Chair File: Hospitals Forge Strong Community Partnerships to Advance Health
The connection between a hospital and its community is special. Hospitals are woven into the fabric of their communities, and working together, hospitals and communities can enhance the environment where people live, work and play.
At the AHA Leadership Summit in July, we recognized three hospitals as recipients of the Foster G. McGaw Prize. The 2024 winner of the Foster G. McGaw Prize is Boston Medical Center. Finalists are Englewood (N.J.) Health and New York-Presbyterian. These organizations have forged strong partnerships in their communities to improve the health and well-being of patients and community members.
Boston Medical Center launched its Health Equity Accelerator in 2021, bringing together research, clinical care and community engagement to address health disparities in maternal and child health, infectious disease, behavioral health, chronic conditions, and oncology and end-stage renal disease. As part of an initiative focused on reducing severe pregnancy complications for Black female patients, a multidisciplinary team zeroed in on preeclampsia. BMC expanded its doula program, developed educational videos for patients about preeclampsia and expanded use of a remote 24-hour hypertension monitoring program. As a result, readmission rates for pregnant women with hypertension decreased. BMC also funds and invests in many programs designed to improve community health, advance economic mobility and promote workforce development.
Englewood Health was recognized for its efforts to increase access to behavioral health services, address food insecurity and customize care to specific patient populations. Its community health needs assessment revealed a critical need to address behavioral health disorders. Two years ago, the health system opened a comprehensive, integrated outpatient behavioral care center. Psychotherapists are co-located in the health system’s primary care practices, and health education and services also are offered through partnerships with community organizations. Englewood Health leads several initiatives to increase health care access and deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate care. For example, the health system opened a Center for Korean Health and Wellness, as its population of Korean patients is steadily growing.
New York-Presbyterian partners with more than 70 community-based organizations and 30 schools to make a difference in the lives of patients and community members. The health system’s Division of Community and Population Health coordinates 25 programs that focus on maternal and child health, youth development, chronic disease prevention and more. For example, more than 150 community health workers and patient navigators support patients in managing their health conditions. New York-Presbyterian trains the CHWs, but they are employed by community-based organizations and are embedded in local neighborhoods. A key to success of the health system’s community programs is involving community partners from the start, ensuring their perspective and experience are embedded in program design.
Learn more about the outstanding work of these health care organizations by visiting AHA.org. And thank you to the Baxter International Foundation for its generous support of the Foster G. McGaw Prize.