Rooted in faith and active in hope, Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF) believes ALL Texans deserve to live a healthy life – especially those with the least resources and those who face the most obstacles to health. We’re promoting equity by improving health, not just health care in Texas.
Health is much more than seeing a doctor. Access to affordable medical care is vitally important, but it’s only 20% of what contributes to a person’s overall health. The remaining 80% is determined by social and economic status, health behaviors, community safety, physical environment, and much more.
EHF has changed the conversation to reshape the debate around health care to focus on addressing the non-medical drivers of health: factors and conditions outside the health care system that significantly influence a person’s overall health and well-being.
For Texas to fully realize its great potential, all Texans must have the ability to thrive. Equity, specifically health equity is an essential part of that future. From the beginning, EHF has had a long-term commitment to invest in and promote equity in organizations, communities, and initiatives to accelerate a bold vision that all Texans have a just opportunity to live their healthiest lives.
By providing millions of dollars in grants, working with community partners and congregations, and providing important research, EHF promotes equity by supporting solutions that address the underlying causes of poor health in Texas.
Where we started
Episcopal Health Foundation is based in Houston and was founded in 2013 by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas upon the transfer of St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System. Bishop Andy Doyle led the effort to use the more than $1 billion in proceeds to start a foundation that would reshape the way the Episcopal Church engages the community and change the way we think about health.
EHF chose to focus on improving community health, rather than just health care, because the opportunity for good health starts long before you need to see a doctor. Health systems need scalable solutions to address non-medical drivers of health like access to healthy foods, having safe places to exercise, affordable health insurance coverage, and much more.
EHF was created as a community-based philanthropy to spark transformative change within the diocese’s 80-county service area that now serves more than 15 million Texans.
What we’ve done
With a vision to achieve healthy communities for all by improving health, not just health care, EHF’s strategic work has changed the conversation and the way we think about health in Texas:
- Government officials, state agencies, health insurance plans, health care providers, and community members recognize the importance of addressing non-medical drivers of health and are taking action to support non-medical, health-related needs.
- Community health clinics, health resource centers, and behavioral health providers have increased their services and their reach to low-income and underserved communities.
- Congregations and community collaboratives have increased capacity to engage with other partners and those they want to serve to envision and create healthier communities and address upstream barriers to health equity.
- Clinics and community-based organizations have strengthened their capacity to provide skills to parents and caregivers to promote healthy early relationships and brain development during a child’s first three years.
Where we’re going
EHF has changed the conversation about health, and now we are ready to accelerate this positive change by tackling the unequal and unacceptable health realities faced by Texans with lower incomes, populations of color, and under-resourced communities across the state.
EHF’s new Strategic Framework for 2024 — 2030 demonstrates our belief that whole-person well-being requires addressing non-medical drivers of health and must include integration between three Action Areas: accessible health and health care services, healthy communities, and health-promoting policies at all levels.
In addition, we believe certain health conditions and events serve as warning signs that systems and circumstances need to be improved in Texas. Working in EHF’s Action Areas, we’re focusing on three Priorities for Change: food and nutrition security, maternal health, and diabetes prevention. We believe addressing these priorities is key to real change and can start a ripple effect of good health in Texas.
We invite you to join EHF on this next chapter of our continuing journey. We know we cannot do this work alone—none of us can—but together we can be bold in Igniting Change that leads to individuals and families experiencing improved health in all Texas communities.
Mission
The mission of the Episcopal Health Foundation is to advance the Kingdom of God with specific focus on human health and well-being through grants, research, and initiatives in support of the work of the Diocese.
Vision
The Episcopal Health Foundation’s vision is a diocese in which the people, parishes, institutions and community are all connected in service of transformation to healthy communities for all.
Our Core Values
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Rigorous research is the foundation for actions and initiatives that have the potential to transform human lives and organizations.
The most effective use of financial resources is often discovered in ministries that go beyond the limits of individuals or individual congregations. Broadbased communities galvanized around responses to particular human needs have a powerful potential to effect real and lasting change.
The old adage is true: It is good to give a hungry person a fish; it is empowering to teach the same person to fish. Loving and compassionate people often need training to be effective change agents. Leadership development and training are central to empowerment.
Good stewardship requires careful oversight and development of the abundance that God provides.
All actions and decisions are open to the light of public scrutiny. Secrecy and confidentiality are not the same thing.
The results of decisions and actions of EHF are audited and measured against reasonable benchmarks.
Mistakes are made. When mistakes are treated with openness and honesty, lessons are learned Public accounting and reporting are made on a regular basis.
The best good is good that lasts by effecting transformational changes in root causes.
Compassion for the poor and powerless.
