The Boston Alliance for Community Health (BACH) is pleased to announce it was able to distribute over $450,000 to local community coalitions during 2011. These funds came from two primary sources: Boston’s teaching hospitals and the Boston Public Health Commission.

Money for Health Planning

When scheduling capital expenditures such as a new building or major equipment, Massachusetts hospitals submit a Determination of Needs document. As part of this process they are mandated to contribute funds for community health. BACH plays a key role in the distribution of funds collected through this process.

This past year, BACH allocated up to $22,000 to each of ten community coalitions in support of local health planning process needs assessment. These funds are helping communities improve their effectiveness in addressing health equity, engage more residents in this work, and plan health improvement initiatives for their neighborhoods. Four coalitions (Codman Square Neighborhood Council, Jamaica Plain Tree of Life/Arbol de Vida, Roxbury Community Alliance for Health, and the South Boston Community Advisory Network) each received an additional $8,000 to further their on-going health improvement projects. These include exercise groups for seniors, weight control classes, and youth development activities.

Focus on Tobacco

In addition, 2011 marked the second (and final) year of funding from the Boston Public Health Commission’s “Communities Putting Prevention to Work.” Charged with promoting smoking cessation services and advocating for public policy changes, BACH provided funding and technical assistance to  ten community groups for their work in this effort.

We are grateful to our funders for entrusting us and our partners with the hard work of community health improvement in Boston. It truly is a work of cooperation and collective impact of which Boston can be proud.