Category: News & Announcements

LOWELL — Superintendent Greg Hudon is pleased to report that the Lowell Police Department, in collaboration with the Greater Lowell Health Alliance, gave away 100 backpacks to Lowell families in need on Thursday. The Greater Lowell Health Alliance (GLHA) has donated backpacks to the Lowell Police Department for two years now. Last year police gave away backpacks at a youth outreach event, and this year they setup a table outside of the department’s Centralville Precinct and provided free backpacks to families in need. “I want to thank the Greater Lowell Health Alliance for their generous donation, which enabled us to continue outreach to Lowell families, which is a staple of our community policing philosophy,” said Superintendent Hudon. “The Lowell Police Department and the Greater Lowell Health Alliance have a longstanding positive relationship.” Each backpack was full of school supplies and hygiene products. “At the Greater Lowell Health Alliance, we are thrilled to donate backpacks to help children in our community prepare for the upcoming school year,” said GLHA Executive Director Kerrie D’Entremont. “Ensuring that kids have the supplies they need is an essential part of setting them up for success, and we are proud to support our local families in this way.” About the Greater Lowell Health Alliance: The Greater Lowell Health Alliance (GLHA) is a local non-profit that aims to improve the overall wellness of those living in Greater Lowell Region.  They bring together healthcare providers, business leaders, educators, civic and community leaders via coalition, with a common goal to help the Greater Lowell community identify and address its health and wellness priorities. The GLHA works with Provisions Ministry to provide hundreds of back packs for kids throughout Greater Lowell as well as provide homeless care packs, family care packs, and other items such as winter coats, socks and sneakers where needed.

2024/2025 COMMUNITY HEALTH INITIATIVES GRANTS

The GLHA is proud to announce the grant awards for the fall of 2024 to support programs and services to improve the overall health of the Greater Lowell community. Grants will be awarded around the health priorities and programs that meet the specific areas of focus identified by the GLHA’s Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) process.

To qualify, all proposals needed to incorporate a plan to meet the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in health and health care to all individuals in order to reduce disparities and achieve health equity.

Grant awards will be announced at the GLHA Annual Meeting on Friday, November 8th, 8:30-10:30am, at the Greater Lowell Technical High School.  

The GLHA, in partnership with Lowell Community Health Center, is continuing a COVID-19 vaccine resource program, providing the Greater Lowell region with vital information on the vaccine, including vaccine safety. This program is supported by funds from the Greater Lowell Community Foundation COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. The $15,000 grant from the Community Foundation has enabled the Alliance to translate materials into multiple languages. We are deeply grateful to the Community Foundation for their support of this program.

Here is what you need to know about the COVID-19 vaccine.

The 2019 GLHA Annual Meeting was an opportunity to celebrate and honor the amazing community partners who have worked so hard to bring positive change and health equity to our communities. Enjoy this video of our 2019 Annual Meeting, produced by kfp media!

You’re invited!

We are excited to announce the 2nd Annual Substance Use Disorder Symposium on December 6, 2019 in Westford, Massachusetts. This symposium will bring together Greater Lowell and Merrimack Valley providers in all aspects of the field of substance use disorders, prevention, recovery and support services.

Why is this important?  Our communities are suffering from the opioid crisis and substance use. Navigating the system of resources for the opioid crisis is challenging at best. Services are often duplicated and other necessary components are missing, while others remain unknown. We hope that working together will facilitate navigation for anyone who may need it.

It is our hope that this symposium will create an opportunity for all providers, of every scale and size, spark collaboration and create awareness of their services. All are welcome.

As a result of this effort, we will further compile what we hope to be the most comprehensive list of available substance use disorder resources in our area.

We look forward to seeing you on December 6^th!

The GLHA is excited to announce the release of the first Greater Lowell Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). With a goal to create a long-term strategy to strengthen the area’s health systems, our CHIP will be used as road map for health improvement over a three-year period, guiding the investment of resources of organizations with a stake in improving health for the residents of Lowell and the surrounding communities. Our CHIP mission: to turn data into action and working initiatives to address our community’s top health priorities. While addressing specific health priorities, the overarching goal is always one of health equity, meeting the health needs not just for some, but for all. Learn more about the Greater Lowell CHIP.

The Greater Lowell Health Alliance released the 2016 Greater Lowell Community Health Needs Assessment at the GLHA’s 2016 annual meeting on September 28, 2016.

In partnership with the Greater Lowell Health Alliance, Lowell General Hospital in 2016 commissioned researchers and students from the University of
Massachusetts Lowell to conduct a community health needs assessment to identify the unmet medical and public health needs within the Greater Lowell community. The geographic area assessed included the communities of Lowell, Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough and Westford. This assessment involved primary data collection using focus groups and key informant interviews, as well as secondary data sources, such as the Massachusetts Department of Public Health MassCHIP database and the United States Census. Similar studies were conducted in 2010 and 2013.

Foundation for Action
The study had two key objectives. The first was to fulfill state and federal requirements of Lowell General Hospital to conduct a Comprehensive Health Needs Assessment every three years. The second and ultimately more important objective was to generate a study that would provide a foundation for the GLHA and its partners, including Lowell General, to build consensus on the area’s priority health needs and develop action plans to improve the health of the area’s residents.

A Plan for the Future
The study will prove useful in helping to form the Greater Lowell Health Alliance’s long-term agenda and strategy, with a goal to help meet the unmet healthcare needs and strengthen the area’s health system. In the coming year, the focus of the Greater Lowell Health Alliance will be working with the community to develop a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), based on the priority areas identified in the 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment. A CHIP is used as roadmap for health improvement over a three to five-year period and guides the investment of resources of all organizations that have a stake in improving health for the residents of Lowell and the surrounding communities.

The GLHA’s first Community Health Improvement Plan forum—an opportunity to gather insights and input from various members of the community—will be held on Tuesday, November 1st, from 8 a.m. to noon, at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center. All community members are invited.

The Greater Lowell Health Alliance awarded $200,000 in Community Health grants at the Alliance’s 2016 annual meeting.

The September 28 annual meeting was a celebration of the GLHA’s tenth anniversary as a nonprofit organizations dedicated to identifying and addressing the region’s most urgent unmet health needs.

The GLHA is proud to announce the grant awards for the Fall of 2016 to support programs and services to improve the overall health of the Greater Lowell community. Grants were awarded around the following priority areas:

• Mental Health and Mental Disorders
• Substance Abuse (Including Tobacco Use)
• Chronic Disease (e.g. Asthma, Obesity, Diabetes)
• Prevention & Screenings (e.g. Cancer, children’s nutrition)

The GLHA awarded eight grants totaling $200,000 to community-based organizations to address critical health issues in the Greater Lowell area. Below is the list of the 2016 Community Health Initiatives Grant Recipients:

• Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley, Inc.:Greater Lowell Falls Talk
  Project – $40,000. To introduce evidence-based falls prevention program, FallScape, to the CHNA 10 communities and expand programs to reach more frail, homebound populations.
• Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell: Neighborhood Revitalization
  Initiative: Building Healthy Places – $10,000. This grant will go towards the renovation portion of their Centralville neighborhood revitalization Initiative.
•  Lowell Community Health Center: Youth Substance Use Prevention Project – $39,000. To expand ESWG activities to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors among youth through substance abuse prevention education and outreach programming reaching as many as 300 youth through education and community building activities.
• Lowell House Inc.: Community Opioid Outreach Program (COOP) – $21,000. LHI, LPD, Lowell Fire Department and Lowell Health Department collaboration designed to addresses the opiate epidemic in Lowell. The main objective of the Community Opioid Outreach Program (“COOP”) is to conduct proactive outreach to recent overdose victims, as well as their families and connect them to treatment services in the region.
• McCarthy Middle School, Chelmsford: Strengthening Health of Middle School Students– $16,000. Grant funding will go towards three programs designed to strengthen the social and emotional health of middle school students, to reduce the incidence of self-harm and substance use.
• Merrimack Valley Food Bank: Operation Nourish– $10,000. A children’s feeding program in which MCFB partners with several Lowell Public Schools to address the nutritional needs of children who may struggle with hunger.
• Mill City Grows: Farm to School Partnership Expansion – $25,000. To increase healthy habits of Lowell’s students to improve their health outcomes and decrease obesity and diet related illness.
• Tewksbury Police Department: Regional Jail Diversion Program – $39,000. This program is designed to divert individuals with mental illness and substance abuse away from the criminal justice system and toward the appropriate psychiatric, social, and community-based services.