MetroHealth Awarded $1.5 Million Grant from KeyBank Foundation to Help Eliminate Potential Barriers to Health in Underserved Populations
Funding will help MetroHealth expand the reach of the Institute for H.O.P.E.™ and reflects KeyBank’s longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
The KeyBank Foundation is making a $1.5 million grant to The MetroHealth System. This transformative grant is part of KeyBank’s $40 billion National Community Benefits Plan and is symbolic of the bank’s longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
The funding will help MetroHealth expand the reach of the Institute for H.O.P.E.™ (Health, Opportunity, Partnership, Empowerment) and capture a more complete picture of patients and their lives, beyond hospital walls, so that they can identify and help eliminate potential barriers to health and well-being.
“KeyBank is proud to partner with MetroHealth to address the root causes of health issues and to improve access to the resources that will help citizens live healthier lives,“ said KeyCorp Chairman and CEO Chris Gorman. “The Institute for H.O.P.E. aligns with our mission to help communities thrive by creating better and brighter futures for all.”
Launched in 2019, the Institute for H.O.P.E.™ is a commitment to identify and act on the social determinants of health (SDOH) as critical components of achieving optimal individual and community health. The Institute is organized into three focus areas:
• Healthy Families and Thriving Communities: Screens patients for social determinants of health and responds to identified needs, through programs and partnerships
• Transformative Knowledge and Education: Increases the ability of patients, employees and community members to live their healthiest lives by building skills and opportunities for education, employment, financial stability and digital access
• Innovative Practices: Uses data to inform direction and measure results in everything. Also leads the effort to spread best practices to other communities
A key initiative of the Institute is to screen all adult MetroHealth patients for social determinants of health across 10 key domain areas including: Food Insecurity, Transportation, Social Connection, Housing, Utilities, Stress, Intimate Partner Violence, Physical Activity, Financial Resource Strain, and Digital Connectivity.
This investment by the KeyBank Foundation will provide community-benefit to underserved populations, predominantly persons of color, by connecting patients/clients with social needs to MetroHealth and other community-based organizations (CBOs) for assistance with their social needs such as food, transportation, health, stress, digital connectivity, housing and utilities, education and finances via the MetroHealth Economic Opportunity Center.
“KeyBank’s early support of the Opportunity Center is providing significant momentum for the Institute for H.O.P.E.,” said MetroHealth President and CEO Akram Boutros, MD. “We are grateful for the generosity of the KeyBank Foundation and look forward to this expanded collaboration.”
Since 2001, the KeyBank Foundation has given more than $430,000 to MetroHealth to support various community, healthcare and workforce initiatives, including the Aamoth Family Pediatric Wellness Center and the Nursing Careers Pathway Program.
Founded in 1837, MetroHealth is leading the way to a healthier you and a healthier community through service, teaching, discovery, and teamwork. Cuyahoga County’s public, safety-net hospital system, MetroHealth meets people where they are, providing care through five hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers. Each day, our nearly 9,000 employees focus on providing our community with equitable healthcare — through patient-focused research, access to care, and support services — that seeks to eradicate health disparities rooted in systematic barriers. For more information, visit metrohealth.org.
