Page 54 - BusinessWest Sept. 29, 2021

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.
Court Dockets
HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Wendy Reyes v. PRRC Inc. d/b/a Price Rite Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing per- sonal injury: $31,935
Filed: 8/11/21
Russell Barbour v. Steven Gelb, M.D.; John Romanelli, M.D.; Lauren Westafer, M.D.; Sean Devanney, M.D.; Hynoukai Lyfoung, M.D.; Patrick
Gift
Continued from page 37 evidence that the
system and its individual programs are growing in stature and reputation and are “well-positioned to advance education, research, and access for stu- dents at scale in the Commonwealth,” said UMass President Marty Meehan in a prepared statement.
Vorderstrasse echoed those sentiments and noted that this latest gift — again, the largest ever given to UMass Amherst — creates more momen- tum, enthusiasm, and exposure for the school at a pivotal time in its history.
“It’s such an exciting time for the whole univer- sity to see this come in,” she said, “because it says that the foundation and others who have been good friends of the university for a long time really do feel that this is a pivotal time to support UMass.”
Meanwhile, the $21.5 million gift is only the latest of many from Marieb and the foundation
she created to area schools. Previously, she had made gifts of more than $2 million for campus- wide scholarships at UMass Amherst. She and the foundation have also made several gifts to Holyoke Community College and its Center for Life Sciences, which now bears her name.
Marieb, a Northampton native, died in 2018 at age 82, and ranks among the nation’s most influ- ential nursing educators. As noted, she earned a master’s degree from UMass Amherst’s College of Nursing in 1985 with a specialization in gerontol- ogy. Prior to that, she received a Ph.D. in zoology from the College of Natural Sciences at UMass in 1969. She also held degrees from Holyoke Commu- nity College, Fitchburg State College, Mount Holy- oke College, and Westfield State College. Her distin- guished career included time teaching at Spring- field College and Holyoke Community College.
Ultimately, Marieb became the author or co- author of more than 10 bestselling textbooks and laboratory manuals on anatomy and physiology after she started writing textbooks to address com- plaints from her nursing students that the materials then available were ineffective. Her work has been read by more than 3 million nurses and healthcare professionals practicing today.
Marieb’s impact on nursing education will only become more profound with the foundation’s latest
Lee, M.D.; Greig Chasen, M.D.; Andrew Litwin, M.D.; Elizabeth Santone, M.D.; Timothy Morley, M.D.; Amanda Rabideau, M.D.; Parth Sharma, M.D.; Jay Kuhn, M.D.; and Ruchi Thanawala, M.D. Allegation: Medical malpractice: $2,820,309.28 Filed: 8/12/21
Mark Racine and Janice Racine v. Kihan Francis Lee, M.D.; Marian Matheiu, RN; Lynn Thompson, CSFA; and Holyoke Medical Center
Allegation: Medical malpractice
Filed: 8/12/21
Platinum Protection Systems, LLC v. Heka Inc. Allegation: Breach of contract, unjust enrichment: $51,488.46
Filed: 8/13/21
Reginald Miller v. City of Springfield
Allegation: Employment discrimination: $50,000+ Filed: 8/17/21
Eileen Andreassi v. Riverside Park Enterprises Inc. d/b/a Six Flags New England
gift, said Vorderstrasse, adding that it comes after six to nine months of collaborative discussions with foundation leaders about nursing education, the UMass program, and its mission moving forward.
In many ways, the nursing engineering program, launched last January, became a catalyst for the gift. Seed-funded by other donors and friends of the School of Nursing, the initiative was conceptualized to support graduate students in their research train- ing and experience at UMass across various disci- plines, Vorderstrasse explained.
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing per- sonal injury: $95,016.99
Filed: 8/17/21
Carmen Hernandez v. 170 Central Street Condo Holdings, LLC
Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing per- sonal injury: $33,043.27
Filed: 8/23/21
Jayden Boni, a minor by and through his mother and next friend Ayaba Ezin v. Robert Wool, M.D.; Katelyn Sullivan, D.O.; Rakhsita Satyarthi Mal- hotra, D.O.; Women’s Health Associates of West- ern Mass. Inc.; and Baystate Health Inc. Allegation: Medical malpractice: $1,000,000+ Filed: 8/25/21
Patricia Zubini Weiss v. Baystate Pediatrics, P.C. Allegation: Failure to pay wages, failure to pay over- time, breach of contract: $28,300
Filed: 9/1/21
students each year and sees more than 2,000 appli- cants for those seats.
Expansion of that program will be incremen- tal, perhaps eight to 10 students at a time, she told BusinessWest, adding that a program like this can- not, and should not, double in size overnight. But over a period of years, growth can be achieved that will make a significant impact in the number of nurses entering the field.
Growth is also projected for what’s known as the second-degree nursing program, for individu-
“It’s such an exciting time for the whole university to see this come
in, because it says that the foundation and others who have been good friends of the university for a long time really do feel that this is a pivotal time to support UMass.”
“It functions at that nexus of healthcare, engi- neering, and healthcare professionals, especially nurses, and the development and application of new technologies or even existing technologies
— how we apply those in an ethical manner and develop them in such a way that takes into consid- eration patients and the people who will use them, as well as nurses who are on the front lines using these technologies.
“We hope that it will evolve into a center that collaborates not only on our campus, but with industry partners, because Massachusetts is a hub for healthcare technology,” she went on, adding that the grant from the Marieb Foundation will fund research at the center, especially new initia- tives and pilot programs that need seed funding to get off the ground.
Meanwhile, the gift will be used to help expand the nursing programs and put more nurses into the pipeline, she said. Plans call for student scholar- ships to be expanded to improve access for under- represented students, and to link scholarships to academic and professional success.
Elaborating, Vorderstrasse said the traditional bachelor’s-degree program graduates roughly 65
als who have a degree in another field and want to venture into nursing, said Vorderstrasse, adding that this program currently graduates roughly 90 students each year.
Bottom Line
Getting back to the word transformative, it
is saved for those occasions when someone or something can bring about profound, meaningful change.
The someone in this case, Marieb, has already done so much to change the landscape when it comes to nursing education. The something is a gift, the latest of many, that will accelerate the pace of growth and progress for the Nursing program and enable more people to earn degrees there.
As Vorderstrasse said, that adjective ‘transforma- tive’ certainly fits in this case. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
54 SEPTEMBER 29, 2021
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