Hampshire Council of Governments

Hampshire County Public Health Regionalization Planning Project

The District Incentive Grant (DIG) Overview Info: 11 DIG Planning Grantees Across the State DIG Request for Proposals DIG Application DIG Tech Assistance Notice Public Health Poster DIG Press Release, June 2011 DIG Implementation Grant RFR Nov. 2011 DIG Implementation Grant Application, Nov. 2011 Public Meetings Updated Meeting Schedule Next Meeting: Past Meetings: 08-16-11: Agenda | Minutes 08-02-11: Agenda | Minutes 07-26-11: Agenda | Minutes 07-19-11: Agenda | Minutes 07-05-11: Agenda | Minutes | Draft of Models 06-28-11: Agenda | Minutes 06-07-11: Agenda | Minutes | Draft of Models 05-24-11: Agenda | Minutes 05-17-11: Agenda | Minutes 05-03-11: Agenda | Minutes 04-26-11: Agenda | Minutes | Notes Regional Examples Quabbin Health District Handout Foothills Health Agent Helpful Links and Information This Is Public Health | Slide Show Duties of a Mass Board of Health PowerPoint on Effective Public Health Collaborations Training and Technical Assistance Opportunities for DIG Planning Grantees Schedule of Commm Health Assess Training Public Health District Planning Toolkit: Public Health District Planning Case studies of existing public health districts in Massachusetts Mass Public Health Regionalizaton Project Status Report University School of Public Health (Regionalization Work Group reports) Coalition for Local Public Health report on the Mass local health workforce Mass Regionalization Advisory Commission MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation Regionalization Initiative

The overall goal of the MDPH grant program funded by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 is “to permanently strengthen the local public health infrastructure in Massachusetts by taking maximum advantage of limited resources to protect population health, prevent injury and disease, and promote healthy behaviors through policy change and service delivery at the regional level.” This is precisely the goal we seek through creation of a countywide health district serving all of Hampshire County, perhaps including some contiguous communities. We recognize that Hampshire Health’s progress towards that goal will be incremental, first requiring greater community awareness of the contributions that core public health services make to our well-being, and an appreciation of how the needs that are currently not being met can be addressed more effectively and efficiently by sharing staff and services. Ten (10) objectives to be met during the planning phase are listed in the RFR and our priorities below incorporate and reflect those objectives. 1. Build upon collaborative public health district models and contracts already in place in this county, notably QHC, FHC, the MOUs forged by the HEPC, etc. 2. Engage resources from UMass, other colleges and institutions, and PVPC to help inventory resources, refine messages and foster communication. 3. Meet with planning partners and potential partners to identify and evaluate unmet needs, assess the benefit of expanded public health services, and engage them in creating a workable structure and applying for implementation funds. 4. Negotiate arrangements for an on-going fiscal agent for the district, considering three alternatives a) continuing with the City of Northampton, b) utilizing the HCOG as the fiscal agent, or c) creating a new independent administrative entity. 5. Assess health personnel qualifications in the district and develop a plan to meet the MDPH minimum qualification requirements within the proposed timetable. 6. Create a media and educational campaign for enhancing public and professional awareness of the urgency of improving mandated public health services, initially emphasizing food safety, enforcement of the sanitary code, and communicable disease control. 7. Identify and involve health and human service providers, including MDPH-contracted service providers, in building a vibrant network of collaborating and participating agencies and individuals in Hampshire County. 8. Develop plans and budgets for district start-up and operations that meet all or nearly all of the performance requirements for districts as defined in the RFR. 9. Finally, to promote communication, transparency and reduce travel costs, we will create an interactive website where Hampshire Health will post a) this RFR response b) easily-accessible, DPH-approved training programs and guidelines for local Boards of Health, including a reference list of state-mandated LBOH services, c) drafts of cooperative service agreements, d) draft proposals for cooperative governance, e) links to case studies of selected collaborative models, f) draft language for health-related Town Meeting Warrants, etc. We will also incorporate a password-protected on-line reporting system for internal reports on successes and failures in the planning phase, thus permitting a candid and useful final report on the planning grant to be completed, as required, in the unlikely event that Hampshire Health does not coalesce and cannot submit a competitive implementation proposal in September, 2011

More Helpful Links

For the MDPH Manual of Laws and Regulations Relating to Boards of Health, visit:
http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/emergency_prep/board_of_health_manual.pdf

For information about Board of Health training available from the Local Public Health Institute of Massachusetts, visit:
http://sph.bu.edu/otlt/LPHI/OrientationtoLPH/

For information about voluntary national public health accreditation, visit the Public Health Accreditation Board website at:
http://www.phaboard.org/

For information about the Ten Essential Services of Public Health defined by CDC, visit:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/ocphp/nphpsp/Documents/Essential%20Services%20Presentation.ppt

For information about community health assessments, visit the CDC website at:
http://www.cdc.gov/healthycommunitiesprogram/tools/change.htm

For information about evidence based interventions to address tobacco, obesity, and other diseases, visit the CDC Community Guide website at:
http://www.thecommunityguide.org/index.html

For information about the MDPH Community Health Network Areas, visit the MDPH Office of Community Health website at
www.mass.gov/dph/ohc and click on “Community Health Networks.”

Information about MDPH data systems:
MAVEN
MassCHIP