Brigham and Women’s Hospital has a long-standing commitment to improving the health of our Boston residents. Focusing on neighborhoods with disproportionately poor health and a need for better health care and social services, our Center for Community Health and Health Equity (CCHHE) and its health center partners provide a broad array of community service and community health programs, which are designed to have a measurable, positive effect on the health status of underserved populations.
We have a long list of successful health initiatives developed by BWH for the Boston community. Here are just a few examples:
- Open Doors to Health Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative – partnership between Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center, and Brookside Health Center to increase colorectal cancer screening rates for underserved populations
- The Birth Equity Initiative – a comprehensive and collaborative effort to eliminate disparities in infant mortality and poor birth outcomes through clinical and community-based approaches
- Centering Pregnancy – a group-based model of prenatal care designed to enable women to develop strong social support networks through the integration of health assessment, education and support
- Connecting Hope, Assistance and Treatment (CHAT) Program – helps women with breast cancer – who have insufficient income or insurance coverage – pay for necessary services related to their breast cancer diagnosis
- Passageway – providing services to patients and employees who have experienced abuse from an intimate partner
- Pathways to health and science careers for young people through:
- Student Success Jobs Program (SSJP) – a year-round intensive internship/mentorship program for 50 Boston public high school students to engage them in the medical, health and science professions
- BWH’s summer youth programs - including Summer Science Academy for rising 9th graders and Project TEACH (Teen Education About Careers in Health) for rising 10th graders
- Community-engaged research - CCHHE works with community partners to conduct health research. We are currently working with the Boston Public Health Commission and the REACH Coalition to understand perceptions of communication around Human Papilloma Virus as a risk for cervical cancer among women of African descent.