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. It’s now been six months since our region first began to feel the serious effects of the virus, and while we’re a long way from experiencing a “post-COVID” reality, our focus is beginning to shift. 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?
We’ve talked to dozens of community partners over the past months, and in looking back at those interviews, it’s become clear that there are strong common threads. Despite working in different spheres -- some direct service agencies, some not; some agencies providing mental health services, others focused on housing or food security -- it’s evident that COVID-19 has affected the majority of our partner agencies in similar ways. The conclusions drawn by one are mirrored by others’ experiences. We find these discoveries heartening, because they speak to a strong interest and ability to work together as a sector to adapt for the future.
Technology is the Key
With so many essential services being necessarily in-person endeavors -- like food pantries, emergency shelters, and many functions of health care -- the role of technology in public health agencies has not always been clear or consistent from one organization to the next. However, as in-person services became less possible due to the pandemic, even those organizations that were not technologically comfortable had to find ways to use the digital world to their advantage.
As Rita McKinnon of Bay State Community Services reported, “One thing I’ve learned is how nimble we can be using new technology!” Others agreed with her experience, and pointed out how the crisis exposed areas of weakness within their agencies. “It became clear early on that we should have trained older adults in how to use different forms of technology,” said Sara Tan of Enhance Asian Community on Health (EACH). She noted that when the organization began using WeChat (a platform similar to WhatsApp, but well-known within the Chinese community) to help older adults communicate with EACH and with their families and friends, it became evident that technology use was an important tool that hadn’t been deeply considered before.
Technology helped the majority of our community partners maintain their services for clients throughout the worst of the pandemic. In some cases, new systems were created and used for internal needs, such as Quincy Community Action Program’s (QCAPS) 24-hour turnaround in creating online rental assistance applications. In other cases, agencies used client-facing technologies to continue vital programs, like the South Shore YMCA’s virtual wellness checks and online classes for isolated seniors. And technology took a starring role for many organizations who began offering telehealth services during the pandemic.
In discussing the importance of telehealth and the success of the platform, Kathleen Bambrick of Aspire Health Alliance stated clearly, “Going forward, Aspire will continue with telehealth to supplement face-to-face.” McKinnon agreed. “We are certainly looking at how telehealth can continue to be a viable component of the work we do,” she said, citing an almost 100% show rate for telehealth appointments with Bay State’s clinicians -- a number that prior to the pandemic would have been “unheard of” for in-person appointments.
Challenges do exist in making technology a cornerstone of operations for public health agencies. Many of the partners we talked to mentioned funding and training as obstacles to fully utilizing technology for sustainable programs and services in the future. But it’s clear that after the overwhelming successes many agencies experienced in reaching their clients virtually during the crisis, technological solutions to public health problems will be a big part of our region’s response going forward.
Collaborations are Vital
The other key takeaway noted by nearly every partner was the crucial importance of strong collaboration. As Paul Williams of the Weymouth Health Department noted early on in the pandemic, “(COVID-19) has also shown us what we -- public health professionals -- have always known: working collaboratively is more effective than working in silos.” Sandra McGunigle of Manet Community Health Center agreed. “The value of collaboration during this state of emergency has been clear,” she said, citing strong partnerships with the YMCA, Father Bill’s and Mainspring, and other agencies in the region.
Vinny Harte of Wellspring Multi-Service Center also spoke about the importance of collaboration, both within the public health arena and outside of it. “I could definitely see this continuing,” he said of the Wellspring “Better Together” program, a collaborative effort between Wellspring and local restaurants which offered financial support to the businesses through sponsored purchasing of meals to be delivered to families in need. And his isn’t the only example of public-private partnerships making a difference during the pandemic. We heard from multiple agencies that the support of businesses in the community were key to their successes, from donations of food for emergency nutrition assistance to providing free PPE for clients.
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, community agencies opened their doors and hearts to each other. Space-sharing ensured that people experiencing homelessness received shelter; resource-sharing meant that clients from one agency received vital home deliveries of food and supplies through the delivery services and drivers from another organization. Time and again we were told about the ways in which our community partners stepped up to help each other during a crisis. But as the crisis wanes, it’s imperative that agencies bring that kind of innovative “all hands on deck” thinking into the design of a new normal. If the pandemic has proven anything, it’s that we have much of what we need as a region to solve many ongoing public health challenges -- we just need to band together to pool our skills, resources and talents to do so.
Where CHNA 20 Fits Into the Picture
There’s no shortage of skill, good intention or innovation in our region when it comes to solving complex, systemic public health disparities. But there has historically been a lack of coordinated problem-solving that benefits everyone. As the key takeaways from our communities during this pandemic have demonstrated, we are all stronger and better when we work together.
The CHNA has always existed to fill the gaps -- to help create the bridges between agencies and between interested parties in all sectors that will eventually provide a seamless network of services for our most vulnerable citizens. Our work in that vein continues as we move forward with initiatives like our Blue Hills Regional Coordinating Council (BHRCC), which has made tremendous progress even during the pandemic on improving accessibility and transportation equity in our region. We will likewise continue to introduce key partners to one another, to provide help and technical assistance in securing funding opportunities that will strengthen technological capacity and partnerships, and to work in ways that improve resource coordination throughout the Blue Hills.
To that end, we invite the community to get involved with our work. Come to a (virtual) meeting of the CHNA, join the BHRCC, or contact us to ask questions and make suggestions. We look forward to helping shape the future of a new, post-COVID normal in public health.