About Us

The Boston HPC Healthcare Preparedness Coalition (HPC) is a collaboration of public health and healthcare partners in the metro Boston region who coordinate, plan for and conduct a unified response to and recovery from emergencies affecting public health and/or its infrastructure in any or all areas of the region. Partners consist of public health, emergency medical services (EMS), hospitals, community health centers, long term care, home health agencies, mental health providers, university health centers, and specialty care organizations. The Boston HPC is the Region 4C (City of Boston) Health and Medical Coordinating Coalition (HMCC). Every community in Massachusetts belongs to one of six regional HMCCs (more information about Massachusetts HMCCs can be found here).

The Boston HPC is the primary conduit for preparedness, response, and recovery planning for the Public Health and Healthcare Coordination Center functions of the Stephen M. Lawlor Medical Intelligence Center (MIC). The Boston Public Health Commission’s (BPHC) Office of Public Health Preparedness (OPHP) coordinates the Boston HPC and oversees MIC management to support public health and healthcare response and recovery efforts.

A brief overview of the Boston HPC can be found here.

Mission & Vision

The mission of the Boston HPC is to develop and promote healthcare system preparedness, response and recovery capabilities for the City of Boston.

We envision a coordinated system of partners, able to meet the health, medical and social service needs of all Boston residents and visitors during and after emergencies.

Funding Statement:

The Boston HPC Portal is supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Homeland Security Grant Program by the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region with funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security through the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management; and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Hospital Preparedness Program through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management. 

Members

Membership in the Coalition is open to all organizations or entities to work collaboratively on public health and healthcare emergency preparedness, response, and recovery activities in the City of Boston.

Voting members include:

• Community Health Centers
• Dialysis Centers
• Emergency Medical Services
• Home Health Care Agencies
• Hospitals
• Long Term Care Facilities
• Mental Health Organizations
• Public Health Agencies
• Specialty Care Providers (Women’s Health, Pediatrics, Urgent Care, etc.)
• University Health Centers

​Non-voting members include blood banks, emergency management agencies, fire services, laboratories, law enforcement, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, medical examiners/coroners, pharmaceutical and medical device suppliers, pharmacies, poison control and others with a stake in the healthcare and public health services for Boston residents.

Member organizations assign a representative who attends Boston HPC meetings and speaks on behalf of the organization.

Join

Joining the Boston HPC is open to all public health and healthcare agencies. To join, send an email to bostonhpc@bphc.org. Connecting with us will ensure you receive information about upcoming meetings, trainings, resources, and exercise opportunities, as well as being notified as regional or statewide incidents occur.

Multiple individuals within an organization can join the HMCC to ensure all necessary stakeholders are getting the right information at the right time.

Executive Committee

The Boston HPC Executive Committee provides strategic leadership to the Coalition. The Executive Committee consists of representatives from the core healthcare disciplines, as defined by the Healthcare Preparedness Capabilities: National Guidance for Healthcare System Preparedness document issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. The Executive Committee leads the development and implementation of long strategic planning to provide the framework for Boston HPC activities.

Disciplines are represented by the following Executive Committee members:

• ​​Community Health Centers: Maria Papadopolos,  DotHouse Health; Linda Munger, Greater Roslindale Medical and Dental Center;
• Emergency Medical Services:  Erin Serino, Boston EMS and Susan Weber, Boston EMS
• Hospitals: Ashley Miller, Boston Children Hospital and Laura Hahn, Boston Medical Center
• Long Term Care: Sakhonh Kheuamun, Hebrew SeniorLife; Sean Kukauskas, Spaulding Rehabilitation Network
• Public Health: Stacey Kokaram, BPHC Office of Public Health Preparedness; Julia Gunn, BPHC CDC Division

The Boston HPC Leadership consists of a Chair and a Co-Chair. The Leadership is responsible for ensuring the priorities set forth by the Executive Committee are carried out. Current Leadership consists of:

• Chair: Tina Wright, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers
• Co-Chair: Steve McHugh, Boston EMS

Boston HPC General Membership Meetings

These meetings occur on the third Thursday of every other month from 9:30-11 am in the Stephen M. Lawlor Medical Intelligence Center (785 Albany Street, Boston 02122). Meetings occur in February, April, June, August, October, and December.