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Date: 3/7/2023
WARE — Five partnership teams in communities across the United States were selected for the inaugural cohort of a new program for the de Beaumont Foundation: Innovative, Multi-sector Partnerships for Community Transformation (IMPACT) in Public Health, and the Quabbin Health District was one of them.
The Quabbin Health District is a comprehensive regional health department serving the communities of Belchertown, Ware and Pelham, providing the towns with public health professionals and services necessary to create healthy communities.
Quabbin Health District Director of Public Health Andrea Crete explained that they applied for the IMPACT grant in October 2022.
“They [de Beaumont Foundation] were looking for health departments collaborating with a local business and expanding upon that collaboration when it comes to public health services in the community and how a business can benefit from that,” said Crete. “The de Beaumont Foundation was looking for that partnership that was existing already and we currently have that partnership with Quabbin Wire & Cable Company.”
Crete shared that once a month, the district has a public health nurse visit Quabbin Wire & Cable Company in Ware to do wellness clinics for the employees. This includes checking blood pressure, glucose monitoring, answering questions about medication, Narcan training and more. She explained that this is a private, “one-on-one thing” the public health nurse will offer.
With the closing of the Baystate Mary Lane Outpatient Center in Ware – creating transportation barriers to other healthcare facilities now – Crete said travel and access to healthcare can be “difficult.”
“We want to make sure our residents and even the business community have access to some form of healthcare,” shared Crete. “We felt that an organization like Quabbin Wire & Cable Company – that employs a lot of staff – could benefit from having a public health nurse on site at least once a month especially for those employees that can’t get to a doctor’s office or have specific questions that maybe our nurse could answer.”
On Dec. 9, 2022, Crete received word that the Quabbin Health District was selected to receive the IMPACT grant. Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Services for Quabbin Wire & Cable Company Stacy Gilmour noted that a “pretty intensive” group interview was conducted beforehand.
Along with Quabbin Wire & Cable Company, the Quabbin Health District will be working with the Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation (QVCDC) and Quaboag Hills Substance Use Alliance (QHSUA) to carry out this grant opportunity.
Gilmour said she thinks it helped that some of these organizations have partnered together before and are familiar with one another. “I think that our project spoke directly to what the de Beaumont Foundation is trying to achieve,” she added.
With the IMPACT grant, Crete said the goal is to expand upon the collaboration and partnerships that happened during COVID-19 between the local public health departments and the business community.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Crete said they received a lot of calls from businesses asking what to do regarding isolation or quarantine if an employee tested positive or was exposed to someone with COVID-19. She shared that businesses were also looking for assistance when it came to the governor changing guidelines and protocols on when businesses could open, if they needed to open in phases and so on.
Crete described this time as “unique” as the Quabbin Health District was receiving calls from businesses it doesn’t typically license or work with on a regular basis. This includes Gilmour’s business, among others in the community, as Crete said they never worked with them before regarding public health.
She went on to say that the de Beaumont Foundation wanted to expand upon that collaboration.
“Because of the [coronavirus] pandemic we are seeing now the economics in communities are starting to deteriorate,” said Crete.
“I relied on calls with the Board of Health during the [coronavirus] pandemic to be sure we were getting data and approaching workplace safety as recommended,” shared Gilmour.
She continued, “We recognized that our team members were struggling with a variety of ongoing health related challenges and that an on-site medical professional could be a helpful resource. We were surprised and pleased to learn that the public health nurse was more than willing to make herself available to us. This public sector/private sector partnership just scratches the surface of what needs to happen in the community [but] it’s a start.”
Specifically in Ware, Crete said there are issues with transportation, access to childcare, substance abuse and more. “All of that can impact employment for people that are employed and people that are looking to be employed,” she said.
Crete emphasized the importance of recognizing the needs for the business community and the community in general on what the barriers could be. “This grant would be enabling us to start looking into this more deeply,” she explained.
Through this process, Gilmour said they have learned that the de Beaumont Foundation recognizes that a lot of times, the public and private sectors are somewhat “dissociated” or “siloed,” and each have resources that when combined, can make an impact on public health.
Gilmour noted that she has been employed at her company for 36 years and the first time she called someone from the Board of Health was during COVID-19. After realizing the importance of the resource, she said they wanted to expand on that.
The IMPACT grant was in the amount of $100,000 and will last over a 15-month period. Crete told Reminder Publishing that a part of the grant was received. She explained that it is essentially a “one time thing” – to get them started on the scope of the project.
Although the Quabbin Health District is the grant holder, Crete noted that the IMPACT team consists of Gilmour, Ware Town Manager Stuart Beckley, Gail Gramarossa, Emily Coderre and Megan Boutot with the QHSUA, and Sheila Cuddy with the QVCDC.
When asked how it felt to be one of five partnership teams across the country to receive this grant, Crete said, “I feel very blessed to be a part of it. I think it’s a great opportunity.”
She continued, “I think it’s something that’s commonly overlooked in general when it comes to public health. We typically are involved in the community but not so much the business community. And the business community actually has a very big impact on the public health of the community and that’s where we’re trying to really bridge that gap – if we have healthy workers, we also have a healthy community too.”
Crete said she is hoping that this will be a “catalyst” for other businesses to join in with the partnership as well.
Gilmour expressed her optimism to move this area and the district forward by making sure the community members understand all the “rich resources” that are available.
Of all the priorities businesses have, Gilmour said public health was not on their radar, but COVID-19 changed that. As the coronavirus pandemic seems to slow, she said they are recognizing many other health issues that are impacting businesses such as domestic violence, substance abuse and home and food insecurity, to name a few. “One thing affects the other,” she added.
Gilmour noted that her company has always been one that has given back to the community and made donations but now recognizes they have a “bigger part to play” and the ability to do that.
She added that they are receiving “wonderful support” from John Hopkins University regarding data collection. Gilmour explained that one of the requirements of the IMPACT grant is to make it a data-driven project and provide education on how to move forward with other programs.
Gilmour said they have been “really pleased” with the support that the de Beaumont Foundation has provided. “It is a very professional effort,” she shared.
Gilmour encourages any businesses who would like to contribute or be involved in this project at any level, to contact her at stacyg@quabbin.com.