Here's to Your Health

by Glenn C. Koenig, Webmaster at Town Wide Mall

Maynard, MA - On August 7th, Maynard residents who signed up for notifications from Town Hall received a message regarding a survey on health needs in the town. The Public Health department initiated the alert to ask residents to fill out the survey as soon as possible.

However, when individuals clicked on the messages, they were directed to a screen from Hyper Reach, which did not include a link to the survey.  As a result, people were left to navigate to a specific page on the Town's web site on their own.  More than one person told me that they were confused and had not taken the time to follow up and complete the survey.
To help with this, here is a link to the page where you can choose one of four different languages to start the survey, posted on the Public Health Division page of the town's web site:
https://www.townofmaynard-ma.gov/207/Public-Health-Division.

Hyper Reach is the outside company the town uses to send alerts on all three media: phone calls, texts, and e-mail messages.

(Note: Residents can sign up for alerts on the Town's Hyper Reach web page and select any combination of media desired.)

The survey can either be filled out online, or alternatively on paper, by obtaining a copy at the Maynard Town Building, 195 Main Street, on the lower level, in the Municipal Services office reception area. Paper copies may be filled out and deposited in a collection box there, during the hours that Town Hall is open (Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 8 to 4; Tuesday, 8 to 7, and Friday, 8 to Noon).  Only people 18 years of age or older are invited to complete the survey.

When I talked with Maynard's Public Health Nurse, Moira Carter, she explained that a link to the Public health page of the town's web site was supposed to be included in the notification broadcast, but was accidentally omitted by the time the message went out.

She urged residents to please fill out the survey, as there has not been a comprehensive analysis of Maynard's health and medical priorities for some years by now, and her department needs to gather information from residents to help them in their work.
She noted that the survey is anonymous and will be used to compile statistics only; no identifying information will be collected from those who participate.
She sent me a paragraph describing the survey, which reads, "Being a healthy town is about more than delivering quality health care to residents. Where you live, learn, work, and play all have an enormous impact on your health. Understanding our community’s current health status—and all of the factors that influence health—is important for

The QR code on this poster, (also available on the web site) can be used to access the survey directly, using most cell phone cameras.

identifying future priorities, existing strengths and assets upon which to build, and areas for further collaborative efforts."  Public Health Director, Ivan Kwagala adds that the survey will also help us understand the problems people are facing in town and the strengths to prioritize needs and advocate for resources.

Ms. Carter explained that she divides her time between Maynard and Concord, as both towns employ her part time.  Thus, the survey is designed to gather information for both towns, but is posted and will be tallied separately for each town.
Using the same set of questions for both towns saves time and taxpayer funds.  The project involves developing the survey questions, creating the web based form (and the printed paper version), and analyzing, the entries to summarize the results.

I filled out the survey, which took me about 15 minutes, although most people are likely to go a bit faster than I did.  When I got to the end, a web page of "Community Resources" appeared.  It had a list of  organizations that are ready to help with various health and mental health concerns.  I recommend taking a screen shot of that page to save for later.  If you save a "web archive" of the page, it may save a copy of the whole survey, so a screen shot is a better alternative.  Otherwise, if you accidentally close your browser window before recording the information, you can contact someone at the Public Health Division to obtain a copy.  There are more links to resources on the Public Health Nurse page, as well, if you scroll all the way down to the last section on that page.
If you fill out the paper version of the survey, the last page has this same list of community resources, so be sure to tear it off and keep it, before dropping your completed survey in the collection box.

Background

Both employees in the Public Health Department in Maynard are relatively new.  The director, Ivan Kwagala has been in the position less than two years, and Moira Carter, the public health nurse, started only last fall, in 2023.
As no true health assessment had been done for quite some time, they wanted to get a better assessment of community needs, along with residents' health priorities.
The project has not received any grant funding, however, they are getting help from an intern, referred to the town by the Massachusetts Department of Health, Local Health Internship Program.
Both towns are part of shared public health groups, each of which covers a group of towns and supports their public health departments in various ways.  Maynard is part of Metro West Shared Public Health Services, and Concord is part of the Great Meadows Public Health Collaborative.  Both groups cover specific geographic areas, which is why the two towns happen to be covered by two separate groups.

Comment

When people think of "democracy," we often think first of elections and the candidates who are running for public office.  But there is a lot more too it than just that. This is just one example of how we all can have an impact on what government does for us, without waiting for election day to come around.
True, it takes a little time and effort to make our priorities known, but in order for government departments such as this to serve us, it makes sense for us to have a voice in what they do.

It's common for people with health issues to hesitate to speak up or ask for help.  It's easy to feel alone or isolated with problems that are hard to talk about.  Since this survey is anonymous, this is a good opportunity to open up about your concerns.  The more the town understands what's going on for residents, the better it can act to help out where help is needed and offer resources that may be useful.

I urge you to find a few minutes to fill out the survey.  If you have questions about the survey or other issues relevant to public health, the Public Health Division web page has a "Contact Us" list in the right hand margin, with names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers.
If you know of anyone who does not have good access to the internet, or may not see notifications of this news story on Facebook or other social media, please help by letting them know how they can participate, either by using computers at the library or by visiting the department to complete the survey on paper.

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