Assessment highlights key health issues for Templeton

Assessment highlights key health issues for Templeton

Eryn Dion
News Staff Writer
TEMPLETON — Templeton has a serious problem with heart disease, according to a Community Health Assessment recently released by Montachusett Public Health Network.

The report revealed the town has the highest age-adjusted cardiovascular mortality rate in the region at 360 deaths per 100,000 persons, outpacing surrounding towns and even the Commonwealth by a significant margain. The next highest rate was registered by the town of Sterling with 273, while the state as a whole sat at 200.

The assessment, which pulled data from 11 surrounding cities and towns, including Gardner, Fitchburg, Phillipston and Athol, provides information on everything from poverty rates to infectious disease prevalence and substance abuse.


The mortality rate data runs from 2008 to 2010 — providing an excellent base of data for communities and will go a long way towards helping identity key issues and areas for improvement, according to Susan Buckholz of the Montachusett Opportunity Council.

“One of the advantages of having this data, even with its limitations, is that it can inform communities about where they may want to take a closer look,” said Ms. Buckholz.

For Templeton’s Health Director Phil Leger, the data reinforces the need for community education about an active and healthy lifestyle.

“We’ve been working on a healthy weight initiative,” said Mr. Leger. “We’re trying to get people to be more active. There’s a lot of trails and federal and state lands right in people’s backyards.”

According to Mr. Leger, something as simple as a sidewalk or bike lane is all it takes to get people moving. He said the Baldwinville Rehabilitation project — funded with years of Community Development Block Grant money — created both a sidewalk and bike lane that is now widely used by residents.

“You can walk from Templeton Center to Baldwinville now,” Mr. Leger said. “Since that sidewalk has been in, people have been using it.”

The Board of Health also conducts ‘walk audits’ around town, visiting areas to see if they’re safe for pedestrians, ultimately identifying what the town can do to provide easier and safer access. The audits are part of the board’s preventative approach to public health, along with partnerships with Heywood and Athol hospitals.

While the new data is concerning, it will provide Mr. Leger with ample guidance for future prioritizing projects designed to keep residents healthy and living longer.

“We’re excited with this assessment because now we can go out and apply for grants and funding to work on key problems,” he said.

Previous assessments have spawned outreach programs across the region, including The Winchendon Project — which gave children and adolescence in the area access to mental health and substance abuse services. The prescription medication drop-off boxes scattered throughout police stations and hospitals were also the result of issues highlighted in past reports, as well as Heywood’s recently started suicide prevention project.

“It’s very encouraging to us to know that, in the past, these studies have caused communities to mobilize around an issue,” said Ms. Buckholz. “Initiatives, such as these, have had and continue to have a powerfully positive impact on the health of individuals living in this region.”

The Montachusett Public Health Network is based in Fitchburg and comprised of 11 interlocked communities throughout the region. The Community Health Assessment was created in collaboration with Heywood Hospital’s Joint Coalition on Health and is available for download on the network’s website.