Communities receive public health regionalization grants

Through a multi-year state program funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 regional groups comprising 113 communities this past spring were awarded a total of $276,400 to help them regionalize public health services.

The regionalization funding is intended to help communities to improve the scope and quality of available services, minimize disparities, maximize the impact of available resources, and promote municipal policy changes to combat health threats such as obesity and smoking.

The grants for each group range from $15,000 to $30,000, and the group sizes range from three communities to 22.

The following regional groups were awarded grants:

• Central Massachusetts Regional Health District, 10 communities, led by Worcester Health Department

• Berkshire Public Health Partnership, 17 communities, led by Berkshire Regional Planning Commission

• Franklin County Cooperative Health Service, 19 communities, led by Franklin Regional Council of Governments

• Hampshire Health District, 22 communities, led by city of Northampton

• Montachusett Regional Planning District, five communities, led by Montachusett Regional Planning District

• Upper Merrimack Valley Health District, three communities, led by Methuen Health Department

• Integrated Public Health Network, four communities, led by city of Cambridge

• Southeast Regional Health District, 13 communities, led by Middleborough Health Department

• North Shore Shared Health Services Project, five communities, led by Metropolitan Area Planning Council

• Tri-Town (District), three communities, led by Lowell Health Department

• MetroWest Public Health and Nursing District, 13 communities, led by Acton Board of Health

The initial stage of grant money is intended to help communities plan how they would regionalize public health services such as sanitation, restaurant inspections, disease control and prevention, and public health nurses. The groups are using the money to hire consultants to help them plan.

The regional groups have until mid-November to submit their plans to the Department of Public Health through a competitive process that will make additional money available to support implementation for five regional groups over the next four years.

For more information, visit the Department of Public Health’s website (www.mass.gov/dph).