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. We saw the overwhelming resilience and flexibility that exists in our community throughout the past year, as agencies across our region stepped up to radically transform their service models and continue serving their clients’ increasing needs despite the obstacles of COVID-19. While our partners were evaluating their own systems and creating needed change, CHNA 20 was doing the same: looking at our internal practices, our organizational structure and our changing needs, and how we could best adapt to continue growing in our mission moving forward.
To help create the kind of sustainability and structure the CHNA needs to grow and thrive, we made key changes to our governance. First, CHNA 20 took the crucial step of redefining our relationship with Bay State Community Services. As we begin 2021, the Blue Hills Community Health Alliance is now a hosted program of Bay State, with all the benefits of institutional support and resource-sharing that accompany that status. Our mission will not change under Bay State’s care, but our capacity to pursue that mission will grow. We look forward to a long and successful future in our new home!
In addition to our relocation, the CHNA also decided to change our own governance structures to better reflect the kind of nimble, streamlined approach that will allow us to move quickly and decisively in 2021 and beyond. We bid a fond farewell to our longstanding Steering Committee, and installed a new smaller and more hands-on Executive Committee with the skills and capacity to work closely with our staff on crucial projects. Their enthusiasm and positivity are already a fantastic asset to the CHNA.
Looking ahead, we anticipate exciting growth on a number of fronts, including our ambitious BHRCC project. This effort, along with many others, will be led by our staff, consultants and Executive Committee. With the departure of longtime Program Director Kym Williams and the promotion of Ashley Stockwell, the CHNA seized the opportunity to formalize a core team of specialists across a wide range of disciplines whose expertise will enhance our work. We encourage you to read more about each of our talented professionals here.
Lastly, the work ahead of us would not be possible without the foundations that have already been laid. Our new blog feature on both the CHNA 20 and BHRCC websites provides an excellent opportunity to look back at the details of an exciting and tumultuous 2020. We’ve also created this quick “By the Numbers” graphic to showcase some of the highlights of our achievements over the past year. As we head into the new year full steam ahead, we’re encouraged by remembering all that we’ve managed to do together so far. Imagine what we’ll be saying next year at this time!
