By KENNEDY GRIFFIN
(Greenfield, MA) Greenfield is among the 310 communities in Massachusetts that will be undergoing public health capacity assessment this fall. It will be a three phase assessment conducted by the Department of Public Health and will come at no cost to the city.
“This assessment will include a baseline review of existing statutory and state regulatory obligations for boards of health, a workforce study and a document request phase– not to assess our performance, but to assess the resources we have at our disposal,” said Greenfield Health Director Jennifer Hoffman. “This may open the door to additional resources, such as training and technical assistance.”
This assessment will include collecting reports of selected local health department inspections, review of existing staffing resources, a review of existing health department services, and a review of current training levels of staff. The assessment should be completed by fall and then a strategic action plan will be formed.
This assessment is for all communities participating in the Public Health Excellence Grant Program for shared services. In July, the Greenfield Health Department was awarded a $1.5 million, five-year grant under the shared services program to expand its inter-municipal partnership to include Leverett and Shutesbury and strengthen existing ties with Deerfield, Montague and Sunderland.