Who We
Are
Our Mission
The Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts supports communities in their efforts to become measurably healthier and more equitable through community engagement, convening collaborative partnerships, communications, data analysis, research and evaluation, and policy advocacy.
Vision
All people within our region have access to what they need to lead healthy lives.
Our Values
- Address the destructive racial hierarchy in our society
- Uphold social justice in all its forms
- Maintain a commitment to innovation
- Incorporate community voice in all aspects of our work
- Hold scientific rigor, community voice, and community partnership as core tenets for collecting, analyzing, and reporting on data
- Achieve measurable outcomes in relation to racial justice and health equity
- Model loving kindness, compassion, and dignity
Strategic Goals
- Advance racial justice
- Transform communities into places of opportunity for all people
- Strengthen community ability to enhance health outcomes through resident involved assessments, leadership development, training, research, and evaluation
- Innovate linkages between healthcare and community prevention to improve health access and care systems
- Support, communicate and maintain data that captures meaningful information pertaining to health equity, to impact environments, systems and policy change.
Who We Are
Impact
Check out our latest annual report, 2024: Year-In-Review! We hope this gives you a better sense of the breadth and impact of our work.
Our Board
PHIWM is led by a Board of Directors made up of leaders in the region from multiple sectors. Their appointment to the Board requires that they participate in the Glasswing's Healing Racism training.
Our Staff
PHIWM has a staff with extensive public health experience in Western Massachusetts, as well as a cadre of program and research contractors to support our work as needed. Our staff trainings include the Interaction Institute for Social Change’s Facilitative Leadership and other leadership and anti-racism trainings such as Glasswing’s Healing Racism, National Conference for Community and Justice's Race Series, and Women of Color Health Equity Collective's Cultural Humility
Our Funders
We receive generous support from Baystate Health and Health New England to underwrite our community health initiatives and capacity building. The initiatives that we lead are funded through government and foundation grants.
Memberships
Our History
The Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts, formerly Partners for a Healthier Community, was founded in 1996 by a broad coalition of community providers in response to the defunding of public health and safety services brought about by Proposition 2 ½ . The initiative was led by Sister Mary Caritas of Mercy Medical Center. The coalition included two major health systems- Sisters of Providence Health System (now Mercy Medical Center) and Baystate Health; City of Springfield (Mayor’s Office and the Department of Health and Human Services); business sector participants such as Massachusetts Mutual Financial Group and Chamber of Commerce; and a cross-section of community interests (neighborhood councils and civic associations, community-based nonprofits and other stakeholders).
By design, PHIWM functions as a neutral “backbone” organization, so that it could convene competing sectors and organizations to address community health needs through authentic collaboration and with resident input.
Learn more about the journey of the Public Health Institute of Western MA from Executive Director Jessica Collins and Founder Frank Robinson.
