At the Jan. 14 meeting the Town of Northborough Board of Health heard staff introductions and program updates tied to the Greater Burrows Partnership for Health regional grant.

Staff introduced new hires: Mikaela Petty, regional epidemiologist and shared-service coordinator for the Greater Burrows Partnership for Health, and a new health agent, Chris (last name not specified in the transcript). The board also heard that a full-time social worker, Caitlin (last name not specified), is scheduled to join at the end of the month. Staff said the town will retain one full-time nurse through the partnership and expects a total nursing capacity of roughly 1.6 FTE once the public-health nurse is fully on staff.

Under the regional grant administered through the state Department of Public Health, staff said they are conducting an assessment of foundational public-health services across participating towns and expect to report back in the spring. Program activities noted in the meeting include home wellness checks, blood-pressure clinics (including outreach at the housing authority), CPR and AED training classes subsidized by the grant (residents pay $30 for certification), and planned maternal health prenatal and postnatal classes offered through the VNA in partnership with area libraries.

Staff described an internship program for master’s-level public-health students; previous interns produced a PSA on childhood COVID vaccination outreach, a local food-resource guide and a maternal-health resource guide. The application deadline for the internship program was announced as Feb. 7, with selections expected in mid-February and placements beginning in May.

Staff also said they are compiling resources on pertussis, influenza and norovirus and are monitoring avian influenza together with state and federal partners. At present, staff characterized the public-health risk from avian influenza as low but said they are watching developments.

The board discussed outreach priorities including addressing health misinformation and the potential mental-health effects of social media; staff said those topics could be candidates for an intern project or short informational videos the town is producing with local cable access.

No formal board action was recorded on these program updates; they were presented as informational items.