MW Health Blog

Jean Patel Bushnell is the force behind a new regional service for elders called ITNGreaterBoston which will provide seniors with safe and reliable transportation.

Seniors who need a ride to their physician’s office, who want to attend outings with friends, go the grocery store or even visit their grandchildren will have a local option when ITNGreaterBoston launches in a half dozen suburban Boston communities later this month.

ITNGreaterBoston is the result of combined funding from the MetroWest Health Foundation and Tufts Health Plan Foundation which wanted to ensure that seniors who were no longer able to drive could still get to medical and other necessary appointments. For Bushnell, ITNGreaterBoston is about more than just getting from place to place. It’s about providing seniors with freedom and dignity.

Why are you so passionate about senior transportation?
“I had to leave work various times in the middle of meetings (to pick up my mom). I bashed my car once. It was just important to get her there on time and also be able to navigate the system for her. When I saw what I experienced as an adult child and I know many other adult children were experiencing the same guilt, the same stress because you want to care but so much is one your plate…if only there was a service that you trusted.”

Why is this service needed?
“There are several transportation options available to meet the need, however, the need is much larger especially when you think about 24-7 options. ITNGreaterBoston is focused on working with the other services to increase options for seniors and the visually impaired.”

How did you hear about ITN?
“Through Carol Greenfield of Discovering What’s Next. Carol had known about the national model and I was on a professional break looking for the next right thing.”

Where does your passion for this service come from?
“I am the youngest of five children and I was my mom’s primary caregiver for 20-plus years. I really believe that transportation is the critical piece of the equation to reinforce quality of life. It’s really the hub of their life – having great transportation.”

What is your goal for ITNGreaterBoston?
“My dream would be to take this to Cape Cod, to take this to Worcester up to Beverly and so on.”

Our grant reviewers really get it.

By “get it” I mean they recognize a grant applicant that has done all the things we’ve asked – provided relevant data, a sound program design, justified budget, measurable outcomes and a solid sustainability plan.

Recently, I participated in my 16th grant review cycle here at the foundation. The process is generally the same, although a few things have changed over the years. We now use an online application, we award more proactive grants, staff now makes an official funding recommendation to the reviewers and thankfully, our chair tries to end the meetings by 9pm.

We can hope that the reviewers – volunteers in charge of rating the grants – give the green light to the applications we think are worthy of funding, but in reality we have little sway in the decision-making. We can only make recommendations and then cross our fingers.

But sometimes, sometimes, we can convince them. Sometimes we can provide additional information or a different way of thinking about an issue. For instance, in the latest fall round we received an application from a local human service agency for a critical health need.

It was a little bit of an outside the box request, and the reviewers were somewhat leery. Their scores were on the lower end and the initially there were some concerns. But through a spirited discussion, they were convinced that a small amount of money would address a significant, short-term health gap and make a huge difference.

Other times, they convince us that grants that we were cheerleading should not be funded by making sound, factual arguments against the applicant. Both outcomes are equally valuable.

It can be hard for grantees to hear the reasons they were declined. And it can be hard for staff to have to tell a grantee they weren’t funded, but it is reassuring to know the process is a good one.

It’s a good thing Mother Nature has been kind to the new Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center because the road to construction was anything but smooth.

The health center’s efforts to consolidate its two storefronts into a comprehensive center in downtown Framingham saw numerous setbacks. Some were expected – tough building and zoning requirements and financing issues, and some were not – the “not in my backyard” sentiment of few vocal naysayers determined to keep any facility that served those less fortunate out of their community.

Despite these setbacks, a new state-of-the-art community health center is well underway on Waverley Avenue. There are footings outside the facility where a new entryway will stand and the first floor has been gutted to make way for new walls that will frame future exam rooms.

It will be run by Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, formerly known as Great Brook Valley Health Center, which has operated in Framingham since 2005. A proven and experienced provider, Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center has provided quality medical and dental care to thousands of area residents.

The new health center will ensure health care is more accessible and affordable in MetroWest. It will play a critical role in providing primary medical care to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged among us. It has also created much needed construction and medical jobs. More importantly, the center will be built on solid financial footing. In addition to federal support, the foundation provided a portion of the funds needed to purchase the building that is being renovated into a modern medical practice.

It is amazing to think that eight years ago the foundation first convened local community leaders to discuss how we could reach the many area residents who had no primary care, many of whom routinely relied on the hospital’s emergency room for routine medical care. We talked about expanding access to care and how great it would be to have a community health center in downtown Framingham. Back then it seemed like a far off dream.

Last summer, many of the same local leaders came together for a different purpose. Wearing hard hats and wielding sledgehammers, they watched as the health center’s President and CEO, Toni McGuire, joyously broke into a wall that has been knocked down to make room for the new center. It was an occasion worthy of celebration, not just for a new building but the perseverance that got us here.

If we continue to have a mild, construction-friendly winter here in New England, the new center could open as early as July when we’ll gather together again - this time to welcome patients to a modern community health center.