The Commitment
RWJBarnabas Health is committed to being in and of the communities we serve,
and having an impact that reaches outside our doors to not only treat
disease, but to help avert it, to not only provide clinical health services
but to practice ‘social’ health, with an unwavering commitment
to improving the health of our communities and using our resources to
improve their long-term well being.
We have launched a “Social Impact and Community Investment Practice” where a collective impact approach will be a key driver of our goals and will be a lasting legacy of our organization, including addressing the social, economic and environmental conditions that contribute to poor health outcomes, reduced life expectancy and higher costs.
This work will be done in an equitable manner and will foster health-promoting environments and conditions to improve people’s quality of life. As such, we will contribute to the long-term economic and social viability of our local communities, with a specific focus on the needs of vulnerable neighborhoods.
We will use our position as an “Anchor Institution” – one that is physically entrenched in our communities as a critical economic engine and committed community partner – to enable our social impact work. Being an anchor institution obligates us to use the full range of our institutional assets – hiring, workforce development, purchasing and investing – to benefit the sustainability and vitality of the communities in which we are based.
Our initiatives will address the “social determinants of health” – conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship and age that create health. Social determinants include: economic stability (job opportunities and living wages), education, access to healthy food, affordable housing, and safe living and neighborhood environment.
RWJBarnabas Health (RWJBH) is the state's largest integrated academic medical center. The system extends from northern New Jersey to the state’s ocean shores and serves diverse populations, cities and towns, urban and suburban areas. Beyond addressing health care through the provision of clinical patient care within the walls of its facilities, RWJBH is driven to make a unique impact in local communities throughout the state. The ultimate aim is to make communities healthier and well.
“. . . RWJBarnabas Health is committed to meaningfully serve its community and develop mechanisms that proactively address the social determinants of health.”
With anchor institutions throughout the system’s catchment area, RWJBarnabas Health is committed to meaningfully serve its community and develop mechanisms that proactively address the social determinants of health. In 2017, RWJBH established its Social Impact and Community Investment (SICI) practice, a system-wide professional department aimed at advancing the organization’s vision to improve the health, quality of life, and vitality of New Jersey communities and targeted communities around the world.
