Media links
The delivery systems and the topics have varied over the years but as a reporter, a health care communicator or a commentator on current events the message remains the same: presenting facts in a clear, concise way to share important information or stimulate thought and action.
Read pieces “I Wrote It” and “I Placed It” below.
I wrote it
Blog posts
Beacon Hill dawdling comes with consequences (November 2023)
The Massachusetts Legislature has closed up formal business for the year, starting their holiday season early. That’s cold comfort, literally, for thousands of people who face the prospect of spending those holidays in cramped hotel rooms if they’re lucky, or on the streets if they’re not.
Sad state of affairs on Beacon Hill (May 2023)
It’s not as bad as Tennessee or Montana, where Republican supermajorities have tried to expel or silence Democratic dissenters. Or Oregon, where Republicans simply walk out to prevent the Democratic majority from conducting business.
On Beacon Hill, it’s last-minute business as usual (July 2022)
As the Massachusetts Legislature slogs to the finish line, having once again ceded its super Democratic majority, this time to a lame duck governor, it’s fair to ask how does this keep happening.
What are they hiding on Beacon Hill? (February 2022)
Ongoing renovations to the Massachusetts State House have put the facade of the building behind an artfully designed scrim, a curtain made to look like architect Charles Bulfinch’s creation. That imagery is also an accurate representation of how our state government conducts business.
POV: Trump May Have Lost the Election, but a Real, Slow-Motion Coup Is Underway (November 2020)
Headlines now speak of the impending failure of an attempted coup by Donald Trump and his fellow travelers. Pundits proclaim democracy has prevailed and things can now return to normal. That’s true. But sadly, not in the way that you might think.
POV: Presidential Debates: What Are They Good For? Absolutely Nothing (October 2020)
After last week’s 90-minute tweet storm, er, presidential debate, it’s time to ask an obvious question. What purpose do they serve?
McLean Hospital Discovery Magazine
By JERRY BERGER | November 2019
The PTSD issue. An update on the breakthroughs that McLean’s researchers are making in identifying the roots of PTSD.
Quantity does not equal quality (February 2016)
Performance measures are the sine qua non of the patient quality movement, as they rightly should be. But something has gone wrong along the way: there are now as many measurements and ratings groups as there are bones in the human body. How to determine the best and most realistic standards has become an impossible task. And even more so for patients looking for a good fit with a clinician.
Everyone complains about the high cost of healthcare. But what is actually being done about it?
Can't we all just get along? (February 2016)
Be careful of those flying fingers of blame. And by all means choose wisely if you need medical attention after getting poked in the eye.
A crisis caused by communications (February 2016)
Although he vehemently denies a central role in the ugly power struggle taking place at Boston's Suffolk University, the smart money around town suggests PR executive George Regan is at the heart of the crisis playing out at the school.
Paging Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard (February 2016)
There's a scene in a movie where a reporter quits his job, flings his pager across the street in satisfaction, watching as it shatters into a thousand pieces. Until it goes off, with a request from a higher authority.
The media must Zika the truth, not hype (January 2016)
AIDS. SARS. MERS. Ebola. The media is now learning about another virus that is creating chills and headaches. Any scary headlines.
Physician(s): heal thyself (January 2016)
The latest report from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission should come as no surprise to anyone who has an interest in the state's effort at health care cost control.
Winning the branding wars (January 2016)
Is it a war on cancer? Or a moonshot? President Obama used his final State of the Union address to promote a "moonshot" effort at curing cancer, a job he entrusted to Vice President Joe Biden, whose son lost a very public battle with brain cancer last year.
Legislature should take the initiative (January 2016)
As we enter Election Year 2016, all eyes are on the presidential contenders bashing each other with increasingly shrill rhetoric. But there's one potential Massachusetts ballot question flying well below the radar, with the potential to shake up the health care marketplace.
Prescription for higher costs? (January 2016)
Merger mania continues to be the rage in the biotech industry, raising interesting questions for those concerned about the escalating cost of pharmaceuticals and biologics.
Your results may vary (January 2016)
You can have too much sunshine or too many vitamins. Right? A new study suggests that is far from the case.
Different strokes (January 2016)
Anyone looking for additional evidence in the different philosophies of Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and his predecessor, Deval Patrick, need look no farther than the new digital health initiative.
62nd time is the charm (January 2016)
I'm leery about making overtly political posts in this forum, but it's hard to let House Speaker Paul Ryan's comments pass after Congress finally succeeded (sorta) in its endless quest to take down the Affordable Care Act.
Fly in the ointment (January 2016)
There's been a lot of talk, and a few proposals, to deal with the soaring cost of pharmaceuticals, starting with the idea of allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription prices.
"Don't get sick" (January 2016)
A new survey finds that health insurance doesn't necessarily result in financial stability. The Kaiser Family Foundation/New York Times survey found insurers are raising deductibles, a move that has offset what had been a slower growth in health care costs.
Zero tolerance (December 2015)
ProPublica offers a distressing look at the state of patient privacy protections. Most health care providers are diligent in their effort to maintain HIPAA standards, even while it's clear mistakes can and do happen.
Failure to communicate (December 2015)
Electronic health records are touted as a major tool in the ability of clinicians to provide better care for their patients.
Improving the patient experience. Ethically. (December 2015)
Hats off to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for their efforts to improve the experience for patients and families at a new surgery center.
Eliminating preventable (media) harm
There's a lot of good work taking place these days in trying to eliminate physical and emotional harm to patients and families.
News Stories
Vanessa Redgrave defends right to work
By JERRY BERGER | April 13, 1982
BOSTON — Saying her goal is to prevent a return to the blacklisting policies of the 1950s, actress Vanessa Redgrave, outspoken in her defense of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Tuesday defended her right to work no matter what her political beliefs might be.
Murdoch deal saves Boston newspaper
By JERRY BERGER | Dec. 3, 1982
BOSTON — Jubilant employees shouted 'we're alive' and began preparing today's editions of the Boston Herald American following an 11th hour agreement that allowed publisher Rupert Murdoch rescue the ailing tabloid.
'A lot of people have mixed feelings'
By JERRY BERGER | Jan. 26, 1983
BOSTON — President Reagan took a first-hand look Wednesday at the high technology industry he called a 'vast frontier of opportunity' in his State of the Union speech, and attracted up to 2,000 booing protesters along the way.
Blood vessel abnormalities that lead to deformed limbs in mice may provide researchers a clue
By JERRY BERGER | Oct. 4, 1983
BOSTON — Blood vessel abnormalities that lead to deformed limbs in mice may provide researchers with a clue to dealing with genetic defects that cause malformed limbs in human beings, researchers said Tuesday.
Patients frequently get wrong medicine at hospitals
By JERRY BERGER | Jan. 19, 1984
BOSTON — Hospitals give patients the wrong medication as often as once every six doses, often because drugs with widely different uses are packaged in similar bottles, the New England Journal of Medicine reported today.
Fenway is Greening After Winter Snows
By JERRY BERGER | April 8, 1984
BOSTON — Dirty snow melts on one side of the imposing green wall, while on the other, men armed with fertilizer and rakes engage in an annual rite of spring.
They have been called American royalty
By JERRY BERGER, United Press International | April 25, 1984
They have been called American royalty, boasting one president and two United States senators, but death and tragedy have been more than equal partners to the glory of Joseph and Rose Kennedy.
Candidates await end to 'Duel of Dynasties'
By JERRY BERGER | April 19, 1986
BOSTON — The intense media spotlight on the 8th Congressional District 'Duel of the Dynasties' between Joseph Kennedy II and James Roosevelt Jr. has more than a dozen hopefuls patiently waiting their turn at some attention.
GOP gubernatorial candidate embellishes military record
By JERRY BERGER | June 3, 1986
BOSTON — Republican gubernatorial candidate Royall H. Switzler Tuesday admitted embellishing his military record in previous campaign literature, but said he would remain a candidate in the September primary.
GOP candidate withdraws from governor's race
By JERRY BERGER | July 15, 1986
BOSTON — Gregory Hyatt, the embattled Republican candidate for governor, withdrew from the race Tuesday in the face of allegations he asked an organized crime figure for fund-raising help.
A comatose patient may die a natural death with dignity
By JERRY BERGER | Sept. 11, 1986
BOSTON — A comatose patient may die a natural death with dignity, the state's highest court ruled Thursday in allowing the removal of a feeding tube that has sustained a father of five for three years.
Sexual harassment ruled discrimination
By JERRY BERGER | June 3, 1987
BOSTON — Sexual harassment in the workplace violates state anti-discrimination laws, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in what is believed to be the first such ruling by a state court.
The public admission by Massachusetts first lady Kitty Dukakis reflects new disclosure standards
By JERRY BERGER | July 12, 1987
BOSTON — The public admission by Massachusetts first lady Kitty Dukakis of a 26-year drug dependency reflects a new set of disclosure standards for presidential candidates since the demise of Gary Hart's campaign.
A 'handful of greedy Iowa politicians' have subverted the presidential primary process”
By JERRY BERGER | July 14, 1987
BOSTON — A 'handful of greedy Iowa politicians' have subverted the presidential primary process through that state's first-in-the-nation caucuses, Gary Hart's former campaign manager said Tuesday.
Top Dukakis campaign aides quit over Biden tape flap
By JERRY BERGER | Sept. 30, 1987
BOSTON — The two top lieutenants of Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis resigned Wednesday after admitting involvement in circulating a videotape damaging rival Joseph Biden's White House bid and lying about it.
Alexander Haig pulled out of the crowded GOP presidential contest
By JERRY BERGER | Feb. 12, 1988
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Alexander Haig pulled out of the crowded GOP presidential contest today, ending his campaign with a sharp blast at Vice President George Bush and backing Bush's chief rival, Sen. Robert Dole.
Candidate shopping at the mall
By JERRY BERGER | Feb. 16, 1988
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Presidential candidates looking for a last-minute spark for a win today in the crucial New Hampshire primary pitched their wares to thousands of voters window-shopping for candidates at a large shopping mall.
By JERRY BERGER | Feb. 16, 1988
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, claiming a 'terrific boost' from his convincing win in neighboring New Hampshire, set his sights Tuesday on the South and vowed a strong showing in Dixie.
By JERRY BERGER, UPI Statehouse Reporter | April 7, 1988
BOSTON— An 8-foot bronze likeness of President Kennedy, striding with one hand in his suit pocket, will become the first formal Statehouse tribute to Massachusetts' slain native son, officials said
Massachusetts guarantees health care access
By JERRY BERGER | April 13, 1988
BOSTON — Critics say the law making Massachusetts the first state to guarantee universal access to health care could bankrupt businesses and hospitals, but supporters call it a long overdue extension of a basic right.
Michael Dukakis's self-proclaimed management skills are being put to crucial test
By JERRY BERGER | May 15, 1988
BOSTON — Democratic presidential front-runner Michael Dukakis's self-proclaimed management skills are being put to a crucial test by a sharp drop in revenues that was counted on to balance a $12 billion state budget.
Kitty Dukakis, wife of Democratic presidential candidate, underwent five hours of successful surgery
By JERRY BERGER | June 3, 1988
BOSTON — Kitty Dukakis, wife of Democratic presidential candidate and Gov. Michael Dukakis, underwent five hours of successful surgery Friday to repair two ruptured disks in her neck, which threatened to damage her spinal cord.
Bentsen choice came at Dukakis kitchen table
By JERRY BERGER | July 12, 1988
BOSTON — Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis chose Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as his running mate during a discussion around Dukakis' kitchen table, the top adviser to the Massachusetts governor said Tuesday.
Dukakis defends environmental record
By JERRY BERGER | Aug. 31, 1988
BOSTON — Michael Dukakis launched a preemptive strike Wednesday against George Bush's planned visit to polluted Boston Harbor, calling the vice president's trip an 'election-year conversion' to environmental protection.
News Analysis: Sasso's return bolsters Dukakis effort
By JERRY BERGER | Sept. 3, 1988
BOSTON — John Sasso's return to the presidential campaign trail restores Michael Dukakis's link with a personal and professional alter ego who gave life to the Massachusetts governor's quest for the White House.
Pledge dispute in Dukakis hometown
By JERRY BERGER | Sept. 17, 1988
BROOKLINE, Mass. — Education Secretary William Bennett's stinging blast against Michael Dukakis's hometown has re-opened the festering sores of a five-year battle over the Pledge of Allegiance at town meetings.
The Boston Globe did not libel former Gov. Edward J. King
By JERRY BERGER | Sept. 29, 1988
BOSTON — The Boston Globe did not libel former Gov. Edward J. King when it published a column saying King pressured a judge to change a decision in a gang rape case -- even though the allegation was false, a jury ruled Thursday.
Massachusetts budget problems take center stage
By JERRY BERGER | Nov. 13, 1988
BOSTON — Massachusetts budget problems, a peripheral issue in the 1988 presidential campaign, takes center stage this week when a legislative committee opens hearings on the financial woes facing Gov. Michael S. Dukakis.
By JERRY BERGER | Dec. 23, 1988
BOSTON — Michael Dukakis says he has put his defeat to President-elect George Bush behind him and is focusing on the job he long proclaimed as the only one he ever wanted -- Massachusetts governor.
Kitty Dukakis discusses alcoholism
By JERRY BERGER | March 9, 1989
BOSTON — Kitty Dukakis refused Thursday to blame her husband's rough and tumble White House campaign against President Bush for alcoholism problems that sent her to a treatment center for 31 days.
Dukakis' fall from grace dizzying
By JERRY BERGER | July 16, 1989
BOSTON — A year ago this week Michael Dukakis grabbed the Democratic presidential nomination and had his party virtually giddy with the thought he would win the White House. His fall from grace in the past 12 months has been dizzying.
By JERRY BERGER | November–December 1991
Columbia Journalism Review (Vol. 30, Issue 4)
Boston, MA, newspapers were called upon to help the district attorney of Springfield, Massachusetts in his prosecution of a case involving pornographic books. Under Massachusetts law, obscenity charges can be filed only when the books in question have been advertised in the county they are being sold in, and in Boston. The Boston Globe was the only Boston paper willing to publish the names at the request of the Springfield D.A. The rival Boston Herald took the Globe to task on its editorial pages.
I placed it
Patient Safety and Quality
Hospital Aims to Eliminate Mistakes (Boston Globe)
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has launched an ambitious quality-improvement effort aimed at eliminating within four years all harm to patients that it considers preventable, such as falls, infections caused by intravenous lines, and medication errors.
Eliminating Preventable Harm: Working Toward Zero (YouTube)
Doctors Strive to Do Less Harm by Inattentive Care (New York Times)
Suffering. The very word made doctors uncomfortable. Medical journals avoided it, instructing authors to say that patients “ ‘have’ a disease or complications or side effects rather than ‘suffer’ or ‘suffer from’ them,” said Dr. Thomas H. Lee, the chief medical officer of Press Ganey, a company that surveys hospital patients. But now, reducing patient suffering — the kind caused not by disease but by medical care itself — has become a medical goal. The effort is driven partly by competition and partly by a realization that suffering, whether from long waits, inadequate explanations or feeling lost in the shuffle, is a real and pressing issue. It is as important, says Dr. Kenneth Sands, the chief quality officer at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, as injuries, like medication errors or falls, or infections acquired in a hospital.
Intensive Care Gets Friendlier with Apps, Devices ( Wall Street Journal)
In her The Informed Patient column, Wall Street Journal reporter, Laura Landro, covers four patient care program grantees focused on redesigning care in the ICU to make them safer and more human. Johns Hopkins, University of California at San Francisco, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital share how they are making respectful treatment of patients and families a priority.
Meet the cancer patient in Room 52: (Washington Post)
Improving the experience of a patient and their family, an aspect of care that too often is overlooked, is given top priority thanks to foundation grantees at Johns Hopkins Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco. Their efforts are part of a fundamental change in health care to treat people with respect and dignity and have taken the much-needed step of defining this lack of treatment as a preventable harm. Read the full story from reporter Lena Sun of the Washington Post here.
Hospital ICUs mine big data in push for better outcomes (Wall Street Journal)
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Johns Hopkins Medicine speak with Laura Landro of The Wall Street Journal about their work to help health care professionals and patients achieve better outcomes through the use of data.
Doctors need to treat their patients with respect (Boston Globe)
When was the last time you were an hour late for a deeply important professional meeting, sauntered in, sat down and — without so much as a word of apology — began to talk business as if nothing at all were amiss? I’m guessing never.