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About CHA

Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) is a vibrant, innovative health system dedicated to providing equity and excellence for everyone, every time. With over 140,000 patients in Boston’s metro-north region, CHA is proud to offer the care people need most in their lives.

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Key services include primary care, behavioral health, emergency care, surgery and specialty care, hospital care, maternity and state-of-the-art testing services. These are offered at convenient neighborhood locations. CHA patients also have seamless access to advanced care for rare or complex conditions at its clinical partners - Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Mass. General Hospital for Children.

CHA's work extends far beyond patient care. It has a robust Department of Community Health Improvement and operates the nationally accredited Cambridge Public Health Department. It collaborates closely with local governments and non-profits to improve health and reduce barriers to care. As a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine, CHA trains the health care providers of tomorrow.

Health Equity Strategic Plan

CHA has a longstanding commitment to vulnerable and diverse patients and is proud to serve all those in need. We aim to provide excellent healthcare to every one and to work to eliminate barriers to care.

Learn more about our Health Equity Strategic Plan:

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  • Our History

    CHA formed in 1996 when two Massachusetts hospitals - Cambridge Hospital and Somerville Hospital - joined together to better meet the needs of patients and fulfill a shared community health mission. In 2001, CHA acquired the former Whidden Memorial Hospital (now CHA Everett Hospital) and associated services in Malden and Revere. This expanded CHA's service area and gave it the ability to help even more individuals and families in need.

  • Our Purpose
    We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to be healthy.

    Our providers and staff provide outstanding health care to our communities and are committed to improving access to care, while pursuing health equity and social justice. 

    We support policies that protect and improve the health of all, with a special focus on underserved people in our communities and across our nation. This is core to our mission. 

    We're finding new ways to bring care to the people.
    • Maintaining access to care during COVID-19, with telehealth visits, COVID testing in the community, and a community management model to provide expert care while keeping people out of the hospital. 
    • Expanding Primary Care teams. Today, every CHA primary care patient has a multi-functional team to help them manage their health. Teams are led by primary care doctors and include nurses, behavioral health clinicians, pharmacists and other providers. Twelve CHA care centers are Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Homes (NCQA) and have received PRIME Certification from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission.
    • Improving access to behavioral health services. CHA is placing increasing emphasis on whole person health, including bringing behavioral health services to people in more accessible ways: 
      • Every CHA Care Center has integrated behavioral health clinicians on its care teams and provides suboxone treatment. This lets us meet behavioral health and addiction needs in a safe, familiar location. It also reduces potential stigma of associated with behavioral health. 
      • CHA has a Health Integration Program (Mental Health Home) for patients with intensive or chronic mental illness. This service is a home base for patients, meeting their outpatient behavioral health needs while providing primary care.
      • CHA is helping address the opioid crisis by placing Recovery Coaches in its Emergency Departments. This engages people at the initial point of contact to help them access recovery services.
    • Supporting patients who need it most. CHA is committed to helping patients with multiple health conditions who need more support. This may include regular phone calls and help navigating the health system. CHA is also identifying social determinants of health, and connecting patients to resources that can improve their health and their lives.
    • Building a Population Health infrastructure to adapt to new health care financial models that use global payments.
    We're Advocating for Better Health

    Dr. Pieter Cohen: Fighting for stronger regulation of dietary supplements in the U.S.

    Dr. Ana Progovac: Nationally-funded work to improve the health of transgendered and non-binary people.

    Dr. Adam Gaffney: Advocating for single payer healthcare as President of Physicians for a National Health Program.

    Our Center for Equity (CHEEA): Helping health care providers be more effective advocates for change in health care.

  • Awards and Recognition

    System-Wide Awards

    > CHA Named One of the Best Employers in Massachusetts by Forbes (2024)

    > CHA Named One of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity by Newsweek (2024)

    > 27 CHA Physicians Named to Boston Magazine’s Top Doctors List (2024)

    > CHA Named #1 in Massachusetts for Community Benefit by the Lown Institute. CHA was recognized for its contributions to community health and well-being. (2023-2024)

    > CHA honored for surgical quality by American College of Surgeons. In October 2023, CHA received the prestigious ACS Surgical Quality Partner distinction from the American College of Surgeons for commitment to the highest quality of care. Becoming an ACS Quality Partner means CHA is meeting the highest clinical standards developed by the world’s leading experts, signaling to patients and the community their commitment to providing the highest quality surgical care for all.

    > CHA Named a Best-in-State Employer by Forbes: CHA has been included on the Forbes list of America’s Best-in-State Employers 2023. The award is presented by Forbes and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. Forbes and Statista surveyed more than 70,000 workers at companies across the nation to obtain employee recommendations from companies with more than 500 employees.

    > CHA named one of Newsweek's Best Maternity Hospitals 2021, 2022 and 2023. This honor reflects CHA's extensive efforts to reduce pregnancy risk, including prevention training and low C-section rates.

    > CHA named an "LGBTQ Health Care Equality Leader" for 2022-2023 by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

    > CHA named one of the top places to work in Massachusetts in 2023 by Forbes Magazine.

    > Latinos Unidos en Massachusetts (LUMA) presented CHA with an award for our support of immigrant communities.

    Staff & Service Awards

    > CHA staff receive Certified Peer Specialist awards at Mass. State House: Valeria Chambers, senior community researcher, and Paul Bradford, peer support specialist, were honored at the Certified Peer Specialist Award Ceremony at the Mass. State House on June 27. Valeria received the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Paul received the In But Not Of The System Award. Congratulations on your hard work and commitment!

    > Stefanos Kales, MD, MPH, division chief of occupational medicine, received the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s Excellence in Mentorship Award at the 2024 American Occupational Health Conference (AOHC) on May 19.

    > CHA Cambridge Pediatrics was honored by Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP) as one of the top practices in the state for patient experience in primary care.

    > Sandra DeJong, MD, senior consultant in the department, received the 2024 Stuart T. Hauser Mentorship Award for outstanding mentorship of medical students, residents, fellows and junior faculty in the areas of adult and child psychiatry, human development, and psychosocial research. (This is a Harvard Medical School award).

    > In February, Roopali Bhargava from our Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship, received the Lucille Fusaro Meinsler Program Administrator Award from the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT). This annual award honors a Program Administrator who has outstanding leadership and interpersonal skills and who demonstrates innovative approaches in managing a psychiatry training program. It reflects the importance of this role and the outstanding skills that administrators possess and utilize daily. Roopali's nomination was noteworthy for both the content and the fact that it was signed by 37 current and past fellows!

    > Azeesat Babajide, MD, (Child & Adolescent Psychiatry) received the 2023 Harvard Medical School Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership Faculty Fellowship. 

    > Todd Griswold, MD, (Psychiatry) received the CHA Sandra and Arnold Gold Award for Humanistic Teaching from Harvard Medical School (HMS).

    > Gaurab Basu, MD, MPH, (Internal Medicine), co-director of CHA’s Center for Health Equity Education & Advocacy, received the inaugural Equity, Social Justice, and Advocacy Award from Harvard Medical School/Harvard School of Dental Medicine

    > Astride Desrosiers, MD, (Psychiatry) medical director of the CHA Haitian Mental Health Program, was honored by the Boston City Council for her longstanding commitment to the Haitian people.

    > Emily Lupez, MD, CHA Internal Medicine Fellow, received the 2023 Mack Lipkin, Sr. Associate Member Presentation Award from the Society of General Internal Medicine.

    > Marie-Louise Jean-Baptiste, MD, (Internal Medicine), received the Welcome Project’s Intercultural Award.

    > Jeanette Callahan, MD, (Pediatrics), was invited to join the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission’s Advisory Council.

    > Hannah Galvin, MD, CHA's chief medical information officer, was appointed by the Comptroller General of the U.S. to a three-year term on the national Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC).

    > Tiffany Vassell, RN, CHA Cambridge Hospital labor and delivery, was named one of Ten Outstanding Leaders by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce for her work in the maternal health space and community advocacy.

    > Neha Sandeep, PA-C received the 2022 William H. Marquardt Community Health Access Fellowship award by the PA Foundation for her dedication and service to marginalized communities.

    > Sarah Nelson, PhD, director of research at the Division on Addiction, earned a 2022 Scientific Achievement Award from the International Center for Responsible Gaming.

    > Gabriella Iagaru, MD, (Child & Adolescent Psychiatry) received the Excellence in Clinical Instruction Faculty Award from the Harvard Medical School Class of 2022.

    > Alec Eidelman, DMD, MPH, (Dentistry) was recognized by the Massachusetts Dental Society (MDS) as one of the "10 Under Ten" for 2022.

    > Avlot Quessa, senior multicultural affairs director received the Tony Winsor Award for 2022 from UMass Chan Medical School, Commonwealth Medicine, and MassHealth, for his work to improve medical interprting in Massachusetts.

    > Allen Shaughnessy, PharmD, MMedEd, director of master teacher development for the Tufts Family Medicine Residency at CHA received the Lynn and Joan Carmichael STFM Recognition Award from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM).

    > CHA PACE's Brenda Lattin received the Phyllis Solomon Champion Award, awarded by MassPACE..

    > Michael James, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, was awarded the annual Leading the Way award from the Center for Collaborative Leadership at the College of Management, University of Massachusetts Boston..

  • Commitment to Diverse People

    CHA has a longstanding commitment to vulnerable and diverse patients and is proud to serve all those in need. Its motto is "We Care for All."

    Many CHA patients have public or subsidized insurance (Medicare, Medicaid, etc.) and traditionally experience barriers to care. In order to serve these individuals and families, CHA has bilingual providers, a robust interpreter program and numerous linguistic services. It also has an award-winning Volunteer Health Advisor program that brings together people from many cultures to help local residents gain access to care and live healthier lives.

  • Our Academic Mission

    CHA is an academic health system with outstanding physician-teachers and strong training and research programs. It is the only healthcare system that is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and the Tufts University School of Medicine.

    CHA offers a variety of undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education efforts. These include the noteworthy Harvard-Cambridge Integrated Clerkship, an alternative experience for third year Harvard Medical students with an innovative “continuity of care” curriculum. CHA also sponsors Harvard affiliated training programs in internal medicine, adult and child psychiatry, psychology and dentistry, the Tufts family medicine residency and a Pharmacy residency program.

  • Mission, Vision and Values

    Mission: To improve the health of our patients and communities.

    Vision: Equity and excellence for everyone, every time.

    Values: To Make a Positive Difference - Community, Integrity, Respect, Compassion, Learning, Excellence (CIRCLE).

    Cambridge Health Alliance prohibits discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression.

  • Anti-Racism Statement

    At Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), we commit to fostering a culture across our organization that is diverse, equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist for staff and patients and members of the communities we serve. We hold ourselves accountable for doing our part in working to address oppression and advancing equity to overcome the history of systemic racial injustice and violence in healthcare.

    Read our full anti-racist statement: English, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish.

  • Ethics, Principles and Practices

    General Principles

    The best interests of our patients drive our decision-making.

    We are dedicated to the principle that all patients, employees, physicians and visitors will be treated with dignity, respect, and courtesy.

    Honest, open communication characterizes all of our interactions with patients, employees, and the community.

    We honor the diversity of our patients, staff, and community and create a culture in which all feel valued and respected.

    We are committed to using a collaborative decision-making process in resolving difficult patient care issues which involves all appropriate parties.

    We fairly and accurately represent ourselves and our capabilities.

    We provide services to meet the identified needs of our patients and do not provide unnecessary services.

    We continuously improve the quality of our medical care.

    We maintain patient confidentiality.

    We honor our commitments to patients, staff, and the community.

    We hold ourselves to the highest standards in meeting and exceeding all of our professional standards and legal and regulatory obligations.

    We continuously monitor our compliance with this code of ethics and provide training as needed to achieve these goals.

    Ethical Policy Issues and Examples:

    Patient Care Issues

    Treatment decisions are made on a case by case basis. Our care decisions are based on the clinical status of our patients and on patient/family desire.

    We work in partnership with our patients and, if appropriate, with their families. We share information about patient needs and preferences, diagnostic and treatment opportunities, and the risks and alternatives to recommended courses of action. Communication with families is guided by the wishes of our patients.

    When unexpected consequences or errors occur which significantly impact patient well being, it is our duty to inform the patient and/or family of the probable cause.

    We proactively develop systems to maintain patient and other information in a confidential manner, recognizing the special challenges created by the increasing use of electronic methods of storing and sharing information.

    We provide patients and their families with multiple methods to share with us their issues and concerns.

    All members of the health care team have independent duties to be sensitive to a patient's needs and desires and to report their perceptions to the physician in charge. The physician will encourage such communication.

    Workplace Issues

    We openly share information with our staff and keep our promises to our employees.

    We provide a safe workplace free from any form of discrimination or harassment.

    We encourage staff to share any ethical issues that arise for them by providing both confidential and anonymous methods to communicate their concerns.

    We recognize that conflicts will inevitably arise amongst those who participate in hospital and patient care decisions. We seek to resolve all conflicts fairly and objectively.

    Business Practices

    We provide inpatient and outpatient services to persons regardless of their ability to pay or immigration status.

    Decisions to divert or transfer a patient to another facility are made only upon patient request or when the patient's specific disease or condition cannot be safely treated at our facility.

    Discharge decisions are based on the patient's medical condition and readiness for discharge. We work to ensure that patients are treated at the most appropriate level of care.

    We maintain a compliance program designed to establish a culture that promotes prevention, detection and resolution of instances of conduct which do not conform to federal and state law and federal, state, and private health care program requirements.

    We welcome patient or other payer questions about charges. Questions will be discussed and conflicts resolved without real or perceived harassment, using a fair and formal process.

    As part of our process, we will disclose any potential conflicts of interest and take appropriate actions to assure integrity.

    We review all marketing materials to ensure that our organization, services, and policies and procedures are stated to our community and patients accurately, clearly, and in a culturally appropriate manner.

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