Champions, Victories and health equity policies on the move

Massachusetts Public Health Association

Action for Equity in Health

May 2017

In This Issue:


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It is with great excitement that I introduce myself to you as the Interim Executive Director of MPHA. I am not new to MPHA as I have been a member of the Board of Directors for the past five years, and until I stepped down, the Vice President of the Board. The better part of my career has been devoted to public health and social justice, and I can think of no better place to continue this important work than at MPHA. I come on as Interim ED at a time of great opportunity and growth for MPHA. I look forward to working with you as we continue to advance health equity in the Commonwealth.

Join us on June 2nd for MPHA's Spring Awards Breakfast honoring health equity champions whose work inspires and motivates us all. Read below to hear from colleagues of this year's champions on the energy, dedication and skill they bring to the communities they serve. The Awards Breakfast is a wonderful opportunity to network and mobilize for the important campaigns ahead. Reserve your place today!

Thank you to our generous Breakfast Sponsors.

Below, you can read about recent victories in the state budget, MPHA's role in building skills, knowledge and capacity for health equity advocates throughout the Commonwealth, new announcements and momentum building around our top priorities, and recent data illustrating the critical nature of our work together. You will also read of ways to get involved in our campaigns to move policy addressing key social determinants of health.

See you at the Breakfast!

Warmly,

Jodie L. Silverman

Interim Executive Director

MPHA Updates

What our Health Equity Champions Mean to the Communities they Serve

By now you are familiar with the names of this year's MPHA Health Equity Champions who will be honored during our Spring Awards Breakfast on June 2. We asked colleagues of our awardees to share a more intimate perspective on what makes these individuals extraordinary in their public health work.


Deborah Klein Walker, Paul Revere Awardee

" It was a personal joy and a professional obligation to nominate Debbie Walker for the Paul Revere Award. I will come back to that word, 'obligation.'

First, the joy. I have known Debbie since I was assigned to her as an academic advisee when she was on the Maternal and Child Health faculty of the Harvard School of Public Health. From the start, she was a mentor, a role model, an adviser, occasionally a co-conspirator, and always a friend. The obligation I mentioned is not to Debbie, although I owe her much. Rather it is to public health..."

- Deborah Allen, Director, Child, Adolescent and Family Health at Boston Public Health Commission


	Shani Dowd, Lemuel Shattuck Awardee

"Shani's students give her rave reviews for her practical approach to the field of mental health and health equity. Over the past 30 years, Shani has been consulting to local health and human service organizations on cultural competency and health equity strategies to help them improve their services to people of all backgrounds, and has been training the next generation on delivering Culturally Appropriate Mental Health Services..." - Mike Devlin, Director of Grants and Initiatives, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare


Jen Slonaker, Alfred Frechette Awardee

"Jen embodies the traits of a true public health leader in her commitment to ensuring that young people have access to comprehensive, medically accurate sex education." - Mattie Castiel, Commissioner of Health and Human Services, City of Worcester.

"Jen is a beacon to many of us in the public health field for her critical educational work in the field of public health prevention." - Linette Liebling, Visiting Instructor of Psychology, Wheaton College


	Matt Sadof, Public Health Leadership in Medicine Awardee

"Dr. Matt Sadof is the first physician I have heard talking about why it is so important for doctors to understand what it took for their patients to get to their appointment. He truly believes that providers will provide better care if they can empathize about the social determinants that their patients experience every day and how that impacts their health. He not only provides good care in his doctor's office, he dedicates time to bettering the environments that affect his patients' health outside his doctor's office." - Jessica Collins, Partners for a Healthier Community


Megan Sandel, Public Health Leadership in Medicine Awardee

"Long before 'social determinants of health' was coined, Megan Sandel was promoting (safe, affordable, and stable) housing as, in her words, a "vaccine for good health". Megan has a deep commitment to improving conditions for our most impacted communities and individuals, with a deep focus on improving asthma outcomes for black and Latino kids. She is an ardent supporter of Community Health Workers, a visionary, great strategic thinker and an asset to the many partnerships, boards and coalitions with which she works. It's great that Megan and Matt Sadof are both getting MPHA's Public Health Leadership in Medicine Award; they've both been shining examples of pediatricians working in partnership to improve health equity and have worked together for years!" -Stacey Chacker, Project Director, Health Resources in Action

Click here to read the full Awardee testimonials from their nominators and here to visit event page. Thank you to our generous Awards Breakfast Sponsors!

Policy Notes

2.8 Million Residents Lack Adequate Access to Healthy Food


	Red areas indicate grocery gap. Click above to enlarge image.

MPHA recently released new data which reveals that a lack of available grocery stores impacts 2.8 million residents in Massachusetts, including more than 700,000 children and 523,000 seniors. This lack of grocery access has the greatest effect in small, rural towns and Gateway Cities, including Chelsea, Springfield, and Taunton, the three cities with the highest percentage of residents lacking grocery access in the Commonwealth. Limited access to grocery stores is a public health issue as lack of access to healthy foods has been linked to increased risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

Based on a new analysis by The Food Trust, the newly released information reinforces the clear benefits of the Massachusetts Food Trust Program. Read on

Momentum Builds to MPHA Budget Priorities

Thank you for your advocacy in the past few weeks for public health funding in the House budget. With the help of our supporters and community partners, we achieved two significant wins:

$200,000 in dedicated funding for Mass in Motion;
Language that directs the administration to conduct a feasibility study on the "SNAP Gap Common App"

In addition, we built tremendous support for other priority programs including the Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund (PWTF) and the Massachusetts Food Trust. Both the PWTF and MA Food Trust amendments were co-sponsored by a majority of the House.

While we are disappointed that the final House budget did not include the full funding we requested, there is still time to make sure that these important programs are included in the final FY18 budget. The budget moves to the Senate next week, and we will look to you to advocate for these programs during the Senate budget debate. After the Senate has finalized its budget, the House and Senate will vote on a final budget by July 1, 2017.

Quincy, Pittsfield Mayors to Co-Chair Prevention Trust Coalition


	Mayor Koch


	Mayor Ty

Last week, MPHA announced that Quincy Mayor

Thomas Koch and Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer will serve as co-chairs of the Prevention Trust Coalition. We're thrilled to have the mayors join us, bringing an important perspective to the campaign of municipal leaders committed to promoting healthy communities in their hometowns and across the state. Click here to see the announcement .

MPHA Co-Hosts Policy Assembly in Springfield


	Attendees participate in a group strategy session at the 2017 Policy Assembly in Springfield, Massachusetts

On April 26, 2017, more than 50 health equity advocates from Western MA gathered in Springfield to gain a better understanding of several statewide policy issues and how to strategically advocate for them. In a pre-Assembly poll, participants conveyed that they wanted to better understand the process for passing bills and getting funds in the state budget. MPHA was there to guide them through the process.

Participants also spent time at the Assembly reading about specific bills and budget line items, followed by small group strategy sessions to identify the key decision-makers, timing, method, message, and messengers to influence policy makers. Some small-group discussions also focused on how to involve more people from low-income communities and communities of color in advocacy issues. Read on

Please Join MPHA in Supporting the Great Neighborhood Campaign


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Great neighborhoods provide opportunities for good health for all people. MPHA is pleased to play a leadership role in the Great Neighborhoods Campaign to promote access to stable, affordable housing for all Massachusetts residents and to reform state laws that impact planning, open space, economic development and other elements that can promote health and equity in our communities.

If you would like to join us in endorsing the campaign principles, click here

Raise Up Massachusetts: Progress as Resistance Conference


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Attend the Raise Up Massachusetts organizing conference for Paid Family Medical Leave, Fight for $15: Minimum Wage Increase, and the Fair Share Constitutional Amendment --policies that would advance health equity by addressing key social determinants of health. Click here for the event flyer and to RSVP.

Member Corner

MPHA Organizational Member Spotlight: The Alliance of Massachusetts YMCAs


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The Alliance of Massachusetts YMCA's (MA YMCAs) is a longstanding partner of MPHA, and was among the inaugural group of organizations to join MPHA's Organizational Membership program in 2013.

Massachusetts YMCAs serve 1.3 million people across the Commonwealth . The MA YMCAs work with more than 410 YMCA's to promote and support centers in reaching children and teens with a wide range of activities designed to help youth achieve their potential and position them for success in their adult lives .

Focusing on Youth Development, Healthy Living, and Social Responsibility, MA YMCAs serves all YMCA branches in the state by advocating on their behalf and providing a multitude of programs across the state. MA YMCAs are part of the Pioneering Healthier Communities work, focused on creating a healthier Massachusetts through facilitated conversations, policy, and programs around physical activity and healthy eating. Read on

Spring Awards Sponsors

Thank You to Our Generous Spring Awards Breakfast Sponsors!

Platinum

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Benefactor

Patron Sponsors

Alfred DeMaria, Jr. | Denterlein Worldwide | John Snow, Inc. | University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Public Health and Health Sciences | M+R Strategic Services

Thank you to our sustaining Advocate, Bronze and Silver members and partners in public health:

It's not too late to sponsor this event or to advertise in our program book! Please contact MPHA Events and Administrative Manager, Alexa Piacenza at: [email protected] or at 857-163-7072, ext. 114.

Upcoming Events

5.16.17: State of Asian Women's Health in Massachusetts: From Zip Codes to Asian Health Codes . Boston. More information and registration, here .

5.15.17 - 5.16:17: Ethics in Prevention: A Guide for Substance Abuse Prevention Practitioners. Hosted by MassTAPP. More information and registration, here.

The Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) is the champion for public health in the Commonwealth. We are the catalyst for change, eliminating health inequities and creating healthy communities for all. For more information, visit us at mapublichealth.org or call 857.263.7072.