Philanthropist Stephen K. Robert believes those who are fortunate enough to be wealthy should give as much of their money back to society as possible before they pass away. Alongside his wife Pilar Crespi Robert, Stephen Robert leads the Source of Hope Foundation, whose mission is to give equal opportunities to people who are vulnerable. The foundation has supported many organizations including NewYork-Presbyterian, one of the country’s most comprehensive healthcare delivery systems.

The Source of Hope Foundation funded the construction of centers for community health navigation at three NewYork-Presbyterian campuses. The campuses are NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, and NewYork-Presbyterian Queens.

The community health centers deliver culturally sensitive support in in-patient and out-patient settings, improving the overall health of the community. The centers provide preventive and continuous care to patients, and also address some barriers to care such as inadequate nutrition and housing instability.

At NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, for instance, two of the most common health problems are congestive heart failure and diabetes. These are preventable but become prevalent and even worsen because of societal barriers to care. The hospital’s community center has multilingual patient navigators and community health workers who identify vulnerable populations, customize programs to suit their needs, and then collaborate care with clinical staff at the hospital.