Massachusetts General Hospital’s longtime ethos that “when in distress, every man becomes our neighbor” is at the core of our commitment to expand, integrate and improve the delivery of care in our surrounding communities, particularly those whose populations have traditionally gone underserved.
As an organization focused on promoting population health, Mass General’s construction of the new building on Cambridge Street comes with an obligation to file a Determination of Need (DoN) application with the Department of Public Health. As part of that process, the hospital will allocate five percent of expenses to community health efforts, which means that funding of more than $62M — the largest DoN in the history of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts — will be made available by MGH Community Health Impact Funds to help improve the health of local communities.
Priorities and Focus Areas for the MGH Community Health Impact Funds:
- Economic/Financial Stability and Mobility
Focus Area: Educational attainment and creating career pathways - Housing
Focus Area: Affordable housing, housing stability and home ownership - Mental/Behavioral Health
Focus Area: Access to treatment and innovative approaches to prevention and care delivery - Food/Nutrition Security
Focus Area: Nutrition and access to affordable healthy foods
Examples of Past Funding at Work
- In Chelsea, Mass General partnered with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to fund a project by The Neighborhood Developers (TND) preserving 27-units of affordable housing for seniors and individuals with disabilities with two local businesses and a policing substation on the ground floor. And, in addition to the renovations, the project has facilitated activities such as cooking and wellness classes, social groups and activities to help senior residents stay engaged in their community.
- In 2019, Mass General funded Children’s Services of Roxbury’s Front Porch Program, an initiative to recruit, train and coach a team of multilingual, multicultural community health workers with specialized skills to address mental health and complex trauma for parents of color who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of becoming homeless.
For more information on how to support community health efforts at Mass General, please contact us.
