kay Khan (D-Newton), Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities. “The creation of the registry will provide future protections for our most vulnerable individuals. It is deserving that Nicky’s Law is one of the lead pieces of legislation being addressed in 2020.”

 The bill will now go to the Senate.