release or is otherwise written in a promotional tone . please help by either rewriting this article from a neutral point of view or by moving this article to wikinews . when appropriate blatant advertising may be marked for speedy deletion with db spam . april 2015 this article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on wikipedia . see wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions . april 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message health leads founded 1996 founder rebecca onie barry zuckerman headquarters boston key people rebecca onie ceo website healthleadsusa.org health leads is a nonprofit organization that envisions a healthcare system that addresses all patients basic resource needs as a standard part of quality care . health leads increases access to health and healthcare services by addressing the social and economic factors that contribute to illness . as a service provider health leads is helping health systems to create models for integrating patient social needs into care using a full spectrum of tools including the health leads desk in which providers prescribe basic resources like food and heat and well trained student advocates stationed in the clinics work side by side with patients to fill those prescriptions by accessing community resources and public benefits . in 2014 nearly 900 health leads advocates connected over 13 000 patients and their families to the resources they needed to be healthy . more recently health leads has been piloting new solutions including technology training and implementation insights that will enable health care organizations to address social needs in a range of care settings and with a variety of workforces . in addition to its work as a service provider health leads works with health systems at the leadership level to build momentum in the sector for addressing patient social needs . in this role health leads shines a light on innovation and best practices and participates in critical efforts around evaluation and value measurement . contents 1 history 1.1 funding 2 business model 2.1 importance of volunteers 2.2 plans for growth 3 evaluations and media coverage 3.1 outcomes 3.2 awards 4 references 5 external links history edit in 1996 harvard college sophomore rebecca onie co founded health leads called project health until november 2010 1 with dr. barry zuckerman chief of pediatrics at boston medical center . 2 onie reached out to zuckerman while serving as an intern at greater boston legal services where she was struck by the link between poverty and poor health . 3 during her internship onie interviewed mothers of children who had asthma and lung infections which were triggered by their housing conditions . 4 onie found that close to 70 percent of the patients at boston medical center are considered poor and the children who were treated at the clinic would later be readmitted to the hospital because nothing was done to address the causes of their illnesses . 4 onie served as executive director for health leads while she completed her undergraduate education . 5 she then attended harvard law school and later worked as an associate at miner barnhill & galland p.c. in chicago where her clients included civil health centers affordable housing developers and non profit organizations . during that time onie served as founding co chair of health leads board of directors . she returned to health leads as ceo in february 2006 . 6 between 2012 and 2014 over 1 000 hospitals requested the health leads program . 7 funding edit health leads is currently supported by both foundations and individual donors . 8 in march 2011 the skoll foundation awarded health leads a 1.2 million three year grant in connection with its social entrepreneurship award to rebecca onie . 9 in june 2011 health leads completed a capital campaign to raise 11.1 million for a four year strategic growth plan . 10 in 2014 robert wood johnson foundation gave health leads a 16 million grant to focus on scaling impact . 7 other donors include new profit 11 a venture philanthropy fund and the physicians foundation . 12 business model edit health leads facilities are operated chiefly by physicians and college volunteers who work together to match incoming patients with available resources . health leads stated mission is to connect low income patients with the basic resources such as food housing and heating assistance that they need to be healthy . 13 during a medical appointment at a health leads partnered clinic a physician can refer a patient to a health leads desk by writing a prescription for resources just as he she would for medication . the patient is sent to a health leads desk in clinic waiting rooms where trained college volunteers fill the prescription . 14 patient casework is documented by advocates using health leads reach an online resource and case note database . stations are typically housed within pediatric outpatient adolescent and prenatal clinics newborn nurseries pediatric emergency rooms health department clinics and federally qualified health centers . 15 importance of volunteers edit student advocates are a key part of the model which involves mobilizing undergraduate volunteers in partnership with providers in urban clinics to connect low income patients with the basic resources such as food housing and heating assistance that they need to be healthy . 13 health leads also sees them as potential future healthcare leaders who will understand the importance of addressing the connection between poverty and poor health . 16 the volunteers go through intensive training 17 and dedicate a minimum of eight hours a week . 18 health leads currently works with and accepts applications for new college volunteers each semester from the following schools boston university harvard university university of massachusetts boston brown university city college of new york columbia university hofstra university new york university johns hopkins university loyola university maryland university of maryland baltimore county university of maryland college park george washington university the university of chicago and case western reserve university . 18 in 2014 health leads anticipates training roughly 1 000 college volunteers helping over 14 000 low income patients . 7 a reported 83 percent of graduating health leads volunteers in 2010 entered jobs or advanced study in the fields of health and poverty . 9 plans for growth edit health leads strategic plan for 2011 to 2014 calls for growing significantly beyond its current partner hospitals and clinics . 19 in addition to scaling up its current model the organization is also working on building a strong business case 20 for why the healthcare system should pay for the service . 10 evaluations and media coverage edit outcomes edit nearly 60 percent of patients referred to health leads had at least one critical need met within 90 days of their first appointment . 15 awards edit in an april 2013 article in the journal of the american medical association health leads was provided as an example of an outside the box multidisciplinary primary care intervention along with programs like reach out and read and the medical legal partnership . the article made recommendations for successful approached to addressing social determinants of health . 21 in april 2013 the academic pediatric association s task force on childhood poverty formed to address the effect of childhood poverty on health released a brief highlighting specific programs including health leads as evidence based primary care programs that help children in poor families . 22 in march 2013 rebecca onie appeared for the second time on the msnbc program melissa harris perry show to discuss the affordable care act and the challenges of implementation as coverage is set to extend to roughly 30 million more americans in 2014 . 23 the schwab foundation for social entrepreneurship named onie one of twenty four international social entrepreneurs of the year 2013 . the award recognizes leadership and innovation as well as potential for global impact . 24 the center for public leadership at the harvard kennedy school named rebecca onie as the 2012 recipient of the gleitsman citizen activist award bestowed biennially to leaders who have struggled to correct social injustice in the united states . 25 in december 2012 health leads was named to the s & i 100 an index launched by the social impact exchange highlighting america s top performing non profit organizations . 26 in october 2012 the robert wood johnson foundation selected rebecca onie as one of ten recipients 40 years of age and younger of the young leader award recognizing leadership for a healthier america . 27 in september 2012 rebecca onie appeared on the top rated msnbc program melissa harris perry show to discuss the affordable care act and the challenge of more patients becoming insured while fewer medical students pursue primary care . 28 in 2012 rebecca onie co authored realigning health with care lessons in delivering more with less highlighting the need for america to expand its scope of healthcare . the article appeared in the stanford social innovation review . 29 in april 2012 rebecca onie delivered a tedmed talk can we rewrite the dna of the healthcare system where she asked if we know what we need to do to have a healthcare system rather than a sickcare system why don t we do it 30 in december 2011 harris interactive on behalf of the robert wood johnson foundation found that nine in ten physicians serving patients in low income communities believe patients social needs are as important to address as their medical conditions and offered health leads as a promising model for bridging the gap . 31 on july 28 2011 the new york times ran a commentary about health leads written by david bornstein author which referred to health leads as one of the most impressive organizations in the country at addressing the conditions that make people sick . 32 the skoll foundation awarded rebecca onie one of its four 2011 skoll awards for entrepreneurship for health leads role in scalable proven solutions to the toughest of problems . 9 the awards go to social entrepreneurs around the world in the areas of tolerance and human rights health environmental sustainability peace and security and economic and social equity . 9 onie was named to oprah winfrey s 2010 o power list of women who are changing the world for the better . 33 according to o the oprah magazine onie and health leads blew us away by understanding the power of the big picture . 34 in 2009 onie received a macarthur fellows program from the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation for her work with health leads . 35 onie one of 24 recipients of the award was honored for health leads work providing health care professionals with effective tools for alleviating the socioeconomic barriers that limit access to health care for low income families thereby expanding the scope of what health care truly entails . 36 at the 2009 time magazine 100 most influential people gala first lady michelle obama called project health now health leads exactly the kind of social innovation and entrepreneurship we should be encouraging all across this country . 37 references edit health leads a new name but an unchanged mission to care for low income families . wbur boston npr . rebecca onie co founder & chief executive officer . health leads . treating root causes . boston globe . archived from the original on august 10 2011 . a b bornstein david july 28 2011 . treating the cause not the illness . new york times . kennedy honors two . harvard gazette . rebecca onie co founder & chief executive officer . health leads . a b c health leads expands movement to place social needs at the center of preventive care . tedmed . 9 june 2014 . retrieved 29 september 2014 . our supporters . health leads . a b c d skoll foundation