The GSSBHC provides a safety net that links behavioral health service providers across the region, so that the most vulnerable residents who are most likely to slip through the cracks can receive needed support and services.
Speaking Public Health: Integrated Care
One of the factors that often frustrates both patients and care providers is a disjointed system -- one in which a primary care doctor handles some aspects of a person’s well-being, while another provider, such as a mental health professional, takes care of another aspect of that person’s wellness. That’s where integrated care comes in.
Regional Spotlight: Substance Misuse Prevention Programs
Speaking Public Health: Types of Prevention
While health care typically deals mainly with diagnosing and treating disease, public health looks at trying to improve a broad spectrum of outcomes related to health and well-being -- ideally, preventing health problems from developing in the first place. That’s the basic idea behind prevention strategies, which can be understood as three types of measures: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary.
Speaking Public Health: Strategic Prevention Framework
Regional Spotlight: Three Rivers Interlocal Council (TRIC)
We believe that the path to sustainable positive change for the health of our communities lies in multi-sector, collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts that address the root causes of public health inequities rather than treating the symptoms. TRIC’s mission of supporting cooperative planning across municipalities, and doing so within a framework that considers how decisions made in one community will affect the neighboring towns and cities, is a strong example of the kind of interdisciplinary collaboration we have pledged to expand in the Blue Hills.
Speaking Public Health: Community Engagement
Community Engagement sounds like a straightforward practice. On the surface, it’s simple: To do work that impacts a community, it’s generally best to involve the members of that community in the work being done. But true engagement is much deeper and more complex than just “involvement.” In fact, when done well, community engagement may be one of the more complicated aspects of any public health initiative.
Speaking Public Health: Social Determinants of Health
Social Determinants of Health are the conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play that impact health and well-being. They affect people’s health and well-being in a wide variety of ways, and they’re key drivers of health inequities -- the unfair differences in health status or access to health resources between different groups of people.
Regional Spotlight: Randolph Community Wellness Plan (CWP)
In 2018, the Town of Randolph partnered with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to generate a town-wide community health needs assessment. In order to fully engage in a comprehensive planning and data analysis process, the Town of Randolph convened a Steering Committee to guide the needs assessment and resulting Community Wellness Plan. CHNA 20 was invited to participate, and has taken an active role on the Steering Committee since its inception.
Speaking Public Health: CHA/CHIP
A CHA or CHNA (not to be confused with a Community Health Network Alliance, like CHNA 20!) is a systematic examination and analysis of the key health issues and assets in a community.
In other words, it’s a way of researching and learning about what makes people in a community healthier or less healthy.
Speaking Public Health: Collective Impact
Collective Impact is a structured approach to bringing people together to coordinate and act on complex issues, to bring about positive social change.
In other words, collective impact work means that instead of a lot of people and organizations acting on their own to try to solve problems, all those people and organizations get together and act as one unit to accomplish their goals.
End of Year Rewind Post
They say that with the New Year comes a sense of renewal — unfortunately the beginning of 2021 has brought with it a continuation of the many challenges we witnessed in 2020. It is evident now more than ever that turning the page on the calendar doesn’t mean we can turn away from the intense challenges facing our communities as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, health inequities, racial injustice, and other social determinants that threaten public health in the Blue Hills region. Despite the fatigue and despair that we’ve felt over the past year, and still continue to feel in this New Year, we also have reasons for optimism and hope.
The Blue Hills Community Health Alliance (CHNA 20) begins 2021 in a stronger position than ever before, ready to tackle the mounting challenges ahead of us with the strength and support of our many community partners.
CHNA 20 Leadership Introductions
Four Questions With Karen Peterson
My name is Karen Peterson and I am the Community Benefits Coordinator for South Shore Health and co-chair of the CHNA 20 Executive Committee.
Tell us how partnering with the Blue Hills Community Health Alliance (CHNA 20) has changed your work for the better.
Partnering with CHNA 20 has been extremely impactful for me in my work as it has given me the opportunity to establish relationships with like-minded people and organizations.
Four Questions With Vinny Harte
Vinny Harte, President & CEO at Wellspring. Of and on, we have partnered with CHNA 20 for 10 - 12 years.
Tell us how partnering with CHNA 20 has changed your work for the better.
The partnership allows for much greater and broader networking. The flow of information puts Wellspring in a position of knowledge.
Four Questions with Katelyn Szafir
My name is Katelyn Szafir. I am the Associate Executive Director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy and in Hanover.
Tell us how partnering with the Blue Hills Community Health Alliance (CHNA 20) has changed your work for the better.
The CHNA 20 has really helped myself and the YMCA realize that individuals are at different parts of their journey, and that we are here to support them fully, whatever that may be.
Four Questions With Paul Williams
My name is Paul Williams, and I’m the Substance Use Coordinator with the Weymouth Health Department. I’m also the Co-Chair of the CHNA 20 Executive Committee.
Tell us how partnering with CHNA 20 has changed your work for the better.
The ability to partner with and create new relationships with service providers and individuals has bettered my work by allowing me to educate the community of Weymouth what those services are and how to access them with ease.
Celebrating Kym Williams
2020 has been a year of great change for most of us, and the Blue Hills Community Health Alliance is no exception. Amid all the challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and social inequities that impact our communities, we’re also facing internal change. Some of the changes for the CHNA are positive, such as our new home at Bay State Community Services. Others are harder to accept -- like the decision of our longtime Program Director, Kym Williams, to step aside into a less substantive role as we approached the end of the fiscal year.
Caring for the Community During COVID-19: CHNA 20 Responds
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been sharing the stories of our partner agencies in the Quincy Metro Area who have stepped up in unique ways to provide needed services during the crisis. We’ve been inspired by their efforts and honored to have the opportunity to shine a spotlight on the great work that can be done when dedicated organizations engage in collaboration and innovation. However, what we haven’t yet shared is the work that CHNA 20 has done to provide assistance and relief to the community. We have had our own role in caring for public health during this time, and have taken an active part in caring for our community.
Caring for the Community during COVID-19: Lessons Learned
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, CHNA 20 has been highlighting the stories of our community partners and their heroic efforts to continue serving their clients despite the many challenges presented by the pandemic. As an organization that strives to make meaningful connections between agencies to improve public health outcomes in the long term, we feel it’s vitally important for us to take some time to step back and examine the lessons that have been learned during this time. What has worked well? What surprising insights have agencies had due to changing their models? What do community partners want to take forward with them into a “new normal” that will hopefully change public health for the better?