A Community Provider.
Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) is a vibrant, innovative health system dedicated to providing essential services to all members of the community. With over 140,000 patients in Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston’s Metro North region, CHA is a local provider of choice for primary care, specialty care, emergency services, hospital care, maternity care and behavioral health. CHA patients receive high quality care in convenient neighborhood locations and have seamless access to advanced care through CHA’s affiliations with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Mass. General Hospital for Children (MGHfC).
CHA’s community commitment extends beyond serving its patients. CHA operates the Cambridge Public Health Department and collaborates with many local agencies and organizations to improve the health of local residents. It also provides a vital safety net for under served populations facing barriers to care. As a Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine teaching hospital, CHA trains the health care providers of tomorrow.
For more information about Cambridge Health Alliance, please download our CHA Fact Sheet.
CHA formed in 1996 when two Massachusetts hospitals - Cambridge Hospital and Somerville Hospital - joined together as an integrated system. This combined entity was better able to meet the needs of its patients and fulfill a shared community health mission. In 2001, the system acquired Whidden Hospital in Everett, MA and associated healthcare services in Malden and Revere. This expanded the system’s geographic range and allowed it to continue helping individuals and families in need.
Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) is a valued and sustainable academic community health system that exceeds the expectations of its patients, purchasers and communities. We partner with patients and others to deliver convenient, high-value care that is truly integrated and seamless across providers, settings and specialties. Our special expertise in caring for vulnerable populations, academic programs and community/public health models enables us to demonstrate effective new ways to integrate care and improve the well-being of our patients and communities.
The system also has well-established personal and population health functions. CHA operates the Public Health Department for the City of Cambridge, has a large community outreach team and a medical staff that actively collaborates in community projects and advocates around public policy issues. These teams work closely with municipalities and community groups to address broad health issues like breast health, tobacco use, obesity, childhood mental health and depression.
CHA is currently transforming its system to ensure excellent patient experiences and control healthcare costs. This work is important and meaningful, and will allow us to serve our patients today and in the future.
CHA is a teaching hospital with strong clinical, academic, and research programs. As the only hospital in the nation that has formal affiliations with Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and the Tufts University School of Medicine, it sponsors undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education efforts. Particularly noteworthy is the Harvard-Cambridge Integrated Clerkship, an alternative experience for third year Harvard Medical students with a “continuity of care” curriculum, and CHA sponsored, Harvard affiliated training programs in internal medicine, adult and child psychiatry, psychology and the Tufts family medicine residency.
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Components of CHA
3 hospitals – Cambridge, Somerville, and Whidden (Everett) – each with 24-hour emergency services.
- 15 primary care practices located in Cambridge, Somerville, Malden, Medford, Chelsea, Revere, Everett and Winthrop, MA.
- Cambridge Public Health Department
- CHA Physicians Organization (CHAPO)
- CHA Foundation
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Commitment to Diverse Populations
CHA is an inclusive provider with a longstanding commitment to vulnerable and diverse patients. Many of its patients have public subsidized insurance (Medicare, Medicaid, etc.) and traditionally experience barriers to care. In order to serve these individuals and families, CHA has recruited bilingual providers, created a robust interpreter program, and has fostered numerous linguistic services. It also has an award-winning Volunteer Health Advisor Program that brings together local residents from many cultures to reach out to diverse groups, helping people access care and engage in healthy behaviors.
