Center for Community Health Improvement
MGH Community Health Impact Funds News
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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Just a few months ago, Massachusetts General Hospital broke ground on a new state-of-the-art facility--the Phillip and Susan Ragon Building--destined to shape the future of clinical care at MGH for the next century.
The Ragon Building will not only benefit our patients and our workforce, but the expenditure will result in another landmark event for our health care system and the communities we serve--a $62 million dollar investment in community health, the largest Determination of Need (DoN) program in Massachusetts history.
This funding, called the MGH Community Health Impact Funds, presents an extraordinary opportunity for us to work alongside our community partners with the goal of making lasting, sustainable improvement in the health and wellbeing of the communities we serve.
The MGH Community Health Impact Funds are part of Mass General Brigham's larger investment in community health. We are investing hundreds of millions of dollars, building new capabilities, and forging stronger relationships with community-based organizations in neighborhoods with some of the highest rates of cardiometabolic disease, cancer mortality, and substance use disorders in Massachusetts. Learn more about Mass General Brigham's commitment to community health here.
Our Community Advisory Board (CAB), guided by our community-driven Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) and other important data for the City of Boston and the North Suffolk region, has already determined the priorities and strategies for this funding (see below). An Allocation Committee will be convened sometime this summer, and decisions around distribution of the funds will be made starting in the fall.
As we embark on this journey, we are dedicated to an equitable, widespread, and transparent process, providing you with information on important dates and timelines, funding criteria, and how to apply for funds once they become available. Please see our newly designed website for the latest information, frequent updates, and stories of impact in Suffolk County and beyond.
It is a historic time for our health system and the communities we serve. We look forward to the journey ahead and are excited to have you join us!
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Elsie Taveras, MD, MPH
Chief Community Health & Health Equity Officer
Mass General Brigham
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Partnering with the City of Boston to Address Homelessness |
Photo courtesy of City of Boston Mayor's Office.
We are pleased to announce that the first distribution from the MGH Community Health Impact Funds has been made. With $600,000 pledged from these funds, along with support from other health care organizations in the city, Boston has been awarded a $16.5 million HUD grant to address homelessness.
Housing has long been a significant priority identified by our Community Health Needs Assessments. The resources secured by the grant will help to build upon Boston's housing-based approach to the intersecting health concerns of unsheltered homelessness, substance use disorder, and mental health concentrated in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard.
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Meet the Community Advisory Board (CAB) |
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The Department of Public Health (DPH) requires that a Community Advisory Board (CAB) be created to select priorities and strategies for DoN programs, such as the one governing the MGH Community Health Impact Funds. We have brought together a diverse group of 20 trusted community leaders representing cross sections of the Boston and North Suffolk communities to serve on this important governing body.
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Selected Priorities, Focus Areas & Strategies |
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Throughout the spring and fall of 2022, the CAB reviewed MGH community engagement and Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) data, met with experts in the field, and selected the above priorities for the MGH Community Health Impact Funds. In April of this year, specific strategies to address these urgent community health needs were chosen. Learn more.
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Past Awards - Stories of Impact |
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Massachusetts General Hospital and Mass General Brigham have a longstanding commitment to our communities. In 2019, through a previous Determination of Need (DoN) process, MGH distributed $3.4 million to several community-based organizations to address housing, behavioral health, and workforce development. Learn more about how these funds were used to launch innovative programs, prevent housing displacement, and help to build individual and community wealth.
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Providing a "Front Porch" to connect residents to services.
Darleny Mejia and Ketura Cordon of Children's Services of Roxbury are helping parents experiencing homelessness by providing behavioral health and parenting supports while addressing language and other barriers to obtaining permanent housing.
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Preventing housing displacement and strengthening community roots.
Nikia Londy and Baron Langston were able to purchase the historic building in Hyde Park that has long housed their salon business by accessing funds made possible through a partnership between MGH and LISC. Purchasing the property also prevented the displacement of four other Black-owned businesses and three residential households in the building, many of whom had been there for 30 years.
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MGH Center for Community Health Improvement
101 Merrimac Street, Boston, MA 02114
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