In response to COVID-19, FRCOG offices are closed. Staff are working remotely. Email is likely the most efficient way to reach us. You can find our contact information on the Staff page under the About link below.

Building, plumbing and wiring inspectors are available for meetings by appointment only.

All meetings, workshops and forums are cancelled or have been changed to a call-in or video format.  Please look for emails from FRCOG staff about specific meetings or on our calendar at the Meetings and Events link below.

Archive | Western MA Health and Medical Coordinating Coalition

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**COVID-19 Data and Updates**

For the latest re-opening information for local governments, click here
For a Franklin County data dashboard from the Public Health Institute of Western MA, click here.
For the state’s map showing local testing numbers and color-coded risk levels, click here.For the latest situation reports from the MA COVID Command Center, click here.
For the COG’s COVID Municipal Resources Page click here.
For the Region 1 Health and Medical Coordinating Coalition, click here.
For resources and guidance for businesses, organizations, entrepreneurs, and job seekers, click here.

Testing resources:

 

 

To read the FRCOG’s Municipal Leader COVID-19 updates:

FRCOG is hiring!

Would you or someone you know like to join our team?

Please check out the positions available here by visiting our Employment Page!

 

FRCOG signs the Stigma Pledge

Massachusetts is in the midst of a heartbreaking crisis of addiction and overdose, and one of the most important things we can all do to prevent further deaths is reduce the stigma experienced by people with substance use disorder. Only 1 in 12 people people with this disorder seek treatment — can you imagine if numbers were similarly low for diabetes?
FRCOG’s staff have signed the Boston Medical Center Stigma Pledge and will work to make sure we use non-stigmatizing language. Join us!

To learn more about the Pledge, click here.

To review an “Addictionary” of stigmatizing and non-stigmatizing language, click here.

New Census Data on local population

The latest population estimate by county shows that Franklin County’s population declined from 2000 to 2017 by about 670 people (or <1%), while the state and nation grew by 4.8% and 5.5% respectively.  Of the fourteen counties of Massachusetts, Franklin County along with Berkshire County and Barnstable County (which is Cape Cod) declined in population.

 

Geography 2010 Census Population Population Estimate 2017 2010-2017 Difference 2010-2017 Change
Berkshire County 131,219 126,313 -4,906 -3.7%
Barnstable County 215,888 213,444 -2,444 -1.1%
Franklin County 71,372 70,702 -670 -0.9%
Hampden County 463,490 469,818 6,328 1.4%
Hampshire County 158,080 161,834 3,754 2.4%
Bristol County 548,285 561,483 13,198 2.4%
Worcester County 798,552 826,116 27,564 3.5%
Plymouth County 494,919 515,142 20,223 4.1%
Norfolk County 670,850 700,322 29,472 4.4%
Dukes County 16,535 17,325 790 4.8%
Essex County 743,159 785,205 42,046 5.7%
Middlesex County 1,503,085 1,602,947 99,862 6.6%
Nantucket County 10,172 11,229 1,057 10.4%
Suffolk County 722,023 797,939 75,916 10.5%
Massachusetts 6,547,629 6,859,819 312,190 4.8%
United States 308,745,538 325,719,178 16,973,640 5.5%

 

HMCC Participates in Patient Evacuation Exercise

The Western MA Health & Medical Coordinating Coalition participated in a tabletop exercise on April 25th testing the MA Dept. of Public Health’s new Patient Placement Coordination Plan. Following federal requirements, the Department had to practice moving at least 20% of western Mass’ hospital patients from sending hospitals to receiving hospitals. The scenario involved flooding that required Cooley Dickinson Hospital and Baystate Medical Center evacuating all of their patients and sending them to the remaining eight hospitals in the region.

Staff from the MA Dept. of Public Health Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management test out the State’s new Patient Placement Coordination Plan

Exercise facilitators from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health look on as Mary Clark, former MA Dept. of Public Health’s director of the Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management tests the statewide plan to handle hospital evacuations

A moment of laughter amid the chaos of practicing the movement of over 1,100 patients from two hospitals to the other eight in western MA.

Hmmmm…are you sure about that Michael? Michael Nelson, regional public health coordinator for the MA Dept. of Public Health’s Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management and Montague selectman,helps determine how many beds are available to handle incoming hospital patients.

W MA HMCC Full Coalition Meeting Registration Open

Spring 2017 HMCC Full Coalition Invite

The HMCC will hold its second full Coalition meeting this year, open to any and all health and medical
stakeholders. We will update the membership on the region’s progress towards greater health and medical preparedness/response collaboration, and host a keynote by Chad Priest, Chief Executive Officer – American Red Cross Indiana Region.

Chad Priest, MSN, JD, BSN, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Indiana Region American Red Cross. Priorto joining the Red Cross, Mr. Priest served as Indiana Universities’ School of Nursing’s Assistant Dean for Operations and Community Partnerships.

Mr. Priest also currently serves as Senior Executive Advisor to the MESH Coalition, a non-profit, public/private partnership that coordinates, supports and strengthens healthcare and related entities to mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from the effects of emergency and crisis events and incidents. Mr. Priest formerly served as the MESH Coalition’s Chief Executive Officer for 4 years.

Mr. Priest will present “Towards Community Resilience: The Role of Healthcare Coalitions” from his perspective as a healthcare provider in multiple professions: as a military nurse, a healthcare lawyer, and as the CEO of a non-profit crisis management organization. Through these experiences, he has come to believe that in order to maintain individual and community health you have to mix it up – both the professions, and the interactions. In our April coalition meeting, Mr. Priest will discuss the role of community health and health equity in emergency preparedness and response coordination, including its effect on patient surge, and demonstrate that not only do we all play a role in keeping people healthy, but also that by ensuring the health of all members of our community, we emerge more resilient in times of crisis.

Please RSVP at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15xwFz9EaqRvb8eJ-s0TeZBOzQzEVWe4du69LqP1l8vA/edit

New Webinar: How to Start a Respiratory Protection Program

Registration is now opened for a new webinar developed by DelValle How to Start a Respiratory Protection Program to be delivered on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 11:00am-12:00pm. The target audience for this webinar includes Healthcare Facilities, Emergency Medical Services, Public Health.

The registration link for the webinar is: https://delvalle.bphc.org/rpp_webinar. Registration instructions are below.

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How to register:

  1. Visit the DelValle Institute Learning Center at https://delvalle.bphc.org/rpp_webinar Select the “Login to Register” button and enter your credentials. You will be redirected back to the course page.
  2. Next, select the “Register Now” button and fill-out the registration form to complete your registration.

 

To sign up for a DelValle Learning Center Account:

  1. Visit the DelValle Institute Learning Center at https://delvalle.bphc.org/rpp_webinar
  2. Select “Create a Login” on the red menu bar
  3. Proceed to create a new account by entering your email address and creating a password with at least 6 characters and at least 1 non-alphanumeric number (e.g. jsmith123!).
  4. Fill-in all required fields and select “create my new account”. Follow the next step as instructed by the system.
  5. Return back to https://delvalle.bphc.org/rpp_webinar
  6. Select the “Login in to Register” button and enter your credentials. You will be redirected back to the course page.
  7. Next, select the “Register Now” button and fill-out the registration form to complete your registration

Emerging Infectious Disease Webinars Available for Viewing

The three Emerging Infectious Disease webinars put forth by the DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness have been archived on their webpage and are available for viewing. Stakeholders who were not able to access these webinars live can now view them at their own pace, prior to the live capstone event offered in Holyoke on September 30th.

View Webinar 1: Core Concepts

View Webinar 2: Learning From the Past

View Webinar 3: Examining the Present

Register for the Live Event on September 30th

 

 

New CMS EP Rules Released

On September 8, 2016 the Federal Register posted the final rule Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid Participating Providers and Suppliers. The regulation goes into effect on November 16, 2016. Health care providers and suppliers affected by this rule must comply and implement all regulations one year after the effective date, on November 16, 2017.

Facilities Impacted by the Emergency Preparedness Rule include: hospitals; ambulatory surgical centers; hospices; long-term care facilities; home health agencies; rural health clinics and federal qualified health centers; dialysis facilities.  While all the above providers are impacted, requirements may differ between types.  The full rules can be found online at: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertEmergPrep/Core-EP-Rule-Elements.html