Springfield Courthouse Community:
In our continuing effort to assure the health and well-being of our workforce and as an agreed condition of the settlement of litigation involving the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse in Springfield, the Trial Court retained EFI Global-Managed Care Advisors, an internationally recognized expert in conducting occupational health assessments, to conduct an assessment of reported illnesses and health conditions of any interested Trial Court employee (past or present) in relation to reported environmental conditions in the courthouse.
EFI received 200 surveys (out of 729 eligible participants) in response to its first solicitation, which terminated on April 14, 2023. Shortly thereafter, the Trial Court learned that some employees or family members of former employees had intended to participate in the survey but did not do so in a timely way. Consequently, we expanded our contract with EFI to conduct a second survey, which resulted in an additional 26 responses.
Recently, EFI forwarded two reports to the Trial Court. The first, dated June 1, 2023 (not forwarded until November 3), consisted of an analysis and evaluation of the 200 surveys (four of which included medical records) received in response to the first solicitation; the second, dated November 15, 2023, consisted of an analysis and evaluation of the 26 surveys received in response to the second solicitation.
Linked on this page you will find the two EFI reports, which are being publicly released today. The Trial Court will also post them on mass.gov and on Courtyard. As with an evaluation conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), no scientific correlation between reported health conditions and environmental conditions in the Ireland Courthouse has been identified. Nonetheless, the Trial Court will continue to monitor and address conditions within the courthouse to ensure the health and well-being of employees and the public at large.
We thank you for your ongoing interest and support.
Jeffrey A. Locke
Chief Justice of the Trial Court
Thomas G. Ambrosino
Court Administrator
| Date published: | November 28, 2023 |
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