On September 12, 2013, BACH held a community meeting at the Mattapan Branch of the Boston Public Library to address the next step in the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnership (MAPP) process: identifying strategic issues on the citywide level. Among the 50 people who attended were diverse representatives from BACH affiliated neighborhood coalitions, health centers, community organizations and the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC).
The meeting began with opening remarks from BACH Director, David Aronstein, and Executive Director of BPHC, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, highlighting how the MAPP process has strengthened the relationship between the two organizations. BPHC, BACH and the community coalitions share a mutual commitment to working to eliminate racial and ethnic inequities in health outcomes. These partnerships are important so that we can build on each others’ strengths, develop complimentary strategies to address community health issues and improve the health of all Bostonians.
The remainder of the meeting was facilitated by Steve Ridini, Vice President of Health Resources in Action. We broke up into small groups to discuss three initial strategies developed by BACH’s Health Planning and Improvement Committee. Participants were able to view some of the key data points to come out of the MAPP assessment process, which added to the discussion. The small groups then came back together to praise, question, and polish the proposed strategic issues. As a result, modifications were made and additional issues were created.
By the end of the discussion, there were almost 20 strategic issues developed. Participants voted on their top three choices and the five that rose to the top were:
- How can we promote racial and ethnic health equity in Boston?
- How can we ensure a welcoming, easy to use, continuum of care that integrates medical care with public health?
- How can we increase community resilience by addressing community traumas such as violence, racism, poverty and chronic health conditions?
- How can we improve the health outcomes of all Bostonians affected by education, employment, and transportation policies and practices?
- How can we reach and engage newcomers, immigrant, and undocumented populations in community decisions?
These five strategic issues will play a crucial role in a follow up meeting scheduled for Saturday November, 16th, when we will develop goals and strategies to move us toward the implementation phase.
Read Small Group Discussion Notes »
Complete Survey for November 16th Meeting »
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