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Governor Baker Appoints Dr. Matilde Castiel to Health Policy Commission Board  

BOSTONGovernor Charlie Baker today announced the appointment of Dr. Matilde “Mattie” Castiel to the Health Policy Commission (HPC) Board. Dr. Castiel brings more than three decades of experience in medicine and community health to the Board that oversees the HPC, an independent state agency that monitors health care spending growth and provides data driven policy recommendations regarding health care delivery and payment system reform.

A long-time physician at the UMass Memorial Medical Center, Dr. Castiel currently serves as the Commissioner of Health and Human Services for the City of Worcester and is a Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. She will fill the board seat designated for a primary care physician, previously held by Dr. John Christian Kryder.

“Dr. Castiel has a wide range of health care experience across clinical, local government and academic settings and will be a valuable addition to the Health Policy Commission Board,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “I look forward to her contributions to the important work of the HPC moving forward.”

“I am truly honored to be appointed to the Health Policy Commission and looking forward to working on policies that will continue to improve the lives of everyone in Massachusetts,” said Dr. Castiel.

The HPC’s goal is better health and better care – at a lower cost – for all residents across the Commonwealth. The 11-member Board of Commissioners works closely with HPC staff to monitor and improve the performance of the health care system.

For more information about the HPC, click here.

About Dr. Matilde Castiel

Matilde “Mattie” Castiel, M.D., has always held a professional and personal mission to work with the underserved. She was born in Camaguey, Cuba and immigrated to the U.S. in 1962 as part of Operation Peter Pan. Raised and educated in California, she completed her medical training at the University of California-San Francisco after earning a B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from California State University-Northridge.

Dr. Castiel moved to Massachusetts to complete her residency at UMass Memorial and has practiced Internal Medicine in the Worcester community for over 30 years. She has worked at UMass Memorial Medical Center and Family Health Center of Worcester, and also as an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Family Medicine and Psychiatry at UMass Medical School.

In 2009, Dr. Castiel founded the Latin American Health Alliance (LAHA), a nonprofit organization in Worcester dedicated to combating homelessness and drug addiction and continues to serve as its Medical Director. LAHA’s programs consist of the Hector Reyes House, a substance use treatment facility for Latino males and two transitional houses, including one named after her. In 2015, LAHA opened Café Reyes on Shrewsbury Street, an innovative jobs training program for the residents at Hector Reyes House and its transitional houses.

Dr. Castiel has served on the boards of several Worcester nonprofits, including The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, Centro Las Americas, Abby’s House, Greater Worcester Community Foundation, Quinsigamond Community College, United Way, and the Boys and Girls Club.

In September of 2015, Dr. Castiel was appointed as the City of Worcester’s Commissioner for Health and Human Services, where she oversees the divisions of Public Health, Youth Services, Human Rights and Accessibility, Veterans Affairs, and Elder Affairs, and Homelessness, along with advancing important new initiatives that fall under the scope of youth violence, mental health, and the current opioid crisis.

Recent awards include: the UMass Medical School Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Service, 2019, The Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Award 2019, LIFT Community Hero Award 2019 and 2019 Family Health Center Healthy Communities Award. 

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