MEDICAL ACADEMIC AND SCIENTIFIC
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
(MASCO)
FACT SHEET
OVERVIEW
The
Longwood Medical and Academic Area (LMA), the 213-acre area formed by
the Riverway, Fenway, and Huntington Avenue, constitutes one of the
premier medical, research and academic communities in the world. In
1972, representatives from several institutions in the LMA, recognizing
their interdependence in this tightly confined district, formed the
Medical, Academic and Scientific Community Organization (MASCO) to
address issues of common concern. MASCO’s mission is to pursue shared
programs that promote a sense of community among its members and the
citizens who live and work in the LMA, and to lessen the burdens of
government with regard to planning, development, and enhancement of the
LMA.
That
mission is visionary and the task formidable. More than 37,000 people
work within the LMA, 15,000 students attend school there, and each year
more than one million patients visit the area’s hospitals for medical
care. This small area generates over $3.4 billion in annual revenues.
MASCO serves as the foundation for much of that success by facilitating
the flow of traffic, coordinating development plans, serving as a
liaison with the Greater Boston community and acting as a general
community planner for the LMA. A nationally recognized
mercury-in-wastewater reduction program and the innovative Colleges of
the Fenway consortium are also MASCO achievements.
MASCO
Services, Inc. (MSI), a taxable subsidiary of the tax-exempt parent
corporation, has achieved significant savings for MASCO members. Taking
advantage of local economies of scale MSI has delivered cost savings
through its negotiated agreements and direct services. A
state-of-the-art telecommunications system and high-speed data network,
developed prior to the rapid consolidations in the health care industry,
serves several of the medical facilities in the LMA.
A
day-care center affiliated with MASCO helps place LMA organizations
among the most family friendly in the city.
MASCO
PROGRAMS
Area Planning and Development
In many
ways, MASCO can be seen as a successful prototype of business
improvement districts that are now forming across the country. MASCO’s
Area Planning and Development department works cooperatively with member
institutions and state and city agencies to identify and implement
improvements in traffic, pedestrian, and bicycle access, shepherd
development projects through to completion, establish a framework for
long-range planning, formulate appropriate responses to legislative and
regulatory issues, enhance community relations, and create and maintain
open space.
MASCO’s
primary planning objectives are ensuring that the LMA operates
efficiently while remaining user-friendly and maintaining good relations
with the surrounding community. Recent accomplishments include:
·
Provided
landscape design and open space improvements at eight sites in the LMA;
·
Rehabilitated all custom designed bus shelters in the LMA;
·
Secured state funding for the Urban Ring Major Investment Study by MBTA
and now serve as advisor to the MBTA on that study;
·
Designed and implemented the LMA Banner program, to improve the gateway
image of the LMA along major avenues;
·
Worked with the City of Boston to replace sidewalks and handicapped
ramps; and
·
Removed parking meters and repainted lanes on Brookline Avenue to
improve traffic flow.
Parking
and Transportation
Parking and Transportation Services develops and implements parking and
transportation strategies to improve the accessibility of the LMA for
member institutions, their employees, students, patients, and visitors.
MASCO manages and operates seventeen parking facilities within and
outside the LMA, shuttle services to carry employees between off-site
parking lots, the Ruggles MBTA stop and the LMA, and additional shuttles
between the Harvard Medical School and Harvard University in Cambridge.
In total, MASCO manages more than 6,500 parking spaces.
CommuteWorks & Commute Fit
CommuteWorks is a highly successful and innovative initiative designed
to reduce the number of cars entering the LMA each day by promoting
alternative commuting methods. Since its inception ten years ago,
CommuteWorks has reduced by 11 percent the number of single-occupant
vehicles entering the LMA by implementing incentives for car-poolers and
discounts for the MBTA and the Commuter Rail.
Commute
Fit awards bicyclists, in-line skaters and walkers based on the distance
they commute. MASCO also operates a computerized ride matching program
which creates carpools and vanpools and brings together employees and
students who want to bike or walk together to the LMA.
Commute Fit awards bicyclists,
in-line skaters and walkers based on the distance they commute. MASCO also operates a
computerized ride matching program which creates carpools and vanpools and brings together
employees and students who want to bike or walk together to the LMA.
MWRA/MASCO
Hospital Mercury Work Group
In
cooperation with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, MASCO and
its member institutions created an award winning environmental program
to reduce the amount of mercury that enters the LMA’s wastewater system.
Colleges of the Fenway
A
consortium of six colleges, the Colleges of the Fenway was formed, with
funding from the colleges and MASCO to improve the quality of education,
enrich student experiences, and reduce costs. Consisting of Emmanuel
College, Massachusetts College of Art, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy
and Health Sciences, Simmons College, Wentworth Institute of Technology
and Wheelock College and staffed by MASCO, Colleges of the Fenway
undertakes collaborative projects while preserving each college’s
individual identity. Specific accomplishments include:
·
Negotiated
a joint student health insurance program saving the colleges $235,000·
Coordinated academic calendars to facilitate cross-registration of over
470 students
·
Joint
student activities and materials including: a Back to School Welcome
Week, joint intramurals, employment fair, and admissions/recruitment
brochure
·
Created a
shared senior Human Resources position for the colleges.
MASCO
Services Inc. (MSI)
The
telecommunications division of MASCO Services Inc. was formed in
November, 1976. MSI provides a full range of telecommunications
solutions including centralized attendant services, radio paging, data
networking, physicians’ message center, and network savings plans. MSI
manages a unique multi-institutional shared telecommunications system
which processes over 3.6 million calls annually. The center has
continually evolved to meet members’ changing needs and to utilize
emerging technology. Developing a forward thinking, proactive approach
to customer service and continually reassessing what makes clients happy
are the keys to MSI’s successful operation.
The
telecommunications operation is also the home of LMAnet, a
professionally managed metropolitan fiber-optic network linking Harvard
affiliated medical facilities in the Boston area. LMAnet is owned and
administered by MASCO Services, Inc. on behalf of its participating
members with the intent supporting the research, operational, and
educational activities of these Harvard-affiliated institutions.
Business Services
MASCO Services Inc., a subsidiary created in 1989, also offers a
portfolio of business services dedicated to providing cost savings and
greater levels of customer services through its negotiated agreements
and direct services. The group purchasing portfolio includes the
following programs and services: copy and print services, ground and
air courier, elevator maintenance services, and airline travel.
Longwood
Medical Area Child Care Center
The Child
Care Center was established by MASCO in 1982 to meet the need of member
institutions’ families and the LMA community. The nationally recognized
center provides day care for 95 children, ranging in age from 3 months
to 5 years.
Security
Coordination
MASCO provides support and technical assistance
to its member institutions regarding area-wide security concerns.
Through staffing of the LMA Committee on Security (LMACS) and liaison
work with members’ individual security departments, we strive to promote
the exchange of information and collaborative allocation of security
resources in ways that enhance safety throughout the LMA.
MASCO
Member Institutions
|
Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Center |
Brigham and Women’s
Hospital |
|
The
CBR Institute for Biomedical Research, Inc. |
Children’s Hospital
Boston |
|
Emmanuel College |
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute |
|
Joslin
Diabetes Center |
Harvard Medical School |
|
Judge
Baker Children’s Center |
Harvard School of Dental Medicine |
|
Massachusetts College of Art |
Harvard School of Public Health |
|
Massachusetts Mental
Health Center |
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences |
|
Wentworth Institute of Technology |
Temple
Israel |
|
The
Winsor School |
Wheelock College |
|
Simmons College |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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KEY MASCO
STAFF
Marilyn
Swartz-Lloyd, President and Chief Executive Officer
Holli Roth, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
David Eppstein, Vice President for Operations
RETURN TO MASCO OVERVIEW
|
