City of Worcester, MA
Central Mass. Regional Public Health Alliance to Discontinue, City and Towns to Pursue New Funding Opportunities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/30/2025 10:02 am
WORCESTER, Mass. – The Central Massachusetts Regional Public Health Alliance (CMRPHA) announced Wednesday that effective June 30, 2025, CMRPHA will be discontinued. Worcester and the towns of Shrewsbury, Grafton, and West Boylston will pursue different funding opportunities for programming that are best suited for their local public health needs.
“As Worcester’s population has grown tremendously, our local public health priorities have also greatly shifted,” said Dr. Matilde Castiel, City of Worcester Commissioner of Health and Human Services. “While we remain aligned on core public health principles with the CMRPHA towns, we mutually agreed that it would be most effective to focus on building independent capacity and pursue a path that will enable each region to address its own unique needs.”
The City of Worcester will pursue a state funding opportunity that will help bolster additional public health services specific to the community. The towns of Shrewsbury, Grafton, and West Boylston will utilize a separate funding opportunity that will allow them to build up local public health service.
“For the past 15 years, the Central Massachusetts Regional Public Health Alliance has delivered exceptional services to the residents of Shrewsbury,” said Kevin J. Mizikar, Shrewsbury Town Manager. “I want to sincerely thank all of our regional partners, especially the City of Worcester, for their steadfast leadership and collaboration. As local governments navigate increasingly complex public health challenges, we must continue to evolve to meet the needs of our communities. Shrewsbury looks forward to building upon this strong foundation and pursuing new opportunities to enhance public health services for our residents.”
The decision to discontinue the CMRPHA was mutual and the result of many thoughtful and forward-thinking conversations amongst Dr. Castiel and the respective Town Managers. The change will allow each municipality to meet governance structures best suited for their public health needs.
The City of Worcester, Town of Shrewsbury, Town of Grafton, and the Town of West Boylston all truly value the partnership that the CMRPHA has afforded its members for the past 15 years.