Communication

General Observations:

"Martha's Vineyard is six islands connected by land." - Community Member, 2016 RHS Presentation

• Individualistic mentality of towns/residents creates added challenges for community-oriented decision making,  2021 RHS Presentation 
  • Siloing of tightly interconnected issues (like housing) underpins almost every MV issue

• Recommended incorporation of a mental health wellness check through public health channels,  2011 RHS Presentation  &  2013 ‡
• Recommended implementing a systematic approach to checking in on elders to make sure they’re okay (similar to a phone tree),  2011 RHS Presentation ‡
• Recommended talk to people about food access resources at PCP visits,  2012 RHS Presentation ‡
• Recommended a hotline for seniors with a real person answering the phone connecting them to services available on the Island,  2013 RHS Presentation 

Summary of the Community's response so far The public health nurses currently conduct mental health checks during their wellness visits, but this program could be expanded

The public health nurses also conduct wellness checks for seniors, but the program could also be expanded.

Island Health Care currently uses a standard 2-question food insecurity screener and provides resources when someone screens positive.

(Updated 6.17.2022)

• Recommended better communication to youth about SUD – prevention and treatment,  2009 RHS presentation 
• Recommended better communication to parents about SUD treatment and prevention resources,  2009 RHS presentation 
• Recommended an increase of public awareness of mental health issues among the elderly to help breakdown stigma,  2011 RHS Presentation 
  • To outline available resources, integrate mental health screenings, emphasize solutions to isolation, explain there are resources other than medications, normalize mental health care
• Recommended increased public and caregiver awareness regarding elder abuse and services,  2014 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended make support groups for abuse survivors more widely known,  2014 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended community workshops, lecture series, continued support groups, skill-building groups, care coordination and management,  2014 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended communicate to parents and guardians via forums that normalizing marijuana, alcohol, and drug use among school age children is hurting our youth,  2016 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended disseminate motivational interviewing (MI) by having a local MI champion host workshops in diverse settings with the goal of increasing utilization of MV services and improving conversations around SUD,  2016 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended a reproductive health/women’s health fair held at an easy to access location during convenient times (ex. Library or farmer’s market),  2017 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended holding community forums on advanced life care to normalize the topic and raise awareness of the medical and legal pathways/resources available,  2018 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended work with Family Planning to devise a method of outreach into the schools in order to educate students on the services available and how to access them,  2017 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended host a school-wide assembly on inclusion,  2019 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended create a parent referral list to connect parents for peer support and mentorship and to increase awareness of the Parents of Children with Disabilities Support Group at the Family Center,  2019 RHS Presentation 
  • 71% of interviewed families believed the Island needs more places where families can meet each other

Summary of the Commuity's response so far

No updates to share at this time (6.17.2022)

• Recommended increased awareness of food services like the pantry, Meals on Wheels, gleaning program, community cooking classes, etc.,  2012 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended increase awareness of reproductive health services on the Island,  2017 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended to create greater trust and improve Brazilian community’s utilization of MV resources through improved cross-cultural communication (see efforts listed under Youth and Equitable Access and Language Equity sections),  2020 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended creating public campaigns aimed at the elderly population to reduce stigma for utilizing public assistance or community resources, especially for food,  2020 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended improving communication between reproductive health service providers and the community,  2017 RHS Presentation 

Summary of the Community's response so far

No updates to share at this time (6.17.2022)

• Current IDC efforts include providing current, accurate, and accessible information for the MV community,  2019 RHS Presentation 

• Recommended to create a one-stop regularly updated website to convey all the services available to the elderly population,  2011 RHS Presentation  &  2013 
• Recommended posting about CORE’s services at spaces frequented by the elder population – post office, Stop & Shop, Town Halls, pharmacies, churches, libraries, physician’s offices, newspapers, and community newsletters,  2011 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended labeling at least one meal each day at the hospital cafeteria as the “healthy choice”,  2012 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended visible outreach by distributing SUD resource information in clinical settings and community gathering spaces,  2016 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended leverage the exposure of the Memorial Day Family Planning Art Show to share information with the public on the different services available at Family Planning,  2017 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended creating a website that compiles all the current reproductive health resources on the Island,  2017 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended improve the “Senior Services” section of FirstStop MV,  2018 RHS Presentation ‡
• Recommended utilize other methods of communication to reach hard to reach seniors – mailings, MV Times, MVY Radio, YMCA, COAs, places of worship, Frank and Mary TV show, and wellness visits by PHNs, EMTs, and COA outreach,  2018 RHS Presentation ‡
• Recommended creating a centralized resource list of all the services and support programs for people living with disabilities on MV,  2019 RHS Presentation 
  • Distribute the list to partners
  • Post the list on the IDC website for the general public
  • 69% of families interviewed reported not receiving any information on services
  • Benefit of reducing double work inefficiencies between service organizations
  • Many disability-related events are cancelled due to low registration/awareness
• Recommended spread of food resources for the Brazilian population via word of mouth and videos on social media/WhatsApp,  2020 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended highlight a “local business of the week / hidden gem” on MVTV or social media to help expose the Brazilian population to other food resources and outlets on the Island,  2020 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended coordinate a local food/food resources event with Junina, the traditional Brazilian harvest festival on June 1 ^st ,  2020 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended distribution of printed pamphlets about food resources through the COAs and MVH to reach seniors who are not comfortable with technology,  2020 RHS Presentation 

Summary of the Community's response so far

Both the Dukes County Health Council and Healthy Aging MV plan to address updates to the Senior Services section of the First Stop website.

Healthy Aging MV is working on a wide range of community outreach techniques for reaching seniors and informing them about different health services on the Island.

(Last updated 6.17.2022)

Service and care providers could do a better job of communicating among each other - Community Members, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 RHS Presenations

• Interfaith collaboration,  2018 RHS Presentation 
• Councils on Aging should collaborate with the MV Center for Living, Safe Seniors, Geriatric Care Managers, and EMTs,  2018 RHS Presentation 
• "Can you guys recommend that the towns work together on this? We need some form of centralization.",  2020 RHS Presentation 

• Current IDC efforts include providing training and education opportunities relevant to the needs of individuals living with disabilities in the community,  2019 RHS Presentation 
• Current IDC efforts also include providing a peer to peer network where community members can learn, network, and collaborate on strategies to boost inclusivity,  2019 RHS Presentation 

• Recommended present the CORE program at Grand Rounds,  2011 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended a convening of all caregiver and first responder stakeholders to a regular meeting to collaborate and discuss the needs of the elderly population,  2011 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended incorporate Monday Morning Memos to provider offices to increase communication in the health services sector,  2011 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended improved communication regarding purchasing between food growers and school administrators,  2020 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended increased communication collaboration among the churches that serve immigrant populations – a shared newsletter in Portuguese?,  2012 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended host a landlord round table/focus group on how to increase the number of affordable rentals and keep good tenants on the Island,  2015 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended hold meetings that include all MV reproductive health resources,  2017 RHS Presentation 
• Recommended increase collaboration between the IDC and other organizations,  2019 RHS Presentation 
  • Publicize meeting dates (Facebook, text, newsletters)
  • Create a monthly IDC newsletter
  • Provide support when other organizations turn to IDC with questions
• Recommended identify all youth-related organizations on MV and develop a communication system,  2021 RHS Presentation 

Summary of the Community's Response so far

No updates to share at this time (6.17.2022)