Your Gifts At Work: Institute for H.O.P.E.™

MetroHealth’s Institute for H.O.P.E.™ (Health, Opportunity, Partnership, Empowerment) was created in 2019 to address the social drivers of health – those factors outside of medical care that adversely affect a patient’s quality of life and well-being.

Key to the Institute’s work are health screenings that help identify our community’s most pressing needs.

As of July 2023, the Institute had screened almost 120,000 patients (see table at right). About two-thirds of patients were at risk for at least one adverse social driver of health. About 20% percent of patients screened – 1 in 5 – had three or more areas of risk.

Social isolation was the No.1 risk.

Answering the call for connection

A casual phone call can do more than lift someone’s spirits; it can improve their health, too.

The Institute’s Calls for HOPE program was created to address social isolation, especially in the senior population.

The program pairs trained MetroHealth volunteers with patients for once-a-week chats over the phone for six months. Patient participants include individuals managing chronic illness or injury, those living alone and individuals experiencing life changes that present new challenges for socializing.

The volunteers engage in positive conversations while being on the lookout for concerning behavior.