BIDMC Celebrates Impact of Community-Based Health Initiative

Sarah Finlaw sarah.finlaw@bilh.org

JUNE 28, 2023

New Round of Grants Announced as Part of $18.4 Million Commitment To Promote Health Equity in the Community

BOSTON – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) recently celebrated the work of organizations with which it partners and supports through its Community Benefits program, Community Care Alliance (CCA) health center network and its Community-based Health Initiative. Over 200 people attended a June 15th community event at the new Klarman Building, including Board members, grantees, staff from CCA health centers, BIDMC staff and clinicians, and members of the community.

BIDMC’s relationship with community health centers dates back to 1968, when Beth Israel Hospital began collaborating with the Dimock Center on maternal and child health initiatives. For more than fifty years, BIDMC has continued to partner with and support community health centers to ensure access to care for diverse patient populations, including the vulnerable and historically underserved. Since January 2021, BIDMC has provided over $11 million in funding to organizations that address housing affordability, jobs and financial security, behavioral health, and healthy neighborhood place-based investments. This funding is part of a total commitment of $18.4 million BIDMC is making to promote health equity in the surrounding communities. BIDMC also announced the availability of the remaining $7.25 million in grant funding, which will be awarded by the end of the year to address social determinants of health.

“BIDMC has a long history of giving back, including by collaborating with community-led organizations to promote health equity.” said Pete Healy, President of BIDMC. “We are seeing the impact of our Community-based Health Initiative grantees’ work every day to address the root causes of health inequities in our community."

Grant funding has been provided to organizations that serve the Boston neighborhoods of Allston/Brighton, Bowdoin/Geneva, Chinatown, Fenway/Kenmore, Mission Hill, and Roxbury, and the City of Chelsea. To date, BIDMC’s investments include:

  • $4 million in housing affordability
  • $2.5 million in jobs and financial security
  • $2 million in behavioral health
  • $3 million for community-driven and led Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative grants

BIDMC has seen significant impacts of this funding to date, including:

  • 18 neighborhood youth are no longer homeless
  • Over 60 youth have gained employment or increased their incomes
  • 5 families are now homeowners
  • Over 50 people have been trained and started new careers in food services
  • 27 households avoided an eviction or foreclosure

“It is with pride that I can say that BIDMC truly has a history of improving care for the community,” said Tom DeSimone, Chair, BIDMC Board of Trustees. “These partnerships reflect our commitment to the pursuit of health equity for all whom we serve.”

"We understand that the physical, social, and economic well-being of our communities is interconnected," said Nancy Kasen, Vice President, Community Benefits and Community Relations, Beth Israel Lahey Health. "We look forward to awarding additional funds later this year to continue our efforts on housing affordability, jobs and financial security, as well as mental health and substance use treatment and prevention to create thriving communities. "

Community-based Health Initiative programs receiving funds to date include:

Housing Affordability
Jobs & Financial Security
Behavioral Health
Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative
  • Healthy Bowdoin Geneva
  • We’re Here for You: Fenway/Kenmore
  • Chelsea Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative
  • Chinatown HOPE
  • Allston Brighton Health Collaborative
  • Mission Hill Healthy Neighborhood Collaborative
  • Roxbury United for Housing & Health

About Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a leading academic medical center, where extraordinary care is supported by high-quality education and research. BIDMC is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and consistently ranks as a national leader among independent hospitals in National Institutes of Health funding. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,700 physicians and 39,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through groundbreaking research and education.