CHA Named #1 in Massachusetts for Serving its Community
Lown Institute, a healthcare think tank, recognized CHA for its contributions to community health and well-being
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), a community health system serving Cambridge, Somerville and Boston’s metro-north communities, has been recognized for its contributions to community health and well-being by the Lown Institute, a healthcare think tank. CHA earned an "A" grade and ranked as the number one hospital in Massachusetts for Community Benefit on the Institute’s 2023-24 Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility. CHA achieved this honor due to strong performance on financial assistance spending, service to Medicaid patients, and investing in community health needs, ranking 21st out of more than 3,700 hospitals nationwide.
CHA performed well in other Index measures of hospital performance. In the most recent rankings of Inclusivity, which measure hospitals’ success in caring for low income, low educational status, and people of color in their catchment areas, CHA earned an A grade and ranked in the top five in Massachusetts and top 100 across the country. CHA also received an A grade for Social Responsibility, Health Equity, Value of Care, and Avoiding Overuse (a measure of a hospital's delivery of commonly overused and unnecessary procedures). These are independent rankings and hospitals do not apply or pay to be listed.
"This recognition validates the importance of community health to our mission to serve our communities," said Assaad Sayah, MD, CEO of Cambridge Health Alliance. "By engaging people where they live and work, we have the ability to improve the health of all our neighbors."
CHA’s community focus extends across a wide range of population health, public health, and community health programs and initiatives. Examples include:
- CHA’s Community Health Worker (CHW) program trains and supports community volunteers who are culturally and linguistically diverse to bring health information to underserved and hard-to-reach populations. CHWs have played a critical role in CHA’s Community Health programming, which brings vaccinations, health education, and healthcare access to hard-to-reach populations in local communities
- The CHA Revere Care Center's Mobile Market provides fresh produce and other staples to families facing food insecurity. Created in partnership with the Greater Boston Food Bank, Tufts Health Plan and other community partners, distributed more than 100,000 pounds of fresh, nutritious food to families over the past year.
- CHA’s Health Improvement Team, which works collaboratively with healthcare providers, residents, community based organizations and city leaders to assess community health status, identify problem areas, build action plans, and provide leadership around health issues that impact the community.
- CHA’s primary service area includes some of the most racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse municipalities in Massachusetts, with 44 percent of CHA patients speaking a language other than English. To respond to their linguistic and cultural needs, CHA has established one of the most advanced multilingual interpreter programs in the nation. Additionally, providing pathways to healthcare careers for underrepresented communities is a major area of focus for CHA.
- CHA’s Community Behavioral Health Center (CBHC), located at CHA Cambridge Hospital with a second location scheduled to open in Malden, offers behavioral health care designed to expand access to routine, urgent, and crisis treatment for mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Services include a 24-hour Access and Crisis Line, Urgent Care, open daily, and a 24/7 mobile crisis services in individuals’ homes, schools, or other community locations.
"When hospitals invest heavily in community health, our nation grows stronger," said Vikas Saini, MD, president of the Lown Institute. "That’s why it’s so important to lift up these high-performing hospitals as examples for others to follow."
The Lown Hospitals Index for Social Responsibility is the only ranking to include metrics of health equity and value of care alongside patient outcomes, creating a holistic view of hospitals as total community partners. In the fourth annual and largest set of rankings to date, the 2023-24 Lown Index evaluates hospitals on 50+ measures--including novel metrics such as community benefit, racial inclusivity, and avoidance of overuse. Full methodology can be found on the Lown Index website.
The Lown Institute is a nonpartisan think tank that generates bold ideas for a radically better system of health. Learn more at www.LownHospitalsIndex.org.