Penn State Health and College of Medicine employees contributed approximately 126,000 community benefit hours in fiscal year 2023. These hours were spent working on initiatives aimed at improving access to healthy food, such as creating community gardens in central Pennsylvania.
During the same time period, Penn State Health hospitals allocated over $7.3 million towards community health improvement. This funding helped to support programs that served over 970,000 individuals in the community. In addition to these programs, Penn State Health partnered with other organizations and students to contribute more than 43,000 community benefit hours towards advancing health equity.
Jim George, Penn State Health community relations director, emphasized the organization’s commitment to improving the well-being of individuals and communities by using CBISA (Community Benefit Inventory for Social Accountability) to track and report on service activities. The inventory listed over 222 Community Benefit Reporters who monitored and reported on these activities.
Currently, Penn State Health hospitals are conducting the fifth Community Health Needs Assessment to identify the region’s most pressing health needs. The results will be announced in November 2024. Overall, Penn State Health is dedicated to advancing health equity and improving the well-being of individuals and communities through its various initiatives and programs.
