CCHI Enews
Issue: # 16 
May  2014 
In This Issue
**MGH's strategic plan calls for comprehensive new approach to substance use disorders
**Executive Committee on Community Health to hold inaugural meeting
**Joan Quinlan named Vice President for Community Health
**MGH Youth Scholars head to college
**Eric Weil proposes plan to Gaming Commission to make Revere the healthiest community in the Commonwealth
**MGH Youth Scholars are featured on WBZ-TV
**MGH Chelsea navigation showcased at a national conference
**Psychiatry and Neurology Departments focus on Community
MGH strategic plan calls for comprehensive new approach to substance use disorders 

MGH is undertaking a comprehensive new approach to caring for patients with substance use disorders (SUDS), as a result of the hospital's new strategic plan. This plan was informed by CCHI's most recent needs assessments in which communities identified substance use as their top priority. Population Health Management analyzed the data on patients with SUDS and found that they were high utilizers of services, cost more than average, and that there were significant opportunities to improve quality of care.

 

The new model will shift from treating only the acute medical complications of substance use to addressing the underlying cause--addiction. This chronic disease management approach is similar to managing other chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Key components of the initiative, due to launch by September, will include an inpatient addiction consult team, and recovery coaches at MGH health centers. This new initiative will complement CCHI's community prevention and early intervention work.

Executive Committee on Community Health to hold inaugural meeting

As a result of a recommendation from the strategic plan, the hospital's General Executive Committee approved the creation of the Executive Committee on Community Health (ECOCH - pronounced ECOACH), which will hold its first meeting on May 28. ECOCH is analogous to the Executive Committees for other components of hospital mission including research (ECOR) and teaching (ECOTE). Katrina Armstrong, MD, Chief of Medicine, will be the first chair of the new 30-person committee, comprised of hospital and community leaders. This change in the hospital's governance structure is a further indication of MGH's deep commitment to its community mission.   

Joan Quinlan named Vice President for Community Health 
Joan Quinlan was recently named MGH's first Vice President for Community Health. Joan will oversee the new strategic plan to improve the health of the community, and to embed commitment to community into teaching, research and patient care. Joan has led the MGH Center for Community Health Improvement since 1995. 
MGH Youth Scholars head to college     

Twenty high school seniors in the MGH Youth Scholars program graduate next month from Boston  high schools. The Scholars are headed to: Boston College, Boston University, Bridgewater State University, Bunker Hill Community College, Curry College, Holy Cross, Mass College of Liberal Arts, Mass College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Mass Maritime Academy, North Shore Community College, Salem State University, Stonehill College, Tufts University, UMass Boston, and UMass Lowell. We congratulate them all!
Eric Weil proposes plan to Gaming Commission to make Revere the healthiest community in the Commonwealth
Dr. Eric Weil, the Associate Chief for Clinical Affairs at MGH and the Chairperson for the Revere Board of Health, testified on March 25 before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that if Revere is granted a gaming license, some of the funds that would flow to the City should be used to make Revere the healthiest city in the Commonwealth. He presented a plan with aggressive goals based on CCHI's latest community health needs assessment including substance use, violence and obesity prevention.
MGH Youth Scholars are featured on WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV Eye on Education featured the 10th grade MGH Youth Scholars during their two-week rotation with Radiation Oncology in a simulation unit on diagnosing and treating brain tumors. Watch the video here.


MGH Chelsea navigation showcased at a national conference
MGH Chelsea was featured in a video and led three sessions at the recent national patient navigation conference held in Norwood. Check out the video.

 

Psychiatry and Neurology Departments focus on Community

The Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology should each be congratulated for outstanding days celebrating community health, diversity and inclusion. On April 30, the Department of Psychiatry sponsored their second annual Symposium on Community Health, under the leadership of Derri Shtasel, MD, Director of the Division of Community and Public Psychiatry. On May 22, the Department of Neurology, with leadership from Nicte Mejia, MD, and Janet Caruso, sponsored a series of events on community health, diversity and inclusion, including a Grand Rounds delivered by Dr. S. Allen Counter, who was the first recipient of the Anne B. Young Diversity Scholar Award.
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