Mass General Brigham

In 2023, the hospital provided a $1 million grant to GreenRoots, a left-of-center environmental advocacy group affiliated with Community Labor United, a group that promotes pro-labor union policies and operates campaigns and programs advocating for left-of-center policies at the state and federal level. ^{6 7}

Background and History

Mass General Brigham traces its history to 1811, when the Massachusetts General Hospital Bulfinch Building in Boston opened its doors. Mass General is the third oldest hospital in the nation. Mass General Brigham system was formed in 1994, when Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital merged to become Partners HealthCare. Both hospitals are Harvard Medical School teaching affiliates and rank among the top medical centers in the country. The rebranding to Mass General Brigham in 2019 was intended to unify the system under a single identity, improve public engagement, and reduce administrative complexity. ³

Mass General Brigham is one of the most prominent health care systems in the United States and operates a wide-ranging portfolio of medical institutions, research centers, and teaching affiliates. The organization is also a leading recipient of National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding and has developed public-facing campaigns on health equity, racial disparities, and climate-related public health risks. ³

Mass General Brigham organized as a charitable hospital system and consists of two separate charitable organizations: Mass General Brigham Incorporated, which reported over $2 billion in revenue and $1.6 billion in assets in 2023, and Mass General Brigham Incorporated and Affiliates Group, which reported over $22.7 billion in revenue and over $17 billion in assets in 2023. Each organization’s tax return reported over $500 million in government grants in 2023. ^{4 8}

Activities

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives

Mass General Brigham has made diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a formal part of its institutional strategy. In 2020, the organization launched the “United Against Racism” initiative, a multi-year campaign aimed at embedding left-of-center concepts of racial equity into the health system’s clinical and administrative structures. The campaign includes hiring mandates, training requirements, and community investment projects. The initiative’s webpage states that “We believe that systemic racism is a public health issue which impacts our patients, workforce, and the communities we serve. Working collectively, we are taking action across the system to dismantle racism and learning as we go.” ^{1 2}

The organization’s DEI office also supports the development of employee resource groups, supplier diversity programs, and partnerships with community-based nonprofits. ²

Health Equity Strategic Plan

In 2022, Mass General Brigham released a “Health Equity Strategic Plan” outlining a system-wide framework to integrate equity into patient care, community health, and workforce development. The plan included mandatory bias training for all employees, tracking and reporting disparities by race and ethnicity, and partnering with local organizations to expand access to care in underserved communities. ⁹

Funding

Mass General Brigham directs funding toward community groups aligned with its DEI and health equity goals. In 2022, it awarded a $100,000 grant to GreenRoots, a Chelsea-based environmental justice nonprofit affiliated with left-of-center group Community Labor United, to support the launch of “La Colmena,” a cooperative business incubator led by Latina women. The funding came through Mass General Brigham’s “Beyond Health” initiative. ⁷

Other groups funded by the system include HealthCare for All, the Immigrant Family Services Institute, Health Law Advocates, Watch CDC, and The Boston Foundation. ^{10 8}