Community February 26, 2009
Unique Community Investment Partnerships
In 2006, Yale-New Haven Hospital initiated two major commitment investment programs with the City of New Haven and the Hill neighborhood to support critical needs of our neighborhoods. Beyond the traditional investments in community health programs and free care programs, the Hospital, working in collaboration with the City and the Hill Development Corporation (HDC), launched a comprehensive and innovative partnership to address some of the most prevalent community issues, from affordable housing to youth services.
These community investment partnerships provide direct funding and in-kind support in the areas identified by the community – safe and affordable housing, child care, youth services, education, community health outreach, jobs, job fairs and training, economic development, education and voluntary payments.
City of New Haven
Through its partnership with the City of New Haven, YNHH’s community investment program provides funding over a five-year period for economic development, youth initiatives, community health outreach workers, jobs and voluntary payments. Over the past three years, YNHH has made nearly $3 million in voluntary payments to the city. In addition, the Hospital has funded youth initiatives, jobs, after-school activities and two new healthcare outreach positions – an asthma outreach coordinator and an uninsured children’s outreach coordinator.
YNHH has also committed $1 million over five years to Gateway Community College’s Associate Degree in Nursing program, which the Hospital helped launch and sustain with donations of $100,000 each in 2002 and 2004. The new commitment helps support and expand the program, and 32 slots have been allocated for New Haven residents to pursue nursing degrees. This program provides community residents with the opportunity to pursue their education in a high-demand career and become gainfully employed upon graduation. Many of the graduates have been employed by Yale-New Haven Hospital. YNHH has agreed to hire 100 New Haven residents annually for the next five years and continues to meet that goal.
Hill Neighborhood
YNHH is in the third year of a comprehensive community investment program with the Hill Development Corporation (HDC) to support New Haven’s Hill neighborhood. To enhance the quality of life in the Hill neighborhood, YNHH is contributing $450,000 for home emergency rehabilitation grants for Hill homeowners and three properties in the Hill neighborhood to HDC, while contributing up to 20 percent of the cost to rehabilitate and build homes on the properties. YNHH is providing $120,000 for child-care subsidies for working Hill families; committing $150,000 for summer youth programs that include classroom activities, recreation and field trips; and providing $13,500 to fund three $1,500 college scholarships a year for high school graduates from the Hill. The Hospital is also funding an HDC community liaison for three years, at $50,000 a year, to support the two Hill neighborhood management teams and promote career opportunities.
Article originally appeared in the fall 2008 issue of the Yale-New Haven Hospital Magazine (page 4 and 5)
http://www.ynhh.org/online/magazines/fall08mag.pdf
