A new music therapy-based tool called MuSICCA may transform how healthcare teams assess consciousness in children with severe brain injuries. Developed to address the lack of reliable diagnostic methods for children aged 2 to 18, MuSICCA uses tailored live music performed by a therapist to evoke and record patient responses.
The Trump administration's approach to mental and behavioral health has so far featured federal funding cuts and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s deeply controversial approach to autism, but past remarks by the president and Kennedy suggest that more disruption is likely on the horizon.
Researchers have developed a 3D-printable electrode that looks like a single strand of human hair and measures brain activity more reliably than the current method used to diagnose things like epilepsy and sleep disorders.
Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton is being renamed Boston Medical Center - South (BMC South) and St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton will become Boston Medical Center - Brighton (BMC Brighton). Boston Medical Center Health System assumed operations of both hospitals last October after St. Elizabeth's was seized by the state of Massachusetts using eminent domain. Both hospitals were owned by Steward Health Care, which filed for bankruptcy in May 2024.
OHSU and Legacy Health have mutually agreed to walk away from a deal that would have combined the two health systems. Last August, OHSU agreed to acquire Legacy's eight hospitals and $3 billion in assets, with a promise to spend $1 billion on upgrades to Legacy's facilities. "After careful consideration of the evolving operating environment, the organizations have determined that the best way to meet the needs of the communities they serve is to move forward as individual organizations," an OHSU spokesperson wrote in an email. The statement does not detail why the acquisition was called off. Leaders at Legacy and OHSU declined a request for an interview about the decision.