Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
With appreciation and gratitude, we honor Roberta Lynch on her retirement from the Medfield Council on Aging. Roberta has served Medfield, the town’s older adults, and loved ones for over twenty-one years. The Council on Aging promotes the physical and mental health of individuals and provides a sense of belonging and community. It was a fun and innovative presence during the worst days of the pandemic. It quite frankly enhances and saves lives. Two accomplishments that mark Roberta’s bold and compassionate leadership, are the grant with the Metro West Health Foundation to set up the Adult Respite Care program which supports individuals with dementia and their caretakers, and the grant which established weekend programs that addressed social isolation in the senior community. Roberta’s leadership, hard work, and advocacy for the Council of Aging and older adults have been extraordinary and the Town of Medfield has benefitted greatly from her commitment to public service.
Congratulations and happy next chapter, Roberta!
Yours in service,
Denise
District Updates
The temperatures are dropping and many of us are thinking about turning on the furnace. I share your concern about high heating costs this winter and would like to share with you information that may help ease the financial burden of paying heating costs this winter. For more information and resources, click here.
Interested in serving your community? Several committees in the Town of Dover, Medfield, and Needham are seeking volunteers to serve and contribute to the community. s work towards solving complex issues and recommending policies that help shape their towns. Click your town to see available volunteer opportunities: Dover, Medfield, Needham.
- In Needham, Needham Public Health is offering free PCR COVID-19 tests. ParticipantsTests are by appointment only and testing will be conducted in your vehicle at the Rosemary Recreation Complex. COVID-19 tests are completely free of cost and no insurance will be collected. Test results will be provided within twenty minutes. To make an appointment for a PCR test, click here.
- In Dover, Powisset Farm is holding a cookie decorating event on Friday, December 23. The event will begin at 5 PM and is open to all ages. Powisset farm will provide pre-made cookie dough and frosting for guests to shape and decorate. Class is limited to 15 child-adult pairs, to pre-register for the event, click here.
- In Medfield, Medfield High School’s peer leaders have received a $1,500 grant from Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey. The grant will support the group’s drug, alcohol, and dangerous behavior prevention, intervention, and education work. Congratulations to Medfield High School’s peer leaders! To learn more about their award, click here.
Statewide Updates
- The Town of Medfield is a recipient of the Housing Choice Community Grants Award. The Town of Medfield was awarded $45,000 for the Medfield Economic Development Visioning and Planning project. The Housing Choice Community Grants Program rewards municipalities that have produced a significant number of housing units in the last five years and that have adopted or established best practices that encourage housing production.
- Massachusetts is now among several states in the nation facing very high levels of flu activity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Influenza cases doubled following Thanksgiving weekend according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. With the holidays approaching, the public is encouraged to get their flu vaccination if they have not done so already. To find a flu vaccination site, click here.
- Massachusetts will be the first recreational-use cannabis state to adopt a curriculum that educates teens on the risks of cannabis-impaired driving. The driving school curriculum will be effective January 2023. The curriculum is taught through a twenty-five-minute informative video that will promote safe driving among teens. To view the curriculum video, click here.
- Free Covid-19 tests are available to be ordered through the mail. This will be the fourth round of free covid tests by the Biden administration. Each household can order four or more free Covid-19 tests that will begin to ship on December 19th. To order free covid-19 tests for your household, click here.
- A $130 million loan repayment program will be available to the behavioral health and primary care workforce. The loan repayment program is a significant step in addressing the healthcare workforce shortage. Applications will be open in December to qualifying employees including social workers, and primary care physicians. Loan repayment awards will range between $12,500 to $300,000 per individual depending on their eligibility. The current application cycle is open until January 30, 2023, to access the application, click here.
- The Center for Disease Control (CDC) expands updated COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 5 – 11. The updated COVID-19 boosters add Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components which restore protections from previous vaccinations by targeting more transmissible variants. To find locations offering the vaccine, click here.
