Statement by Oami Amarasingham, Deputy Director, Massachusetts Public Health Association,
Data regarding overdose deaths in the Commonwealth released today by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is devastating. Each of the 2,357 overdose deaths last year represents a family in pain and a community loss. These deaths are preventable; every overdose death is a policy failure. At the heart of these data is the reality that racial disparities are getting worse: the rate of overdose for Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic people increased significantly while rates of overdose for white people decreased.
We applaud the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Healey-Driscoll Administration for taking action in the face of this devastating report. The plan outlined by MDPH, including a fast-tracked overdose prevention center feasibility study, puts Massachusetts on the path to reverse the trends and save lives by focusing on harm reduction and root causes. While some states are implementing ill-conceived criminalization and punitive measures in response to overdose deaths, we are glad to see MDPH and the Healey-Driscoll Administration rely on data and experience that shows that the public health approach is more effective and long-lasting.
The Massachusetts Public Health Association has endorsed and is a member of the coalition advocating for the quick passage of H.1981/S.1242, An Act Relative to Preventing Overdose Deaths and Increasing Access to Treatment, sponsored by Rep. Dylan Fernandes, Rep. Marjorie Decker, and Sen. Julian Cyr to establish an overdose prevention center pilot program. Overdose prevention centers are a life-saving public health intervention.
Boston, MA – Today people are likely to think of COVID-19 when hearing the term public health. In truth the range of public health issues – and the people who work diligently every day to safeguard the health of our communities – is vast and deep. From potential new outbreaks of Mpox and health care for the homeless to clean swimming pools and drinking water and services for those suffering from addiction or mental health, public health concerns each and every resident of the Commonwealth.
On Friday, June 2, 2023, the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) will honor four public health professionals for their critical service, inspiring leadership, and commitment to racial justice at the 21st Annual MPHA Spring Awards Breakfast. The 2023 MPHA Awardees are:
More than 350 people are expected at the sold out to be held at the Artists For Humanity EpiCenter in South Boston. Massachusetts Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein will speak along with President & CEO of Health Resources in Action and MPHA Board President Steve Ridini and Executive Director of Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Initiative and MPHA Board President-Elect Roeshana Moore-Evans.
In addition to raising funds to support the advocacy and organizing agenda of MPHA, the breakfast offers an opportunity to recognize those whose daily work is devoted to making local communities and the entire Commonwealth healthier and more equitable.
“At this moment in history, when public health staff in Massachusetts and across the country have faced backlash and even harassment for their work it is more important than ever to celebrate those who have committed themselves to this hard and live-saving work,” stated Carlene Pavlos, Executive Director of MPHA.
Massachusetts Public Health Association and allies urge equity approaches hospitals and other healthcare institutions establish mask policies
Boston, MA – As the Massachusetts COVID-19 Public Health Emergency ends on May 11, public health advocates are calling upon hospitals, doctors, and other health providers to adopt masking policies that will continue to provide access to safer environments for their patients and their staff who are immunocompromised or otherwise at higher risk for the severe consequences of COVID.
“The end of universal masking policies in health care settings will put those seeking medical care who are already more vulnerable – people with respiratory diseases or cancer, people with disabilities, and older adults – at risk of contracting COVID and other potentially life-threatening illnesses,” said Carlene Pavlos, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA).
MPHA supports a more nuanced approach that centers equity and does not put the onus on the patient, an undue burden on those who may already feel disempowered in health care settings. One example that warrants consideration is the decision by UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester to keep masks in higher risk settings such as the emergency department and oncology. This approach aligns with public health strategies deployed over the past few decades to reduce hospital-acquired infections that have shifted the practice of wearing gloves only in certain circumstances to one that is now considered a universal precaution.
Pavlos also underscored that predictions by public health advocates played out time and time again over the past three years as historically marginalized communities experienced the highest rates of COVID infections and death due to COVID. According to the Commonwealth’s data collection, those who identified as Black, Asian, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Hispanic/Latine accounted for 76.84% of the cumulative case rates and 75.62% of the cumulative death rates since the onset of COVID-19 despite accounting for only 38.99% of the population in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (COVID-19 Response Reporting | Mass.gov) These disparate health outcomes expose the deeply embedded systemic barriers caused by racial and social inequities that existed long before the pandemic and were exacerbated by it.
WHO: Alexis Walls, Assistant Campaign Manager of the Massachusetts Public Health Association
WHAT: Analysis and commentary regarding regional transit items impacting public health in the Senate Ways & Means (SWM) Budget released today
Aim to advance legislation that passed both House and Senate in last session to address critical infrastructure and equity needs to shore up Commonwealth’s public health readiness
WHAT: The Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community (SAPHE 2.0) Act is a top legislative priority for the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) because of its foundational approach to ensuring that every city and town – regardless of race, income, or zip code – will have the resources and tools needed to address both daily health needs and emergency situations impacting the health and lives of its residents. Sponsored by Senator Jo Comerford and Representatives Hannah Kane and Denise Garlick, this critical bill will transform the Massachusetts local public health system by ensuring minimum standards for every community, increasing local capacity, creating a uniform data collection and reporting system, and establishing sustainable state funding.
SAPHE 2.0 builds on a body of work undertaken by the executive branch, the legislature, municipal leaders, public health officials, and fiscal policy experts. This bill implements the unanimous recommendations of the Special Commission on Local and Regional Public Health, as well as a key recommendation of the Joint Committee on COVID19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management’s report. SAPHE 2.0 also serves as the roadmap for efficiently and equitably spending the legislature’s $200M ARPA investment in local and regional public health. SAPHE 2.0, as unanimously passed by the legislature in 2022, provides the framework to realize a truly equitable and efficient local public health system.
WHO: Public health administrators, municipal leaders, and advocates from across the Commonwealth will present testimony and detail the current and ever present need for these improvements. Along with MPHA, organizational sponsors include MA Association of Public Health Nurses, MA Association of Health Boards, Blue Cross Blue Shield MA, the MA Healthy Aging Collaborative, regional planning commissions, and many more.
WHEN AND WHERE: Thursday, May 4th, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM in State House Hearing Room A-2. Also available via Hearings & Events (malegislature.gov)
WHY: “SAPHE 2.0 will transform the Commonwealth’s public health system into one that is informed, responsive, connected, and nimble,” said Oami Amarasingham, MPHA Deputy Director. While many of the issues identified and recommendations made in the Special Commission’s report pre-date COVID, the need to address them proactively was brought into stark relief over the past three years.
Amarasingham added, “Our decentralized public health and response systems – and the longstanding inequities and inefficiencies embedded within them – became more widely known as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Having unanimously passed the bill through both chambers at the end of the last legislative session, the House and Senate clearly understand that the time to act is now. We look forward to swift action on SAPHE 2.0 so that our public health system is prepared to meet the public health challenges of today and tomorrow.”
For more details regarding SAPHE 2.0 or to arrange an interview, please contact Toni Troop, MPHA Media Consultant by phone (ttroop@mapublichealth.org).
As lawmakers on Beacon Hill dig in on this year’s state budget, 79% of Massachusetts residents support increasing funding for the state’s 15 Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs), which provide local bus and paratransit service beyond the reaches of MBTA bus and subway service. Nearly as many (74%) support using some of the new voter-approved surtax on the portion of income over $1 million to fund the increase.
That’s according to a new poll of 1,401 Massachusetts residents conducted February 23 to March 7, 2023 by The MassINC Polling Group (MPG) in collaboration with the Regional Transit Authority Advocates Coalition (RTAAC). The poll was sponsored by The Barr Foundation.
Even when told the specifics of the policy – increasing the amount the RTA’s receive in the budget from $94 million to $150 million – 69% of voters support the proposal. Support rebounds when new funding is earmarked for offering more bus service at night and on weekends (79%).
“It’s not surprising for support for a policy proposal to decline slightly when real numbers are attached, and to increase when talking about how new funding would be used,” says MPG Senior Research Director Richard Parr. “What is perhaps more surprising is that support for RTA funding is strong across the entire state, not just in the areas served by RTAs that would benefit it.”
Many of these subgroups are also overrepresented among bus riders, who are less likely to be white (54% versus 72% statewide). more likely to be under age 30 (34% versus 22%). A majority (53%) of riders make less than $50,000 a year, 43% have a high school diploma or less education, and 80% do not own or lease a car (34%) or have only one car (46%).
Current riders are using the bus for many different types of trips – shopping and errands (74%), health care appointments (62%), work (61%), visiting friends and family (57%), and going out at night (52%). And 45% of current riders say they would want to use the bus for nightlife more than they can now, suggesting a latent demand for expanded night and weekend service. Non-riders also say they would like to use the bus to access nightlife (35%), but also basics like shopping and errands (40%), health care appointments (36%), and commuting to work (32%).
“A robust, statewide public transportation system is necessary to achieve better health for RTA riders, who, this survey shows, are more likely to be Black and low-income, and who rely on the bus for day-to-day activities like grocery shopping and going to the doctor,” says Alexis Walls, Assistant Campaign Director for the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) and co-chair of the Regional Transit Authority Advocates Coalition (RTAAC).
Boston, MA – Today, the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) announced that it has presented its highest honor, the Paul Revere Award for Lifetime Achievement, to Myron Allukian, Jr., DDS, MPH, in recognition of his unwavering commitment to public health. The award was presented last night at a reception as part of the American Public Health Association’s 150th Anniversary Meeting and Expo in Boston. Dr. Allukian is a Past President of both the Massachusetts Public Health Association and the American Public Health Association. He is the first dentist to receive the Paul Revere Award.
“Dr. Myron Allukian, Jr. has been a true luminary in the field of public health,” said MPHA Executive Director Carlene Pavlos. “He has worked tirelessly throughout his professional life to advance the importance of oral health as a public health priority. Millions of Massachusetts residents, and millions in other states, have better oral health as a result of his leadership for community water fluoridation, a safe and effective public health measure.”
BOSTON, MA – Public health leaders and municipal officials from across the Commonwealth are condemning Governor Charlie Baker’s decision not to sign transformative public health legislation and are urging the legislature to reject his proposed amendments to the bill. The Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community (SAPHE 2.0) Act would overhaul the state’s woefully inadequate local public health system and was passed unanimously in both the House (153-0) and Senate (39-0). Yesterday evening, the Governor returned the bill to the legislature with amendments that undermine the minimum public health standards established in the bill by making the standards optional.
“Last month both houses of the legislature voted unanimously to pass the SAPHE 2.0 Act,” said Carlene Pavlos, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association. “House and Senate leadership brought this bill to the floor in order to address the longstanding inequities and inefficiencies that have plagued the local public health system in the Commonwealth. By returning the bill with an amendment that eliminates consistent public health standards for all municipalities, the Governor is doubling down on the patchwork public health system that perpetuated inequities during the pandemic. Public health crises do not respect municipal boundaries. Every Massachusetts resident deserves basic public health protections no matter their race, income, or zip code. We urge the legislature to continue to lead on public health, reject these amendments, and return the SAPHE 2.0 Act to the Governor’s desk.”
BOSTON, MA – Today, public health leaders from across the Commonwealth praised the Massachusetts legislature for passing the Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community (SAPHE 2.0) Act. If signed into law by Governor Charlie Baker, this landmark bill will overhaul the state’s broken public health system, providing better and more consistent public health protections to residents of all municipalities. The bi-partisan bill was passed unanimously in both chambers.
“This is a momentous day for health equity in Massachusetts,” said Carlene Pavlos, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association. “The SAPHE 2.0 bill will ensure that strong public health protections are available to all residents of our Commonwealth – regardless of race, income, or zip code. We are deeply grateful to the leadership of the House and Senate and to our legislative champions, Senator Jo Comerford, Rep. Denise Garlick, and Rep. Hannah Kane. We call on Governor Charlie Baker to protect our communities by signing the bill into law without delay.”
SAPHE 2.0 creates minimum public health standards for every Massachusetts community, ensures a qualified workforce by credentialing public health workers, incentivizes municipalities to share services, creates a uniform data collection and reporting system, and dedicates state funding to support local boards of health and health departments.
Boston, MA– The campaign working to pass the Fair Share Amendment, the proposed state tax on incomes above $1 million which would raise billions of dollars to invest in transportation and public education, today announced the endorsement of seven public health organizations from across the state. The Fair Share Amendment is Question 1 on the November statewide ballot.
“Our coalition works to promote youth health, well-being, and health equity in our region, and nothing could be more important to those priorities than strong, well-funded public schools!” said Kat Allen, Coalition Coordinator for the Communities that Care Coalition of Franklin County and North Quabbin. “Question 1, the Fair Share Amendment, would be an absolute game-changer for public education in Massachusetts for years to come.”
The seven public health organizations collectively represent hundreds of healthcare workers, public health advocates and community leaders from across Massachusetts, and include statewide organizations as well as local groups from Allston-Brighton, Franklin County, Greater Lowell, and Greater Worcester.
“Passing the Fair Share Amendment will improve public health and racial justice across the Commonwealth,” said Carlene Pavlos, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association. “Public transit is a lifeline to jobs, education, healthy food, and medical care. By improving quality and accessibility to public transit services, Question 1 will improve access to these key drivers of health and health equity, while also improving air quality and reducing climate emissions.“
Massachusetts Public Health Alliance
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