All About Us

The CHNA 8

 

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health established the Community Health Network Area (CHNA) effort in 1992. Today, this initiative involves all 351 towns and cities in Massachusetts through 27 Community Health Networks.

A Community Health Network is a local coalition of public, non-profit, and private sectors working together to build healthier communities in Massachusetts through community-based prevention planning and health promotion.

Common Pathways is the CHNA 8 located in the central region of Massachusetts and includes the following cities and towns (Click each name for more information regarding the city or town):

  1. Worcester
  2. Leicester
  3. Paxton
  4. Holden
  5. West Boylston
  6. Boylston
  7. Shrewsbury
  8. Grafton
  9. Millbury
  10. Auburn

 

Worcester and the surrounding CHNA 8 Towns

 

 

Community Health Networks are guided by the following principles:

  1. Community Health Networks are committed to continuous improvement of health.
  2. Community Health Networks are focused on tracking area health indicators and eliminating identified disparities.
  3. Community Health Networks are community and resident based.
  4. Community Health Networks are inclusive of key stakeholders in health improvement: residents, consumers, coalitions, communities of faith, local and state governments, businesses, and providers of community-based health, education, and human services.
  5. Community Health Networks are reflective of the age, racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, and linguistic diversity of the area.
  6. Community Health Networks are working partnerships among the Mass. Department of Public Health, residents, consumers, coalitions, local service providers, local and state governments.

 

Primary CHNA 8 Contacts:

Clara Savage, Ed.D

Common Pathways

508-459-9664

CSavage [dot] CommonPathways [at] gmail [dot] com

 

Cathy O’Connor

Mass. Office of Healthy Communities

617-624-5455

Cathy [dot] O'Connor [at] state [dot] ma [dot] us

 

E. Vicente Sanabria

Central Mass. Center for Healthy Communities

508-438-0515 x15 VSanabria [at] cmchc [dot] org

 

 

To find the latest demographic data regarding each of the 10 CHNA 8 communities as well as all other Mass. and U.S. cities and towns, click here.