Regional Services
Massachusetts Working Group on Public Health Regionalization
Project Overview
Massachusetts is the only state in the nation that does not provide state funding support for local health departments. The Massachusetts Working Group on Public Health Regionalization has issued an interim report, sponsored a statewide meeting with local health officials, and formed sub-committees to complete its work. In an important step for the future, legislation crafted by the Working Group to encourage the creation of regional health districts was recently passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. FRCOG staff served as Chair of the Governance, District Minimums, and Funding Formula sub-committees, and served on the Workforce Credentials sub-committee.
Current Activities
In September 2009 the Working Group released a Status Report detailing its findings. Chapters include recommendations about:
- District minimum size (pop. & land area)
- Incentive payment formula
- Workforce credentials
- District by-laws template
- Legal review of matching requirements
- Updated case statement
- Revised models
- Status report on regionalization efforts
Future Plans
In the Fall of 2009 the Working Group and its Research Subcommittee will be awarding three groups of cities and towns a grant to conduct local planning for the creation of a health district.
Links
Massachusetts Public Health Regionalization
Massachusetts Public Health Regionalization Working Group status report (118K)
This page was last updated on 09/15/2009