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 At The Beginning

Understanding Boston:

 

Health & Human Services

With its highly-regarded teaching hospitals, network of community-based health care centers and sophisticated research institutions, Greater Boston is a world-class health care hub.  But, as with other areas across the country, the growing cost of health care threatens to overshadow all other costs—and an alarming rise in chronic illness is only adding to the crisis.  This was the conclusion of a groundbreaking report the Boston Foundation commissioned from the New England Healthcare Insitute.

The Foundation also has joined with other funders to evaluate initiatives that are tackling chronic homlessness, issues related to aging and disabilities, as well as other health and human services areas of importance to the people of Greater Boston.

Learn about the Boston Foundation’s grantmaking priorities in Health and Human Services.

 Health & Human Services Spotlight:
The Boston Paradox: Lots of Healthcare, Not Enough Health
Despite its status as a world-class healthcare hub with unparalleled assets—universities, teaching hospitals and research facilities routinely hailed as setting a global gold standard—a rising tide of preventable chronic disease threatens not only the physical health of Greater Boston residents but is already beginning to crowd out public and private investment in a wide range of regional priorities — including healthcare itself. That is the news contained in a groundbreaking report released by the Boston Foundation and the New England Healthcare Institute.
Boston Paradox cover
Indicators-related research:
June 15, 2007
October 26, 2007
October 26, 2007
 
Selected grants:
December 14, 2006
December 14, 2006
  
Recent Health & Human Services Reports:
Preparing Our Kids for Education, Work and Life report cover
Children and teens in the Massachusetts foster care system are among the most vulnerable residents in our communities, but if they are given the supports they need while in foster care — and while ‘aging out’ of care — they can lead positive, fulfilling lives and become tremendous community assets.
On the Edge: Facing a Challenging and Uncertain Future cover
One of the most prized goals in life is the ability to age with dignity, and one of the indicators of a healthy city is that people of all ages can thrive in it. Many of us may have assumed that Boston was such a place for seniors, and that the needs of most Boston elders were reasonably met by a combination of social programs like Medicare and Social Security. This report debunks that myth, and reveals that Boston elders must have more income or supports to afford the basics of life.   
  
Health & Human Services Forums:
June 14, 2007
The Boston Paradox: Lots of Health Care, Not Enough HealthThe report, titled The Boston Paradox, was commissioned by the Foundation and prepared by the New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI). It finds that despite Boston’s status as a world-class health care hub, a rising tide of preventable chronic disease threatens not only the physical health of Greater Boston’s residents but is starting to crowd out investment in a wide range of regional priorities.
December 12, 2006
There has been a recent, growing public awareness of the high cost of housing and the way it is affecting Greater Boston’s families,” said Terry Lane, the Boston Foundation’s Vice President for Program. “This report offers an additional lens, by identifying the problems elders face.” With that, she opened an Understanding Boston forum about “On the Edge: Facing a Challenging and Uncertain Future,” a report which presents the findings of the Elder Economic Security Standard Project developed by the Gerontology Institute at University of Massachusetts Boston.
 
Boston Indicators Project
Providing high quality charts, analyses and downloadable data about Boston and the region in ten categories.
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