Roadmap to Behavioral Health in Western MA

I had the pleasure of joining Tania Barber, CEO of Caring Health Center, Steve Winn, CEO of Behavioral Health Network, Audrey Shelto, CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, and Mark Keroack, CEO of Baystate Health as speakers at the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum's December 1st event, Roadmap to Behavioral Health in Western Massachusetts. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated a behavioral health crisis particularly in Western Massachusetts. This forum examined the depth and causes of the crisis and potential solutions. It also looked at recently passed Mental Health ABC: Addressing Barriers to Care and the state's Roadmap for Behavioral Health. Watch the recording.

I shared from the extensive youth health data collected for the Coalition of Western MA Hospitals’ CHNA which show common trends: 

• 40-55% of students across the 4 counties reported feeling sad or hopeless for extended periods. 
• Anxiety levels were higher than in pre-COVID surveys.  
• As with previous surveys, rates of sadness, depression and anxiety were much higher (in some cases, 2x or 3x as high) for students of color, girls, LGBTQIA+ youth, students with disabilities, and marginalized youth in rural communities. 

Talking with mental health care providers and with youth development professionals helped us go beyond these numbers to understand what young people are experiencing and where we can focus our resources. Believing and prioritizing our youth, our children is key!

• Young people are feeling less stigma, more willingness to talk about mental health than before, and more so than older generations. 
• They have a strong desire to connect with peers and mentors, are using peer support systems, and are also leaning on family supports.  
• They want to be successful and are resourceful and resilient.  

The new resources offered by the Commonwealth’s Roadmap for Behavioral Health are focused on much needed treatment facilities, care coordination, and building up the 21st century workforce. However, resources for prevention strategies are also needed: examples include extra-curricular programming to give youth purpose and positive opportunities; informing adults/caregivers how best to support young people to identify and navigate feelings in a healthy way; and building mentoring (both peer-to-peer and adult-to-peer) networks. Western MA is poised to build on collaborations and provide innovation across sectors to create an equitable behavioral and mental health ecosystem for decades to come.

Race and Health Equity

Board News

Thank You!

This year three people will be terming off of the Board of Directors - John Cook, Cristina Huebner Torres, and Lora Wondolowski. Thank you for your support and service!

Congratulations!

Keith Fairey, Chief Executive Officer at Way Finders, and Kimberley Lee, Chief of Creative Strategy and Development at MiraVista Behavioral Health Center were appointed to Healey-Driscoll transition committees. Congratulations! Learn more about the transition committees.

Coalition Building

Join us in Welcoming Francheska!

The Coalition Building team is excited to announce that we have added a new person to the team!

Francheska Bermudez, MS, MPH is a 413Cares Program Coordinator for the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts. Being born and raised in Springfield, she is an advocate for her community and is very passionate about health disparities, women’s health, and minority health. Francheska was a prior Baystate Springfield Education Partnership (BSEP) student, and she was Baystate Health’s first Graduate Public Health Fellow in the spring-summer of 2022 under Frank Robinson. Learn more about Francheska.

Overdose Prevention in Hampden County

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) has provided a $500,000 grant to Hampden County for the implementation of overdose prevention strategies across rural and urban parts of the county. The NACCHO grant supports the work of 4 key partners: Gandara Center, Mercy Medical Center, Quaboag Hills Substance Use Alliance (QHSUA), and Northampton Drug Addiction and Recovery Team (DART). The goals are to increase the use of harm-reduction strategies, increase access to appropriate treatment, and reduce the number of overdose deaths.

This funding builds off of the work of the Hampden County Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) allowing for deeper collaborative work to be done to address substance use and opioid deaths across the county. The Public Health Institute of Western MA is providing administrative and convening support on this grant. To learn more, contact Liv Anna Homstead.

Closing the Digital Divide

“Having digital equity means that all people have access to the skills, computer equipment, and reliable high-speed internet needed to operate in the digital world.” 413Cares is partnering with the Alliance for Digital Equity to help connect people to the available resources to close the digital divide in western MA. Find resources including devices, broadband discounts, and skills training at 413Cares.org/digital-equity.

Policy Update

Our 2023-2024 Policy Agenda

The MA state legislature begins a new two-year session next month. After all 40 state senators and 160 representatives are sworn in on January 3, 2023, we can expect them to file upwards of 7,000 bills in just a few weeks. While many of those bills are “refiles” from last session, plenty will be new, with novel ideas and approaches intended to better address the needs of our Commonwealth. 

At this point, many nonprofits, businesses, and institutions—including PHIWM—will begin to advocate for specific topics and bills. As a mission-driven nonprofit organization that does research and coalition building, PHIWM also advocates for legislation that advances health equity and brings us closer to racial justice. 

In 2023-2024, our advocacy work will focus on the dire need in Western MA for more housing that is affordable and healthy to live in, because housing is a key driver of good health for all. Working collaboratively with the Western MA Coalition to End Homelessness, PHIWM will help ensure that there are strong Western MA voices at the statewide tables that are often made up of only folks from Eastern MA. We will also be working to pass a transformative local public health bill (SAPHE 2.0); to invest in youth mental health; to improve air quality; and to increase public transportation options that reduce carbon emissions. In doing this work, we will participate in several coalitions, including those led by the MA Association of Community Development Corporations, MA Public Health Association, Greater Boston Legal Services, MA Law Reform Institute, Transportation for MA, and the Conservation Law Foundation.

If you would like to learn more about our policy priorities, we invite you to sign up for our newsletter, follow us on Facebook, or contact Policy Director Andrea Freeman.

Virus Information

Información de virus

Three respiratory viruses are currently circulating at high levels. This so called “triple-demic” poses highest risk for young children, people with weakened immune systems, and older adults. 

What can you do to stay healthy? 

1. Get vaccinated: It is not too late to get your COVID vaccine and booster and the flu shot. These provide the highest protection against severe illness. 
2. Trusty and effective prevention measures: Consider masking when in public indoor spaces. Frequent hand washing and staying home when sick are other important tools to use to prevent the spread of these 3 viruses. 
3. Testing: Test for COVID if you have symptoms or were exposed. Consider testing on a at-home test before you see loved ones for the holidays. 
4. For families: Find more ways families can prevent respiratory illness in this letter from MA Department of Public Health MA Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics. 

Tres virus respiratorios circulan actualmente a altos niveles. Esta llamada “triple-demia” presenta el mayor riesgo para los niños pequeños, las personas con sistemas inmunitarios debilitados y los adultos mayores.

¿Qué puedes hacer para mantenerte saludable?

1. Vacúnese: No es demasiado tarde para recibir su vacuna de COVID, refuerzo y la vacuna contra la influenza. Estos proporcionan la máxima protección contra enfermedades graves.
2. Medidas de prevención confiables y efectivas: Considere el uso de máscarillas cuando se encuentre en espacios públicos o Interiores. Lavarse las manos con frecuencia y quedarse en casa cuando está enfermo son otras herramientas importantes para prevenir la propagación de estos 3 virus.
3. Pruebas: Realice una prueba de COVID si tiene síntomas o estuvo expuesto. Considere realizar una prueba en el hogar antes de ver a sus seres queridos para las fiestas.
4. Para las familias: Encuentre más formas en que las familias pueden prevenir enfermedades respiratorias en esta carta del Departamento de Salud Pública de MA Capítulo de la Academia Estadounidense de Pediatría de MA.

Figure 1: CDC flu surveillance report

Figura 1: Informe de vigilancia de influenza de los CDC

Figure 2: MDPH flu activity dashboard. Dark orange=very high ILI level

Figura 2: MDPH Tablero de actividad de la influenza. Naranja oscuro = nivel de ILI muy alto

COVID-19

COVID-19 is on the rise across the world. In the U.S., cases are underreported. COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance can help us understand whether cases are increasing or decreasing in a community. Additionally, this data can provide an early warning about increasing cases since the virus will show up in wastewater before positive test numbers start to increase. Right now, levels of COVID in wastewater are increasing in most western MA counties and are above the national average. 

The best way to protect yourself is by getting vaccinated and make sure you have the bivalent booster. Wondering if this booster works? The first real-world data of the bivalent booster is available through the CDC’s published report on 12/2. It shows that the bivalent booster provided additional protection against infection compared to no vaccination. For more information and analysis of this data, check out the reputable blog by Your Local Epidemiologist.

RSV

Although RSV cases may be declining overall across the U.S., western MA providers are still inundated with patients and are only seeing a very slow decline thus far. Baystate Health continues to experience a large volume of children with RSV at their emergency department and pediatric ICU, hospital units, and clinics. 

Flu

This year, we are seeing unprecedented level of flu earlier in the typical flu season. Cases are increasing and increasing fast. Last week, the CDC Director said: “hospitalizations are the highest now than they have been in the past decade.” The CDC tracks flu activity through “influenza-like illness (ILI)” data collected from a database of provider information. Since last week, Massachusetts has gone from moderate to high flu activity on the CDC’s map. Local providers are seeing a surge of flu cases in outpatient offices and in emergency departments.

COVID-19

COVID-19 está en aumento en todo el mundo. En los Estados Unidos, los casos no se denuncian. La vigilancia de aguas residuales de COVID-19 puede ayudarnos a comprender si los casos están aumentando o disminuyendo en una comunidad. Además, estos datos pueden proporcionar una advertencia temprana sobre el aumento de casos, ya que el virus aparecerá en las aguas residuales antes de que comiencen a aumentar los números de pruebas positivas. En este momento, los niveles de COVID en las aguas residuales están aumentando en la mayoría de los condados del oeste de MA y están por encima del promedio nacional.

La mejor manera de protegerse es vacunándose y asegurándose de tener el refuerzo bivalente. ¿Se pregunta si este refuerzo funciona? Los primeros datos del mundo real del refuerzo bivalente están disponibles a través del informe publicado por los CDC el 12/2. Muestra que el refuerzo bivalente proporcionó protección adicional contra la infección en comparación con la ausencia de vacunación. Para obtener más información y un análisis de estos datos, consulte el blog de confianza de Your Local Epidemiologist.

RSV

Aunque los casos de RSV pueden estar disminuyendo en general en los Estados Unidos, los proveedores de MA occidentales todavía están inundados de pacientes y solo están viendo una disminución muy lenta hasta el momento. Baystate Health continúa experimentando un gran volumen de niños con RSV en su departamento de emergencias y UCI pediátrica, unidades hospitalarias y clínicas.

Influenza (gripe)

Este año, estamos viendo un nivel de influenza sin precedentes antes de la temporada típica de influenza. Los casos están aumentando y aumentando rápidamente. La semana pasada, el director de los CDC dijo: “las hospitalizaciones son las más altas ahora que en la última década”. El CDC rastrea la actividad de influenza a través de datos de "enfermedad similar a la influenza (ILI)" recopilados de una base de datos de información de proveedores. Desde la semana pasada, Massachusetts ha pasado de una actividad de influenza moderada a alta en el mapa de los CDC. Los proveedores locales están viendo un aumento de casos de influenza en los consultorios ambulatorios y en los departamentos de emergencia.

COVID-19 Data

Visit the Western MA COVID-19 Data Dashboard for the latest COVID-19 data for the region.

Turn Data into Action

The Public Health Institute of Western MA is the technical assistance provider for the COVID-19 Community Impact Survey (CCIS) for Western MA. The CCIS has a wealth of data related to housing, employment. healthcare, intimate partner violence, substance use, youth, mental health, and more. Learn more here and send us a data request.

News & Events

Upcoming Events

• A Public Health Approach to Problem Gambling training, December 16, 2022 from 1:00–3:00pm: The Massachusetts Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling Prevention is hosting a free introductory training that will explore the importance of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities, problem gambling concepts and terminology, variables associated with an increased risk or a lower likelihood of problem gambling, groups at risk for developing problem gambling, and connections with related health issues. This is a free training and CEUs will be provided for Certified Prevention Specialists, Recovery Coaching Certification, and Health Educators. Learn more and register!
• 36th Annual NOFA/Mass Winter Conference, January 14 & 15: We are excited to come together around this winter’s theme, “Cooperative Foodways: Building Our Future Together” with this year’s keynote speaker, Ira Wallace, author and worker/owner of the cooperatively managed Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in Central Virginia. Registration is available on a sliding scale. Learn more and register!
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration, January 16, 2023 from 11:00am - 1:00pm at Mass Mutual Center in Springfield: Save the date! This event is free and open to the public. For info contact 413-746-3655.
• Webinar about Long COVID, January 20, 2023 from 12:00-1:00pm: SAVE THE DATE! We will be hosting a webinar in January about Long COVID, featuring Bruce Levy, MD from Harvard Medical School, Linda Sprague Martinez, PhD, from Boston University, and Representative Mindy Domb. More information coming soon!

Give joy. Not risk.

When it comes to holiday gift-giving, lottery tickets are not for children and young teens. Learn more about youth and gambling.

Free Transit

• Give Transit a Try, November 25, 2022 through December 31, 2022: No passes or fares will be needed to take a bus or van operated by one of the regional transit authorities in the Commonwealth from November 25 through December 31, 2022. Fares have been prepaid by the MA Legislature!