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"Pandemic Flu: Learning
from the Past, Preparing for the Future" MPHA Annual
Meeting
Another
influenza pandemic is inevitable...but we don't know
when. We must forge new partnerships and
strengthen our foundations to address today's problems
and prepare for tomorrow's threats. Please join us
at MPHA’s annual meeting to discuss how to learn from
the past, respond to the present, and plan for the
future.
The meeting will be
held on Thursday, October 5, 2006 from 11:30 a.m. - 5:00
p.m. at the Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough.
Our
keynote speaker is Dr. Alfred Crosby, author of
America’s Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of
1918. We will have a response panel including
Paul Cote, DPH Commissioner and Stacey DeBoise Luster,
Human Resources Director for Worcester Public
Schools.
The meeting also
features a poster session and expo, awards celebration,
light buffet lunch, and book-signing by Dr. Crosby and a
networking reception. CEUs for nurses are
available. To download the brochure with a
registration form, please click here. You may also register online here or by
visiting www.mphaweb.org.
Environmental and
Occupational Health Section
Meeting
The Environmental and
Occupational Health Section will be meeting on Thursday,
September 28, from 5:30 – 7:30 at the MPHA office in
Boston. The meeting is open to all MPHA members
and interested newcomers. For more information,
please contact Eric Weltman: 617-524-6696, ext. 111; eweltman@mphaweb.org.
Central
Massachusetts
Report
The Central
Massachusetts Regional Committee has been continuing its
work on emergency preparedness and pandemic flu planning
for special populations. On August 7, MPHA staff
and regional committee members Joanne Triestman and
Keesha LaTulippe attended a meeting to discuss community
planning and communications. Participants included
local emergency planners, the Metropolitan Medical
Response System, the Worcester Office on Disability,
Worcester city council members, and community
organizations. The regional committee is planning
a forum on the issue in the last week of October.
In addition, the
regional committee is working with the Massachusetts
Coalition of School Based Health Centers, Worcester
Interfaith, and Worcester community leaders to conduct
research and identify a planning committee for the Model
Healthy Schools campaign.
Western
Massachusetts Report
In late
August MPHA and the Springfield Department of
Health and Humans Service conducted a focus group on
emergency preparedness and vulnerable populations at
Shriners Hospital in Springfield. The meeting was
facilitated by Jeff Timperi of the Department of Public
Health’s Office for Emergency Preparedness and Dr. Frank
Robinson of Bay State Health Systems. Members of
Springfield neighborhood groups and agencies
participated in the focus group. Javeria Mir, a
graduate student at the UMass School of Public Health
and an MPHA intern, is analyzing the results.
MPHA was invited to
participate in the planning process for a 10 year-grant
from the Kellogg Foundation. The proposed project would
identify nutrition and exercise needs for the City of
Holyoke and institute programs to improve the health of
the city’s residents. Participants in the planning
group include Daniel Ross of Nuestras Raices Inc., Judy
Sopinski of the Holyoke Health Center, and MPHA member
Jeff Harness, of the Western Massachusetts Center for
Healthy Communities (a program of Cooley-Dickenson
Hospital).
For more information,
or to get involved, contact AJ Juarez: 413-750-2060; ellis6065@charter.net.
Save the Date! Book
Reading
Michele Simon will
be reading and signing her new book, Appetite for
Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and
How to Fight Back, on Wednesday, November 1, 2006,
6-8 p.m. The reading is sponsored by MPHA,
with the location to be determined. For more
information, contact Roberta Friedman: 617-524-6696,
ext. 103; rfriedman@mphaweb.org.
Save the Date! APHA
Reception
MPHA will be hosting a
reception for all Massachusetts APHA and MPHA members at
the APHA Annual Meeting on Sunday, November 5 from
6-7:30 p.m. at the Seaport Hotel. For more
information, contact Roberta Friedman: 617-524-6696
x103; rfriedman@mphaweb.org.
Commercialization
Summit
The Campaign for a
Commercial-Free Childhood is holding its annual summit,
entitled "Consuming Kids," on October 26-28 in
Boston. It features a distinguished group of
scholars, activists, parents, and educators who will
talk about how marketing undermines children’s health
and well-being and what we can do about it. This year’s
summit features a special focus on marketing in
schools. For more information,
contact Lauren Wholley at 617-278-4280 or www.commercialexploitation.org.
Harvard symposium to honor Dr. Julius
Richmond
The Harvard Medical School
Department of Social Medicine, Harvard School of Public
Health François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and
Human Rights, and the Center on the Developing Child at
Harvard University will host a symposium on September
26, 2006, “Child Health and Development in the
21st Century,” to celebrate the
90th birthday of Dr. Julius B.
Richmond,
founder of Head Start and former Surgeon General. The
event will be held
from 8:00 a.m – 5:00 p.m. at the Harvard Club, 374
Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. Admission is free.
Registration in advance is strongly
encouraged. Information and registration are found
at www.hsph.harvard.edu/richmond.
Renew your membership
today!
MPHA has won
important victories in recent months and your support,
your voice, and your membership were critical to these
victories. MPHA has an ambitious agenda laid out
for the coming months and we need your continued
support. Please take a moment to renew your membership in MPHA
and invite your friends and colleagues to join,
too!
Not sure if your
membership is current? Contact Kara Keenan for
more information: 617-524-6696 ext.113; kkeenan@mphaweb.org. |
