Health Leads is a social enterprise that envisions a healthcare system that addresses all patients’ basic resource needs as a standard part of quality care.
For 20 years, Health Leads has worked with leading healthcare organizations to create sustainable, high-impact and cost-effective social needs interventions that connect patients to the community-based resources they need to be healthy – from food to transportation to healthcare benefits.
Health Leads is committed to sharing its tools and expertise to improve the health and well-being of patients, and to accelerating the leadership, best practices, incentives and research required to change what “counts” as healthcare.
Healthcare delivery system leaders and clinicians have long recognized the impact of social factors on peoples’ health. Today, social and environmental factors account for 70% of what it takes to stay healthy –while only 10% are attributable to direct medical care. But for most organizations, addressing social needs is often overwhelming, misunderstood and increasingly complex.
They have been laser focused on nothing but designing and implementing social needs programs in clinical settings for the past 20 years. So for them, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation’s Accountable Health Communities (AHC) funding opportunity was a cause for immense celebration. It is a groundbreaking opportunity for healthcare delivery organizations to fund critical social needs interventions that connect patients with the resources they need to be healthy. But more than that, it sends strong signals to the market – as population health and patient-centered care continue to take hold – that social needs can no longer be ignored.
They are relentlessly committed to the success of not only the Accountable Health Communities pilots, but to every effort in the sector to make addressing social needs the new normal in patient care. They have the proven tools, insights and resources – and most importantly, the passion – to help any organization tackle social needs with confidence.
