Baystate Health’s Wellness on Wheels (WOW) Bus travels to communities in and around Springfield, providing free or low-cost screenings, health education, and counseling. The Bus meets patients where they live and work, connecting with the community by offering preventive medicine, screenings, and teaching classes. With stops in rural, urban, and suburban communities, the WOW Bus offers its services where people gather, such as at food pantries, churches, senior living, libraries, and more. Baystate encourages the next generation of health professionals to be community partners who can effectively address health inequities by including students in healthcare professions on the WOW Bus’s journeys.

Beth Israel Lahey Health Community Benefits is proud to provide nationally-recognized mental health first aid training for a second year. Offered to service area communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the training – which teaches participants how to recognize mental health concerns and offer reassurance – is part of our commitment to expand behavioral health access. To date, more than 360 people have attended one of 25 community-based training sessions, which are offered free-of-charge and are open to anyone. Participant surveys showed that 96% felt confident identifying a mental health issue and providing basic support.

Hebrew SeniorLife (HSL) recently launched the Lunder Careforce Institute to advance health care careers and support the direct care workforce. This Institute offers training, mentorship, and educational pathways for Certified Nursing Assistants and Home Health Aides, enhancing their skills and career prospects. By investing in these essential workers, HSL aims to improve care quality and address workforce shortages, particularly in underserved communities. The Institute reflects HSL’s commitment to community wellbeing by fostering a skilled, supported, and diverse health care workforce. Through this program, HSL extends its impact beyond its facilities, uplifting both professional caregivers and the populations they serve.

Lawrence General’s EMS department became only the second EMS agency in Massachusetts last December to establish a trauma-response whole blood transfusion program after completing an intensive 18-month evaluation to meet state’s requirements. This program, approved by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health through a Special Project Waiver, allows specially trained paramedics to transfuse whole blood to critically injured patients, allowing for the highest level of trauma care to begin in the field, often stabilizing and saving the lives of patients before they reach the hospital. Serving Lawrence and more than a dozen neighboring communities, the program enhances emergency care across the region. Since the program’s launch, ten patients* have received this life-saving service. (*as of the time of this submission)

Morton Hospital has a long history of giving back to our community through various initiatives including sponsorships, volunteer work, and community benefits related partnerships. Recently, Morton Hospital joined several community businesses in sponsoring the Old Colony Habitat for Humanity’s first-ever Taunton home build. Members of the hospital’s leadership team volunteered for a build day to help put the finishing touches on a beautiful new home for a deserving family in our community.

UMass Memorial Health has invested in Worcester Common Ground Community Development Corporation’s project to construct an affordable three-unit residential building for first-time, low-income homebuyers. In addition to transforming the lives of homeowners, the project will transform the property, which was previously a vacant lot. Neighborhood health and safety is expected to increase, and opportunities for illicit activities decrease. UMass Memorial’s Anchor Mission investment work redirects portions of its long-term portfolio to community projects that address the social drivers of health of the communities it serves.