In case you missed it: BMC's finances, river of hope, drug dropoff, missing Kennedy's voice, Caritas response, George Willis

In the Sunday Globe:

Boston Medical Center, the state’s largest provider of medical treatment to the poor, is bracing for dramatic financial losses, which some fear will force it to slash programs and jeopardize care for thousands of poverty-stricken families.

David Estrada lost the use of his legs, but not his will. Now, at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, he and other paraplegics are learning to row, strengthening body and mind as they wait for a cure.

That large US Postal Service mailbox mounted in the lobby of some local police stations is not for outgoing mail. Rather, it’s been repainted, refurbished, and renamed as a receptacle for expired or unwanted prescription medications anyone can drop off anonymously for proper, environmentally friendly disposal.

In Saturday's Globe:

Progress on a healthcare overhaul in Congress slackened this week, slowing momentum at the start of a critical month for President Obama’s top domestic priority. It was a week when lawmakers said they keenly felt the absence of Edward M. Kennedy, whose battle with brain cancer has made it increasingly difficult for him to participate in a momentous debate on what has been his signature issue over 46 years in the Senate.

Caritas Christi Health Care System has fired back at a former executive who sued the Catholic hospital system last month for slashing his severance package.

Dr. George Gibson Willis, an orthopedic surgeon at Framingham Union Hospital, died July 3 at his home in Framingham. He had been diagnosed with cancer and was 94.