Welcome Our New Staff and Board Members!
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Lynley Rappaport is a Coalition and Evaluation Manager at Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts where she provides evaluation and technical assistance for grassroots recipients of Baystate Health’s Better Together funding and oversees the Pioneer Valley Healthy Air Network.
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Gabriela Vieyra is a Senior Research Associate. Gabriela conducts research and evaluation for the COVID Community Impact Survey (CCIS) and Springfield Healthy Homes Asthma project.
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Gloria Caballero Roca has been an academic, educator, researcher, and activist for more than two decades. Her publications and international talks focus on the intersectionality of diaspora, anti-imperialism, social justice, and transnational experience.
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Kimberly Lee is the Vice President of Resource and Development Branding at MHA. Kim Lee is an experienced builder of collaborative relationships that support strong, inclusive, and productive communities.
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Sarah Morgan is Assistant General Counsel and Interim Director of Human Resources at Health New England. She provides strategic leadership and employment law advice to the Human Resource team, including Employee Relations.
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Ilana Steinhauer serves as Executive Director of Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires. Along with the standard ED responsibilities, she also acts as director of medical services- coordinating patient care across all medical service areas, as well as providing acute and chronic care.
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Coalitions Receive Grant to Augment Communications & Education
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Mercy Medical Center’s Community Health and Well Being Department has received money through Trinity Health to support community issues identified in their 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment. Through this initiative, the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts was awarded $90,000 to augment the Youth Mental Health and Climate Justice Coalitions' communications capacity to support accessibility for individuals who speak Spanish or have disabilities, health education, policy advocacy, and community outreach. Live Well Springfield's Climate Justice Initiative is planning a mural project and a video campaign. The Springfield Youth Mental Health Coalition will use the funds to host a youth mental health awareness event and disseminate a communications campaign to "normalize" talking about mental health. Funding will also support the Pioneer Valley Asthma Coalition's Pioneer Valley Healthy Air effort.
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Live Well Springfield Website: New Year, New Look
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Assessing Community Health Needs in Western MA
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The 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) process is currently underway for the Coalition of Western MA Hospitals/Insurer with key research, report writing, and community engagement activities facilitated by the Public Health Institute of Western MA. The consultant team also includes Collaborative for Educational Services, Franklin Regional Council of Governments, and Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. The Coalition is a partnership of 8 non-profit hospitals and a health insurer that collaborate to conduct their CHNAs. The 2022 reports will help us understand our community needs and assets, as well as the impact of COVID-19 on our communities. This year the Coalition has chosen a shared regional focus area, youth mental health, which will examine the growing crisis facing youth and young adults ages 12-24. Stay tuned to learn more about upcoming events and opportunities to engage with the CHNA process.
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How has COVID Impacted Your Community?
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The pandemic has affected youth mental health. The COVID Community Impact Survey (CCIS) has a wealth of data related to mental health and youth, as well as housing, employment, healthcare, intimate partner violence, substance use, and more.
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COVID-19 News & Resources
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Tips for Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy
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Statewide School Mask Requirement Expires Feb 28, But Local Districts May Impose Their Own Mandates
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley announced Wednesday 2/9/22 the statewide mask requirement for K-12 schools will be lifted on February 28. Massachusetts has robust school testing programs, including a newly launched at-home testing program for students and educators. These testing options will remain in place. Also, masking continues to be required on all school buses, per federal order.
Massachusetts has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country; however, the rates vary from county to county. Western MA has some of the lowest vaccination rates in the state. According to the MA Department of Public Health, as of February 8th, only 71% of eligible individuals (12+) were fully vaccinated in both Hampden and Hampshire County, compared to several counties in eastern MA with rates greater than 80%.
According to the State House News Service, the Massachusetts Teachers Association criticizes this decision because "the strong statewide youth vaccination numbers gloss over large disparities between wealthier, whiter districts and districts with more low-income families or students of color."
Despite the expiration of this mandate, individual school districts may establish their own local mask requirement.
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Get vaccinated & boosted
Vaccines are still the best protection against getting severely ill with COVID-19, including the highly contagious Omicron variant.
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Vacunarse y reforzar
Las vacunas siguen siendo la mejor protección contra una enfermedad grave con COVID-19, incluyendo la variante omicron altamente contagiosa.
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Upcoming Vaccine Clinic for Children and Families
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Clinicas de Vacunas para Niños y Familias
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When accidents happen or sickness strikes, deciding in the moment where to go can be hard. Refer to the image below to help you make the right choice.
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25 Years in the Making, 5 Years as the PHIWM
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The Public Health Institute of Western MA typically publishes reports on regional health issues, but for the first time we are putting out a report about our own organization. We often are asked about our regional reach, funding sources, partnership structures, and the scope of our work, so we wrote this report to answer some of these questions. We reflect and share our journey over the past five years as the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts. We anticipate this report will serve as a baseline for future annual reports. Thank you for being part of our evolution!
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In the News & In the Community
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Sarita Hudson spoke about 413Cares on Mass Appeal on 2/14/22. Watch now to learn more about this innovative community portal that provides online access for residents of Western Massachusetts to available resources.
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Samantha Hamilton presented at the Resistance Center for Peace and Justice 38th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration on 1/17/22. Watch the recording.
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Kathleen Szegda, PhD, MS, MPH, presented with Bettye Anderson Frederic, RN, MSN, and Sarah Goff, MD, PhD, at a virtual workshop series on 1/13/22 and 1/20/22 about Building Community-Academic Research Partnerships. The workshop series was hosted by UMass Medical School's Center for Clinical and Translational Science. Watch the recording from session 1.
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