Patrick Administration Awards $12.2 Million in Training Grants to Reduce Health Care Costs

Patrick Administration Awards $12.2 Million in Training Grants to Reduce Health Care Costs

Award is second round of grants to train health care workers under landmark Health Care Cost Containment Act

Lowell, Wednesday, December 10, 2014 – Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Rachel Kaprielian today awarded more than $12.2 million in the latest round of grants to help train health care providers to improve patient service and reduce health care costs. The funding goes to 53 organizations across the state as part of the Patrick Administration’s effort to encourage economic growth by supporting innovation in the Commonwealth’s health care industry. Secretary Kaprielian announced the awards at the Lowell Community Health Center, one of the grant recipients.

“These grants will help ensure health care providers succeed in implementing new models of service delivery and adapt to new payment structures,’ said Secretary Kaprielian. “By providing resources to develop new and innovative training and education programs, Massachusetts will continue to solidify its place as a leader in health care modernization and advances.” 

In 2012, Governor Deval Patrick signed Chapter 224 making Massachusetts the first state in the country to enact health care quality improvement and cost containment legislation. The Health Care Cost Containment Act allocated $20 million to prepare the health care industry for the new demands and innovations called for in the legislation.

Governor Patrick announced the first round of grants in March which allowed businesses to assess their workforce and determine what skills and training they will need to change operations and deliver more efficient health care. For many of today’s grantees, the training activity ahead builds on that planning work. All the grantees have identified a set of operational changes that are driving their need for increased workforce skills. The training activity will support new models for coordinating care across professions, institutions and settings, focus on patient-centered care, stronger patient engagement and health education to promote health and wellness, integration of primary care and behavioral health and process improvement. 

“Every resident of the Commonwealth is entitled to quality, cost-effective health care and these decisive grants will prepare facilities like the Lowell Community Health Center, in an ever-changing health care climate, to provide the highest quality of services and care to their patients in our community,” said Senator Eileen M. Donoghue.

“This important grant will ensure that the health care industry continues to provide the resources necessary to remain innovative,” said Representative Thomas A. Golden, Jr.  “It will also ensure quality of care by enhancing the skills of its workers.  This in turn will foster economic growth and opportunity in our Commonwealth.”

The Lowell Community Health Center, which has served the communities of greater Lowell since 1970, will partner with the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and Northern Essex Community College on a $250,000 grant to deliver a training plan that will improve the quality of patient care by strengthening the skills of frontline community health workers and medical assistants.

“We now care for nearly half of all Lowell residents, or nearly 50,000 individuals, said Dorcas Grigg-Saito, CEO of the Lowell Community Health Center. “This unique training opportunity will help us ensure that we have the skilled workforce we need to achieve our mission of delivering high quality and cost effective patient care to each and every patient we serve.” 

Niem Nay-Kret, one of a number of center workers slated to receive the new training said “Since I primarily serve members of Lowell's large concentration of Cambodians, I am excited by the opportunity to expand my clinical knowledge and case management skills because the patients I serve face so many obstacles to better health.”

Health Care Workforce Transformation Grants announced on Wednesday are administered by the Commonwealth Corporation under the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.  Awarded grants ranged in size from $30,300 to $250,000.  Grant recipients represent every region of the Commonwealth and every subsector of the health care industry.  

The following received grants during this round of funding:

Lead Applicant	Total $ Requested	WIB Region
Berkshire Health Systems	$            249,286.38	Berkshire
Community Health Programs	$            148,349.00	Berkshire
1199SEIU Training and Upgrading Fund	$            249,161.00	Boston
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Boston	$            248,529.00	Boston
Boston Center for Independent Living	$            242,408.10	Boston
Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program	$            209,513.56	Boston
Boston University Center for Aging & Disability Education & Research	$            250,000.00	Boston
Brigham and Women's Hospital	$            249,996.89	Boston
East Boston Neighborhood Health Center	$            130,748.41	Boston
Jewish Vocational Service	$            250,000.00	Boston
Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers	$            250,000.00	Boston
Partners Healthcare System	$            231,837.60	Boston
Simmons College	$            249,892.39	Boston
The Home for Little Wanderers	$            249,986.00	Boston
VNA Care Network Foundation (VNACNF)	$            249,950.00	Boston
YMCA Training, Inc.	$            250,000.00	Boston
Fellowship Health Resources	$            249,348.50	Bristol
Signature Healthcare Medical Group	$            248,336.00	Brockton
Gosnold on Cape Cod	$            246,503.84	Cape & Islands
Central Massachusetts AHEC	$            243,951.75	Central MA
Community Healthlink	$            249,895.00	Central MA
Notre Dame Health Care Center	$            223,091.62	Central MA
UMASS Memorial Medical Center	$            249,696.00	Central MA
Clinical and Support Options	$            250,000.00	Franklin/Hampshire
UMASS Amherst, Western MA Public Health Training Center	$            249,654.00	Franklin/Hampshire
VNA & Hospice of Cooley Dickinson	$            249,637.02	Franklin/Hampshire
Lowell Community Health Center	$            250,000.00	Greater Lowell
Lowell General Hospital	$            244,354.13	Greater Lowell
Baystate Medical Center	$            249,682.80	Hampden
Gandara Center	$            250,000.00	Hampden
Springfield Technical Community College	$            156,338.56	Hampden
The Carson Center for Human Services	$            249,996.56	Hampden
Anna Jaques Hospital	$            249,973.37	Merrimack Valley
Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board	$            250,000.00	Merrimack Valley
Home Care Aide Council	$            249,723.63	Metro North
Lahey Clinic	$            249,992.60	Metro North
MA Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors	$            249,476.65	Metro North
Massachusetts Hospital Association	$            249,070.22	Metro North
Metro North Regional Employment Board	$            178,553.00	Metro North
Partners Home Care	$            249,088.40	Metro North
Massachusetts Nurses Association	$            164,878.89	Metro South/West
Massachusetts Senior Care Association	$            249,094.31	Metro South/West
Partnerships for a Skilled Workforce	$            250,000.00	Metro South/West
Riverside Community Care	$            249,950.16	Metro South/West
L.U.K. Crisis Center	$              36,313.23	North Central MA
Nashoba Valley Medical Center	$            249,862.60	North Central MA
Care Dimensions	$            248,974.37	North Shore
Lahey Health Behavioral Services	$            168,864.74	North Shore
North Shore Workforce Investment Board	$            236,954.52	North Shore
Salem State University	$            249,662.31	North Shore
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital: Milton	$            249,039.00	South Shore
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital: Plymouth	$            132,960.00	South Shore
New England Quality Care Alliance	$            250,000.00	South Shore
53	$      12,232,576.11

波士頓市議員吳弭喜獲麟兒

波士頓市議員吳弭昨晚喜獲麟兒。 她的丈夫Conor Pewarski，她的市議員辦公室，昨日早上歡喜宣布，在十二月九日晚十一點三十五分，吳弭產下七磅十三盎司，高20吋的兒子，取名Blaise Francis Pewarski。

GOVERNOR PATRICK ANNOUNCES MASSACHUSETTS AWARDED $15 MILLION FOR EARLY EDUCATION INITIATIVES

GOVERNOR PATRICK ANNOUNCES MASSACHUSETTS AWARDED $15 MILLION FOR EARLY EDUCATION INITIATIVES 
Federal Grant Funds Will Increase Access to High Quality Early Education in Five Communities Across the State

BOSTON – Wednesday, December 10, 2014 – Governor Deval Patrick today announced that Massachusetts is one of 13 grant award winners in the federal Preschool Development Grant: Expansion Grant competition, and will receive significant funding to expand high quality preschool programs in five high-needs communities across the state. These communities are Boston, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell and Springfield. 

Massachusetts applied for up to $60 million over four years under the federal Preschool Development Grant: Expansion Grant program.  The U.S. Department of Education announced today that Massachusetts will receive its full request for $15 million in the first year of the grant. 

“I am extremely proud of all that Massachusetts has accomplished in education innovation, and of our state's continued leadership as a national trailblazer in early education," said Governor Patrick. "This award will allow the Commonwealth to further advance its achievements in providing high-quality educational opportunities for all children that puts them in a path for a lifetime of success."

The federal Preschool Development Grants competition supports states in building and expanding the delivery of high-quality voluntary preschool programs.  The Expansion Grant funds are focused on increasing the availability of high-quality preschool programs in targeted communities within a state that will serve as models for expanding preschool to all 4-year-olds from low-income families in that state.

The five communities partnering with the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care for this program will develop public school district and community-based provider partnerships for expanded preschool programming.  Together, these partnerships will provide a year of high-quality preschool programming for approximately 750 four-year-olds in the participating communities during the first year of the grant.  The funding will also support quality improvements in outreach and coordination of comprehensive services, assuring that young children's development is supported and advanced in their home environments as well as in preschool settings.

"Early education is a powerful investment that helps kids grow and succeed,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren. “This federal grant will give more Massachusetts families a chance at high-quality early education for their kids by expanding and strengthening preschool programs in communities across the Commonwealth.”

“Every child in Massachusetts deserves access to a great education,” said Senator Edward J. Markey. “This federal funding will support high-quality early learning programs in Boston, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell and Springfield to prepare more students to succeed. Children who have access to early learning programs are more likely to continue in their education and become productive members of society, and I congratulate Governor Patrick and the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care for their leadership.”

“Massachusetts has long led the nation in quality public education,” said Congresswoman Niki Tsongas. “The announcement of new federal funding through the preschool expansion grant competition is recognition of the Commonwealth's longstanding investment in our young students, and of the innovative work done by our teachers and administrators. My colleagues and I advocated strongly on behalf of Massachusetts receiving this funding because high quality early childhood education helps build a strong foundation for future learning. This funding will enable Third District communities to open more seats for our youngest learners and give more families access to this early learning opportunity, which is critical to improved childhood development. It is a strong investment in our future.”

Massachusetts was eligible to apply for an Expansion Grant as a recipient of a Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant, which Massachusetts won in 2011.  Under the RTT-ELC grant, the Commonwealth received $50 million to implement a bold and comprehensive plan for improving the quality of early learning programs across the state. 

Key components of the Commonwealth’s plan for use of the Preschool Development Grant: Expansion Grantfunding include: 

• Expanding access to high quality classroom learning environments by offering inclusive full-day and full-year programming with low child to teacher ratios (10:1 or less) and supporting children and their families through school transition;
• Providing workforce development supports including individualized growth plans and joint professional development between the school district and community early education programs on topics such as developmentally-appropriate curricula, instruction and assessment practices, and leadership development;
• Implementing a system to use data for strategic planning and continuous program quality improvement, measuring children's development across multiple domains, and for regular public reporting and accountability; and
• Having highly credentialed educators supported through coaching and mentoring from Master Teachers and compensated at a rate comparable to public school district salaries.

The Preschool Development Grant: Expansion Grant award will advance the Patrick Administration’s goal of ensuring that all children, particularly high-needs children, have access to quality pre-K education and experiences that will put them on an early path to success and builds on the Administration’s efforts to build a more aligned, statewide early learning and development system.

“Investments in early education is among the best we can make in public education. The critical work that happens in these early formative years has a profound impact on student success well into a child’s high school years,” said Education Secretary Matthew Malone. “These grants will help Massachusetts build stronger early learning programs across the Commonwealth.”

"Massachusetts is grateful for the opportunity that this funding will provide in allowing more children to have access to a high-quality preschool program that will support their learning and readiness for school success," said Early Education and Care Commissioner Thomas L. Weber. "We look forward to working with our partner communities in furthering the progress we have made in building a system of high-quality, universally-accessible early education and care for all children in the state."

"Investing in our youngest students lays the groundwork for their long-term success,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “In Boston, our high quality pre-kindergarten programs have been proven to be among the most effective in the nation at eliminating achievement gaps for all students, which is why expanding these programs to reach even more families is one of our top priorities. I want to thank the Governor for his leadership in putting together this statewide effort, the Congressional Delegation for their advocacy, and the Obama Administration for making these awards possible."

“For all the challenges we face, this grant reinforces that Massachusetts’ education system is on the leading edge of solving some of today’s toughest problems,” said State Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz. “We could cut our unemployment rate in half if in the future we could match all those who are unemployed with positions that are currently going unfilled in our state. A better education system is the key to that. And robust, universally accessible early education is one of the best tools in our toolbox for improving education outcomes. I’d like to give a public high-five to the Department of Early Education and Care for submitting such a rigorous and well-rounded plan and winning this money for our state.”

"I am pleased that Massachusetts was selected as a winner of this federal grant," said State Representative Alice Hanlon Peisch. "This funding gives our Commonwealth the opportunity to provide high quality early education to more children who need it, as well as the chance to work collaboratively toward that goal with public school districts and current providers."

"This grant award provides a phenomenal opportunity for the Commonwealth to innovate in advancing partnerships that leverage the strengths of our diverse early education and care field for the benefit of our young children and families," said Board of Early Education and Care Chair Jay Gonzalez. "These additional resources to support quality provider and program enhancements and to give more children access to such critical resources during their most formative years will help strengthen our communities and support our collective future prosperity."

Massachusetts' full Preschool Development Grant: Expansion Grant application is posted at: http://www.mass.gov/edu/researchers/early-education-and-care/