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State public health nurse consultant outlines support, training and new reportable condition at Hubbardston board meeting
Summary
Tamara Badard, central Massachusetts public health nurse consultant, told the Town of Hubbardston Board of Health the state offers nurse mentorship, training tiers, internship links and case-followup support; she said alpha-gal syndrome will be reportable April 1 and reviewed TB and lead follow-up procedures.
Tamara Badard, a registered nurse serving as the central Massachusetts public health nurse consultant, told the Town of Hubbardston Board of Health that her office provides technical assistance, training and mentorship for local public health nurses and boards.
"I'm a registered nurse and I've my background is public health nursing," Badard said, describing a new program developed by the Office of Local and Regional Health in partnership with UMass Amherst to build a tiered training pathway for public health nurses.
The program, she said, offers a foundational "tier one" this year with a tier two planned for the coming year. Badard said the consultants act as a "phone a friend" for nurses and local boards — providing orientation, mentorship and support for case follow-up, outbreak response and community health planning.
Why it matters: Hubbardston and many neighboring towns do not have a full-time municipal public health nurse. Board members repeatedly raised the prospect of using state-supported resources or regional/shared staffing to fill that gap and flagged a need to identify potential local funding sources.
Badard outlined specific supports and emerging priorities: internship placements through the Department of Public Health, assistance interpreting MAVEN surveillance data, guidance on tuberculosis follow-up, and advice on lead-case response and point-of-care testing. She warned that some follow-up work — notably active tuberculosis case management — requires a registered nurse under Massachusetts regulations.
"The department of public health is going to make it a reportable disease effective April 1st," Badard said of alpha-gal syndrome, an emerging tick-related condition; she urged boards to watch upcoming MAVEN webinars and DPH guidance on how to handle notifications and provider questions.
On tuberculosis and lead, Badard told the board that latent TB generally requires connecting people to clinics and that active TB case management must be handled by an RN. She said lead testing at community events is possible but requires a CLIA waiver and related training (she cited a typical CLIA waiver fee of about $250, valid for two years).
Board members asked about internships and funding. Badard said the Department of Public Health runs summer internship programs and that filling a clear project description in an application helps match candidates. She offered to connect the board to the DPH internship contact and to provide templates and webinar links.
The presentation closed with an offer of ongoing technical assistance: Badard said consultants can meet by phone or Zoom to walk local staff through MAVEN, outbreak follow-up and documentation.
The board thanked Badard and agreed to follow up with specific questions and a possible request to the town for funding or regional staffing options moving forward.
