community wellbeing

Sharon Hospital was sold to for-profit Essent Health, Inc. and Connecticut law required that the $16 million proceeds go to a non-profit organization dedicated to community health.

Foundation for Community Health was created to steward these public assets for the benefit of the 17-town region served by the hospital.

The newly formed FCH Board, led by John Charde, MD, initiated a community needs assessment and hired FCH’s first Executive Director, Nancy L. Heaton.

Together, they formulated FCH’s first strategic plan, which prioritized access to health, prevention, and collaboration.

FCH awarded its first grants, which focused on transportation, emergency medical services, and access to behavioral and oral health services.

Among these was a prevention focused school-based oral health program that has grown to serve most K-8 schools in our community.

After Medicaid was expanded and the Affordable Care Act passed, FCH played a critical role in ensuring local access by supporting a successful, regional in-person health insurance enrollment program.

In our first decade, FCH built critical community relationships which resulted in the creation of the first regional Dial-a-Ride service in eastern Dutchess County, NY, the first Nursing Program at Northwestern Connecticut Community College, and a dental practice in Amenia, NY.

A 2014 change in federal law required FCH to change our IRS status from Type II to a Type I Supporting Organization.

This years-long long transition ultimately led to a broader, deeper relationship between FCH and three community foundations in our region: Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, and Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation.

FCH made two significant investments in healthcare access during this time. First, $3 million was granted toward the purchase and non-profit conversion of Sharon Hospital. Second, FCH granted $1.3 million toward the establishment of a Federally Qualified Community Health Center in North Canaan, CT.

FCH responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by granting out $230,000 in unrestricted rapid response funding, releasing our grantee partners from existing grant restrictions, and partnering with two funder collaboratives to strengthen local philanthropy’s response in our region.

In a moment of unprecedented health risk, our focus narrowed significantly to provide direct support to organizations that are often the backbone of services in our community – prioritizing the continued resiliency of nonprofits in uncertain times.

FCH adopted a new strategic framework, focusing the foundation’s efforts towards the underlying conditions that influence health.

2021 also marked FCH’s first Multi-Year General Operating Support Grant Program, which supported three New York social service organizations.

FCH was a founding partner in the Litchfield County Center for Housing Opportunity (LCCHO), an initiative of The Housing Collective, recognizing that safe, stable housing is core to community health.  

We also deepened our investment in North Canaan’s Health Center, releasing $650,000 in extraordinary grant funds released to Community Health & Wellness Center – funding that fell outside our typical grantmaking to help expand primary care in our region.

FCH adopted our Place-Based Investment Policy,  committing to reinvest 17% of our capital in the local economy to create measurable, targeted impact in our rural region. Our first place-based investments came through our Revolving Loan Program for Affordable Housing, issuing its first loan to Cornwall Housing Corporation – enabling the town-led nonprofit to quickly close on a home purchase with timely, affordable financing.

We entered a two-year general operating support grant commitment with Lakeville Journal Millerton News Media to strengthen local journalism, equipping decision-makers with on-the-ground knowledge to better inform choices affecting our communities.

These past two years have brought momentum and headwinds in equal measure. The North Canaan Health Center, opened in 2024, has grown steadily into a cornerstone of local care. In 2025 we made our largest place-based investment to date, $1,000,000 to Seed Commons in support of a line of credit for Rock Steady Farm, continuing our commitment to put capital directly to work in our communities.

At the same time, federal policy changes — including new Medicaid work requirements — put pressure on healthcare coverage and access across our region, a threat that’s already playing out locally. We responded by increasing our overall grantmaking, directing new grants to help local providers absorb this pressure, and launching our From Here series in September 2025 to help communities and local decision-makers make sense of these changes.

We’re now using these lessons — and five years of broader reflection — to guide a strategic refresh we expect to complete late 2026.