This fall the Massachusetts Department of Public Health delivered, for the first time, a set of performance standards, credentials and workforce training requirements for local public health departments. The goal being to standardize constant, high-quality public health services for all cities and towns across the commonwealth.
Public Health Commissioner Robert Goldstein, M.D., Ph.D., stated, “DPH is already using the standards to target resources and solutions, providing local public health with necessary data to recruit additional staff, deliver training and strengthen services.”
The new standards are a result of legislation that was enacted in 2020. An Act Relative to Strengthening the Local and Regional Public Health System, along with a report, Blueprint for Public Health Excellence Report, produced by a special commission of local and regional public health professionals, provided the information to create the new standards.
