City of Portland, Maine
PHEA Updates: March 2025
Portland Health Equity Alignment

PHEA Updates: March 2025

Committee updates, plus recruitment, & CHW Workforce Survey

Recruitment!

We are always looking for new members to join the Alignment and offer their unique perspective & expertise to whichever committee best suits their interests.
Here are some areas in need of support:

  • The Clinical Advisory Committee is seeking new members to help rebuild their team, as recent participation has been low. Recent projects include collaborating with HealthInfoNet to discuss improvements to information exchange between healthcare systems in Maine. The committee is looking for new perspectives on which topics & potential projects to prioritize. We are especially looking to involve health & behavioral healthcare providers.

  • The AHEOP Committee is looking to engage health care providers who serve older adults, as well as older adult community members including those who identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+.

  • Our new Policy Committee is still looking for new members! We are seeking those who understand Maine’s current policy landscape, have experience advocating for public health issues, can help build a coalition governance structure, can collaborate with a range of community partners to make a difference for our community, & enjoy sharing their knowledge & skills with others to promote positive changes for our community.

  • The Community & Faith-based Advisory Committee is hoping to engage with more local faith & community leaders as well as CHWs. The committee would like to hear from leaders on the best way to engage them and their communities with our work & keep each other informed.

All other committees are also welcoming new members! Feel free to share the attached flyer with your network. If you know of anyone who might be a good fit for any of PHEA's 7 committees, please direct them to fill out our New Member Interest Form! Questions? Reach out to a committee chair or liaison.

Committee Updates

Aging Advisory Committee

Recent Meetings:

Now monthly meetings are in subcommittees:

  • Goal 4: 1/22 9am - Reviewed case management services available from COP, MeHealth Access to Care; SMAA and identified other providers for f/u

  • Goal 2: 1/22 2pm - Discussed increase in community connection

  • Goal 3: 1/22 3pm - Strengthen cultural responsiveness among providers & CHW knowledge of services for older adults

  • Goal 1: 2/11 - Getting resources to LGBTQ+ and BIPOC older adults

Status Updates or Announcements:

  • Goal 4: Home visits & case mgmt; currently assessing availability of services; next f/u w/ MAIN, Northern Light; Shelters/Police/BH providers

  • Goal 2: Considering community meetings w/ Presente Maine & Khmer Maine to support this goal and Goal 1 (increase community knowledge of aging services available); meeting scheduled

  • Goal 3: CCCS training now taking place for AAAs (Area Agencies on Aging) statewide (3 out of 5 trainings completed)

Upcoming Meetings:

Scheduling an event for March, funded through the CHEF (Connection, Health, and Equity through Food) grant, with Presente Maine/CCCS/SMAA/MCOA for increasing aging resource knowledge, providing food stipends

Next full committee meeting: Wednesday, March 19, 9:30-11:00am, in person at CCCS/Equality Community Center, remote option TBD

Contacts:

Clinical Advisory Committee

Status Updates or Announcements:

Currently focusing on recruiting new members.

Contact:

Community & Faith-based Advisory (CFBA) Committee

Recent Meetings:

2/13: First meeting with members from both CFBA & CHW committees; reviewed priorities & recommendations from Accelerator Plan & discussed overlap & feasibility; will prioritize engaging with faith leaders in the community and serving in an advisory role for the rest of the Alignment (will work on flowchart to help committees with their requests for support).

Status Updates or Announcements:

The CFBA & CHW Committees merged in January 2025.

Upcoming Meetings:

Thursday, March 27th, 9:30-11am

Hybrid: Portland Public Schools, 353 Cumberland Ave
and via Google Meet:
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/hjt-tsdy-nno
Or dial: ‪(US) +1 956-520-3658‬ PIN: ‪156 980 968‬#
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/hjt-tsdy-nno?pin=3318425295464

Contact:

Monitoring, Evaluation, & Grants (MEG) Committee

Recent Meetings:

12/24/24:

  • Reviewed and discussed the Student and Academic Committee’s request for help with their Summer Institute project

  • Discussed upcoming 2/4 FindHelp webinar

  • Co-chair(s) participated in meetings related to FindHelp Webinar, next steps for the Alignment, and coordination with Student and Academic committee

Status Updates or Announcements:

  • Drafted workplan template for all committees

Upcoming Meetings:

Tuesday, March 25, at 1pm, via zoom: https://maine.zoom.us/j/88161657185

Contact:

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Advisory Committee

Recent Meetings:

  • Met on 12/12 to preview Syra Health's final recommendations for the committee

  • Met on 1/30 to work through and prioritize strategies by reviewing a merged table of Syra's recommendations and activities from our existing committee plan

Status Updates or Announcements:

  • Committee would like to establish shared agreements to move work forward

  • Stratified strategies and have de-emphasized Syra recommendations for now, as well as activities focusing on OPHE's Community Care Referral System (CCR) due to loss of funding.

Upcoming Meetings:

TBD

Contact:

Student & Academic Advisory Committee

Recent Meetings:

  • November: Met with MEG for technical assistance with research & grant application

  • December: Created the Student & Academic Advisory Committee 2025 Strategic Plan

Status Updates or Announcements:

  • Assigned to a City of Portland Grant Writer

  • Requested to collaborate with CFBA Committee

Upcoming Meetings:

TBD

Contact:

Chair: Marie Sheffield - bridge2belong@gmail.com

Policy Committee

Status Updates or Announcements:

Our new Policy Committee held its first meeting on February 21st, where members discussed approaches for clarifying the committee's function within the larger Alignment and developing corresponding goals, objectives, & priorities. This committee is still seeking new members!

CHW Workforce Survey

A research team from the Schools of Nursing at University of Maine and University of Southern Maine (USM) partnering with the Maine Community Health Worker Initiative (MECHWI) on a research project about the needs of the CHW workforce and the challenges facing CHW’s in their work with individuals, communities and health systems.

You can participate in this study if you have worked or volunteered as a Community Health Worker or have done a similar role (e.g. Community Health Outreach Worker, Peer Navigator) or in Maine for more than six months.

If you choose to participate, you will respond to an online survey that will take about 30 minutes to complete. Your participation is voluntary and your responses are confidential. Survey participants are also invited to participate in an optional follow-up interview lasting 60-90 minutes
To compensate you for your time, CHW survey participants will be mailed a $20 gift card after survey recruitment has closed in Spring 2025. CHW interview participants will be mailed a $50 gift card at the end of the interview.

CHW Employer Organizations are encouraged to participate, too! If your organization has employed CHWs for at least six months, a representative can share your organization’s experiences and perspectives in the CHW Employer survey. The survey will take about 30 minutes to complete and does not ask for personally identifying information.

For more information, including the consent form, please visit the project website. Questions? Email katherine.darling@maine.edu or call 207-581-2599

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