Welcome Governor Patrick! 

 

Before the holidays, MPHA sent Patrick’s Secretary of Administration and Finance, Leslie Kirwin, a letter outlining our budget priorities.  In the letter, we made the case for using the entire FY07 budget – including supplemental appropriations, which comprise half of the increase in public health funding – as the “base” for the FY08 budget.

 

This week, MPHA sent Secretary Bigby a letter, containing guidance for consideration in selecting a commissioner for DPH.  The letter was co-signed by dozens of health organizations and leaders. 

 

We will keep the public health community apprised of any news about the selection of a DPH commissioner.  We will also be calling upon everyone to support our efforts to ensure that public health receives the funding needed for a healthy Massachusetts. 

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In addition to working with the new administration, MPHA is developing its legislative agenda for the 2007-2008 session. 

 

Two of our top priorities remain policies to stem the epidemic of childhood obesity and to promote safer alternatives to toxic chemicals.  MPHA is working with Representative Peter Koutoujian, Co-Chair of the Public Health Committee, on re-introducing legislation to prohibit the sale of junk food and sugar-packed drinks in schools.  As a member of the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, MPHA is championing the Safer Alternatives bill to phase out dangerous chemicals when safer substitutes are available.

 

Please visit our web site to encourage your legislators to become co-sponsors of the school nutrition and safer alternatives bills! 

 

MPHA’s agenda will also include legislation to require physical education in schools, help the state prepare for pandemic flu, establish a regional infrastructure and state funding for local public health, and combat health disparities.

 

For more information, please contact Eric Weltman at MPHA: 617-524-6696, ext. 111; eweltman@mphaweb.org.

 

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MPHA’s Environmental and Occupational Health Section is holding a forum, “Urban Environmental Health: Problems and Solutions.”  The forum is on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm, and is being held at the MPHA office in Jamaica Plain.  The featured speakers are Penn Loh, Executive Director of Alternatives for Community & Environment, and Roseann Bongiovanni from the Chelsea Green Space Committee.  Click here to download the event flyer.  For more information, contact Eric Weltman at MPHA: 617-524-6696, ext. 103; eweltman@mphaweb.org.

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Please join us on Thursday, April 26, 2007 at The Boston Park Plaza for Our Health, Our Future, MPHA's 5th Annual Spring Celebration!  

This year we are proud to honor:

Matt Fishman, Vice President of Community Health at Partners Healthcare System, Paul Revere Award

Zoila Torres Feldman, President & CEO of the Great Brook Valley Health Center, Lemuel Shattuck Award 

Ali Noorani, Executive Director of Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), Alfred L. Frechette Award

Ticket and sponsorship information will follow.  For more information, contact Kara Keenan at MPHA: 617-524-6696, ext. 113; kkeenan@mphaweb.org.

 

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MPHA is expanding its community organizing efforts into the Metrowest region.  With funding from the MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation, we’ve launched a campaign to prevent childhood obesity in Framingham. 

 

The current focus is passing a strong wellness policy to raise nutritional, fitness, and wellness educational standards in the public schools.  Greer Harewood, our Framingham organizer, is establishing relationships with teachers, parents, and administrators to build support for such a policy.  In addition, MPHA is partnering with Ilma Paixao, a Framingham activist and president of the Brazilian American Association, to organize a health fair for members of the town’s large Brazilian community.

 

For more information, please contact Greer Harewood at MPHA: 617-524-6696, ext. 104; gharewood@mphaweb.org.

 

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Regional committee members met on December 18 to start the process of forming issue subcommittees. These subcommittees, made up of a broad range of community members, will design strategy and build numbers of community members advocating for a particular public health issue, such as emergency preparedness, environmental health and full service community schools. In the coming months, the central Massachusetts regional committee will publish a schedule of regular meetings open for the public to attend. 

This Wednesday, January 10 from 10 am to noon at the Worcester Public Library Banx Room, a focus group from organizations such as the Visiting Nurses Association, Family Health Center, Quinsigamond Valley Neighborhood Center, Worcester State College, the Center for Living and Working, the Department of Public Health, the Worcester Senior Center, the Main South Alliance for Public Safety and the Worcester Commission on Disability will be meeting to identify vulnerable populations community preparedness projects based on feedback from MPHA's October 25, 2006 "Connecting the Dots" forum regarding disaster preparedness for vulnerable populations.

The next regional committee meeting is Tuesday, January 16 from noon to 1:30 pm at the Central Massachusetts Center for Healthy Communities, 44 Front Street, suite 280. If you'd like to attend a regional committee meeting or if you'd like more information, please contact Sara Kanevsky at MPHA: 508-414-0976; sara.kanevsky@gmail.com.

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MPHA held a successful forum on emergency preparedness for vulnerable populations – our fourth and final – in Hadley in December.  Many of the attendees were volunteer members of boards of health from small communities in western Massachusetts.  Featured speakers included Philip J. Stoner, of the Department of Public Health, who spoke about his work responding to both the Merrimack Valley flooding and the Danvers chemical explosion.

 

New regional committee member Drita Protopapa represented MPHA at a public meeting held by the Patrick transition team at Springfield Technical Community College.  Drita presented our Agenda for a Healthy Massachusetts, along with a memo outlining specific regional concerns drafted by committee members.

 

Also in December, the COWNT (Community Outreach Workers Network and Training) Coalition held its second training at Shriners Hospital in Springfield.  Springfield police officers presented on street safety and Meg Mastriana from the Behavioral Health Network discussed compassion fatigue. Sixty community health workers attended the training. 

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We unexpectedly lost a friend and colleague when Aaron Wilson, Executive Director of Western MassCOSH, passed away in December.  Aaron was only 35 years old, but he achieved a lot for worker health and safety and other social justice causes in his all too short life.  Among his accomplishments, he helped forge the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, a coalition promoting safer alternatives to toxic chemicals, of which MPHA is a member.  A memorial service to celebrate Aaron's life will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, January 28, at the Campus Center Auditorium at UMass Amherst.  For more information, visit www.RememberingAaron.org.

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The Massachusetts Partnership for Healthy Weight is holding its next statewide conference for new and current members on Tuesday, January 16 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough.  The partnership is a collaboration of more than 100 organizations, agencies, groups, and individuals.  Roberta Friedman, MPHA's Director of Education, is a member of their executive committee and helped write its statewide Plan for Action on obesity prevention.  For more information, contact Roberta Friedman at MPHA: 617-524-6696, ext. 103; rfriedman@mphaweb.org