Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray officially announced more than $275,000 in federal funding awards to strengthen health services at the local level. As part of the program, 114 cities and towns serving more than 1.8 million people will engage in planning to form eleven new public health districts to support food protection, disease control, emergency preparedness, septic inspections, tobacco control and prevention of chronic disease.

The Public Health District Incentive Grant Program will provide financial support for groups of municipalities to enter into formal, long-term agreements to share resources and coordinate activities with the goal of improving the scope, quality and effectiveness of local public health services for their combined populations.

The program seeks to permanently strengthen the local public health infrastructure in Massachusetts by taking maximum advantage of limited resources to protect population health, prevent injury and disease and promote healthy behaviors through policy change and service delivery at the regional level.

The initiative is also designed to reduce disparities among local public health systems in their capacities to carry out the responsibilities of Boards of Health; promote policy change to address persistent and emerging public health challenges; enhance the qualifications of the state’s local public health workforce; and prepare for voluntary national accreditation of local health systems.

The Public Health District Incentive Grant Program is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Strengthening Public Health Infrastructure to Improve Health Outcomes initiative. Massachusetts is one of 14 states funded by the CDC through the newly created Prevention and Public Health Fund.

Awarded Planning Grants include the Southeast Regional Health District which will receive $30,450. The Lead Agency is Middleborough’s Health Department and will include the following towns: Middleborough, Abington, Bridgewater, Lakeville, Mattapoisett, Raynham, Plympton, Wareham, Halifax, Marion, Rochester, Rockland and Duxbury. (Source: States News Service, Jne 17, 2011)