Introduction

The Greater Monadnock Public Health Network (GMPHN) is a community health and safety collaborative which works to enhance and improve public health-related services. Formerly known as the Cheshire Public Health Network, the GMPHN is one of 15 public health networks in the state of New Hampshire. The GMPHN is housed by Cheshire Medical Center and in collaboration with Cheshire County is financed under an agreement with the State of New Hampshire, Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services with funds provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The GMPHN serves all of Cheshire County and the 10 western-most towns in Hillsborough County. The GMPHN strives to increase collaboration and planning across municipal boundaries and the health and safety sectors. It is made up of members of each of the coalition communities as well as of representatives of regional organizations involved in providing for the public’s health and safety.

The mission of the Greater Monadnock Public Health Network is to :

1. Coordinate regional health and safety services among local government, health and social service agencies, businesses, hospitals, emergency care centers, schools, first responders, faith groups and special emergency preparedness and response initiatives;
2. Continually assess resources to inventory strengths and gaps;
3. Identify needs and promote wise use of existing resources;
4. Advance and improve resources via technical assistance, continuing education programs, training, and drills; and create and test models for a public health emergencies .

Service Area

The GMPHN’s service area includes the City of Keene and all of the towns within Cheshire County: Alstead, Chesterfield, Dublin, Fitzwilliam, Gilsum, Harrisville, Hinsdale, Jaffrey, Marlborough, Marlow, Nelson, Richmond, Rindge, Roxbury, Stoddard, Sullivan, Surry, Swanzey, Troy, Walpole, Westmoreland, and Winchester. The GMPHN also serves the 10 western-most towns in Hillsborough County: Antrim, Bennington, Francestown, Greenfield, Greenville, Hancock, New Ipswich, Peterborough, Sharon, and Temple. The GMPHN serves the approximately 105,000 people living in these communities .

Partners

Over 100 individuals representing the partner communities and organizations comprise the membership. Key partners include representatives from each of the municipalities (including Selectmen, Town Managers/Administrators, Emergency Management Directors, Health Officers, Fire and Police Personnel, School Nurses, and Human Service Directors). Additional partners include representatives from the following organizations that serve the citizens of our region:

• Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene
• Monadnock Community Hospital
• County of Cheshire
• American Red Cross – NH West Chapter
• Monadnock United Way (MUW)
• Monadnock Family Services (MFS)
• Home Healthcare, Hospice & Community Services (HCS)
• Keene State College
• Franklin Pierce University
• SAU 1, 24, 29, 38, 47, 60, 87
• Southwestern NH Fire Mutual Aid
• NH Department of Health & Human Services
• NH Homeland Security & Emergency Management
  

Priorities for Action

During its first, very productive year, the GMPHN conducted an assessment of the public health infrastructure utilizing the framework laid out by the Local Public Health System Performance Assessment Instrument developed by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The GMPHN engaged its members in a collaborative process to identify the area's biggest public health infrastructure needs. The priorities areas identified through this process were as follows:

• Strengthening communication linkages within the local public health system to respond to health threats;
• Enhancing coordination between public health and law enforcement responsibilities;
• Establishing procedures to alert communities to public health threats and disease outbreaks;
• Holding more frequent simulations and mock events;
• Developing a current directory of organizations that make up the local public health system;
• Assuring that members of populations with barriers to accessing care are able to access care.

Since 2003, the GMPHN has focused on the development of a regional plan to swiftly and effectively respond to and recover from a public health emergency. In the spring of 2008, the Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan were approved by the state of New Hampshire. In 2008, the State of NH, Division of Public Health Services began conversation with community partners regarding the need to regionalize public health services. The goal is to develop a performance-based public health delivery system, which provides the 10 essential public health services throughout New Hampshire.  The GMPHN has actively participated in these discussions and begun to evaluate the mapping of our services area to include the towns in western Hillsborough County. Over the next 12-24 months the GMPHN will be engaging in needs assessments and evaluations to determine effective delivery of public health services in the region.