Healthcare Leaders Gather For Roundtable On Housing

President and CEO of Cape Cod Healthcare Michael Lauf

HYANNIS – Governor Maura Healey met with healthcare leaders in Boston last week to discuss the issue of housing.

The discussion was twofold: the impact of the high housing costs on public health, and the healthcare industry’s ability to recruit and retain its workforce.

Cape Cod Healthcare CEO Michael Lauf said the housing issue affects the organization’s ability to hold onto the talent that provides necessary services, but he said they continue to innovate and adapt to ensure that there is no disruption.

A key component of the Healey administration’s housing plan is the $4 billion Affordable Homes Act, which was filed with the state legislature last fall. 

“Massachusetts has the world’s best medical providers, institutions and researchers. But if we want to continue to recruit and retain the talented workforce that makes this possible, we need to address the high cost of housing in our state,” said the governor.

“Access to affordable and stable housing is also a matter of public health and health equity. Our Affordable Homes Act proposes significant investments that would have a positive impact on residents’ health, including rehabbing our public housing stock, expanding supportive housing, and decarbonizing housing in environmental justice communities,” added Healey. 

“Three years ago, during the COVID-19 outbreak, we were calling our health care workers heroes, and now those same heroes can’t afford a place to live in Massachusetts,” said Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities Edward Augustus.