Mount Auburn Hospital has awarded the Watertown Department of Health a $10,000 grant to expand the work of the Live Well Watertown Coalition around building a healthier community and support efforts of the W.A.T.E.R.town (Watertown Access to Treatment, Education, and Resources) task force for substance use disorders.
This grant is a part of Mount Auburn Hospital’s Community Health mission of commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of community members by collaborating with community partners to reduce barriers to health, increase prevention and/or self-management of chronic diseases and increase the early detection of illnesses.
“Realizing that local health departments have unique perspectives on the needs of the communities they serve, Mount Auburn Hospital designed these funds to support local department of health efforts. The funds may be used for capacity building and/or direct programming and must be used to address one or more of the top health concerns identified in our Community Health Needs Assessment. The main health concerns include: obesity and inactive living, self-management of chronic disease, mental health issues, substance abuse, and access to health care services, ” explains Mary Hunt Johnson, RN, OCN, Director of Community Health at Mount Auburn Hospital.
The Watertown Department of Health is one of six departments of health recipients that have been awarded grants to address one or more of the top health concerns to positively impact each community. The other communities include Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Somerville, and Waltham.