About community health

Where people live, work, learn, and play has a big impact on health. We’re striving to build healthier communities.

About community health

Where people live, work, learn, and play has a big impact on health. We’re striving to build healthier communities.

To be our healthiest, we need more than high-quality medical care — good health begins where people live. Everyone should have successful schools, clean air, accessible parks, safe playgrounds, and fresh fruits and vegetables in neighborhood stores.

At Kaiser Permanente, we’re working to improve the conditions for health and equity in the communities we serve.

That means addressing all the factors that affect health, such as having a safe place to live, enough money to pay the bills, access to healthy meals, and meaningful social connections.

Our commitment

As one of the nation’s largest nonprofit, integrated health care organizations, we are uniquely positioned to improve the conditions for health and equity in the communities we serve.

  • We address poverty and discrimination as well as lack of access to well-paying jobs, healthy food, quality education, housing, and a safe environment. We do this by making impact investments (which create a positive impact on a pressing social issue while earning a financial return), providing grants and donations, and partnering with community health organizations.
  • We promote health equity and address social factors that impact health by screening members for social needs, connecting them to community-based resources, and providing care and services suited to their personal circumstances.
  • We increase access to health care in the community by establishing safety net partnerships and by providing subsidized health coverage and medical financial assistance.

Charitable contributions

Since 1945, Kaiser Permanente has invested in community health, making charitable contributions to nonprofit, community-based organizations that share our vision for community health access and equity.

For additional information on the types of projects we support, please see our focus and impact

Communities we serve

When it comes to improving health, we know a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work. Every community in which we provide care is unique.