The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has initiated drastic public response, including calls for social distancing and self-quarantine for those who may be ill. For most, these steps are an inconvenience. But for our most vulnerable, social distancing can spell trouble. Children who rely on schools for food may go hungry. People and families in crowded shelters… Read more »
On Tuesday, January 28th, Dr. Camara Jones visited HRiA for a presentation and discussion on racism with staff and board members. The session was held in the conference room named in her honor. Dr. Jones enthralled us with her most well-known allegories, followed by an engaging discussion on the levels of racism, identifying how racism… Read more »
Last July, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced that her office began investigating Juul Labs, Inc. and other online e-cigarette retailers that sell JUUL over concerns about the marketing and sale of electronic smoking devices and products to youth. On February 12, 2020, members of HRiA’s Fight All Flavors team and young people from The 84 attended a press conference at… Read more »
The Provider Access Improvement Grant Program (PAIGP), funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services and managed by Health Resources in Action, is now accepting proposals on PAIGP.org. PAIGP aims to help eligible MassHealth providers increase access to healthcare and improve outcomes for patients with disabilities, or for whom English is not… Read more »
by Kira Jamieson, age 16 In late 2019, HRiA’s Carly Caminiti received a prestigious award in honor of her youth advocacy work for tobacco control. We asked Kira Jamieson, one of the many talented young people that Carly has worked with over the years, to interview her for this blog. Kira joined The 84 in 2019 and has… Read more »
Dear HRiA friends and colleagues, Happy New Year to you all! January affords us the opportunity to reflect on the past year and set goals for the future. As we begin this new decade, I’d like to take a moment to think back on HRiA’s accomplishments and our path ahead. One of the most significant… Read more »
Health Resources in Action is part of a powerful statewide movement in Massachusetts to address health inequities and seize the momentum across the Commonwealth to mobilize communities about the impacts of flavored tobacco. For decades, the tobacco industry has targeted Black communities with predatory marketing of mentholated products. That deliberate marketing continues today with heavy… Read more »
In any given classroom, at least two or three students are likely to have asthma. Children experiencing asthma symptoms often stay home from school or struggle to participate. Clearing the Air: An Asthma Toolkit for Healthy Schools is a new toolkit containing sample policy language, best practices, and curated resources & tools to help schools… Read more »
Abby Atkins and Mary V. Davis As the fields of health care and public health have been evolving dramatically since the Affordable Care Act, it’s important to take a meaningful look at the progress that partnerships between hospitals, public health, and community stakeholders have made to improve community health. With support from the Robert Wood… Read more »
Nineequa Blanding joins Health Resources in Action as Vice President of grantmaking, overseeing community health grantmaking in partnership with health care, governmental, and community-based clients, as well as the growth of biomedical research grantmaking through The Medical Foundation. Ms. Blanding brings expertise in program planning, grantmaking, research, and evaluation in academia, health care, and local… Read more »
On July 24th, HRiA co-hosted with the Massachusetts Public Health Association and the Medical Legal Partnership Boston a Public Health Leaders Breakfast Roundtable with Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu. The listening session included public health and organizational leaders around the city representing healthcare, housing, community development, philanthropy, advocacy, and other sectors that play a critical… Read more »
The Provider Access Improvement Grant Program (PAIGP), funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services and managed by Health Resources in Action, is now accepting proposals. PAIGP aims to help eligible MassHealth providers increase access to healthcare and improve outcomes for patients with disabilities, and for whom English is not a primary… Read more »
The Leaders through Education, Action, and Hope (LEAH) Project of HRiA is pleased to be the recipient of a $40,000 Project Innovation grant. Project Innovation is a competitive grant program presented locally by NBC10 Boston, Telemundo Boston, and NECN in partnership with the NBCUniversal Foundation. It recognizes non-profit organizations that are using innovative solutions to… Read more »
HRiA, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA), co-hosted an informational breakfast with State Senator Julian Cyr, a key public health ally in the Massachusetts State Senate. The breakfast session gave leaders from public and private institutions an opportunity to share their top public health priorities with the senator, in his second term… Read more »
A growing movement is revolutionizing how we approach substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and view recovery – changing our language, helping to remove stigma, and celebrating the hard work of maintaining sobriety. HRiA has guided people in Massachusetts to treatment and recovery resources through the Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline for over 22 years. In that time,… Read more »
Springboard to Active Schools, a collaborative initiative between HRiA, the National Network of Public Health Institutes, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed a set of new resources for educators to help integrate physical activity into the classroom. These resources will help schools use evidence-based strategies to incorporate classroom physical activity and… Read more »
Among transgender respondents of a national survey: [1] 40% have attempted suicide in their lifetime, nearly nine times the rate in the U.S. population (4.6%). 30% of respondents who had a job in the past year reported being fired, denied a promotion, or experiencing some other form of mistreatment related to their gender identity or… Read more »
HRiA and the Helpline hosted a press event on October 18 highlighting the Commonwealth’s aggressive response to the opioid epidemic and substance use disorder, featuring speakers Governor Charlie Baker, Secretary Marylou Sudders of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and Commissioner Monica Bharel of the MA Department of Public Health. They spoke of… Read more »
Project Here, funded by the GE Foundation and the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, promotes social-emotional learning and empowers middle school students to make healthy decisions. HRIA serves as a fiscal sponsor and program manager to Project Here. On September 17, 2018, Project Here staff and partners participated in press conference at the Massachusetts… Read more »
Friday, September 21st was the kick-off event for the MassHealth Accountable Care Organizations and Community Partners technical assistance (TA) program. HRiA was announced as one of the approved TA providers offering services through the Massachusetts Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program. As health care system and payment reform has required multiple stakeholders to evolve and… Read more »
Although there is now national consensus on community health worker (CHW) core roles and skills, and health care reform has led to the recognition of community health workers’ role in improving health outcomes and reducing costs, most CHWs in the Commonwealth are not paid living wages. This key finding of a report commissioned by the… Read more »
Sixty years after our founding, Health Resources in Action continues to carry out its original mission to support medical research and health education – albeit in terms and approaches that continue to evolve with the times. HRiA was originally founded in 1957 as “The Medical Foundation of Metropolitan Boston” by founding partners including the Massachusetts… Read more »
Recently we wrote about the changing health care landscape brought on by multiple factors, including payment reform and provisions of the Affordable Care Act and IRS regulations. Until a few years ago, hospitals and health systems had been charged with monitoring and improving the health outcomes of their patients, as measured by disease rates, morbidity,… Read more »
In our daily work with young people, we know that youth today are concerned with everything from college admissions to climate change, and prom dates to politics – but where does public health and tobacco prevention fit into their world view? For those youth involved in The 84 Movement, advocating for healthier communities and policy… Read more »
Boston Medical Center is embarking on a groundbreaking four-year initiative to increase housing stability in Boston in partnership with multiple organizations and agencies throughout Boston, including Health Resources in Action, the Boston Alliance for Community Health (BACH), and the Center for Community Health Education Research and Service (CCHERS). Recognizing that stable housing is a significant… Read more »
The Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, along with the GE Foundation, HRiA, Epicenter Experience, and The Herren Project, launched the website and registration for Project Here on October 30. The public-private initiative will provide educational resources to schools to protect young people from substance use and address the opioid epidemic. HRiA serves as fiscal… Read more »
This summer, HRiA became the fiscal home for the Massachusetts Alliance of Community Health Workers (MACHW). HRiA is pleased to support the important work of Community Health Workers and a mission that aligns with our own, and welcomes Lisette Blondet. Over its 17-year history, MACHW has advocated for policies and programs that promote best practices… Read more »
HRiA was awarded a contract with the State of Illinois to run their Opioid Assistance and Recovery Services (OARS) Hotline – the first of its kind in the state. Like the rest of the country, Illinois has experienced an upward trend in opioid-related emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and overdose deaths, while administration of naloxone… Read more »
Health Resources in Action has received a five-year, $1.25 million Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand its LEAH STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education program for Boston and Cambridge public high school students. Health Resources in Action (HRiA), in… Read more »
To say it is a pivotal time for health care in the United States is no overstatement. An emphasis on the triple aim of improving population health and quality of care while reducing health care costs is bringing about a paradigm shift in health care and public health spheres. To meet this demand, it is… Read more »
Several years ago, I attended a meeting about providing home visitors and other supports to young parents and their children. During the break, the charismatic leader of a wonderful program talked to me about her frustrations: Her staff spent their days with the young families screening for problems like domestic violence, depression, drug and alcohol… Read more »
In the last few years, striking data visualizations have demonstrated what many already knew: The places where people live, work, learn, play, and pray impact the health of communities. In fact, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Time to Act: Investing in the Health of Our Children and Communities states that when it comes to… Read more »
Spending even a moment watching the news, scanning social media, or reading a newspaper will reveal a new story about the potential policy and budgetary directions of public health and health care. It is an uncertain time and even more essential now for organizations committed to population health to be innovative, flexible, and nimble while… Read more »
PCORI is seeking Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) for Tier A projects through their Pipeline to Proposal (P2P) Awards Initiative. This program supports the development of research ideas and proposals designed by partnerships of patients, caregivers, and other healthcare stakeholders. The deadline for submitting a letter of inquiry is Thursday, April 20, 2017. Full details are available… Read more »
Public health professionals have long understood that controlling health care costs is largely dependent on improving the health of communities. Healthcare organizations, while supporting the principle that community health improvement is good for society, have played less of a role in addressing issues that impact the public’s health. There are many reasons for this, including… Read more »
Organizations and community partnerships know strategic planning is critical to better performance, engagement, and quality improvement. Yet many face the reality that planning is time consuming and costly. HRiA’s FAST approach to Facilitating Alignment and Strategic Thinking builds consensus, uses data to inform collective action, and aligns efforts to maximize impact. FAST is an intensive… Read more »
In June 2016, HRiA facilitated a FAST rapid strategic planning process for the Worksite Wellness Council of Massachusetts (WWCMA). WWCMA is a membership organization offering resources and networking opportunities to help members cultivate and sustain a culture of health and wellness for employees and their families across Massachusetts. HRiA worked with the WWCMA board to… Read more »
“It’s the job of public health to tell the truth about what creates health.” Conference keynote speaker, Jeanne Ayers, the Chief Health Equity Strategist for the Minnesota Department of Health inspired the room full of professionals. On December 8, 2016, over 100 people came together at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston for an important… Read more »
I am thrilled that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced yesterday that it is requiring all public housing in the country to be smoke-free within 18 months. The rule prohibits lit tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, or pipes) in all living units, indoor common areas, administrative offices, and all outdoor areas within 25… Read more »
OK, it may not exactly have the drama of a Red Sox game or the glamour of the Emmys, but scientific peer review does have a charm all its own. Fall is always a busy season for The Medical Foundation (TMF) at HRiA: it seems like every week this fall we convened a scientific review… Read more »