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This point datalayer contains the location of community health centers (CHCs) in Massachusetts. The layer was originally produced by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH) Center for Environmental Health (CEH) GIS program. The source material was provided by the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, a.k.a. "the League," (http://www.massleague.org). The League defines a community health center as a non-profit community-based organization that offers comprehensive primary and preventive health care, including medical, social and/or mental health services, to anyone in need regardless of their medical status, ability to pay, culture or ethnicity. The layer is named CHCS_PT.
CHCs are grouped into Main and Satellite locations. Main CHCs may have one or more satellite locations (also known as access points). The MCHC_CODE item indicates affiliation between main CHCs and their satellites. CHCs vary by both the facility and/or building type in which they are located, scope of clinical services offered, and target patient population(s). The CEH GIS program used the MassGIS Hospitals, Schools, Colleges and Universities, and Prisons datalayers, and Internet Web sites in the case of homeless shelters, to derive the presence of health centers in these facilities.
In 2018-19, locations for all facilities were verified and updated according to the MassGIS Master Address Database. Health centers known to be administrative offices are attributed accordingly. With respect to clinical services, this GIS datalayer makes no distinction among CHCs. An exception is eye care and dental service providers that are indicated in the EYE and DENTAL fields, respectively. No information regarding target patient populations is explicitly defined, though assumptions may be based on health center name and/or location. In all cases, patients seeking care should contact the CHCs directly to verify availability of clinical services, hours, etc., rather than rely on the information contained in this GIS datalayer, as such information is subject to change.
This dataset contains points which represent locations of all public libraries and their branches currently registered with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners(MBLC). MassGIS created the layer from a list received in July 2017 from the MBLC of libraries that are members of the Massachusetts Library System (MLS). The list was cross-referenced to points in our master address databaseto create this geospatial layer.
This layer also includes a small subset of "special" libraries as categorized by the MBLC whose main function is to operate as a library. Many schools, hospitals, trial courts, law offices, historical societies, museums, private companies and other public and private institutions house libraries in addition to their primary operations. They are not included in this data layer. MassGIS has separate layers for some of these types of facilities. Search the MBLC Library Directoryfor more.
In ArcSDE the layer is named LIBRARIES_PT.
MassGIS extracted from its master address database all points that were identified as libraries in building names. Using ArcGIS these were compared to the previous (2005) version of the Libraries point layer as well as to the latest database list from the MBLC. MassGIS checked library websites where there were discrepancies in names and addresses among the different sources. With the 2017 update, MassGIS dropped most special and all academic libraries that were included in the previous version because their MLS membership status changes frequently or may not be updated in the MLS in a timely manner by the library director or designee.
The municipal boundary datalayer has been created from survey coordinates extracted from the 68-volume Harbor and Lands Commission Town Boundary Atlas for the 351 communities (cities and towns) in Massachusetts. The Atlas was published in the early 1900's and is maintained by the Survey Section of Massachusetts Highway Department. For communities with a coastal boundary, MassGIS has collaborated with Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and the Department of Environmental Protection to complete a 1:12000 scale coastline. The boundary for the coastline was defined as being the upland side of tidal flats and rocky inter-tidal zones. Note that the 351 communities are the official municipal names, not including "villages" or other sections of towns.