Steering Committee
Our leadership continues to strengthen BACH’s internal and external capacity. After a process evaluation completed in the Spring, we are working to make improvements in three priority areas: 1) funding–as the Community Health Network Area (CHNA) for Boston, we are partnering with other CHNA’s to define the role and value of our work within the health department through statewide discussions with the new Commissioner. We are working closely with hospitals to ensure Determination of Needs funding assists community health, 2) coalitions–we continue to work with our neighborhood coalitions and offer opportunities to build capacity through educational opportunities and technical assistance; 3) race/racism–we strive for a diverse and inclusive membership and continue to discuss recruitment and retention of people of color within the committee, as well as continue internal discussions around race as we work to achieve health equity.
Nominating Committee
At the recent Annual Meeting on November 16, elections were held for Steering Committee positions. The slate included 10 seats, four people were re-elected: Pat Milano – East Boston, John Erwin – Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, David Price – Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation and Philip González – Community Catalyst, and we welcomed six new members: Arnesse Brown – South End, Sara Coughlin – Charlestown, Valerie Frias – Allston Brighton, Chien-Chi Huang – Chinatown and Karleen Porcena – Mattapan to fill vacant coalition seats, and Lilly Marcelin – Resilient Sisterhood Project, in an at-large position. We remain committed to racial diversity so that our decisions reflect the needs of all parts of our community.
Health Planning and Improvement Committee
HPIC continues to move BACH through the MAPP planning process on the citywide level. We have successfully planned and held two community meetings, “Identifying Strategic Issues” and “Formulating Goals and Strategies” to keep us on track for implementation. Both events were attended by over 50 organizations, health professionals and residents from across the city. They were facilitated by Steve Ridini, from Health Resources in Action and volunteers from HRiA and the Boston Public Health Commission, and included both small and large group discussion. We have identified “champions” for each issue and, with staff support, they will convene small working groups during the next months with the goal of having an Action Plan by Spring, 2014.
If you are interested in being part of one of the working groups, please contact Allyson Auerbach at aauerbach@hria.org.
Community Engagement and Membership Committee
CEMC continues to engage residents in discussions around community health and building broad partnerships. Now that BACH has identified strategic issues and goals, CEMC is looking forward to aligning our work plan drafted this past summer into a final, strategic effort to enhance educational opportunities for community members, diversify communications and increase collaborations. The committee also informs decisions around trainings including ongoing Affordable Care Act presentations offered to neighborhood coalitions by Health Care for All and a leadership training planned for late Spring. We have been working hard on a video series about health equity issues in Boston that BACH and partners can use to educate and engage more residents in our work. The first video will be completed early next year and we look forward to receiving community feedback from draft versions soon.
If you are interested in joining CEMC, please contact Jamiah Tappin at jtappin@hria.org.