November 13, 2014

Thank you for visiting our official page for the Hampden County Public Health Improvement Forum. In case you have not yet registered, now is the time to register because space is limited!

Hampden County has consistently ranked the lowest of the 14 counties in the Commonwealth, with respect to Public Health outcomes. This includes having the highest rates of tobacco smoking, adult obesity, excessive drinking, motor vehicle crash fatalities, and sexually transmitted infections ¾ all of which are identified by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as 'Winnable Battles'.  Realizing that, we have put together a planning committee of public health professionals and elected officials to plan the Hampden County Public Health Improvement Forum.  The forum has been designed to specifically provide an opportunity for key decision makers and stakeholders to understand the economic costs incurred as a result of our county's poor health, while also allowing us to launch the process of strategizing a unified vision plan for the county to improve our health outcomes together. 

Dr. Rosa Rodriguez-Monguio from UMASS Amherst School of Public Health will kick-off the discussions with a keynote presentation on Health and Economics.  Dr. Frank Robinson, Executive Director of Partners for a Healthier Community, will be the moderator and will engage dialogue with panel members.  The panelists include Aaron Vega - State Representative of the Fifth Hampden District; Carlos Gonzalez - State Representative Elect of the Tenth Hampden District and President/CEO of the Massachusetts Latino Chamber of Commerce; Victoria Healy - Executive Director of Health South; Cristina Huebner Torres - Vice President of Caring Health Center; and Lynn Ostrowski - Director of Corporate Responsibilities & Government Affairs at Health New England. 

We invite you to attend the Hampden County Public Health Improvement Forum.  There is still time to register!

When:   November 13, 2014 @ 8:30 am - 3:30 pm
Where:  Holyoke Community College - Kittredge Center 
             303 Homestead Avenue
             Holyoke, MA 01040

This is a unique opportunity for our county and as many that has helped placed this event together feel, it is long overdue.  I am reaching out to you to seek your presence for the event as a representative of your community.

Any questions, contact PVPC's Municipal Services Coordinator Joshua A. Garcia at (413) 781-6045 or jgarcia@pvpc.org. 

To Register, CLICK HERE

Panelists:

This event was planned/organized in partnership with the following public health professionals and elected officials of the region:

• Bettye Anderson-Frederic - Deputy Director of Department of Health and Human Services, Springfield 
• Helen Arnold RN, MS, Director of Community Benefit and Oncology - Holyoke Medical Center
• Jessica Collins, Deputy Director, Partners for Healthier Community, Inc.
• Soloe Dennis, MS, MEP - Western Mass Regional Director of Public Health, DPH
• Jeanne Galloway, Director of Public Health, West Springfield
• Joshua A. Garcia - Municipal Services Coordinator, PVPC
• Wanda L. Givens - Director, Mason Square Health Task Force
• Angela Kramer, RN - Shared Public Health Nurse for Hampden County local municipalities
• Nikki Nixon - HCHC Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, PVPC
• Olivia Peters, RN - Western Region Coordinator - Refugee and Immigrant Health Program, Dept. of Public Health Western Regional Health Office
• Catherine Ratte - Principal Planner, PVPC
• Dora Robinson, President/CEO of United Way Pioneer Valley
• Frank Robinson, PhD, Executive Director - Partners for a Healthier Community, Inc
• Risa Silverman - Office of Public Health Practice & Outreach & Adjunct Faculty, Division of Community Health Studies School of Public Health and Health Sciences, UMASS
• Aaron Vega - State Representative of Fifth Hampden District