Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I was given the honor to speak with future healthcare professionals at the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum’s Annual Student Forum. This event brought together students in public health, medicine, nursing, and health policy from colleges and universities across Massachusetts. I am a Registered Nurse and I have served in all of the Legislature’s healthcare committees. I shared with the students my lived experience in direct care and in the development of public policy including SAPHE, a series of bills addressing public health that I have been working on since 2015. The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated all the many concerns related to public health at community and Commonwealth levels. We need the commitment of the students who can and must be our future healthcare leaders to be able to not only implement public policy but to develop and lead it.
Yours in Service,
Denise
2023 Report to the Community
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Happy healthy 2023!
As your Representative, I hold myself accountable to you all and the people of our community. I look forward to reporting back on my work through public policy, budget, constituent, and Town services. Most importantly, I value greatly the opportunity to listen to your issues and concerns. Join me in person or virtually.
We are stronger together!
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 Health Department is now offering Free PCR-like COVID-19 tests to the community free of charge. The COVID-19 tests are completely free of charge and no insurance will be collected. Tests are by appointment only and will be conducted in your vehicle in the parking lot of the Rosemary Recreation Complex. To schedule a COVID-19 test, click here.
- In Dover, the Dover Town Report Committee is seeking photo submissions for publication in the 2022 Dover Town Report. The committee is seeking photographs that showcase Dover with themes including nature, architecture, landscapes, and 2022 Town events. Submissions are open until February 10th, for more details and to learn how to submit photographs, click here.
- In Medfield, Medfield Environmental Action will be holding two free screenings of the climate crisis film “2040”. The screenings will be on Tuesday 31st at 7 pm at the UCC Church, and the second free screening will be on Sunday, February 5th at 1 pm at the Medfield Public Library. For more information on the event, click here.
Statewide Updates
- International Holocaust Remembrance Day is recognized on January 27, marking the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. I joined my colleagues in offering a Resolution in remembrance of the Holocaust, recognizing January 27th as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and recommitting to combatting the rise of anti-Semitism.
- 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. To learn more about the program and the grant, click here.
- On January 1, 2023, the minimum wage has increased to $15 an hour and the tipped minimum wage will be increased to $6.75 an hour. Sunday premium pay and holiday pay are eliminated on January 1, 2023.
- 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.
