About Mat-Su Health Foundation
The Organization
Mat-Su Health Foundation is the official business name of Valley Hospital Association, Inc., which shares ownership in Mat-Su Regional Medical Center (MSRMC). The foundation actively participates in the governance of Mat-Su’s community hospital, protecting the community’s interest through board oversight. The MSHF invests its assets into charitable works with a goal to measurably improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Matanuska Susitna Borough (Mat-Su), while reducing healthcare costs through the intersection of its philanthropy and hospital ownership.
MSHF recognizes there is inequity in today’s health systems and strives to be a catalyst for change to ensure that all community members have the opportunity for a healthy life. As a trusted leader in both the philanthropic and health sectors, MSHF convenes community partners, commissions research, supports health-related coalitions, invests in capacity building and advocates for regulatory and policy changes to achieve its mission. While the foundation’s work focuses on the Mat-Su, MSHF is recognized as a state leader and a global thinker.
MSHF concentrates on upstream solutions, filling service gaps, improving care coordination, and taking bold steps to bring a collaborative response to systemic issues. MSHF staffs two programmatic initiatives – R.O.C.K. Mat-Su (Raising Our Children with Kindness) and Connect Mat-Su – and is a responsive grantmaker in five philanthropic focus areas. MSHF also invests in nonprofit leadership and offers scholarships to build the health workforce of tomorrow.
MSHF uses a data-driven framework in examining the causes, distribution and management of health at the population level, including determinants of health. MSHF values learning, measurement, and analysis and uses data to inform its strategic planning and sound decision-making. The foundation is committed to optimizing the use of their resources over time and collects evidence to measure the impact of their mission, strategy, initiatives and grants that address the key questions facing their communities.
The MSHF board and staff are committed to promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and are currently engaged in working with consultants to implement the National Center for Responsive Philanthropy’s Power Moves Framework. MSHF board and staff are also actively engaging in an ongoing personal, interpersonal, and organizational equity journey.
