Dr. Richard V. Aghababian, a Southboro resident and the founding chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, has been elected president of the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Dr. Aghababian has a long record of distinguished service with the state medical society. He served as president-elect and vice president, respectively, for the last two years, and was secretary-treasurer for two years before that. He has also been a member of its District Leadership Council and House of Delegates and was a member of the committees on Finance, Nominations, Physician Preparedness, Global Medicine and Medical Education.

He served as chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School from 1994-2007. A Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians, he is still active in education in disaster response and international development of emergency medical systems.

Dr. Aghababian has also held a number of key leadership posts in local and national groups. He has served as president of the Worcester District Medical Society, the Massachusetts College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Emergency Physicians and the Society for Airway Management. He is the secretary-treasurer of the Society for Chest Pain Centers, a national group that helps hospitals improve management of cardiac patients in an observation setting.

An editor-in-chief, associate editor, and contributing author for several textbooks and a widely-published author and lecturer on topics in emergency medicine, disaster response and preparedness, Dr. Aghababian has received honors and awards for his contributions to medicine and the community from the American Red Cross, the Worcester District Medical Society, Massachusetts College of Emergency Physicians and the University of Massachusetts. In 2007, he was a recipient of the Annual Health Care Heroes Award from the Worcester Business Journal.

Harrington HealthCare System is one of the top performers in the state for vaccinating employees against influenza, according to the state Department of Public Health.

The health care system, which includes Harrington Hospital, Harrington HealthCare at Hubbard in Webster and Harrington HealthCare at Charlton, vaccinated 90.4 percent of its employees this flu season, according to state records. That puts it in the top 20 acute care hospitals in the state.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health challenged all acute care hospitals in Massachusetts to improve their rate of vaccination for the 2011-2012 flu season. Harringtons vaccination rate improved almost 40 percent this year, to 90.4 percent, compared to 65.2 percent last year.

The Couples Project for Women offers free treatment for women with prescription and other drug problems who are either married or live with a male partner. This is 13 weeks of one-on-one outpatient therapy to help people achieve and maintain sobriety. Some women and their male partners will also receive couples counseling to help improve their relationship and to build support for recovery. This study is conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School and AdCare Hospital. For more information, call AdCare Hospital of Worcester at (800) 345-3552, ext. 4043.

UMass Memorial Health Cares Ronald McDonald Care Mobile provides medical and dental services to people without health or dental insurance. The Care Mobile will be providing services on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Worcester Department of Public Health at 25 Meade St. in Worcester. For more information or to make an appointment, call (508) 334-6073. People who need medical or dental insurance can call (508) 334-9300.

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Aghababian leads Mass. Medical Society