Background
On April 2, 2020, the ACLU of Massachusetts and Harvard Law School’s Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation wrote to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) to address equity and privacy concerns pertaining to the DPH’s COVID-19 pandemic response. The inquiry focused on racial disparities, personal protective equipment and ventilator access, testing availability, and patient privacy. It specifically requested records pertaining to (1) the development, effectiveness, and implementation of the March 18 policy which directed boards of health to share patient addresses with first responders, and (2) equipment distribution.
| Request Submitted To | Massachusetts Department of Health |
| Category | Public Health |
| Year Filed | 2020 |
| Number of Documents Received | 5 |
Responsive Documents
| # | File Name | Description | File Type | File Size |
| 1 | 950-CMR-32.08-SPR-Appeals-Effective-January-1-2017 | MA Regulations on Appeals to Public Records Requests | 150 KB | |
| 2 | ACLU responsive docs (2) | Emails regarding the sharing of COVID patient addresses | 5.4 MB | |
| 3 | Acute Care Hospital Vent Tracking Sheet no numbers | Template of spreadsheet tracking ventilator usage in 67 MA hospitals | XLSX | 18 KB |
| 4 | Hospital Ventilator Worksheet (1) | Questionnaire for collecting data regarding ventilator usage at hospitals | XLSX | 12 KB |
| 5 | DRAFT MA Ventilator Distribution Procedure 3.29.20 | Draft Procedure to Maximize the Effectiveness of Ventilator Distribution Across States | DOCX | 39 KB |