Board of Health receive update on North Suffolk Public Health Collaborative

Advocate Staff Report

Barry Keppard, director of Public Health for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, met with the Board of Health at their January meeting to provide an update on the work of the North Suffolk Public Health Collaborative.

The collaborative was launched in 2016 in response to data that showed its three members, Revere, Chelsea and Winthrop had higher incidences of chronic illness than the rest of the state.

By teaming up, the three communities have been able to share resources and staff and increase services for residents. The collaborative made it possible to hire an additional public health nurse to work in all three communities and it increased the accessibility of vaccines for residents, with a particular emphasis on childhood vaccinations. They are also responsible for a regional public health assessment that helps identify the area’s most in need of services. Past assessments have identified opioid addiction and childhood obesity as areas of concern. Keppard said the 2025 assessment will be available soon.

Keppard said the collaborative is funded by the state through the Public Health Excellence Grant.

He wanted to explain to the board that one of its members would be asked to serve on a leadership team that would further direct the collaborative’s work and efforts. Presently, the mayors of Revere and Chelsea and the town manager of Winthrop serve in those roles. In addition to looking at how the collaborative uses it funding and hires its staff; the new team of health officials will be tasked with assuring all three communities are in compliance with state public health laws.