On February 2, 2013 the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) and the Planning Committee for the Local Public Health System Assessment held a full-day retreat to assess Boston’s public health system. This event offered Boston residents a follow-up to the citywide visioning session held last November, as well as an avenue to continue to participate in the MAPP process led by BACH.
Over 100 community residents and health professionals gathered at Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury to review health related services and share their expertise on how well our system is working and providing services to people who live and work in Boston.
The day began with opening remarks from Dumas Lafontant, Director of Lower Roxbury Coalition and Wellness at Whittier Street Health Center, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Executive Director for the Boston Public Health Commission, David Aronstein, Director for Boston Alliance for Community Health, and Pam Jones, Director of Policy & Planning for Boston Public Health Commission.
Participants were then broken into five smaller, facilitated groups that were tasked with rating 10 Essential Services in Boston’s health system as a whole. Each group was given 2 of the services to respond to during a morning and afternoon session, with a welcome interruption from a lovely lunch provided by Haley House in Roxbury to stay energized. Participants were asked to help identify service duplication and gaps, formulate ideas for eliminating both, and play close attention to issue of health and race inequities.
The end product, which is in the process of being completed, will be a report to assist the BACH Steering Committee and coalition leaders and other public health organizations in making informed decisions to improve the delivery of health related services. This system assessment is the first of four assessments in the MAPP process. The information gathered will assist BACH in identifying strategic issues, such as how can we better connect the school system with the public health system or how can we streamline roles and responsibilities of all health professionals. From there, goals and strategies can be formulated to move us toward the action cycle next year.
Overall the event was a success. The goal was to have as many representatives from organizations and sectors that contribute to the health and well-being of our city in order to fully measure the performance of our local public health system, and that was achieved. One participant stated, “I was quite pleased and glad that it was a great use of my Saturday. Conversations increased my thinking process on how to look at future public health issues and engagement processes.” It is a hope that these conversations can continue throughout all of Boston’s neighborhoods.