Labor, HHS & Education

Prospective Recipient: Becker College Spanish Immersion
Sever Street, Worcester, MA

Amount Requested: 750,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds: Becker College seeks to continuously enhance its support for Nursing Education by developing additional opportunities for students to enter and advance in the nursing profession. A grant to seed this program would, over time, leverage significant additional support from affiliated hospitals and medical institutions that would be both participants and beneficiaries of this initiative.

The U.S. Department of Labor and National League of Nurses project an increase in the need for nurses nationwide and their retention to stay in the workforce. Becker College has been providing pre-licensure nursing education for the past 25 years. In efforts to meet quickly growing and diverse patient/client educational needs, Becker College requests financial assistance in the research, development, and implementation of bilingual healthcare educational initiatives. These educational initiatives will be directed to serving multi-cultural and diverse residents including underserved populations.

Prospective Recipient: Bristol Community College ESL
777 Elsbree Street, Fall River, MA

Amount Requested: $400,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds: Bristol Community College (BCC) would like to expand their adult literacy and career development programs to support the region's workforce. Specifically, the college would like to expand its English as a Second Language (ESL) program to service an additional 300 people annually on the ESL waiting list. BCC would offer these classes (day and evening, beginner to advanced levels) free of charge to residents in the Southcoast region to better prepare them to enter or re-enter the workforce.

The current waiting time for ESL services ranges from 6 months to two years. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education listed 1,574 individuals waiting for services in Bristol County and Greater New Bedford. The region has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state: Fall River has a 13.9 percent unemployment rate, more than 4 points higher than the same time last year.

The program will offer a career and educational planning component (called the Individual Career and Educational Success Plan) that will support the participants in securing employment. Students will obtain assistance with career placement through BCC’s Career Center, regional Massachusetts One-stop Career Center and local non-profits that assist in workforce development efforts.

Prospective Recipient: Campus Kitchens
19 Eye Street NW, Washington DC 20001

Amount Requested: $150,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds: The Campus Kitchens Project (CKP) is a proven model, engaging more than 18,000 students who have given over 200,000 hours of their time to deliver more than 800,000 meals in their communities. CKP plans to open a kitchen in Massachusetts that will be staffed and operated by a full-time person dedicated to food resourcing, volunteer management and community development.

Explanation: CKP is a nonprofit organization that partners with education institutions and empowers thousands of students each year to recycle food from their cafeterias, turn these donations into nourishing meals, and deliver those meals to those who need it most in communities across the country. The on-campus kitchen space is then opened to teach culinary skills to unemployed men and women, who in turn teach the college students important life lessons.
Students run the whole operation. They plan the menus, get the food, run the cooking shifts, organize the drivers, and teach culinary skills to unemployed adults. They keep track of all of the paperwork, organize fundraisers, develop curriculum, and recruit new students to get involved. The skills and life lessons learned through CKP are taken into their jobs when they graduate from school.

CKP’s site development manager visited Massachusetts to assess the feasibility of developing a kitchen in the state, deciding it is a priority for site development. CKP plans to open a kitchen that will be staffed and operated by a full-time person dedicated to food resourcing, volunteer management and community development. CKP is currently in the preliminary stages of discussion with the following schools as a possible site:
College/Universities:
   UMASS, Boston
   Boston University
   Boston College
   Assumption College
   Worcester Polytechnic Institute
   Northeastern

Prospective Recipient: Caritas Christi/Swansea Pain Management Center* 
440 Swansea Mall Drive, Swansea, MA 02777

Amount Requested: $500,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds: Creation of a Pain Management Center (the “Center”) in a medical office building in Swansea, Massachusetts. Federal funds will be used to purchase equipment such as a radiofrequency generator to perform nerve ablation procedures, a C-arm for fluoroscopy in the procedure room, as well as a procedure table, and full monitoring equipment. Funds will also be used to institute full range of pain management programs and services that will be managed by four physicians who are Board Certified in Pain Management, several nurses, radiology technicians, medical assistants, and administrative assistants. The Center will also offer the services of a behavioral health staff that include psychologists and Licensed Mental Health Counselors, physical and occupational therapists, medical interpreters, and financial counselors.

Referrals to St. Anne's Pain Management facility in nearby Fall River have resulted in double digit increases in overall volume and an average monthly volume of 1,300 outpatient visits per year. This growth has resulted in wait times of up to six weeks for initial consultations.

Additionally, forecasts from the Advisory Board Company Outpatient Market Estimator estimate the market for pain management services in this region will experience a 5-year growth rate of 10% and a 10-year growth rate of 23%. Based on the estimator tool projection, the Saint Anne’s Hospital Pain Management Program captures nearly 97% of the current market for pain management.

At present, St. Annes' Hospital program serves a highly vulnerable patient population, including 19 census tracks in Bristol County designated as “medically underserved,” and by a demographic of pain patients that includes 27% Medicare, 12% Mass Health, and 11% BMC Health

Federal funds will be used to purchase equipment and institute full range of pain management programs and services that will be managed by Board Certified in Pain Management physicians, several nurses, radiology technicians, medical assistants, and administrative assistants.

*Request Withdrawn

Prospective Recipient: Clark University
950 Main Street. Worcester, MA 01610

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds: To compete effectively in today’s higher education marketplace, Clark University has recognized the need to invest strategically in technology upgrades to address the changing manner in which teaching and learning takes place in the classroom. At the same time, Clark is addressing energy conservation measures through technology by investing in a centralized energy management system that would monitor and manage all aspects of energy production, distribution, and consumption. The new system would reduce energy usage at the University and serve as a model for other institutions to follow.

Prospective Recipient: Community Servings
18 Marbury Terrace, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Amount Requested: $156,853

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
Community Servings is a nonprofit food and nutrition program providing services throughout Massachusetts to individuals and families living with critical and chronic illnesses. It is the only nutrition organization of its kind north of New York City. It delivers a free, nutritionally tailored lunch, dinner, and snack to 725 people five days a week who are homebound with a critical illness in every Boston neighborhood and 15 surrounding cities and towns. It offers 25 different medically-tailored diets to clients battling 35 different illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer and renal kidney disease.

Community Servings requests a funding appropriation to expand its geographic service area to the City of Worcester to provide home-delivered meals and nutrition support to critically ill Worcester residents and their dependents and caregivers. In FY11, Community Servings expects to serve 15,134 meals to an initial 35 Worcester clients affected by critical illnesses as well as providing supportive nutrition services (education, counseling or home visits). They expect to increase service to 50 clients in FY12.

Prospective Recipient: Great Brook Valley Health Center, Framingham
2000 Century Drive, Worcester, MA

Amount Requested: $800,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
The overall goal of the project is to provide quality health care to meet the needs of low-income residents of Framingham, MA, and the MetroWest region. Framingham’s 67,000 residents make it the most populated town in the U.S. There is a resounding need for health care access for uninsured and underinsured residents (as many as 60% of FCHC patients are uninsured and an estimated 20-25% of the total population in is living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.) Many of the uninsured are working poor who opt to pay the state penalty rather than purchase state insurance. Framingham has sizable Brazilian and Hispanic populations, many of whom traveled long distances for culturally/language appropriate care before Great Brook Valley opened the Framingham Community Health Center.

Support from Congress will help GBV realize the goal of a new facility for its health center and improved care for the region’s underserved population. In addition to the physical facility and equipment, including medical equipment, the newly constructed health center will have a state-of-the-art computer system that includes an electronic medical record (EMR), integrated practice management system, patient and patient services tracking systems, and improved communication systems, including email and research capabilities for clinical staff.

Prospective Recipient: JFY Network
125 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02108

Amount Requested: $250,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
Academic Support and Career Awareness for the Third District, specifically Durfee High School in Fall River, MA, is to build student skills and enhance student performance on standardized tests and in the classroom. It also acquaints students with career opportunities and prepares them to enter employment, skill training or higher education. It is the only academic support program in Massachusetts that has produced documented improvements in performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test (MCAS). JFYNet has a documented record of success in many Massachusetts schools over the last ten years. Data show that JFYNet Students consistently out-perform their peers.

Using high quality educational software, professional development coaching, and ongoing technical assistance, JFYNet assists schools in meeting the adequate yearly progress requirements of No Child Left Behind and of the state. Individualized, self-paced, computer-assisted learning conducted by teachers trained and supported by JFYNet staff helps students improve their academic performance to meet state and federal performance standards. Since all schools in the country are required to meet these standards, JFYNet can be offered as a proven national model. JFYNet also presents career information so that students can see how academic study connects to the real world and begin to plan for their future careers. After graduation, they can enter JFYNetWorks’s or other job training programs or pursue college study.

Prospective Recipient: Kennedy Donovan Center, Foxboro
One Commercial Street, Foxboro, MA

Amount Requested: $250,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
Kennedy-Donovan Center is one of the main providers of services to provider of Early Intervention Services in the Greater Plymouth area, the Greater Attleboro area and in the Southern Worcester County area. In New Bedford they are the only urban provider of Early Intervention services. They are the only provider of Family Support Services on Cape Cod. Tey are amongst the largest providers of Shared Living, Adult Family Care and Individual Supports in the New Bedford, Middlesex West, South Valley and Northern Bristol County regions.

Kennedy-Donovan Center has been providing these services for over 40 years and offers quality services that have remained stable over time. Administrative costs are less than 10% of our total operational budget so, in addition to quality, they offer value.

The proposed capital project will fix costs for at least the next 10 years and provides spaces that are adapted to the needs of the individuals and families served.

Prospective Recipient: Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, Health Education and Resources Center
19 Foster Street. Worcester, MA

Amount Requested: $750,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
Funds are requested to expand the medication information and distance learning activities of the Health Education and Resource Center at the Worcester Campus of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. New initiatives included in the specific request are as follows: 1.) advanced clinical rotations for pharmacy, nursing and physician assistant students at selected neighborhood health centers across the state; 2.) additional outreach activities, including an assessment of oral health in Central Massachusetts; and 3.) technology and distance learning equipment for the pharmacy, nursing, physician assistant and dental hygiene programs.

The programs of the Health Education and Resource Center are of significant national interest in a number of ways. Cost savings associated with the distribution of free medications to eligible patients ultimately help control federal and state healthcare expenditures. Outreach education programs on prescription drugs assist in reducing medical errors and patient non-compliance, and in increasing participation in prescription assistance programs available through Medicare and other sources. The Center serves as a national model for utilizing public and private sources to provide medications for the 42 million uninsured Americans who lack access to prescription drugs and to increase the number of much needed professional pharmacy, nursing, physician assistant and dental hygiene graduates.

The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is a private, independent non-profit institution that has been educating health professionals since 1823. In addition to a doctorate degree in Pharmacy, the College offers degrees in Nursing, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Physician Assistant Studies, Nursing, Dental Hygiene, Radiologic Sciences, Chemistry, Health Psychology, and Pre-medical and Health Studies.

Prospective Recipient: Massachusetts MEP M.O.S.T.
100 Grove Street St, Worcester, MA 01608

Amount Requested: $5 million

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
The M.O.S.T program is a three-phase rapid training and job placement initiative in which nearly 100% of trainees who successfully complete the 2-week Phase I receive job offers from participating employers. This is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because the M.O.S.T program provides job training for disadvantaged populations that places up to 500 individuals in entry level manufacturing jobs within two weeks of training, which is particularly important given the high rate of unemployment during the current recession.

Prospective Recipient: Massachusetts MEP Tech Center
100 Grove Street, Worcester

Amount Requested: $10,000,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
The Manufacturing Advancement Center will, in collaboration with existing resources, create an Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center for dislocated, unemployed, low wage workers, veterans and older youth in Massachusetts. The center will empower individuals with critical technical skills, in demand by the high growth of advanced manufacturers.
MAMTEC is a workforce development training system that prepares individuals for jobs in advanced manufacturing. In addition it supports companies struggling to cope with an aging workforce, rapidly changing technology and an ever widening technical skills gap.

The MAC collaborates with workforce boards, training providers, vocational high schools, community colleges and universities creating advanced technical skills training for dislocated, unemployed, low wage workers, veterans and older youth in Massachusetts. The programs focus on the specific needs of High Growth Advanced Manufacturing Industries such as precision manufacturing, biotechnology, and renewable energy. The program is available for immediate deployment through the commitment of employers and other partners with a history of successful collaboration, field tested curricula, utilizing fully equipped Mobile Training Units (MTUs), a licensed virtual learning (vlearning) system, online coursework and game-based training.

Prospective Recipient: Quinsigamond Community College: Integrated Post Secondary Models (Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and the Commonwealth Corporation)
529 Main Street, Charlestown, MA 02129

Amount Requested: $250,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
During this period of high unemployment, it is critical that we support unemployed workers to develop skills that are in demand in the marketplace. However, it is often challenging to find accredited certificate and associate’s degree programs that are flexible in terms of scheduling, offer entry off-semester, and integrate developmental education with occupational training in order to ensure on-time graduation. This funding will support an effort to design and implement innovative programming at Quinsigamond Community College that will address these barriers in a high demand field of study. As a result of this investment, unemployed workers will attain the skills and certification necessary to become re-employed in a high demand field, leaving the unemployment insurance system and contributing payroll taxes to state and federal government. It also provides a pipeline of skilled and credentialed workers for those industries that are creating jobs and those that are poised to create jobs. Finally, the models that QCC develop through this funding can be replicated in other community colleges and career and technical high schools to expand the number and quality of education and training offerings.

Prospective Recipient: Quinsigamond Community College Support for Enrollment Growth, and Satellite Campus Development and Support
670 West Boylston Street, Worcester, MA

Amount Requested: 750,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
Quinsigamond Community College is seeking federal assistance to expand available space on their main campus in Worcester, MA and support our expanding educational and regional workforce development role in Worcester County through satellite campus development in Marlborough.

QCC’s enrollment is on the rise, having increased consistently over the past 4 years -- nearly 42% since 2006. This year, QCC was ranked as the 25th fastest growing community college among our peer institutions in the country by Community College Week Magazine. As a result, QCC must expand available space on the main campus in Worcester, and beyond the main campus immediately. To do so, QCC has positioned itself as a partner for economic development in the region by reaching out to many public schools, community-based organizations, regional agencies and private industry.

To improve access to quality, affordable higher education and meet the educational and workforce needs of the Marlborough area, QCC is actively pursuing satellite campus development in Marlborough. QCC’s site research has concluded that this area can sustain current operations and allow for expected future enrollment growth. This new satellite campus location will provide close proximity to industries with high growth labor needs, and will enable industry-specific academic programs to be developed. Efforts have been initiated with Assabet Valley Technical High School to jointly offer higher education and workforce development programming in concert and potentially on their site.

Since October, 2009 QCC has been actively working with business, industry and community leaders, Chamber of Commerce representatives, public school officials and local officials to explore the feasibility of, and further develop the concept delivering Higher Education in this region. As a result there is a consensus in the area that this satellite campus is much needed and will provide a valuable resource to residents, students and local industry.

Prospective Recipient: Reach Out and Read
56 Roland Street, Boston MA

Amount Requested: $10 million

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
Reach Out and Read has been proven to be among the most effective strategies to promote early language and literacy development and school readiness; pediatricians and other healthcare providers guide and encourage parents to read aloud to their children from their earliest years of their life, and send them home from each regular checkup with a new book and a prescription to read together.

Reach Out and Read is a national evidence-based school readiness initiative that promotes literacy and language development in infants and preschoolers, targeting children and families living in poverty and under-performing school districts. Fourteen peer-reviewed, published research studies spanning the last two decades clearly demonstrate the impact of the Reach Out and Read model and the importance of promoting early language and literacy skills in preparing children to excel in school. Today, Reach Out and Read serves 3.8 million children annually, but millions more children nationwide do not receive the necessary support and assistance they need to develop these critical skills and enter kindergarten ready to learn. Funding provided by Congress through the U.S. Department of Education has been matched by tens of millions of dollars from the private sector and state governments.

Prospective Recipient: Southcoast System Radiation Center, Fairhaven
101 Page Street, New Bedford, MA 02740

Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
Based on documented need and the state’s authorization, Southcoast has developed plans to launch a radiation oncology program at a new, state-of-the-art facility to be located in Fairhaven, immediately off Routes 195 and 240. This project will encompass designing, constructing, and equipping the new facility. The new facility will offer the full range of cancer care services, not just radiation. Also provided there will be medical oncology, chemotherapy services, laboratory services, nutrition counseling, social services support, and other cancer-related services.

Prospective Recipient: Stanley Street Treatment Center (SSTAR)
386 Stanley Street, Fall River, MA 02720

Amount Requested: $650,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
SSTAR’s Family HealthCare Center will expand primary healthcare, behavioral health and outpatient substance abuse treatment by renovating and staffing a one story facility consisting of 12,430 sq. ft. of space in the south end of Fall River.

Funding will be used to for facilities improvements for community health center services and residential substance abuse treatment. SSTAR's integrated health treatment center is a proven example of cost effective health care for individuals and families. Offering health, mental health, addiction counseling, and drug treatment services at the same facility is the most cost effective way of treating people who suffer from a combination of ailments and who might otherwise ignore major health issues -- preventing proper recoveries and outcomes. The costs of this treatment can lead to enormous savings in preventing other potential expenses such as more serious health issues and need for services, incarceration, crime, foster care, and unwanted pregnancies. SSTAR's success in providing treatment services has allowed families to remain together, keeping both parents and children from needing far more expensive taxpayer services. Furthermore, SSTAR's programs address a critical need, in that MA suffers from high rates of heroin and oxycontin use.

Prospective Recipient: UMass Memorial Health Care (UMMHC) - Integrated Ambulatory Electronic Medical Record and Radiology Imaging Platform
Biotech One, 365 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA

Amount Requested: $2,000,000

Explanation of Project, including purpose and why this is a valuable use of taxpayer funds:
UMass Memorial Health Care (UMMHC) is installing an ambulatory electronic medical record (EMR) to improve patient care delivery, reduce medical errors, enhance cost-effectiveness and ensure compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The system will provide a data repository for identifying best practices, monitoring and evaluating practice patterns, as well as for teaching and research. The EMR will also provide increased security and confidentiality of patient information.

UMMHC has invested nearly $20.5 million to implement the first stage of the EMR and is now positioned to tightly integrate radiology images with the EMR system. Using the success of the Teleradiology Demonstration and ambulatory EMR project as a model, UMMHC’s incorporation of radiology studies in the ambulatory EMR will improve the quality of health care delivery, enhance clinical outcomes, and increase the cost-effectiveness of care throughout the system’s communities by avoiding unnecessary radiology studies.