For Immediate Release: 12/7/2010 1:25 pm
Worcester, MA (December 7, 2010) - The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts has awarded $50,000 to the City of Worcester for the purpose of pursuing regionalization through shared services and cooperative agreements with area towns.
The funding will support the City's ongoing efforts to build a 21st century public health model, inclusive of a regional public health approach, to not only improve services but maximize limited resources. The City's Task Force on Public Health recommended regionalization activities with area towns as a means of improving community health while also reducing costs.
"As we continue to adapt to the realities of fewer resources, regionalism will play an important role in our ability to deliver services, to meet state and federal mandates and stricter compliance standards, and to access limited dollars for technology and other resources," said City Manager Michael V. O'Brien.
The City recently formalized an agreement with the Town of Shrewsbury to provide supervisory, advisory and policy recommendations to the municipality on all public health services. Additional towns have also expressed interest in a regional approach.
"The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts is pleased to provide a $50,000 grant to the City of Worcester to explore with area towns and cities the prospects of entering cooperative arrangements to share public health resources and services," said Janice B. Yost, President of The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts.
"Research on the performance of public health systems across the country indicates that larger public health districts, serving up to 500,000 residents, are most effective. So, if area local health departments are able to join together to maximize their limited resources and expand their capacity, residents of the region should benefit from enhanced protection of the public's health," Yost explained.
A meeting will be convened by Sens. Michael O. Moore and Harriette L. Chandler and hosted by the City of Worcester on Tuesday, December 14 at Worcester City Hall with area municipalities to discuss various sustainable public health regional models.
"I am very much looking forward to exploring the prospect of regionalizing some of Central Massachusetts' boards of health," said Senator Chandler. "I think collaborative efforts from the City of Worcester and surrounding towns will strengthen our public health resources and be able to better serve our communities' changing needs."
"Regionalization has become a vital tool for many communities to help cope with growing constraints on their budgets," said Sen. Moore. "Often, choices to regionalize services can be wrought with questions and uncertainty. This meeting will help bring local officials together to discuss ideas and solutions, to help ensure that local public health services are maintained while effectively controlling costs."
The Health Foundation funding will partially support the City's ongoing regionalism efforts for public health to include the recent partnership between Worcester and the Town of Shrewsbury. This initial agreement is a pilot and it is expected to serve as model service agreement for other towns that may wish to participate. Funds from this grant will also be utilized to research and expand this model to include fees for services with a menu of options for communities.
