PHILADELPHIA – February 1, 2018 – After 20 years of supporting nonprofit organizations throughout Greater Philadelphia, First Hospital Foundation is now Philadelphia Health Partnership: a Foundation for Healthy Communities. The Foundation has invested over $22 million in more than 160 nonprofit organizations that work to address the health needs of the most vulnerable and underserved.
Philadelphia Health Partnership (PHP) will continue supporting nonprofits with the aim of improving the health and well-being of underserved Philadelphians by supporting access to quality care and services and advancing health equity. PHP believes that promoting optional health and well-being requires addressing underlying root causes, including the unequal social and physical environments in which people live. They will seek opportunities to eliminate health disparities that enable people to feel their quality of life has improved.
PHP will continue to focus on the most vulnerable people who are uninsured, underinsured, and medically-underserved. PHP identifies young children and their families and immigrants and refugees as priority populations through 2023.
According to Executive Director Ann Marie Healy, “Philadelphia Health Partnership views its role as not only supporting programs but also investing in the capacity of nonprofits to improve communication and collaboration – across professional boundaries and between practitioners and community members.”
PHP’s emphasis on partnership reflects its belief that collective action and learning are critical to realizing a vision of a Philadelphia in which everyone has the opportunity to achieve optimal health and well-being. Fostering collaboration includes supporting community voice and leadership to ensure that those who are most affected by current health disparities are actively engaged in the decisions that affect their lives. It also includes working across sectors to influence policy and systems change.
“PHP’s potential to move the dial on the issues it cares about requires working with policymakers and other resource brokers to make a difference,” says board chair Estelle B. Richman who has had a long career working in government at the city, state, and federal levels and in the nonprofit sector. “No one sector can make population-level change working alone. Yet, philanthropy has a unique role to play in bringing diverse participants to the table.”
PHP will proactively award grants that align with its strategic initiatives on a rolling basis. Allocation of resources will be informed by ongoing engagement and analysis to understand local assets and challenges and to apply knowledge gained from research, practice, and community experience.
For more information about PHP, visit www.philahealthpartnership.org or contact the foundation at 215-546-4290.
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Philadelphia Health Partnership, formerly First Hospital Foundation, is a private independent foundation. Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of underserved Philadelphians by supporting access to quality care and services. Philadelphia Health Partnership envisions a Philadelphia in which everyone has the opportunity to achieve optimal health and well-being.