Boston Medical Center (BMC)

Earlier this month, we celebrated BMC’s Curbside Care and the families supported by the program. Generously supported by the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, with funding from Tufts Health Plan, Curbside Care brings postpartum and newborn care directly to the doorstep of families in Boston. The Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation hosted BMC patient families for interactive nutritious meal preparation, fun challenges, gifts for moms and babies, and more. Thank you, Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, for your partnership and commitment to health equity. Special shoutout to Derrick White for joining the fun! Learn more about BMC’s Curbside Care: https://bit.ly/4j9RFsO

BMC Health System has a new set of wheels. In partnership with Golf Fights Cancer and Man Cave Health, our mobile prostate screening van is bringing prostate cancer education and screening directly to men across greater Boston. The initiative is designed to expand access to prostate cancer education and screening for men. It also focuses on reaching individuals in neighborhoods, who may be less likely to have access to routine screening. BMC Urology was named one of the nation’s top 50 urology programs by U.S. News & World Report. Learn more about our team and the van: https://bit.ly/4iC6X8X

The fits were on point. The vibes were top tier. The stories were unforgettable. Last night’s Catwalk for Cancer Care brought our community of patients, providers, and supporters together for an evening of resilience and generosity on the runway. Thank you for giving, cheering on our patient and staff models, and bringing fantastic energy! Together we raised key funds for the nationally ranked care, novel research, and whole-health help that BMC's Cancer Center offers. Special thanks to NBC10 meteorologist Tevin Wooten—our emcee, our event committee, and this year’s sponsors. Learn more about the event and view highlights: https://bit.ly/4zRtF2U

EQTY 2026: Forward by Design took the mainstage for a bold conversation on racial health equity—the conviction that equity is not something we wait for, but something we build. W. Kamau Bell and Dr. Uché Blackstock, MD, led the dialogue, joined by experts from healthcare, tech, policy, academia, and advocacy tackling race and disability, clinical trials, maternal health, institutional trust, the geography of health, and more. The program asked what it would look like to design institutions, policies, and care models that are equitable by construction, not by correction. We also honored BMC Health System's VP of Mission and Associate Chief Medical Officer Thea James, MD, MPH, MBA, with the Health Equity Icon Award ahead of her retirement. For decades, Thea has built bridges between clinical care and community and ensured that the people we serve are seen, not just treated. Her impact is woven into this health system, and the work she built will continue long after she steps away. Bold conversations, a lasting legacy, and a shared commitment to designing equity into everything we build—that is Forward by Design.

The first day of EQTY 2026: Forward by Design, our Inclusive Research Symposium, brought together leaders across research, clinical care, industry, policy, and patient advocacy to explore a question that sits at the heart of everything we do: how do we ensure the next generation of cell and gene therapies reaches every community? Scientific breakthroughs are only the beginning. The future of medicine will be defined by who benefits from them—not by the breakthroughs alone. Together, we are designing what's possible in healthcare—so that world-class care reaches every community.

Hear from BMC Curbside Care program director, Alice Cruikshank, during a segment of CityLine from WCVB Channel 5. Alice shares how the mobile unit eliminates barriers to help people access postpartum care. BMC’s Curbside Care mobile unit delivers care to moms and newborns right at their doorstep, thanks to support from the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation and other philanthropic investments. Watch the full segment here: https://bit.ly/4BcbXse

A new Science News Magazine story, featuring BMC's Dr. Elizabeth Pearce, explores the importance of iodine for healthy development. Dr. Pearce helps us understand the research behind iodine deficiency and how it shows up in a very important public health issue. At the Inclusive Research Symposium on Monday, October 19, Dr. Pearce will lead a fireside chat that contends with how we continue to make science accessible and translate into real-world impact. She will be joined by Emily Lin Zhang, creator of The Easiest Way to Make the World Smarter, a documentary with more than 4 million YouTube views, and Stan Soderstrom of the Iodine Global Network. Together, they’ll explore how storytelling can bridge the gap between scientific discovery and public understanding. Join BMC Health System at EQTY 2026 October 19–20 to explore how we can advance health equity through research, collaboration, and action: https://lnkd.in/eFYGjymV

At the recent Vizient Connections Summit, Chief Nursing Officer Nancy Gaden, DNP, RN NEA-BC, FAAN shared how Boston Medical Center is using multidisciplinary rounds (MDRs) as part of a large hospital wide effort to decrease Length of Stay and to improve inpatient throughput. One of the key lessons from this work: data is most powerful when it moves from the dashboard into the daily work of care teams. BMC is using data not simply to measure length of stay after the fact, but to understand where variation and discharge barriers exist and act on them in real time. Leaders from across the hospital work together to understand risk-adjusted LOS data at the team and unit-level and sophisticated analytics help teams identify opportunities, while standardized MDRs, clear roles, escalation pathways, and creative initiatives driven by frontline clinicians translate those insights into consistent action. The results are encouraging – risk-adjusted length of stay measures between FY24 and FY26 have seen significant improvement, while inpatient discharges increased. But, as Nancy noted during her panel discussion, the bigger lessons are about how improvement happens: data identifies the opportunity, standard work creates reliability, and leadership engagement helps sustain improvement. That combination is helping BMC turn a system-level priority into meaningful, measurable action at the bedside – and ultimately helps create capacity for the patients who need us next.

Building a better future for health and healthcare starts with being willing to have the conversations that matter. Join W. Kamau Bell and Uché Blackstock, MD in Boston for EQTY 2026. Let's move this conversation -- and the work -- forward. Register now: https://bit.ly/4s094GC

Stephen Murray, Executive Director of SafeSpot and Associate Director of Overdose Prevention at BMC, joins "The Last Day" podcast to walk through the moments that transformed how he sees recovery and what it actually takes to save more lives. Safespot is a free, 24/7, national hotline that is staffed by a dedicated team of people with lived and living experience with overdose and drug use. Listen to Stephen on "The Last Day" podcast by Lemonada Media. https://bit.ly/4ybUMUV