Community Outreach
Partnering for a Healthier Community
As an academic medical center, the Community Benefits program exemplifies the spirit of collaboration that is such a vital part of BIDMC's mission. As an important community resource, BIDMC supports numerous educational, outreach, community health improvement and health system strengthening initiatives within its Community Benefits Service Area (CBSA).
In this work, BIDMC collaborates with many of its local community-based organizations, public health departments, municipalities, and clinical and social service organizations to create a vision for both city-wide and neighborhood-based health improvement.
Our Health Center Partners
Since 1968, a cornerstone of BIDMC’s Community Benefits program is the strong relationships it has with many of the community health centers that operate in its CBSA. These health centers, part of the Community Care Alliance (CCA), are ideal Community Benefits partners because they are rooted in their communities and, as they are predominantly federally qualified health centers, are mandated to serve low-income, historically underserved populations.
Supporting Community Events
We work alongside our community partners to fulfill our responsibility to be both good neighbors and corporate citizens. We sponsor and table at community events, participate in local coalitions and partner with local community-based organizations.
We have many established relationships with various agencies and organizations throughout the Greater Boston area. Some examples of important work and partnerships we have cultivated locally include:
- American Heart Association’s Boston Heart Walk
- Bowdoin Street Health Center’s Holiday Gift Card Drive
- Fenway Health’s Strides for Action Walk and Run
- Louis D. Brown Peace Institute Mother's Day Walk for Peace
- The Dimock Center’s Road to Wellness 5K
Sharing Our Expertise
Recognizing the vital role education plays in helping people live longer, healthier lives, BIDMC staff share their expertise by participating in community education programs free of charge.
BIDMC clinical and research staff volunteer their time for many community-based speaking engagements seeking to educate the public about a range of health education topics such as breast cancer screening, men's health, nutrition, mental health and tips for healthy aging.
About Our Outreach Programs and Partnerships
The increasing use of mobile devices in health care offers novel opportunities to expand treatment options and reach underserved populations. Too often, however, the gap in digital literacy makes it difficult for low-income patients to navigate technology and benefit from it. New approaches are needed to make digital mental health accessible and equitable. Through community activation and training based on published protocols, our program empowers and teaches people in the community to use their mobile phones and computers as tools to advance their healthcare and thrive.
The program, Digital Opportunities for Outcomes in Recovery Services (DOORS), offers free services, including free device distribution, digital literacy training, digital skills office hours and community training. Of note, these services are available in both English and Spanish, with the expansion of Cape Verdean offerings in development.
The Wellness Center at Bowdoin Street Health Center (BSHC) contains a demonstration kitchen, a large exercise room for dance and physical activity classes, and a gym with work-out equipment. The Wellness Center offers Bowdoin/Geneva residents the opportunity to learn and practice healthy habits in their own neighborhood. The Healthy in the City program offered by BSHC is a team-based approach to weight management that actively involves a provider, nutritionist and case manager in ongoing care planning for each participant. The intervention includes referrals to physical activities, connection to nutrition resources, and referral to mental health counseling when appropriate.
To address food insecurity, BSHC partners with local organizations to increase access to healthy foods. Fair Foods is a community-based organization that works with other nonprofits, community groups and religious organizations to distribute fruits and vegetables to Boston-area residents. BSHC has partnered with the Boston Public Health Commission to distribute Farmers Market coupons that can be used at any City of Boston Farmers Market during summer and fall. Information about additional food-related resources such as food distribution sites and EBT and SNAP is also made available in multiple languages.
Through its Center for Violence Prevention and Recovery (CVPR), BIDMC leads the way in developing a continuum of education, outreach, and treatment interventions to respond to victims of interpersonal, sexual, community violence and homicide bereavement. It is also a leader in developing programming to address secondary traumatic stress among domestic violence and medical service providers. In response to sexual, domestic and/or interpersonal violence, CVPR provides individual and group support and counseling (inpatient and outpatient), trauma-informed policies and programs, and advocacy.
CVPR’s community violence initiatives include neighborhood-based support groups, individual counseling, outreach, training and advocacy. CVPR’s human trafficking intervention program will provide training to medical professionals and offer identification and acute intervention for patients entering the medical system.
Bowdoin Street Health Center (BSHC) is the lead agency for the Bowdoin Geneva Greater Four Corners Community Healing Response Network. As the lead healthcare agency, BSHC partners with Greater Four Corners Action Coalition (GFCAC) and provides outreach to individuals, families and neighborhoods impacted by community violence. The Community Healing Response Network functions as a hub team comprised of a licensed clinical social worker, a Family Partner/Community Health Worker, other staff members throughout the health center, and community organizers from GFCAC.
The Community Healing Response Network assesses trauma-related community needs to support and deliver prevention, response, and short- and long-term recovery services. These services are intended to support existing neighborhood strategies and all services are free and private to residents impacted by community violence.
BIDMC is actively engaged in creating a vibrant, sustainable community that fosters healthy lifestyles, enhances quality of life, and improves environmental conditions. BIDMC collaborates with grass-roots level partners and city and state government to address environmental determinants that impact health status. As part of BIDMC’s commitment to enhancing the physical environment, BIDMC maintains bus stops, Joslin Park and other green spaces near its campus.
BIDMC is committed to conserving natural resources, reducing its carbon footprint, fostering a culture of sustainability, enhancing health equity and advancing cost-saving opportunities.
