Community Health Impact Funds News

October 2023

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are excited to bring you the latest developments regarding Community Health Impact Funds from across the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.

As we continue our transformation to becoming one integrated health system with patients and communities at the center, look for community health communications to better reflect our more inclusive, systemwide approach.

Below are some important highlights from Massachusetts General Hospital's historic $62 million community investment since our June newsletter. We are also happy to share news and updates on Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital's $4.9 million community investment and Salem Hospital’s recent investment of Community Health Impact Funds to support food and nutrition security.

This month, both MGH and BWH Faulkner will be announcing specific funding opportunities--and how to apply--for the housing and mental health priority areas. So, stay tuned for important details coming later in October!

Elsie Taveras, MD, MPH

Chief Community Health & Health Equity Officer

Mass General Brigham

Massachusetts General Hospital

Priorities, Strategies and Proposed Timeline

The Community Advisory Board (CAB) has determined the funding priorities and amount of money allocated for each priority (see the pie chart below). For a more detailed description of the strategies chosen to address these priorities, click here.

The CAB has also recommended a timeline for distribution of the funds over the next eight years. This initial timeline is subject to change based on capacity restraints, community opportunities/changes, and allocation committee decisions.

Next Steps - Allocation Committees

We are now in the process of convening four separate allocation committees — one for each priority — to ensure a widespread competitive process for the distribution of funds.

The HOUSING allocation committee, comprised of 12 seasoned experts spanning nearly every facet of the housing industry, recently held its inaugural meeting. Membership is now closed. Stay tuned for more information in the upcoming months outlining how and when to apply for the funds earmarked for housing.

The ECONOMIC MOBILITY AND FINANCIAL STABILITY and the MENTAL/BEHAVIORAL HEALTH allocation committees will meet sometime this winter into the spring of 2024.

The FOOD AND NUTRITION allocation committee is slated to begin in the summer of 2024.

Members of the allocation committees are selected with these criteria in mind. If you are interested in joining one of the committees focused on economic mobility, mental health, or food and nutrition, please reach out to Sylvia Chiang.

Spanish Translation Available

Visit the MGH Community Health Impact Funds website for more details and the latest information on this historic funding. Please note that the website is also available in Spanish.

Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital

Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital has begun construction on a campus expansion project, which includes a five-story inpatient addition with 78 new inpatient beds, as well as clinical support and ambulatory space.

The project will fund $4.9M for community health in support of Mass General Brigham’s efforts to improve the health of the communities served by BWH Faulkner.

BWH Faulkner's Community Advisory Board (CAB) prioritized MENTAL/BEHAVIORAL HEALTH and outlined the following strategies:

Increase the pool of community health workers and recovery coaches with specialized mental health/substance use training who represent low-income, immigrant, LGBTQ, seniors, and/or communities of color.

Access to community behavioral health services in the community through partnerships with community-based organizations.

Explore funding to place behavioral health specialists in every Boston Housing Authority and Boston Public School site.

The BWH Faulkner allocation committee has already convened - details on the availability of funds coming soon.

Learn more

Salem Hospital

Photo courtesy of Kim Indresano Photography

Salem Hospital recently invested $92K in Community Health Impact Funds to support food and nutrition programming focused on providing culturally appropriate food to the hundreds of newly arrived migrants on the North Shore. Salem Hospital's allocation committee directed the distribution of funds to local food pantries, nutrition support, local farm production, and culturally aligned food purchases.

A Primer on Community Health Impact Funds

Understanding the regulatory process, the acronyms, how and when and who should apply can be overwhelming! Leslie Aldrich, MPH, recently named executive director for Community Health at Mass General Brigham, and Richard Harris, MS, Community Advisory Board (CAB) member, and Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Northeastern University, tackle these questions and more in this pre-recorded half hour webinar.

While the discussion is specific to MGH, this is a great place to start for anyone who'd like to learn more about the Determination of Need (DoN) process and how community funds are allocated. Richard guides the viewer through the role of the CAB and how communities are involved in the decision-making process. Leslie provides background on the regulatory environment and outlines the hospital's role in facilitating investments. A lively and informative Q&A session follows.

View the Webinar

Stories of Impact

Community Health Impact Funds are making a real difference in the health and wellbeing of the communities we serve through the critical work of our community partners.

To bring in the youth voice, a Youth Community Advisory Board (Y-CAB) was convened, and this summer $100,000 was distributed to two local non-profits.

In 2019, through a previous Determination of Need (DoN ) process, Massachusetts General Hospital 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, help to build individual and community wealth, and address disparities in access to mental health services.

Y-CAB awards $100,000 to local non-profits

La Colaborativa of Chelsea and Youth Guidance Boston’s BAM (Becoming a Man) and WOW (Working on Womanhood) each received $50,000 to advance their work in the youth-selected health priorities of economic mobility for youth and addressing community violence.

The Community Impact Funding was awarded by MGH's Youth Community Advisory Board (Y-CAB). The Y-CAB, comprised of seven 9th to 12th grade high school students from the greater Boston area, represents passionate voices for health equity and future leadership. The young people engaged in a rigorous 12-week curriculum to advise on health issues with the greatest impact in their communities and were given full autonomy to deliberate and ultimately decide on the funding priorities.

Read the full press release.

Supporting immigrant-owned co-op businesses.

The Boston Immigrant Cooperative Alliance (BICA)--made up of English for New Bostonians, the Center for Cooperative Development and Solidarity (CCDS), the East Boston Harborside, and the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Advancement--was established in 2019 with funding from MGH. With its mission of working with immigrants to launch local businesses, BICA helped four friends from Medellin, Colombia, carry out their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs by bringing healthy, authentic Latin cuisine to the Boston community.

Bridging the behavioral health access gap in communities of color.

Community health workers (CHWs) can play a key role in helping patients--many facing structural barriers to accessing care--connect to critical mental health services. CHWs are in a unique position to help these patients because of their shared language, culture, and life experience.

With support from the Mass General Community Health Impact Funds, ABCD Boston was able to launch a free training program for a diverse group of 140 CHWs and their supervisors to effectively advocate for patients around their behavioral health needs.

Stay connected!

We want to hear from you! Send your questions, comments, and feedback to wtobin1@mgh.harvard.edu.

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Massachusetts General Hospital

﻿Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital

﻿Salem Hospital

Bridging the behavioral health access gap in communities of color.

Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital

Salem Hospital