How We Drive Community Impact

Improving community health equity takes more than short term programs. UMass Memorial Health uses coordinated strategies across the system to support lasting change.

Through the Community Health Equity Team (CHET) and the Food Equity and Sustainable Transformation (FEAST) initiative, we bring together clinical care, operations, funding, purchasing and advocacy. This approach helps us work toward shared community goals.

UMass Memorial Health uses several levers to support this work. These include infrastructure development, social and clinical care integration, policy and advocacy and funding and investing. Together, they help address root causes, close gaps and support long-term progress.

Why Coordination Matters

Community health challenges are connected. Lasting change happens when patient care, investments, and community partnerships are aligned.

CHET helps coordinate efforts across the health system, so progress in one area supports progress in others. This approach helps meet current needs while building a sustainable foundation.

Connecting Health Care and Community Resources

UMass Memorial Health clinical care teams often identify food insecurity and other social needs during patient visits. Good place to talk about OCI efforts to gather additional information. CHET helps connect this information to community-based organizations and supports.

These connections strengthen referrals, improve follow-up and help shape programs based on lived community experience.

Aligning Funding and Investment

Community Benefits funding and Anchor Mission investments support priorities identified by community partners, including investments that strengthen food systems and support community-based organizations.

Aligning funding with shared goals helps ensure resources support lasting community health.

Using Purchasing to Support Communities

Through Anchor Mission strategies, UMass Memorial Health uses its purchasing power to support local and disadvantaged businesses.

Local purchasing helps build community wealth, strengthen the regional economy and support conditions that influence health and equity.

Learning and Accountability

Shared systems and data help track progress and identify areas to improve. CHET supports common measures and shared learning across UMass Memorial Health teams and explores ways to integrate those with community partners.

This focus on learning and infrastructure helps the health system adapt and scale effective approaches. It also supports shared learning with partners and accountability to community priorities.

Policy and Advocacy

Community health equity is shaped by policies outside of health care settings. UMass Memorial Health takes part in local, regional and statewide conversations that affect food access and other social drivers of health.

Advocacy and partnership help extend impact beyond individual programs and support broader, system-level change.

Together, these strategies support meaningful progress toward community health equity.