Montachusett Public Health Network
Montachusett Public Health Network (MPHN)
…..About the MPHN
In 2019 the MPHN added two more towns to its Network and now operates with thirteen (13) Health Departments from the Montachusett Region which meets quarterly and is committed to making the Montachusett Region the healthiest region in Massachusetts. . Members of the MPHN consist of the Cities of Fitchburg, Leominster and Gardner and the towns of Athol, Clinton, Hubbardston, Phillipston, Princeton, Royalston, Sterling, Templeton, Westminster and Winchendon. The City of Fitchburg Health Department, is the lead and fiscal agent of the MPHN, which received a Public Health District Incentive Grant (PHDIG) totaling $325,000 in 2011 from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and funded through the CDC National Public Health Improvement Initiative. The PHDIG program intended to permanently strengthen the local public health infrastructure in Massachusetts by taking maximum advantage of limited resources to protect population health, prevent injury and disease, and promote healthy behaviors through policy change and service delivery at the regional level. PHDIG Grant funds ran dry in 2015, but the MPHN continues to sustain itself to this day utilizing membership and services fees and has received over eight million ($8,000,000) dollars in grants since its inception!
Services provided by the MPHN include but are not limited to inspectional services such as housing, food establishment, and Title 5 inspections as well as nursing services such as communicable disease and food borne illness tracking investigations utilizing MAVEN (Massachusetts Virtual Epidemiologic Network) in member communities. Member communities select from the 'cafeteria style' services offered by the MPHN and sign a Inter-Municipal Agreement (IMA) and are invoiced for those services requested.
In 2014, the MPHN contracted with the Joint Coalition on Health (JCOH) to conduct a Community Health Assessment for its member communities. This Community Health Assessment was designed to provide information and analysis relative to health status, issues, concerns, and assets of the communities that form the MPHN. The assessment includes the eleven cities and towns served by the MPHN, but also includes Community Health Connections of Fitchburg, Leominster and Gardner.
The stated goal of the MPHN is “raising the health status of the residents of our communities to the highest levels anywhere in the country”. Previous community health assessments, including the Community Health Assessment of North Central Massachusetts together with reports by the Department of Public Health, identified elevated levels of drug abuse, obesity and suicide among the residents of the MPHN communities. These conditions not only have an immediate adverse impact on health status, but also have downstream effects that can linger for years, compromising the lives of entire families. As a result, the MPHN decided to make a concentrated effort to study these conditions in this community health assessment.
MPHN Staffing:
Regional Sanitary Inspector Inspector position is currently vacant
MPHN Epidemiologist, Victoria Selser (vselser@fitchburgma.gov) or by calling 978-602-2356
Check out the MPHN Community Health Assessment
More Information and MPHN Initiatives:
NEW!!!
MPHN COMMUNICABLE DISEASE RESPONSE TEAM
(CONTACT TRACING INITIATIVES):The Montachusett Public Health Network COVID-19 Response Team was established in January 2022 to support COVID-19 related needs for the towns of Athol, Clinton, Fitchburg, Gardner, Hubbardston, Leominster, Phillipston, Princeton, Royalston, Sterling, Templeton, Westminster, and Winchendon. The office hours of this team are Monday-Friday, 10:00AM-5:30PM and there are both English and Spanish speakers on staff.
If you test positive for COVID-19, you may receive a phone call from a staff member of the Montachusett Public Health Network COVID-19 Response Team (phone number 978-602-2356). The purpose of this phone call is to provide you with guidance for your isolation period, ask you questions that will help control the spread of COVID-19, and support you with any resource needs, treatment needs, or questions that you may have. Staff members of the Montachusett Public Health Network COVID-19 Response Team will never ask you for your social security number, bank account information, credit card numbers, or money. Discussions with staff members of the Montachusett Public Health Network COVID-19 Response Team are confidential.
If you do not receive a phone call, you will instead receive a text message from the Montachusett Public Health Network COVID-19 Response Team (text number 978-464-8665). The text message will lead you to a safe and secure digital questionnaire to answer questions that will help control the spread of COVID-19 and to request support with resources, treatment, or questions. Your responses to this questionnaire are confidential. If you do not complete the questionnaire within 24 hours, you will be added to a list to possibly receive a phone call from a staff member of the Montachusett Public Health Network COVID-19 Response Team. Please note that responses to the text message are not monitored.
If you test positive at home with a rapid antigen test, you may fill out this form https://forms.office.com/g/YqBfvLFT8X to answer questions that will help control the spread of COVID-19 and to request support with resources, treatment, or questions.
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The MPHN was established from funding by the Public Health District Incentive Grant (PHDIG) which now is called the Massachusetts Public Health Regionalization Project. Click on the link for details.
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MPHN receives a 3 year, with possibilities of up to 7 years of $100,000 annually from the Department of Public Health Massachusetts Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative (MOAPC).
This initiative includes Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner and Athol and Clinton click here for more info.
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MPHN receives TWO- 3 year, with possibilities of up to 7 years of $100,000 annually from the Department of Public Health Massachusetts Substance Abuse Collaborative (SAPC). Eleven towns are divided into SAPC East and West with Fitchburg as the lead agency in SAPC-E and Gardner the lead for SAPC-W.
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MPHN sharps kiosks disposal program. Properly dispose of sharps, needles and lancets in all member communities, click here for list.
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MPHN unused and unwanted medication kiosks. Properly dispose of unwanted medications in all member communities. Click here for list
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NEW! MPHN partners with RCAP Solutions on addressing Private Drinking Water Wells. Have a well and want a free assessment with a water test? Click here for the Flyer
NEW! Own a private well and want to take our survey? Click here for details and the flyer