Healy convenes health leaders at Boston Medical Center to press multi‑billion housing bond tied to health and workforce needs

Governor Healy convened leaders from hospitals, community health centers and elder‑care programs at Boston Medical Center to make the case that large‑scale investments in affordable and supportive housing are a public‑health and workforce imperative.

At the convening, BMC leaders described clinical evidence tying housing to better health outcomes and lower health‑system use. "We actually tested that with a randomized controlled trial," a BMC research clinician said, citing a trial in which children whose families received housing and supportive services were about "32% less likely to be in fair or poor health" after six months and parents showed reductions in anxiety and depression. The hospital urged the administration's proposed bond bill as a way to scale such models.

The administration presented the bond bill as a major housing investment paired with 28 policy changes and new tools for localities. Secretary Augustus said the bill filed in October would be a multi‑billion‑dollar package with targeted allocations for cities, and highlighted a proposal that would enable cities and towns to raise money for local affordable housing through a real‑estate transfer tax. Governor Healy added that the bill would fund public‑housing rehabilitation, build supportive housing, and for the first time create an Office of Fair Housing.

Speakers from large systems and regional providers framed housing as both a social‑determinant‑of‑health issue and an employer challenge. A Mass General Brigham representative said the system employs roughly 84,000 people concentrated in Boston and warned that many staff "cannot afford to live anywhere near here," undermining recruitment and retention. A Cape Cod Healthcare leader said the market is not producing enough workforce housing, reported committing roughly $8 million to a local project, and urged state support.

Community health centers and program leaders described on‑the‑ground models that pair housing with medical and supportive services. Thea James of BMC described the "living well at home" program and other investments in housing as a return on community health dollars. A PACE program representative explained how embedding all‑inclusive elderly care inside senior housing keeps people in the community and reduces institutional placements. Community partners urged repurposing closed assisted‑living or nursing facilities as a near‑term supply of housing.

Speakers also flagged regional variation: Worcester was described as having a tight rental market with low vacancy and limited transit outside urban cores; Springfield and other western Massachusetts communities noted older housing stock and scale limitations. Multiple participants described NIMBY resistance and the need to translate clinical evidence into local‑level advocacy at zoning boards and town meetings.

The administration asked attendees to mobilize staff and communities to advocate for the bill, and to support local measures that make building housing feasible. "Go to the zoning board meeting. Go to your town meeting. Speak up," Governor Healy said in closing, asking health institutions to be local champions as the administration advances the bond proposal.

Next steps: the administration said it is continuing to develop the bill and funding details and urged participants to help build local support; no formal vote or binding action was taken at the convening.