Environmental Justice Fund

Environmental Justice Fund is sponsored by Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, Environmental Protection Division. Established in Massachusetts, this fund is financed through civil penalties from environmental enforcement cases.

News Flash • Health Equity Partnership of North Central Massachusetts Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more. Serve on the Advisory Committee for the North Central CHW Hub Coming This Fall The North Central Hub of Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers (MACHWA) will be launched this Fall.

The Health Equity Partnership of North Central Mass (CHNA 9) is working with the MACHWA to launch the new hub. On July 9th, a planning meeting was held in Leominster and now, we're looking for CHW's who are interested in serving on an advisory committee. If you are interested in participating on an advisory committee to help shape this hub, please fill out the short Google Form here: https://forms.

gle/DSQpDaAn9e6o2pic6 . MACHW Visits to Discuss New Community Health Worker (CHW) Hub, Recognizes Heywood Healthcare (July 2026) - The Health Equity Partnership of North Central Mass hosted the MACHW's first planning meeting for a North Central Hub this month. MACHW plans to launch a CWH Hub here in North Central Mass this Fall, which will be its 5th Hub in Massachusetts.

Currently, there are also hubs serving Greater New Bedford, Greater Brockton, Greater Springfield and Greater Worcester. We also want to give Heywood Healthcare a shout-out for being recognized by MACHW as the 2026 Outstanding Community Health Worker Program of the Year.

Heywood’s School-Based Services Team was recognized for their outstanding work supporting students and families during the 2025-2026 school year: 🧠 6,281 Mental Health Sessions 🩺 1,917 School-Based Health Center Visits 🌟 233 Youth Served Through Mentoring & Prevention Programs 🤝 1,001 Community Resource Referrals Anti-Ageism Training - Age-Friendly Seattle One way Age Friendly Seattle is tackling ageism is by raising our collective awareness of this issue through a custom training we created.

In 2023, we launched We❤Aging: Anti-Ageism Training for City of Seattle employees. In May 2024, we adapted this training to make it available to the public. In less than one hour, this course provides background and context for understanding aging and ageism, its impacts on all of us as we grow older, and strategies for how we can push back against ageism.

Learn more. Seniors: Introducing the Nashoba Telehealth Hubs to Help You – Right in Your Community As a senior, you know it’s a lot of work trying to keep up with your medical appointments. There’s a lot of driving or having to arrange rides.

Now, we have a new resource for Nashoba Valley seniors – and this time, there’s no commute. We want to help you get more out of your telehealth appointments. Here at the Health Equity Partnership of North Central Mass (CHNA 9), we’re proud to introduce the Nashoba Telehealth Hubs, with five community locations in Ayer, Shirley, Harvard, Townsend and Groton.

This project was made possible through a grant from the AARP Community Challenge program, and support from your local libraries and senior centers. We offer the Telehealth Hubs, along with a series of short online videos at www. chna9.

org/telehealth . Watch and learn how to use the Telehealth Hubs - and some useful tips for using your patient portal. We have posted these materials on our website so you can learn and easily share questions or points with family members, friends and other seniors in your community.

Reserve a Telehealth Hub Now Schedule your telehealth appointment with your medical provider, then contact your community organization to book a Telehealth Hub time. Ayer Library 26 E Main St.

Ayer, MA 01432978-772-8250 Reserve the Study Room Online Hazen Memorial Library 3 Keady WayShirley, MA 01464978-425-2620 | visit website Call and reserve room Harvard Senior Center/Council on Aging 16 Lancaster County RoadHarvard, MA 01451(978) 456-4120 | visit website Call and reserve room Townsend Senior Center 16 Dudley RoadTownsend, MA 01469(978) 597-1710 | visit website Call and reserve room The Groton Center 163 West Main StreetGroton, MA 01450978-448-1170 | visit website Call and reserve room When a Community Telehealth Hub Could Help You Routine care and follow-up appointments to supplement in-person visits.

When your ride falls through or you are nervous about driving. For inconvenient appointment times, such as the day before a holiday weekend, when traffic is congested. Your doctor moves further away and you don't want to start with a new physician.

When you want to make more of your time. If you use COA services or other community supports, you have to participate when these are offered. Telehealth may help you stay on track and get more done in one day.

Each Telehealth Hub offers a private, distraction-free space, with laptops and devices for your use, along with a table, chairs and a reliable Internet connection. You will also find a blood pressure sleeve and a weight scale, so you can share this information with your medical provider. Here, we hope you can focus on getting the most out of your telehealth appointment.

What to Bring. Ask what the community organization suggests. You will need to come up with a plan for how you will access your passwords (and you may have a different approach than your neighbor).

Then, remember your cell phone because you may need to receive notification codes from your patient portal during your appointment. Support. The community organization will help you get started with the laptop or device, then leave before your appointment starts.

If you want, you can bring a family member or someone else in for support, just as you can when you visit your doctor’s office. Your community organizations and the Health Equity Partnership are here to support you. It’s natural to get nervous or frustrated as you get started.

We ask you to be patient with yourself and the new experience. If you have trouble, please stay with your appointment, finish the session. Then tell the community organization what happened.

They want to help if they can - and so does the Health Equity Partnership. We promise to listen and keep improving the Telehealth Hubs to support you and other residents. Learning and Trying the Telehealth Hubs AARP funded our telehealth project as a way to support seniors.

But you won’t know what the Telehealth Hubs really offer you unless you try one. We won’t know either, unless enough residents try. We encourage you to try a Telehealth Hub.

You may try and see a lot of benefits. But it’s not a given. In fact, you may decide you prefer seeing your doctor in person or taking your telehealth appointments at home and that’s fine.

It’s a positive - and important step - to try the Telehealth Hubs, see one way your community organization is trying to help seniors. We thank you for your time and we hope you benefit and share this option with other seniors.

Posted on June 29, 2026 | Last Updated on July 27, 2026 From June 29 to August 7, 2026, 9:00AM - 1:00PM, visit the Spanish American Center's Summer Eats sites offer food and fun activities for kids and teens up to age 18. Check this link for more info throughout the state!

Spanish American Center 112 Spruce St, Leominster Allencrest 138 Viscoloid Ave, Leominster Fournier Park 525 Litchfield Street, Leominster Silver Leaf Terrace 30 Terrace Dr, Leominster Riverside Village 24 State St, Leominster Christian Life 63 Fairmount St Rear, Fitchburg Please call the Center at 978-534-3145 for the latest site info.

Project Bread’s Child Nutrition Outreach Program partners with the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to ensure free meals are accessible to kids and teens across Massachusetts through Summer Eats. Check their website for new Summer Eats sites.

Health Equity Partnership, 100% Massachusetts Partner on “Community as Prevention" Housing Model This new innovative collaboration aligns public health, affordable housing, and community partnerships to ensure families have access to the 10 vital services crucial for their overall health, resilience, and success.

Gardner, MA — June 1, 2026 | PDF version The Health Equity Partnership of North Central Mass (CHNA 9) and 100% Massachusetts today announced a new partnership to pilot a 100% Village in North Central Mass. The planned multigenerational community provides affordable housing for families led by Parents Under 25 and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.

The innovative model pairs stable housing with on-site staff and wraparound supports, while also creating opportunities for 100% Village neighbors — including social workers, teachers, and healthcare workers - to live in affordable workforce housing and help create a thriving, connected community.

Chelsey Patriss, Executive Director of the Health Equity Partnership of North Central Mass (CHNA 9) , said, “The mental health crisis, the housing crisis, and the economic crisis are not separate problems. They are all connected.

We are excited to be working with another organization that understands this and has a proven track record of creating intentional communities that provide natural support for our families who need it most – grandparents raising grandchildren and parents under 25. By piloting the 100% Village model, North Central Mass will lead Massachusetts and the country in community as prevention and housing as healthcare.

” Judy Cockerton, Founder/CEO of 100% Massachusetts, said, “Ensuring that all families have access to the 10 vital services they need to thrive is our top priority. We are delighted to partner with CHNA 9 to invest in public health, affordable housing, and well-being innovation. Together, we will work with regional partners to pilot the groundbreaking 100% Villages community model.

Our intentional “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” approach weaves additional people supports into every family’s social safety net to boost resiliency, reduce isolation, and build meaningful relationships among neighbors of all generations.

” This exciting new partnership connects the Health Equity Partnership’s community-driven health priorities with the 100% Massachusetts Initiative, which translates the social determinants of health into a clear set of ten “vital services.

” Together, partners will use this framework to coordinate local efforts, identify service gaps, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, and support community development projects that improve health, safety, and opportunity for residents across North Central Massachusetts.

The partnership envisions thriving neighborhoods with embedded access to the services families need to survive and thrive — including healthcare, behavioral health care, safe housing, nutritious food, reliable transportation, family supports, early childhood programs, community schools, youth mentors, and job training.

Research shows that communities with a village model spend less money on law enforcement, incarceration, health care, remedial and special education while experiencing greater social satisfaction and economic stability. To learn more about the Health Equity Partnership of North Central Mass, go to https://chna9. org/.

To learn more about 100% Massachusetts, go to https://www. 100mass. org/ .

Chelsey Patriss, Executive Director, Health Equity Partnership of North Central Massachusetts (CHNA 9) chelsey@chna9. org | (508) 887-5647 Judy Cockerton, Founder and CEO, 100% Massachusetts judy@100mass.

org | (617) 852-0735 News Coverage: Community Listening Session to Focus on Mental Health Services We thank the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise newspaper for publishing our news announcement about the May 19th Community Listening Session on Mental and Behavioral Health Services at Leominster City Hall. Read the news announcement. You can also submit a comment here.

Follow Up: Community Listening Session on Mental & Behavioral Health Services - May 2026 On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, the Health Equity Partnership hosted a Community Listening Session on Mental and Behavioral Health Services for North Central Massachusetts at Leominster City Hall.

This was an opportunity to share information and hear community priorities about mental and behavioral health services in the region, including planned transitions affecting select service lines.

To help referral partners, community stakeholders, clients and their loved ones access the most current information about Community HealthLink , they have launched a webpage that provides the latest information about relevant changes and transitions for each program. The page will be regularly updated with the status of each service as transition plans are finalized.

Other participating service providers are also working to keep updated information available for patients, clients, and the community.

These include: Aging Services of North Central Mass Central Mass Housing Alliance Community Health Connections Thank you to local media outlets: We thank Leominster Access Television for sharing this video of the event and the Sentinel & Enterprise newspaper for publishing this announcement before the event.

Mental and Behavioral Health Services Comment Form May 19: Health Equity Partnership Hosts Community Listening Session on Mental and Behavioral Health Community forum will provide timely updates on planned service transitions and pathways for ongoing access to care Tuesday, May 19th 6:30 PM Leominster City Hall Auditorium25 West Street, Leominster LEOMINSTER, Mass.

(May 6, 2026) — The Health Equity Partnership of North Central Mass will host a Community Listening Session on Tuesday, May 19 at 6:30 p. m. at the Leominster City Hall Auditorium (25 West Street) to share information and hear community priorities about mental and behavioral health services in the region, including planned transitions affecting select service lines.

Across North Central Massachusetts, providers and partners are actively responding to challenges in the mental and behavioral health system. The Health Equity Partnership is convening this session to support clear, timely communication, highlight continuity of care, and encourage ongoing coordination among organizations so community members know where to turn for services.

The Health Equity Partnership invites mental and behavioral health providers, related service organizations, policymakers, and community members to take part in a constructive conversation focused on access to care, addressing capacity challenges, and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Participants will discuss what is working well and what additional support may be needed, including staffing, funding, communication pathways, and potential policy considerations. The session will feature a panel discussion moderated by Chelsey Patriss, Executive Director of the Health Equity Partnership. Following the panel, there will be time for comments from referring agencies and community members.

Leominster Access Television will stream and record the session so residents who cannot attend in person can view it. Written comments may be submitted online at chna9. org .

The Health Equity Partnership will also share post-session updates through its regular communication channels as more information becomes available. Media Contact: Chelsey Patriss, Executive Director, Health Equity Partnership of North Central MassEmail: chelseypatriss@gmail. com Phone: 508.

887. 5647 About the Health Equity Partnership of North Central Massachusetts The Health Equity Partnership convenes healthcare, human service, and community stakeholders to improve access, coordination, and outcomes—particularly for residents facing barriers to care—across North Central Massachusetts. Learn about our work on the Age-Friendly North Central Mass regional plan and Telehealth and Digital Equity Hubs .

We are working with organizations across North Central and Central Massachusetts on different initiatives. If you are an organization, senior center, library, apartment complex or business and want to get involved, please contact Chelsey Patriss, chelsey@chna9. org .

Age-Friendly North Central Mass: The Health Equity Partnership has funded an Age-Friendly regional plan as a new member of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities. We are now on a listening tour of the 27 municipalities in our region to determine the opportunities each community has to enact portions of the plan and where there are gains to be made through collaborative learning and project implementation.

Funding will be needed to implement projects as they are identified. Telehealth and Digital Equity Hubs: We have 5 new telehealth hubs based in libraries and senior centers, with a 6th coming online this year. These hubs provide supportive access for people who have low digital literacy or lack access to technology so that they can engage in telehealth appointments for both medical and behavioral health.

They also expand access to online education, training, and job searching and are important access points for those without safe and reliable places to get online. Each hub costs less than $1,000 to launch. These may help libraries and senior centers, but also other organizations, businesses and housing providers that serve residents and clients who need additional support.

We have partnered with these community organizations so far and have other projects planned. Certificate in Dementia Crisis, Fitchburg State University This online training is offered through Fitchburg State University. Register here.

This certificate is specifically designed for professionals in a variety of areas of care to learn how to respond effectively to a dementia-related situation.

Areas of focus include general considerations for interacting with persons with dementia, the importance of attitude and an understanding of dementia in promoting positive response techniques, advice on using body language when communicating with persons with dementia, and the value of an approach focused on de-escalation.

The course will also discuss the recent paradigm shift in dementia crisis response, which demonstrates the importance of a team-based approach when caring for persons with dementia.

After completing this course, the learner should be able to: Recognize a dementia crisis in progress Contrast prevailing assumptions about dementia crisis response with recent innovations Apply a team-based approach to dementia crisis response Employ effective communication strategies for in-place de-escalation of dementia crises Health Equity Partnership Distributes Digital Devices Through Community Organizations (April 1, 2026) – The Health Equity Partnership of North Central MA (CHNA9) has secured 30 devices (laptops and tablets) through the Connected & Online program, offered by the Massachusetts Broadband Institute.

We are distributing laptops and tablets to North Central MA organizations, libraries and senior centers serving residents and clients who may not have reliable digital access at home. The goal is to give residents and clients access to a laptop or tablet on-site or through a loan program, for purposes related to telehealth appointments, a job search or education program.

“The Health Equity Partnership is committed to promoting health equity in communities, including digital equity,” said Executive Director Chelsey Patriss. “We know many of our local community resources serve residents and clients who are facing barriers related to transportation, medical care or work.

” “The minimum to access this program was 30 devices, and most local organizations and professionals don’t need that many devices. We were able to apply so we can distribute one to three devices to several small organizations. That’s a benefit of being a regional coalition.

” This is the Health Equity Partnership’s second project focusing on digital equity.

In 2025, we joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities and received an AARP Community Challenge Grant, which allowed us to partner with libraries and senior centers in five Nashoba Valley communities to establish telehealth hubs where older adults can access telehealth appointments with privacy, light technical assistance, and a reliable internet connection.

Organizations were asked to assign a space and the Health Equity Partnership provided equipment, such as laptops, scales and blood pressure sleeves, and training materials. We continue to work with local communities to set up telehealth hubs. For more information, please contact Chelsey Patriss at chelsey@chn9a.

org . The Health Equity Partnership is a coalition that is dedicated to serving the 27 cities and towns of North Central Mass and promoting health equity in those cities and towns. Learn more: www.

chna9. org . Marielle Vega Recognized Among 2026 ELLA Poderosa Leadership Honorees Congratulations to our board member, Marielle Vega, Gardner Community Outreach Coordinator with HEAL , for being recognized as a 2026 ELLA Poderosa Leadership Honoree.

This award celebrates Latina leaders who are living in purpose and uplifting our community. Marielle was among the honorees celebrated at the ELLA Poderosa Leadership Summit on March 7, 2026 in Worcester. Posted on February 25, 2026 The Montachusett Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) shares news and announcements, including some grant opportunities, on this web page .

You can also find information related to its Local Technical Assistance Program . Posted on February 25, 2026 Strengthening Social Work H. 1423/S.

218: An act relative to social work uplifting practices and exam removal. Also known as the SUPER Act. This seeks to strengthen the social work force.

This is a policy priority of Boston Children's Hospital. Social workers deliver over 50 percent of behavioral health services in Massachusetts. In 2024, there was a 20 percent turnover rate and a 16 percent vacancy rate in acute care hospitals.

Read this in informational flyer , shared by Boston Children's Hospital, Children's Advocacy Network. Posted on February 03, 2026 Chelsey Patriss, Ayn Yeagle Among Featured Panelists at Women's Leadership Connection Chelsey Patriss and Ayn Yeagle were among the featured panelists at the Women's Leadership Connection luncheon held in Gardner on Jan. 21, 2026, along with our nonprofit colleagues from LUK, Inc. and Heywood Hospital.

This is a North Central MA Chamber of Commerce event. Chelsey is the Executive Director of the Health Equity Partnership of North Central MA (CHNA9). Ayn is Executive Director of Growing Places and serves on the Health Equity Partnership's Board of Directors, as Vice-President and the Governance Committee Chair.

The Health Equity Partnership was proud to attend this event alongside our closest partners and share how we are working toward a more equitable and healthy region together. The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce hosts the Women's Leadership Connection as a network for women, created by women, to support women who are seasoned or aspirant leaders in the home, at work or in the community.

The purpose of the network is to provide opportunities for women to connect from various backgrounds. Luncheon events are held four times per year.

Posted on January 21, 2026 From Our Executive Director: Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. By Chelsey Patriss,Executive Director,Health Equity Partnership of North Central MA (CHNA9) This week, we honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Considering that it's a federally recognized holiday, it's worth keeping one very important thing in mind - the majority of the protests that occurred during the civil rights movement of Dr. King's time were not legal.

They were nonviolent, yes, but they were not compliant, not legal. Dr. King urged everyone to closely examine the argument that legality is an excuse for injustice and that illegality makes an action automatically wrong or immoral. And our government, which exists because British citizens committed acts of treason, agreed.

So did the international committee that awarded Dr. King the Nobel Peace Prize. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, he wrote, "One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws....

How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law.... An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself.

This is difference made legal." Dr. King would certainly have a lot to say about our current struggles toward a more free and just society. He would urge us to see how interconnected we are, that there is never an "us" and a "them" and that we hurt ourselves when we hurt others.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

” That is a beautiful sentiment when we direct it toward caring for our community. It is also a warning that excluding or mistreating our neighbors will, in the end, hurt us as well. Dr. King's words stay with us more than 60 years later because they have always stayed relevant.

There has always been a need for a group with fewer numbers and less power to make itself heard, to demand justice. He directs us to create tension, even crisis, to force a complacent populace to act. “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has consistently refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.

It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. ” And he chastises those who want change but not at the cost of their comfort and equilibrium. Those who want progress without pain.

"I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate.

I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. ” He left us all with a challenge, to embrace the label of extremist.

"The question is not whether we will be extremist, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate, or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice, or will we be extremists for the cause of justice?"

If you've never read the full text of Letter from a Birmingham Jail , it's worth taking the time. And because organizing work is hard, and we often find ourselves in agreement with goals but disagreement over methods, leadership, and timing, I would like to remind you that we have a small but generous pool of funding available for mediation services to help get your group through the "storming" stages of development.

This funding is provided by the Yellow Birch Fund. Please contact me at chelsey@chna9. org if you believe you or others in your group could benefit from professional mediation counseling.

From the Executive Director Posted on January 21, 2026 Other Training Opportunities Watch for more training opportunities in the Health Equity Partnership's CHNA9 weekly newsletter. We do occasionally list some trainings on the website, but the newsletter is the best place to follow these and stay current.

Posted on January 15, 2026 Environmental Justice Fund Opportunities at the Attorney General's Office In July 2024, Governor Healey signed a bill establishing the Environmental Justice Fund, which had been proposed by the Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, Senator Adam Gomez, and Representative Brandy Fluker-Reid.

The Fund is financed through civil penalties from judgments and settlements in state environmental enforcement cases and is administered by the Attorney General’s Environmental Protection Division which brings those cases.

The Fund will support projects selected by EPD that address environmental harms in disadvantaged communities across the Commonwealth and is intended to address the burdens people face every day—whether economic, environmental, or health-related.

According to the Law, awards from the Fund can be used: for the restoration of any natural resource or the investigation, remediation or mitigation of any environmental pollution or harm on or at any real property located in a disadvantaged community; for any project to benefit the community health or well-being, whether to address economic, environmental or other health needs of a disadvantaged community; or to contribute to an academic or government-funded research project related to environmental protection or conservation of natural resources in a disadvantaged community.

Learn about and apply to receive these funds on the Attorney General's webpage . Posted on January 14, 2026 Greater Worcester Community Foundation - 2026 Grant Calendar The Greater Worcester Community Foundation offers a range of competitive grant cycles annually to provide area nonprofits with access to flexible and supportive funding. Visit the foundation's grant page.

Posted on January 12, 2026 Nashoba Health Equity Partnership Launches to Strengthen Rural Health Access in Nashoba Valley A Partnership Between the Health Equity Partnership of North Central Massachusetts and The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts to Improve Health From left: Amie Shei, president and CEO of The Health Foundation, Chelsey Patriss, executive director of CHNA 9, Kathryn Witherow, shared services coordinator working with the Nashoba Associated Boards of Health and CHNA 9, and Jenna Montgomery, communications specialist with the Nashoba Associated Boards of Health during the Nashoba Health Equity Partnership launch on December 4.

You can read this article below or here is a PDF version . AYER, Mass. (Dec.

9, 2025) – Local and regional leaders celebrated the launch the Nashoba Health Equity Partnership on December 4, a multi-year partnership between the Health Equity Partnership of North Central Massachusetts (CHNA 9) and The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts , made possible by a three-year $250,000 grant by the Foundation to strengthen access to health care and address social determinants of health in the Nashoba Valley region.

The launch builds on work initiated in the wake of the closure of Nashoba Valley Medical Center in August 2024, which placed new strain on an already challenged rural health landscape.

As part of the Nashoba Valley Health Planning Working Group initiated by Gov. Maura Healey, municipalities, health and social service organizations, and community members collaborated to assess the needs of the community, identify gaps in access, and outline strategies to improve the health outcomes of individuals in the area.

The Nashoba Health Equity Partnership will carry this work forward under the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Advancing Health Equity in Massachusetts initiative, which works to eliminate racial, economic, and regional disparities in health outcomes with a focus on maternal health and social determinants of cardiometabolic health.

“Communities in the Ayer region have been piecing together solutions to improve health care access and transportation with limited resources,” said Amie Shei, president and CEO of The Health Foundation.

“We see tremendous value in the initiatives already underway and are thrilled to support the Nashoba Health Equity Partnership over the next several years to advance regional equity and improve health in this vital region in Massachusetts.

” During the event, speakers outlined findings from the working group, including the high demand for emergency and outpatient care, the strain on local Emergency Medical Services providers, and the transportation challenges residents face when trying to reach medical services. Preliminary Community Health Needs Assessment data to identify and