Massachusetts Joins Northeast Health Collaborative
BOSTON — Massachusetts has joined with several Northeastern states and America's largest city to create the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, a voluntary regional coalition of public health agencies and leaders, brought together to share expertise, improve coordination, enhance capacity, strengthen regional readiness, and promote and protect evidence-based public health.
The collaborative's shared purpose is to work together in new ways — optimizing the use of shared resources, innovating and reimagining core services — to ensure trust in public health, respond to public health threats, advance community health and strengthen confidence in vaccines and science-based medicine.
"When our states speak in concert, our voice carries farther, and our impact deepens. Those who work in public health are entrusted with a profound responsibility — a promise — to protect the health and safety of those in our states, to advance equity, and to ground every decision in data and evidence," said state Commissioner of Public Health Dr. Robbie Goldstein.
"Strong public health must stand high above ideology. Our region understands this, and we are moving forward, resolute, united, and guided by science.”
The regional partnership, which was informally established several months ago, held its first in-person meeting in Rhode Island in August. It also includes Connecticut, Maine, New Jersey, New York State, Pennsylvania, and New York City
The group's shared goal is to protect the health, safety and well-being of all residents by providing information based on science, data, and evidence, while working to ensure equitable access to vaccines, medications and services.
The collaborative has already formed interjurisdictional working groups to identify opportunities for collaboration and shared planning across multiple public health disciplines including public health emergency preparedness and response, vaccine recommendations and purchasing, data collection and analysis, infectious disease, epidemiology and laboratory capacity and services.
Members of the collaborative worked together on science-based guidance for health care personnel (HCP) advising on precautions health-care workers should take to protect themselves and patients during respiratory virus season. Other examples of collaborative efforts include sharing information on public health emergency preparedness related to three FIFA (International Federation of Association Football) World Cup host cities within the collaborative, exploring workforce pipeline activities given the understaffing in public health and coordinating state lab related activities and services.
"Everyone benefits when we work together. I am excited about this collaborative; we all share the same goal of achieving health and well-being for our people," said New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald. "New York is proud to be part of the Northeast Public Health Collaborative. By working together, we are creating a more adaptable, sustainable and resilient public health system for our state and the region."
While the Northeast Public Health Collaborative members share common public health goals and objectives, they recognize that each state and city is independent with their own diverse populations and unique sets of laws, regulations and histories. Members may choose to participate in or adapt those specific initiatives consistent with their particular needs, values, objectives, and statutory or regulatory requirements.
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