284756
Community development pays big dividends for access and public health based on need
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
: 9:10 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Guale Valdez,
Mattapan Community Health Center, Mattapan, MA
A Boston-based community health center in an underserved neighborhood that serves primarily African Americans, including a large number of Caribbean immigrants changed access and services with its community development project. This new construction project involved coordinating a development team, major fundraising, acquisition of eight parcels of land in the heart of a commercial district and bringing together two tenant partners a local national bank and a major pharmacy, the first in the commercial district for over 30 years. In addition to increase capacity to serve more patients with more services, this community development project has significantly decreased crime and transformed the urban site to an environmentally clean one. The health center participated in major visioning, planning, and policy development with staff and the community to assure a patient centered medical home for its residents with onsite mammography services and a nutrition education center under one roof. The mammography services address the high rate of breast cancer mortality in the Mattapan neighborhood. In the most recent Health of Boston 2012, the mortality rate has been 174% higher than the overall Boston rate. The nutrition education center has been busy with little chefs and their families to address the high obesity rate (70% for adults, Health of Boston) and the high diabetes mortality rate which was three times higher than Boston.
Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Advocacy for health and health education
Program planning
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related public policy
Learning Objectives:
Describe the key elements of transformative community health projects. Formulate a capital financial structure which incorporates diverse funding sources for public health services. Create substantial information systems infrastructure to support health care services.
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the Chief Financil Officer for Mattapan Community Health Center and have been an active team member involved in all aspects of a $34 million building proejct. I have approximately 25 years of exerience in the health care field involving various health care organizations including community health centers. I have experience with all aspects of for profit and non-profit accounting, budgeting and reporting systems and have worked on public health based capital projects.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
