NORWOOD — Superintendent of Public Health Sigalle Reiss is pleased to share that the Norfolk County-8 (NC-8) has been awarded a grant by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) as part of the Public Health Excellence Grant Program for Shared Services.
The coalition was awarded $350,000 as the initial grant award, with the Town of Norwood serving as the grant’s fiscal agent. The initial grant will go toward funding regional staff.
The Town of Norwood is a member of Norfolk County-8, a regional coalition comprised of the Boards of Health and Health Departments in Canton, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Norwood, Walpole, Wellesley and Westwood. The eight communities regularly work in collaboration on multiple projects related to emergency preparedness and public health.
Overall, the towns plan to use this award to expand regional public health services that will advance the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of health in these communities. The coalition will focus on expanding community resources and mobilization to connect the residents of the eight towns to resources throughout the region, epidemiological surveillance and response, and a regional services coordination. These regional needs were identified through needs-assessments funded by the State Action for Public Health Excellence Grant awarded to NC-8 in 2020 from MDPH.
“We have worked with our NC-8 partners for many years on a wide range of public health and emergency preparedness projects, the latest being COVID-19 vaccination sites, and by working together we have been able to provide residents of the member towns with exemplary public health services,” Reiss said. “We are incredibly grateful to the MDPH for recognizing the value in shared public health services and providing this funding opportunity that will allow us to continue this work.”
The award is expected to be renewed for a period of pending funding and could result in a total increased investment of approximately $3 million.
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