Sincerely,
Marjorie

Committee Hearings

For the 2008-2009 Council term, I am Chairing two committees: the Civic Unity Committee and the Public Facilities, Arts & Celebrations.  I am using both of these committees to explore how to strengthen existing programs, facilitate further collaboration and understand existing needs within our community.  If you have ideas that you would like me to explore through either of these committees, please let me know.

Public Facilities, Arts & Celebrations

In June 2008, I chaired a committee hearing that brought together many of the Harvard Square Arts organizations to discuss how to ensure their vibrancy long into the future and how to help institutionalize networking and collaboration to maximize resources.  In the fall, I will continue to work with many of these groups and the Cambridge Arts Council to launch regularly scheduled meetings with various Square-based art groups to come together and share current projects, as well future goals.  This will include individuals from various City departments and civic groups.  The hope is that the city can play a role in helping to foster additional public and private resources that might be overlooked, since most of the arts organizations are busy running their programs and collaborating on a smaller scale.  The idea is to bring in additional resources that might not traditionally be available to the various organizations. We will keep you updated as this progresses. 

Civic Unity

In July 2008, I chaired a hearing to discuss the finding a permanent home for the coordination and ongoing support of Sister City agreements with support from each Mayoral Administration. As some of you may know, I have been very active with both our San Jose Las Flores, El Salvador and Cuba Sister Cities.

On August 14, 2008, I will be chairing a hearing to discuss the “Purple Hats Club” (a group of women at Roosevelt Towers) and to see if the program can be expanded throughout our senior buildings and senior centers. Please see “Out in the Community” for more information regarding this program.

In September 2008, I will be chairing a hearing to discuss the status of health services in our neighborhood based clinics run by the Cambridge Health Alliance.  The time for this is now.  As some of you may know, the Cambridge Health Alliance is currently faced with rising health care costs due to changes in the state-mandated health coverage and a variety of other issues that plague hospitals around the country.  The CHA has already made cuts to some programs and consolidated others.  This really came to my attention when I learned the CHA was eliminating OB/GYN services from the Windsor St. Clinic, then found out the CHA had already eliminated these services from its Riverside and North Cambridge clinics.  Although the CHA is now replacing OB/GYN doctors with family medicine doctors, woman who receive their care in our neighborhood clinics will no longer be able to access care of a midwife under the family medicine doctor.  This is because the CHA has chosen (unlike other care facilities to not allow midwives to practice without onsite support of an OB/GYN doctor).  This policy could potentially weaken the community based clinic model.  The CHA OB/GYN department has decided that although family medicine doctors are trained to provide prenatal care, they are not qualified to oversee midwives—only OB/GYN doctors are able to do so.  This means over 120 women who utilized a mid-wife throughout their pregnancy and labor and delivery at the Windsor street clinic, last year, today would have to know in advance about this option and travel to the Cambridge Birth Center to access this care.  I continue to advocate with the hospital to change its policy and allow midwives back into the clinics.  It is far less costly to have a woman utilize a midwife than an OB/GYN doctor in her prenatal care and labor.  Also, most midwives have more experience and training in pre-natal care and labor for non-high risk births than doctors do.

This advocacy work with community women in Newtowne Court and Washington Elms (two of the public housing developments next to the Windsor St. Clinic) led to a series of revelations regarding other services that have been slowly affected by the fiscal changes.  Families now have to travel to Boston, Everett, and the Assembly Square Mall to receive services that were once available in their community clinic.

This raises issues of accessibility to health care and calls into question our commitment and capacity to the community clinics original mission: to foster and deliver community based care with the belief that healthier individuals’ equal healthier families and healthier neighborhoods.

The hearing will explore what cuts to services have already been made, how consolidation choices have burdened our patients in the community clinic system, and what is forecast for the future of these clinics.  Is the CHA trying to continue to fulfill their original mission and goals?  The hearing will also focus on how patient consumers can have a voice in choices in cuts and consolidations. I am concerned too often if there is room for their voices, it’s after the fact.

I have just learned that the hospital would rather have this conversation after budget decisions have been made, but I will hold the hearing whether or not the hospital leadership chooses to participate and allow for community concerns and voices to be heard prior to cuts or consolidation in services.  My goal is to support the work of the Health Alliance and urge them to see patient/consumers as partners in their care and partners invested in the decisions made by hospital leadership.  This is not the time for the hospital to adopt a bunker mentality. The issue of the delivery of care to our community is all of our responsibility and concern.

If you are interested in knowing more about the issue of midwifery care and the CHA, or you know of health care services that have already been impacted, please feel free to contact me.

I have been meeting with Gerry Leone, our Middlesex District Attorney.   We are working on developing a work group of law enforcement, community leaders and providers to come together on a regular basis and update each other on the health and well being of our community.  Although many within law enforcement meet and communicate on a regular basis, my goal is to expand the voices that are represented at the table to include residents and leaders who work in the community.  I will update you on our progress later this fall.

Out in the Community

On Saturday, June 14, I spoke at the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Cambridge Birth Center. I have met with a group of wonderful women at Roosevelt Towers who are part of the “Purple Hat Club”. This program provides a safe space for women of all ages (mostly retired) to come together and meet on a regular basis.  Most of the time the women work on arts and crafts projects, which helps facilitate conversations about family life, community concerns, and local politics.  The Cambridge Housing Authority has provided a grant to Lee Pedro to run this group.  Lee is a jewel who works in the Headstart program, but helped initiate the “Purple Hat Club” when she recognized the same faces hanging around the lobby.  Ideally, this program would be expanded throughout our senior and public housing developments.

Although seniors have tremendous opportunities and resources available to them through our senior centers, there continue to be many seniors who cannot travel to a senior center and/or for a variety of reasons, will not travel outside of their development.  I will continue to work with Lee and the CHA to see how the city can help foster additional groups.

Community Happenings

On August 24, is the Cambridge Carnival in Kendall Square. Please see www.cambridgecarnival.com for more details.

Office Transition and a Personal Note

Most of you know my assistant Nicole Bukowski.  You know her because she has been a tremendous asset in helping me serve you and our community.  Nicole has worked closely with many of you over the last four years, either through my office or on her time as volunteer for the YWCA board and other community programs.  I am sad to say she has left my office to attend Arizona State University to pursue a two year master’s degree program in public administration.  I want to thank all of you who have trusted Nicole to work with me as a team in serving you.  I know she will go on to be a great leader and social change agent. I am grateful to her commitment and service to our community.
On a personal note, I am delighted to announce that my husband Bahij and I are expecting our first child in late September. We are expecting a baby boy and can’t wait to meet him and introduce him to his new community and all of you who make it a great city to live in.  Feel free to send me any new parenting advice.

Finally, this is only a summary of some of the work my office has focused on and a snippet of some of the community collaboration we are engaged in.  My goal is to provide you with a monthly update so that we don’t have to pack too much in one update.  Later this fall, I will continue to update you on the work of my office and the city since the election, while informing you of our current progress.  Do not hesitate to contact me or my office if there are constituent issues you would like assistance with or if you have ideas for improving and maintaining the health of our community.

Thank you for the honor and privilege to serve our community.