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New MPHA Web Site
Launched!
MPHA is
pleased to announce the redesign and upgrade of our web
site, www.MPHAweb.org.
The new site includes up-to-date information
about our issues, advocacy priorities, and ways to get
involved. There’s current information about our
staff, board, regional committees, sections, and
coalitions. The resources section includes a
calendar, job listings, and archives of MPHA’s testimony
and newsletters.
More importantly, the site
features interactive tools that will make it
“user-friendly” and advance MPHA’s advocacy and
organization-building agendas. The new site allows
interested visitors to sign up for our email alerts,
make a contribution, and join MPHA. Most exciting,
though, is the function that conveniently enables people
to type in their home addresses, determine who their
elected officials are, and then easily send an email
about MPHA’s advocacy priorities.
Congratulations to Deval Patrick and
Tim Murray
The
Massachusetts Public Health Association congratulates
Deval Patrick and Tim Murray on their victory in
Tuesday’s election.
MPHA looks forward to
working with the new administration on protecting the
health and safety of the people of
Massachusetts. Please visit our new website
to send a congratulatory message to
Governor-Elect Patrick and Lt Governor-Elect
Murray.
Over
the next few months, MPHA will be working to inform the
agenda of the new administration. Please let us
know if you would like to participate in this effort by
contacting Eric Weltman at MPHA: 617-524-6696, ext.
111; eweltman@mphaweb.org.
Successful
Emergency Preparedness Forums
In October, MPHA held three
successful forums on emerg ency preparedness for
vulnerable populations. More than 300 people
attended the forums in Somerville, Worcester, and
Springfield. They were funded by the Massachusetts
Department of
Public Health, with support from the Harvard School of
Public Health.
The forums provided
attendees with information about pandemic flu and
resources for preparing for disaster. More
importantly, they provided an opportunity to identify
the needs of particular communities and discuss how to
plan and prepare for vulnerable populations. The
diversity of the attendees was a major indicator of the
forums’ success, with the elderly, disabled, school
officials, immigrants, and the homeless among the
participants.
Nutrition Action!
MPHA’s Director of
Education, Roberta Friedman, continues to play a
prominent role as an advocate for preventing childhood
obesity. On October 20,
Roberta addressed the annual scientific meeting of
NAASO, the Obesity Society, on how science can advance
public policy. A week later, she led a workshop on
advocacy at the Annual Summit of the  Campaign for a
Commercial-Free Childhood.
MPHA’s Food and
Nutrition Section also hosted a successful book reading
by Michele Simon, author of Appetite for Profit: How the
Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight
Back. Over 40 people attended the lively
discussion of how grassroots organizations can take on
the lobbying and marketing might of the food industry
giants.
New
Framingham Organizer
Hired
MPHA is pleased to announce the hiring of Greer
Harewood as our new community organizer in
Framingham. Greer will be working with school
officials and community residents on implementing the
town’s School Wellness Policy, intended to promote good
nutrition and physical activity. An ’05 graduate
of Boston College, Greer began working with MPHA last
year as an intern, and was then hired as our part-time
administrative assistant. She is an Ohio native,
an artist, and world traveler, and has worked as a
health educator with Harvard’s Family Van and as a field
manager for Grassroots Voter Outreach.
Universal Health Care “Public Hearing” a
Success
Congressman John Olver chaired a “public
hearing on universal health care” organized by the
Western Massachusetts Single Payer Network and
co-sponsored by 30 local organizations, including
MPHA. Almost 100 people attended the October 21
event at Holyoke Community College, which was moderated
by MPHA member and former Northampton mayor Mary
Ford. Brenda Evans, a Western Massachusetts
Regional Committee member, testified about the role that
prevention can play in lowering health care costs and
reducing health disparities.
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