About Mat-Su Health Foundation
MSHF shares ownership in and governance of Mat-Su Regional Medical Center (MSRMC), the cornerstone of Mat-Su’s healthcare system. The Foundation is funded by profits from its share of ownership in the hospital, in addition to revenue from its long-term investments. This positions MSHF to focus on systems improvements and ensure that the healthcare system yields meaningful social and health returns for Mat-Su residents. Importantly, this model includes consistent connection with the community through a membership structure that promotes overall dialog and feedback. MSHF appoints half of the governing board of the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center (MSRMC) known as Category A and consists of MSHF Board Members, past MSHF Board Members, and/or select staff.
As a place-based funder, the MSHF’s ultimate outcome is to measurably improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su, while improving the quality of healthcare and reducing healthcare costs through the intersection of its philanthropy and hospital ownership. Because of its public charity status, MSHF is uniquely suited to deploy its assets strategically and patiently and to budget their grantmaking based on community and project readiness. Additionally, as a data-driven culture, the foundation collects information to inform its response to the health needs of the community and further inform its grantmaking decisions.
Currently, the foundation’s programmatic bodies of work include five philanthropic focus areas and two initiatives. The focus areas are Healthy Minds, Healthy Families, Healthy Futures, Healthy Aging, and Healthy Foundations and the two initiatives are R.O.C.K. Mat-Su (Raising Our Children with Kindness) and Connect Mat-Su (a comprehensive health and social services information and referral hub).
MSHF has experienced steady and substantial growth since 2008. The organization grew exponentially starting in 2016 when it increased its ownership percentage in the LLC, which jointly owns Mat-Su Regional Medical Center from 25% to 35%, ensuring a greater percentage of hospital profits remain in Mat-Su. Additionally, MSHF grew its balance sheet by more than 400% since 2008, increased its community benefit payout from $2M to $30M, and increased the staff from four to thirty-nine. The Foundation has leveraged millions in investments from state and national funders to Mat-Su, resulting in significant economic impact in jobs and wages and increased capital investment from its LLC partner to add more licensed beds and services, including behavioral health. MSHF has established itself as a credible source of Mat-Su health data, analysis, and recommendations. Through community partnerships, it has achieved significant population level health outcomes for Mat-Su residents and strengthened the continuum of care for behavioral health, child welfare, crisis response, transportation, senior services, and prevention.
