Henry Ford Health invested a record $1.6 billion in community benefit efforts across Michigan in 2025, expanding access to health care and supporting programs aimed at prevention, patient assistance, education and neighborhood well-being.
The Detroit-based integrated health system said $1.1 billion of that investment went toward uncompensated care, helping patients receive health services regardless of their ability to pay. The total represents the largest community investment in the organization’s history, according to Henry Ford Health.
In their annual report, Henry Ford Health stated: “At Henry Ford Health, we are deeply committed to shaping the future of health – fueled by science, guided by compassion, inspiring hope. Community is at the heart of everything we do, inside our walls and out. We are grounded in our mission. We are accountable to our communities. And we are committed to ensuring every Michigander can live a healthier, longer, more connected life.”
The investment extends beyond traditional medical care. Henry Ford Health’s community efforts include free health screenings, mobile mammography, senior fall-prevention programs, youth mentorship and support for families with infants.
Among those initiatives is the health system’s Healthy Heart event, which provided free heart screenings to more than 1,600 Michigan residents in a single day at nine locations across Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Genesee and Jackson counties. The system also deployed its mobile mammography unit into neighborhoods in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties to provide breast health services to uninsured and underinsured women.
“The Healthy Heart project [is] a huge success on many levels. It’s Henry Ford Health reaching out to the community to say, ‘we are here to support you.’ We want our community to be healthy, and these screenings are an integral part of our mission.” said Dr. Shukri David, chief of cardiology at Henry Ford Providence Southfield.
Henry Ford Health also has continued its work supporting infants and families through its donor milk bank, which has been based in Jackson since 2023. The organization said the milk bank has provided more than 25,000 bottles of donated breast milk to babies in need in and outside hospital settings in 2026 so far. It is expected to accept more than half a million ounces of donated milk in early 2027.
The system’s community investments also include a partnership with Habitat for Humanity on Stay Home Safe, a program that makes home modifications designed to help older adults avoid falls, improve household safety and remain independent.
Education and workforce development are another part of the effort. Henry Ford Health said it mentors hundreds of Detroit-area high school students interested in careers in surgery and has awarded 25 paid summer internships of $1,000 each to high school students paired with physicians.
The 2025 community investment builds on a longer history of philanthropy and community-focused spending by Henry Ford Health. The health system has relied on philanthropic support for decades to advance medical research, education, patient care and community programs.
Its history of giving includes a $100 million grant from the Ford Foundation in 1973 that helped establish the Fund for Henry Ford Hospital and strengthen the organization’s development operation. According to Henry Ford Health, earnings from that fund later supported clinical and biomedical research, medical education and other initiatives.
More recently, philanthropic giving has supported both medical programs and major institutional investments. In 2023, Henry Ford Health reported nearly $240 million in philanthropic support, marking a second consecutive record year for fundraising. The following year, the system publicly launched its $750 million Rising Above, Reaching Beyond campaign, its largest fundraising campaign to date, with proceeds intended to support care, research, education and health equity.
The fundraising campaign is also connected to Destination: Grand, Henry Ford Health’s $2.2 billion expansion of its Detroit campus. The project includes a new hospital facility and patient tower and is part of the broader Future of Health: Detroit development involving Henry Ford Health, Tom Gores and the Detroit Pistons, and Michigan State University. The broader development is designed to include health care, research, residential, commercial, retail and recreational components in Detroit’s New Center neighborhood.
Henry Ford Health has also directed philanthropic and institutional resources toward health equity and innovation. In 2022, the system committed $1 million to Jumpstart Nova, a venture fund focused on Black-led and Black-founded health care businesses. In 2025, Henry Ford Health and Michigan State University launched an Innovation Hub with an initial $10 million venture fund intended to support early-stage companies developing technologies and approaches in areas including digital health, artificial intelligence, medical devices, diagnostics and care delivery.
Those investments form part of a broader approach Henry Ford Health describes as extending “far beyond the bedside.” The organization says its community work is intended to address factors that influence health, expand access to care, create educational and economic opportunities and strengthen the communities it serves.
The health system’s 2025 community benefit figure includes the cost of care provided without compensation, as well as the programs and partnerships aimed at addressing health needs outside its hospitals and medical centers.
Henry Ford Health said additional details about its community investments are available through its Community Impact report, which provides information on programs and partnerships across Michigan. The report is available at henryford.com/communityimpact.