Community Initiatives
The legacy of our founding hospitals—the Beth Israel and New England Deaconess—to provide health care for the disenfranchised and most vulnerable of our society guides Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) today. Service to the community is at the core of our mission, exclaiming our “covenant to care for the underserved and to work to change disparities in access to care.” Like any good neighbor, Beth Israel Deaconess is actively engaged in issues of importance to the community—from protecting genetic privacy to creating a sustainable and health-promoting environment.
Our efforts include partnerships with seven affiliated community health centers as well as a host of other community-based organizations, advocacy groups, and neighborhood committees. As the first hospital to publish a Patient Bill of Rights, BIDMC remains committed to providing equitable care and access to all, and have implemented a number of initiatives to ensure delivery of culturally responsive care. We are actively engaged in the design of new models of care, both in the community and in the hospital, all with an eye towards achieving our audacious goals of eliminating preventable harm by 2012 and offering an exceptional patient experience.
