In philanthropy, innovation is sometimes thought of as investing in new technologies or breakthrough medical procedures. While less visible, however, investments in systems that coordinate people, protocols, and institutions already in place can yield significant and measurable improvements in outcomes.
“For philanthropic organizations, this work underscores an important lesson: meaningful improvements in health outcomes often depend less on new interventions and more on strengthening how existing systems function,” argues Helmsley Program Officer Elizabeth Ruen in her recent essay for Grantmakers in Health.
Throughout the article, Elizabeth highlights this concept at work in Helmsley’s support for the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline cardiac and stroke programs to transform care across multiple states.
