Middlesex County, Massachusetts is the twenty-third most populous county in the United States and the most populous county in New England. As of the 2009 estimated U.S. Census report, the population of Middlesex County was 1,424,836. The county seats were Cambridge and Lowell prior to their abolishment. Middlesex County boasts 847 square miles, of which 24 square miles are water.
On July 11, 1997, the Massachusetts State Legislature abolished Middlesex County as a governmental entity due to insolvency. The county boundaries continue to describe a state district for court jurisdictions and for other administrative purposes, such as geographic and electoral boundaries. The Sheriff’s Department was transferred, for administrative purposes only, to the state Department of Public Safety. The Sheriff’s department, in addition to running the Middlesex Jail in Cambridge, also runs the Middlesex House of Correction in Billerica, MA. Registers of Deeds and probate, sheriffs, and district attorneys, even where county government has been abolished, are still elected in county political districts. All county maintenance and security employees were absorbed into the corresponding staffs at the appropriate state agencies. The two Registry of Deeds offices were moved to the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s Office.
Middlesex County considers health care an industry staple and an important source of employment and economic stability. Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) is one of the academic teaching hospitals of Harvard Medical School. They provide community hospital-based residency training programs in internal medicine and psychiatry. CHA includes three main hospital campuses, a network of primary care and specialty practices, the Cambridge Public Health Department, and the Network Health plan. The three CHA hospital campuses are Cambridge Hospital, Somerville Hospital, and Whidden Memorial Hospital in Everett. Each hospital has a 24-hour emergency department and a wide variety of medical services.
As in surrounding counties, and surrounding roadways like the techno loop of Route 128, Middlesex County business shows a mix of medical, chemical, electronic, instrumentation, and biotechnology. Companies include Genzyme Corp., whose clinical research program is focused on rare inherited disorders, kidney disease, orthopedics, cancer, transplant, and immune disease. Genzyme also conducts research in cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and other areas of medical need. Textron Systems is a second well-known Middlesex resident corporation that provides real time services, software, and hardware products to the U.S. Department of Defense such as safety devices, strategic weapons, software guidance systems, vehicle delivery systems for hi-tech weaponry, and more.
There is always danger of industrial accidents in an area like Middlesex, whose manufacturing sector and research and development companies have constant dealings with raw material and chemical products in their operations. Workers’ compensation cases proliferate even though they are expected to occur in more blue-collar circumstances. Middlesex County is served by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. Should an on-site industrial accident occur, the Department of Industrial Accidents is responsible for overseeing the workers’ compensation system in Massachusetts. They provide services to injured workers, employers in Massachusetts, insurers, and attorneys.
