Across Mass General Brigham (MGB) and its surrounding towns and cities, countless unsung heroes are breaking down barriers to care and improving health outcomes for individuals and families in local communities. Working tirelessly — and often behind the scenes — their innovative approaches to improving community health embody the mission of both MGB and its Kraft Center for Community Health.
These efforts, and the people behind them, took center stage on Tuesday, August 5, at an event highlighting two new initiatives led by the Kraft Center: the Kraft Center Community Health Champions Award and the Community Health Corps. Each fueled by philanthropy, the initiatives recognize and support individuals and organizations, within MGB and beyond, that are making a lasting impact on the communities they serve.
Making a Difference in the Community
Bringing together nearly 120 leaders from MGB, local communities and the business, biotech and philanthropy worlds, the celebratory event honored the six inaugural recipients of the Kraft Center Community Health Champions Awards. Supported by M&T Bank, the awards were presented to four MGB employees and two local organizations for their extraordinary work in improving community health outcomes — either through social risk mitigation or in one of the Kraft Center’s priority areas: cancer; heart disease and diabetes; maternal health; and substance use disorder. The following organizations and individuals were recognized:
- Women Encouraging Empowerment Inc., which empowers immigrant and refugee women and their families to achieve economic independence and access opportunities through education, leadership development, community organizing and service delivery.
- Healthy Streets Outreach Program, which provides a wide variety of services, from overdose education and naloxone (an overdose reversal medication) distribution to syringe exchange and offering a safe space for people to rest, eat and hydrate.
- Claudine Bruff-Lopes, RN, BSN, MHA, a compassionate nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and dedicated healthcare advocate.
- Joyce P. Clark, a family partner at the Brigham with a strong history of civic engagement.
- Joshua Abrams, JD, associate general counsel at MGB who leads the Patient Care Team, and provides advice and counsel regarding legal issues that relate to clinical and community care.
- Chi-Fu Jeffrey Yang, MD, a thoracic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital who started the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative, a non-profit that has worked with communities across 50 states to highlight the importance of lung cancer screening.
And though their specific areas of focus differ, all six honorees share a singular goal — to ensure residents of the communities they serve have excellent access to the care and resources they need.
“At Mass General Brigham, our mission is clear — to deliver world-class clinical care, lead in research and education and crucially, advance community health,” Anne Klibanski, MD, president and chief executive officer of MGB, said at the breakfast. “These four pillars are deeply interconnected. When we invest in community health, we’re addressing root causes of illness and creating a future where everyone has an opportunity to lead a healthy life.”
Dr. Klibanski co-hosted the celebratory event with Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH, executive director of the Kraft Center and chief community health and health equity officer at MGB.
“The Kraft Center Community Health Champions Awards are a tribute to the profound and impactful work these six awardees are doing in our local communities,” says Dr. Taveras. “From legal guidance, to cancer awareness, to substance use treatment, the six awardees represent the many meaningful and purposeful ways we can contribute to a healthier community.”
The awards were made possible thanks to the generosity of M&T Bank. During the event, Cindy Langer, group manager for M&T’s Healthcare Banking Group in New England and Eastern New York State, spoke to the importance of supporting and elevating this work.
“At M&T Bank, we are proud to support this event and the Kraft Center in its mission to reduce healthcare disparities and expand access to high-quality, cost-effective care for all,” said Ms. Langer. “Like the Kraft Center, our goal is to build stronger and resilient communities, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”
A New Generation of Health Ambassadors
The event also marked the launch of the Community Health Corps, an initiative established with seed funding from the Biogen Foundation, the charitable arm of the Cambridge-based biotech company. The program will train and support individuals to become ambassadors of health improvement in their local communities, equipping them with the skills needed to prevent and manage chronic diseases that lead to premature mortality.
“The Community Health Corps is more than just a program,” said Christopher A. Viehbacher, president and chief executive officer of Biogen, to attendees. “It’s a promise to invest in individuals from Boston’s neighborhoods to help build a stronger and more representative healthcare workforce, and to equip people from our communities with the training, mentorship and real-world experiences they need to build meaningful, impactful careers in healthcare that can make a difference in the lives of their neighbors.
“Public health comes down to people helping people where they live,” he added.
An Innovator in Community Health
Both the Corps and the Community Health Champions Awards are emblematic of the mission upon which the Kraft Center was founded: to expand access to high-quality healthcare for medically disadvantaged patients, families and communities. Established in 2011 with a generous gift from visionary philanthropist Robert K. Kraft, and with continued support from the Kraft family, the Kraft Center is a leader in developing, implementing and disseminating innovative solutions to real-world community health problems.
“In the last 14 years, the Kraft Center has become a key driver of innovation at Mass General Brigham,” said Dr. Taveras. “Its mission to catalyze forward-thinking strategies to frontline community health problems, test and execute solutions locally and make them scalable to improve health outcomes for disadvantaged populations in Massachusetts — as well as nationally — continues to change the healthcare landscape.”
For more information on how you can support community health and the Kraft Center, contact us.
