Boston Public Health Commission

We're headed to Boston College to talk with students about careers in public health! Join us tomorrow, 9/13, at the Boston College STEM Career Fair. The event is happening from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. This event is open to all class years and majors. Meet members of our team and learn about opportunities to give back and serve Boston's communities. Explore your future in public health at boston.gov/bphc-careers. #BostonCollege #BostonJobs #PublicHealth #CareerFair

Explore your future in public health! We're visiting college and university career events across Boston. Meet members of our team and learn about the work we do to protect and promote the health and well-being of all Boston residents. Find all our career opportunities at boston.gov/bphc-careers. #PublicHealthCareers #BostonJobs #CareerFair

Our 2023 Annual Report is now published! In 2023, we revised our mission statement to reflect our dedication to advancing health equity and promoting racial justice. From launching our EMS Cadet program to expanding our city's culturally responsive behavioral health workforce, we have achieved great milestones to promote health equity. We look forward to continuing our intentional, innovative, and collaborative approach to drive positive change in the years ahead. Read our 2023 Annual Report at boston.gov/bphc-data.

Last week I was honored to join my Boston Public Health Commission colleagues, state and local partners to celebrate lives lost to overdose, mourn with loved ones and commit to decreasing overdoses across our city. Here's some Boston data: - From 2022-23 there was a 12% increase in opioid-related overdose deaths among Boston residents while there was a 10% decrease in overdose deaths statewide - From 2019-2023, overdose mortality increased 124.5% for Black residents and 44.2% for Latinx residents Here's what we are doing differently: - Committing $6.5 million to increasing naloxone distribution - Establishing naloxone vending machines in key areas around our city - Placing substance use navigators in community health centers - Working with the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center (BMC) to provide ongoing overdose reversal training - Distributing opioid settlement funds to community based orgs to distribute naloxone, decrease substance use stigma, and provide harm reduction and treatment navigation in neighborhoods with higher populations of Black and Latinx residents #healthequity #endsubstanceusestigma #endoverdose #naloxone

Exciting news for maternal health equity! Governor Maura Healey signed An Act promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options. This marks the culmination of years of tireless effort and advocacy. This law takes crucial steps toward overhauling the maternal healthcare system. It expands mental health care, prenatal?and postpartum care, strengthens midwifery and doula care, and establishes a statewide fetal and infant mortality review (FIMR). We're thrilled to see these advances in maternal health equity. Thank you to the Community Action Network for your consistent advocacy over the past several years. The Community Action Network is a group of residents and organization representatives who work together to reduce racial inequities in infant mortality and poor birth outcomes. They made sure legislators knew how important a FIMR is to eliminating racial disparities in infant mortality.

Congratulations to our public health science colleagues for having their article, “Implementation of Neighborhood-Level Wastewater-Based Epidemiology to Measure and Mitigate Inequities in SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Boston, Massachusetts” published in the American Journal of Public Health. In October 2022, the Commission implemented a neighborhood-level wastewater-based epidemiology program to reduce COVID-19 health inequities and to enhance the effectiveness of implementation efforts in community. Our findings revealed stark inequities in community burden of COVID-19 infection. Data collected from the wastewater program revealed wastewater concentrations in Roxbury were 2.5 times higher than those observed in Charlestown indicating more vulnerability to higher COVID-19 case rates and emergency department visits in the same period. These findings are very similar to the persistent long-term disparities that we observed in life expectancy data for Boston between 2017 – 2021. Data revealed a significant difference between life expectancy in the Charlestown and Roxbury neighborhoods, as shown in our Health of Boston: Provisional Mortality and Life Expectancy Report.?Persistent social and spatial inequities like these underscore the importance of equitable implementation of wastewater epidemiology programs. In the first year, the Commission’s wastewater data showed consistently higher concentrations of COVID-19, 67% and 56% higher than Massachusetts Water Resources Authority North and South respectively. Concentrations were also correlated with case rates, emergency department visits, new hospital admissions, total inpatient hospitalizations, total adult ICU hospitalizations, and COVID-19 deaths. At the Boston Public Health Commission, we continue to address the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, with a particular emphasis on eliminating racial health disparities and improving access to necessary care like testing, vaccine uptake, and treatment. Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/eMvMDvb8??

Thank you CDC State, Tribal, Local, & Territorial Support for joining us at our Boston EMS Training Facility in West Roxbury to discuss how we're using CDC grant funding to advance our Live Long and Well health equity agenda, integrated housing and harm reduction work, pandemic preparedness, respiratory viral wastewater program, data modernization, and public health workforce development. We're grateful for the opportunity?to showcase what's possible for public health at the local level?and our commitment to serving our residents by identifying and responding to priority public health challenges with evidence-based solutions. Thank you to Dr. Leslie Dauphin, Dr. Daniel Jernigan, Dr. Dylan George, Lori Tremmel Freeman, Teresa Wood Kent, and their teams for taking the time to visit with us in Boston. Photo Credit: CDC State, Tribal, Local, & Territorial Support

Late last week, Governor Healey signed a gun safety bill into law, creating the most significant change to Massachusetts gun laws in the last decade. This comes after years of debates, negotiations, and advocacy. Thank you to Governor Healey and legislative leaders who worked hard to get this law over the finish line. A special thank you to the families impacted by gun violence and advocates who remained steadfast in their call for stronger gun laws. Once implemented, this legislation will change how Massachusetts approaches firearm sales and ownership. This legislation includes: ? the elimination of "Ghost Guns", ? expanding laws outlining a court's ability to remove guns from someone considered a threat, ? and extending the list of areas where carrying a firearm is forbidden. Earlier this week, the Governor held a bill signing ceremony. Senate and House Leadership, coalition groups, and advocates from across that state gathered to celebrate this momentous occasion. At the Boston Public Health Commission, we’re committed to a public health approach to violence prevention, intervention, and response and to providing Boston residents with programs and services to help them stay healthy and safe from gun violence.

So grateful to have participated in this amazing program, representing Boston Public Health Commission. Thank you to everyone at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for providing such an amazing forum for learning, connecting and growing!

?? Job Opportunity ?? BPHC's Early Childhood Mental Health (ECMH) Program is seeking a dedicated Mental Health Clinician to lead our efforts in promoting social and emotional wellness in young children and families in the #Boston Area. As part of the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Children's Mental Health Initiative (CMHI), you'll focus on identifying and addressing social emotional concerns in children from birth up to four years old. By connecting caregivers with clinicians and coordinators, assessing family needs, and providing essential ECMH consultations, you'll play a crucial role in supporting healthy social-emotional development. Join us in making a difference! #mentalhealthservices #earlychildhood #socioemotionaldevelopment #jobopportunity #clinician