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Supporting Health and Well-Being in Our Communities
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) is committed to improving the health and well-being of the communities we serve. Through our Community Benefits programs, we partner with community organizations, public health leaders, and residents to address health disparities, promote equity, and support access to high-quality, culturally responsive care.
Our Community Benefits work reflects BIDMC’s mission to serve patients compassionately and effectively, and to help create healthier communities now and in the future.
Our Community Benefits Guiding Principles
BIDMC's Community Benefits efforts are guided by the following principles, which shape how we collaborate, invest resources, and measure impact across our programs and partnerships:
- Accountability: Hold each other to efficient, effective and accurate processes to achieve our system, department and communities' collective goals.
- Community Engagement: Collaborate meaningfully, intentionally and respectfully with our community partners, and support processes initiated, driven and led by the community, especially with populations experiencing the greatest inequities.
- Equity: Apply an equity lens to achieve fair and just treatment so that all communities and people can achieve their full health and overall potential.
- Impact: Employ evidence-based and evidence-informed strategies that align with system and community priorities to drive measurable change in health outcomes.
How BIDMC Fulfills Its Community Benefits Mission
Service to the community is a core part of BIDMC's mission. The medical center has a longstanding commitment to caring for underserved populations and addressing disparities in access to care. To do this effectively, BIDMC actively listens to and learns from the communities it serves.
BIDMC’s Community Benefits mission is fulfilled by:
- Involving BIDMC staff, leadership, and community partners in the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) process and the development, implementation, and oversight of the hospital’s three-year Implementation Strategy.
- Engaging residents throughout BIDMC’s Community Benefits Service Area (CBSA), with particular attention to diverse voices and perspectives that are often underrepresented in planning and program design.
- Assessing unmet community needs through the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative, including social, economic, and systemic factors that influence health outcomes.
- Implementing community health programs and services that address social determinants of health, barriers to care, and health inequities.
- Promoting health equity by ensuring that all patients are welcomed, respected, and have access to culturally responsive care.
- Facilitating collaboration and partnership across sectors — public health agencies, healthcare providers, social service organizations, academic institutions, and community-based organizations — to support effective policies, programs, and services.
BIDMC’s Community Benefits work, including the Community Health Needs Assessment process, is guided by the Community Benefits Advisory Committee (CBAC).
Attorney General Community Benefits Reports
To learn more about how BIDMC supports community health initiatives, review our annual Community Benefits Reports submitted to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office.
BILH Community Connections Newsletter
To learn more about how we're helping your community, please sign up to receive the quarterly Community Connections newsletter for any BILH hospital(s) of your choice.
