Welcome New Directors and Community Members | |
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The Health Foundation is pleased to announce that it has recently elected two new Directors and a new Board Chair, as reported by MassNonprofit News.
Elected to serve three-year terms on the Board of Directors are Paula A. Aiello, CPA, a consultant and former CEO of the behavioral health agency YOU, Inc., and Soloe M. Dennis, MS, MEP, Director of the Worcester Division of Public Health and the Central Massachusetts Regional Public Health Alliance.
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New Board Chair
The Health Foundation's Board of Directors is led by a new chair, Dennis M. Dimitri, MD, FAAFP, Professor Emeritus of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.
Dr. Dimitri has served on The Health Foundation's Board since 2017.
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The Health Foundation also elected eight new Community Members to serve on various committees:
Audit Committee
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Eric Cole, Chief Financial Officer at Seven Hills Foundation
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John Mannila, Senior Vice President and Team Leader at Webster Five
Community Outreach Committee
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Jose Castro, Executive Director of Entrepreneurship for All Greater Worcester and EparaTodos Greater Worcester
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Mary Giannetti, Director of Resource Development at Heywood Hospital
Investment Committee
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Peter S. Balesano, MBA, Senior Vice President and Private Bank Market Leader at Bank of America Private Bank
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Daniel F. Shimkus, Jr., MBA, Regional Executive and Head of Commercial Lending - Education, Not for Profit and Government Lending, New England and Upstate New York at TD Bank
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Kristina Spillane, MFin, Vice President and Regional Manager of Enterprise Account Management at Fidelity National Information Services
Nominating Committee
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Dolores Thibault-Muñoz, Deputy Director at NewVue Communities
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The Health Foundation President & CEO Dr. Amie Shei recently penned an op-ed stressing the importance of investing in transportation across the state, including in rural communities.
She used the opportunity to highlight the Quaboag Connector, a Round 5 Synergy Initiative project led by the Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation in partnership with the Town of Ware and other local partners, which has become a shining example of rural microtransit.
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Transportation Funding Task Force | |
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Members of the Governor's Transportation Funding Task Force (photo credit: MassDOT)
Dr. Shei was also recently appointed to the Governor’s Transportation Funding Task Force which is tasked with examining the state’s transportation system and developing recommendations for a long-term, sustainable transportation finance. Joining her in representing the Central Massachusetts region are: Melissa Fales (Quaboag Valley CDC), Alex Guardiola (Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce), Michael Nicholson (Town of Gardner), and Jason Palitsch (495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership).
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Members and supporters of the Health Equity Compact (photo credit: MPHA)
On February 28, Dr. Shei joined Health Equity Compact members and supporters at a legislative briefing at the State House. She spoke about the importance of An Act to Advance Health Equity (H1250/S799) in providing a roadmap for how the state should move forward and lead this next chapter of health reform focused on equity.
State House News Service covered the briefing here.
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Grantee Spotlight - GAAMHA | |
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Ribbon-Cutting to Commemorate the Grand Opening of Sunrise Ridge Recovery Home in Athol
(photo credit: GAAMHA)
Founded in 1967, GAAMHA is a Gardner-based nonprofit offering a wide range of services, from recovery and supportive housing programs for individuals with substance use disorder to therapeutic and employment services for individuals with disabilities residing in the North Central, North Quabbin, and Eastern Franklin County regions of Massachusetts.
Through the years, the organization has developed a reputation for growing and evolving to meet critical community needs as they arise. Most recently, GAAMHA has responded to an unmet need for treatment services for women with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders in the North Quabbin area. On February 26, GAAMHA hosted a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the opening of Sunrise Ridge Recovery Home, a 32-bed recovery center for women in Athol with dedicated space for women who are pregnant or post-partum seeking recovery services.
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Patient Room at Sunset Ridge Recovery Center
(photo credit: GAAMHA)
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The Health Foundation was pleased to support GAAMHA’s efforts to open this facility by awarding a 2023 Activation Fund grant in the amount of $130,000 for the purchase of kitchen equipment and furnishings for the patient rooms, group rooms, and lounge areas.
Shawn Hayden, Vice President of GAAMHA, led the ceremony with over 100 in attendance, including The Health Foundation’s Vice President for Programs Jennie Blake. Mr. Hayden said of the long-awaited opening of this facility:
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“It is an incredible honor for our agency to help to fill an enormous need in the North Quabbin region. Access to services for substance use and mental health challenges has always been a struggle for residents of this area, and women in particular have been impacted disproportionately by the scarcity of programs. We are excited to add Sunrise Ridge Recovery Home to GAAMHA's continuum of services and continue our legacy of delivering world class care without the financial barriers that often leave our most vulnerable people underserved.”
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Free Training for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
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Free Conference on April 29 to Satisfy MATE Requirement
The UMass Memorial Health Road to Care team and UMass Chan Medical School, with funding from The Health Foundation, Reliant Foundation, and RIZE Massachusetts, are offering a second free CME conference for providers, regardless of one’s clinical affiliation or specialty, to fulfill the new Drug Enforcement Agency Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act. This training event will focus on Transforming Care: Harm Reduction, Overdose Prevention and Management of Opioid Use Disorder.
The April 29 training will be offered both in a hybrid format (in person in Southbridge and via Zoom). Project ECHO-format longitudinal modules will also be announced.
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The first event in December was attended by more than 100 providers from a variety of specialties (including primary care, emergency medicine, podiatry, urology, and ophthalmology) and received excellent reviews.
Where: The Wellsworth Hotel, Sturbridge, MA
When: April 29, 2024, 7:30 am - 5:30 pm
Breakfast and lunch provided
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The Health Foundation is celebrating our 25th Anniversary in 2024. If you have any stories or photos to share from The Health Foundation's first quarter century we'd love to hear from you!
Please send them to info@thfcm.org.
Thank you!
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Below are resources and information that may be of interest to our non-profit partners across the region.
Philanthropy Massachusetts is offering the following virtual workshop for nonprofits, which are available to both members and non-members of its nonprofit program. Workshop Fee: Members $35, Non Members $55.
(March 13, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)
Presenter: Diane Gedeon-Martin, The Write Source, LLC
(March 27, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.)
Presenter: David McGoy, Cause Effective
Briefing on Congressionally Directed Spending Process
Senator Edward J. Markey’s office will be hosting a staff-led webinar on March 14,10:00 - 11:00 a.m. to introduce nonprofits and local, state, and tribal governments to the Congressionally Directed Spending process (aka “earmarks”) and address related questions. For more information, please contact the Senator's office at Appropriations@markey.senate.gov. A one-page guide prepared by Senator Markey’s office may be downloaded here.
MetroWest Nonprofit Network (MWNN) will host a Nonprofit Budget and Finance Fundamentals Workshop on March 22. The interactive workshop is designed to equip attendees with the essential knowledge and tools to create and manage nonprofit organization budgets effectively and efficiently. For more information, please visit MWNN's website or contact them at (508) 377-3998.
The MetroWest Health Foundation is soliciting grant proposals focused on the following priorities: Girls' Mental Health; Improving Health Equity; Health & Housing Stability; and Innovative Actions to Address Community Health Priorities. Concept Papers are due March 15, and online proposals are due March 29. Click here for more information.
The Massachusetts Community Health and Health Aging Funds 2024 Funding Cycle is offering grants up to $200,000 per year for up to five years to Massachusetts-based non-profit organizations or groups with a 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor, municipalities, and quasi-governmental organizations working to address root causes of health inequities and social determinants of health. Applications are due March 29.
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The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts is dedicated to improving the health of those who live or work in Central Massachusetts, with particular emphasis on vulnerable populations and unmet needs. Through its unique and impactful approach to grantmaking, The Health Foundation supports community-identified health issues, with health defined broadly to include social determinants of health and with a focus on promoting health equity. As a health conversion foundation launched in 1999 following the sale of the not-for-profit HMO Central Massachusetts Health Care, Inc., The Health Foundation’s grants have totaled over $56 million to more than 230 unique organizations over its history. For more information, visit www.thfcm.org. | |
© 2024 The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts | | | | |
