Five years ago, I never imagined that my health system would become the safety net for our region. Once the Western Maryland Health System changed its care delivery model from fee-for-service to value-based, there was much more at stake for the health system to keep people healthy and out of the hospital. 
We have evolved over the last five years as a critical partner in addressing a variety of needs throughout our community. We are providing medications, food, clothing, transportation, free care and dental services, just to name a few, either directly or in partnership with others. Some examples are as follows:
- We started our first community garden this year with a great deal of success. Individuals who may rarely have access to fresh vegetables and fruits were able to grow their own. We also shared hundreds of pounds of produce throughout the season with our local food bank.
- We organized a Bridges to Opportunity program in cooperation with other health and human service organizations and the business community to explore issues in our community that impact poverty. The goal is to bring people out of poverty through the creating resources they need to become self-sufficient.
- We have been working to improve literacy by supporting the Imagination Library, which provides every newborn who is born at our hospital with a book a month until they reach the age of 5.
These are just a few examples of that out-of-the-box thinking that needs to occur as we apply meaningful population health initiatives in our communities. Partnerships will be key since we, as hospitals and health systems, can’t do it all. However, we can surely take the lead in our respective communities.
Barry Ronan is the president and CEO of Western Maryland Health System in Cumberland, Maryland.