Boston Children’s Hospital Announces $11 Million in Community Health Initiative Awards

The first set of Community Health Initiative (CHI) awards from Boston Children’s Hospital were announced on August 28th under the Determination of Need Program. Determination of Need (DON) is the state’s mandatory public regulatory program and approval process that healthcare facilities must abide by for the approval of major capital projects. The $11 million in grants represent the first portion of more than $53 million that Children’s is required to spend on community initiatives as a condition of approval for over $1 billion expansion and renovation project underway at the hospital’s Longwood Medical Area campus.

The CHI guidelines of the DON provide a mechanism for applicants and their local partners to make community health investments through a social determinant of health and health equity framework. These DON guidelines were recently revised by the Department of Public Health, who oversee the DON process. Click here for more information.

The first set of awards of $11 million over the next three years are granted to initiatives that address the following three categories with a focus on addressing the determinants of health:

• Family Housing Stability and Economic Opportunity
• Community Physical Activity, Recreation, and Food
• Zero to 5 Child Health and Development

Click here to see the list of awards. These include funding for effective programs like Tenancy Preservation Upstream pilot from MassHousing, program to close the racial homeownership gap from Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA), MA Food Trust Program of Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) and the Family Childcare Program of Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC). Additional proposals will be accepted later this year. The programs are geared toward children and families across Boston, regardless of whether they are patients of Children’s Hospital.

The new investment comes amid a growing understanding and focus on multi-sector issues like housing, food, education, and other factors that collectively have a significant impact on health and healthcare costs. Other hospitals in Boston and around the country have been investing more in community programs too. Boston Medical Center is spending $6.5 million on housing initiatives. Click here for more information.