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Boston Public Health Commission
Building a Healthy Boston
Agency overview
Formed1799 as the Boston Board of Health; 1995 as the Boston Public Health Commission
JurisdictionBoston
Headquarters1010 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02118
Agency executive
Parent agencyCity of Boston
Websitewww.bphc.org

The Boston Public Health Commission, the oldest health department in the United States, is an independent public agency providing a wide range of health services and programs. It is governed by a seven-member board of health appointed by the Mayor of Boston. Its mission is to "protect, preserve, and promote the health and well-being of all Boston residents, particularly those who are most vulnerable."[1] The commission is headquartered at 1010 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston.[2]

History

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In 1799, The Boston Board of Health was established to combat any potential cholera outbreaks. Paul Revere was Boston's first health commissioner.[3][4]

In 1864 the Boston City Hospital opened, managed by the board.[4]

The Boston Public Health Act of 1995 caused the organization of the current commission.[1] In 1996, the modern Boston Public Health Commission opened after the Boston City Hospital (founded 1864) and Boston University Hospital (founded 1855) were merged into the Boston Medical Center.[4] This was the first full merger in the United States of a public hospital with a private academic medical center and its hospital.

Tobacco Regulation

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In 2008, the BPHC banned the sale of "blunt wraps," tobacco-leaf papers that are used to make marijuana cigarettes, in Boston. In April 2009 a Massachusetts judge upheld the ban.[5]

AHOPE

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Access, Harm Reduction, Overdose Prevention and Education, commonly referred to as AHOPE Boston or AHOPE Needle Exchange, and formerly called Addicts Health Opportunity Prevention Education, is a needle exchange run by the Boston Public Health Commission.[6]

AHOPE primarily serves homeless people with physical and mental health conditions.[7]

History

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AHOPE's programming initially operated out of an outreach van that distributed sterile syringes to people who use drugs around Boston. It was launched in 1994.[8] In 2013, the program opened a location in the South End and saw a 300% increase in people accessing services.[9]

In 2014, AHOPE distributed 150,000 clean needles to intravenous drug users, to prevent the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C.[9] In 2018, according to Boston 25 News, AHOPE "distributed about 18,100 Narcan kits, receiving more than 23,000 reports of overdose reversals as a result."[10] In 2020, despite the risks of transmission at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, AHOPE continued to provide services to drug users, out of fear that stopping them would cause a major outbreak of HIV.[11] In 2022, according to WGBH, AHOPE "collected nearly three times the amount of syringes" that it distributed over a period of eight months.[12]

The program offers informational handouts, support groups, HIV testing, and individual counseling.[13] It uses high tech drug testing services to identify the presence of xylazine, fentanyl, and other substances in street drugs.[14][15][16] Every Thanksgiving, AHOPE hosts a dinner "for individuals struggling with homelessness and addiction" around Mass and Cass.[17] AHOPE's offices are decorated with the obituaries of people who died as a result of drug overdose.[18] An individual interviewed in WBUR story credited AHOPE for saving his life.[9]

AHOPE advocates for the government to legalize supervised injection sites in Massachusetts.[13][19][18]

Collaborations

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AHOPE works closely with the Boston Public Health Commission program, Providing Access to Addictions Treatment, Hope and Support (PAATHS), to help people with substance use disorders access treatment.[9] This collaboration gives drug users who distrust medical providers an alternative way to ask for treatment.[20]

Access, Harm Reduction, Overdose Prevention and Education assisted Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) in their creation of a medical observation and stabilization space for intoxicated patients.[21]

Outreach workers from AHOPE work with doctors from BHCHP on the outreach Care Zone van, funded by the Kraft Center for Community Health at Massachusetts General Hospital, to provide patients with food, wound care, physical examinations, and opioid agonist therapy.[22][23] The Care Zone van works in areas of Boston that report the highest amount of overdose.[24] EurekAlert! wrote, "By the end of 2019, the program's 24-foot mobile medical unit had recorded 9,098 contacts with people living with addiction in areas identified as overdose hot spots in and around Boston, distributing 96,600 syringes and 2,956 naloxone kits to rapidly reverse opioid overdose."[25]

Honors

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In 2018, the Boston Municipal Research Bureau honored Leroy Ivey, AHOPE's outreach coordinator, with a Henry L. Shattuck Public Service Award because Ivey "led the way in helping Boston confront the unprecedented opioid epidemic presenting itself locally."[26][27]

Further reading

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  • Fine, Danielle R.; Joyce, Andrea; Chang, Yuchiao; Lewis, Elizabeth; Weinstock, Karen; Wright, Joseph; Gaeta, Jessie; Song, Zirui; Baggett, Travis P. (2023). "Health Care Utilization among Homeless-Experienced Adults Who Were Seen by a Mobile Addiction Health Clinic in Boston, Massachusetts: A Quasi-Experimental Study". Substance Use & Misuse. 58 (9): 1115–1120. doi:10.1080/10826084.2023.2212279. PMC 10443101. PMID 37184078. S2CID 258685947.

References

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  1. ^ a b Home page Archived April 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Boston Public Health Commission. Retrieved on April 16, 2009.
  2. ^ "Contact Us Archived April 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine." Boston Public Health Commission. Retrieved on April 16, 2009.
  3. ^ "About BPHC - The Nation's First Health Department Archived April 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine." Boston Public Health Commission. Retrieved on April 16, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c "BPHC History Archived April 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine." Boston Public Health Commission. Retrieved on April 16, 2009.
  5. ^ "News Notes Archived 2009-04-06 at the Wayback Machine." Bay State Banner April 2, 2009. Retrieved on April 17, 2009.
  6. ^ Leverentz, Andrea M. (2022-07-05). Intersecting Lives: How Place Shapes Reentry. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-97673-3.
  7. ^ McCoy, Nilagia (2019-03-01). "Local Agencies Address Opioid Epidemic with Compassion, Collaboration". Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  8. ^ "Harm Reduction Toolkit" (PDF). City of Boston.
  9. ^ a b c d "Surrounded By Overdose Death, Boston Needle Exchange Program Staff Try To Save Lives". WBUR. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03. When Benjamin now comes to 774 Albany St. to get his daily methadone dose, he also volunteers at AHOPE for about an hour a day, which he says is what helps keep him sober. He credits AHOPE with saving his life.
  10. ^ "More needle exchange programs are coming to Boston". Boston 25 News. 2019-10-07. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  11. ^ Dwyer, Dialynn. "Those struggling with addiction face double risk during COVID-19 pandemic, advocates say". boston.com. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  12. ^ Bedford, Tori (2022-10-20). "Sweeps of Mass. and Cass encampments return as Mayor Wu faces pushback". WGBH News. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  13. ^ a b Banco, Darcy Marie (2017-04-09). "Why we need a safe injection site in Boston". Health Policy Musings. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  14. ^ Bebinger, Martha (2019). "Built For Counterterrorism, This High-Tech Machine Is Now Helping Fight Fentanyl". NPR. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03.
  15. ^ "Boston saw 7 percent increase in fatal overdoses in 2022, fentanyl eyed as key factor in deaths". Yahoo Life. 2023-06-28. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  16. ^ Beaudet, Mike (2023-05-24). "String of recent fatal overdoses raises concerns about mix of drugs". WCVB. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  17. ^ Dwyer, Dialynn. "Fundraiser underway to support holiday meals provided to individuals at Mass. and Cass". Boston.com. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  18. ^ a b "'There's No Detox When You're Dead': Boston Wants Users To Get High Under Medical Supervision". ThinkProgress. 2016-06-27. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  19. ^ "Advocates push Massachusetts lawmakers for safe injection sites: 'No one recovers when they're dead'". Boston Herald. 2019-10-01. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  20. ^ "City harm reduction initiative targeted at Mass and Cass prompts varying reactions". The Daily Free Press. 2022-11-01. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  21. ^ Lupick, Travis (2017). "20". Fighting for space: how a group of drug users transformed one city's struggle with addiction. Vancouver, BC: Arsenal Pulp Press. ISBN 978-1-55152-712-3.
  22. ^ "The Van Taking Opioid Addiction Treatment To The Streets". The Public’s Radio. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  23. ^ "As drug overdoses soar, more providers embrace harm reduction". Association of American Medical Colleges. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  24. ^ Burns, Julie; Wakeman, Sarah (2018). "Opioid Use Disorder: Strategic Grant Making Can Reduce Harm And Increase Hope". Health Affairs. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03.
  25. ^ "New study highlights success of a mobile outreach van helping people on the street w". EurekAlert!. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  26. ^ "Three from Dot win Shattuck awards". Dorchester Reporter. Archived from the original on 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  27. ^ "2018 Henry L. Shattuck Public Service Award Recipient" (PDF). Henry L. Shattuck Public Service Awards. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-08-03.
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