Investing in Good Health
Built by physicians. Guided by purpose. Improving health across central Ohio since 1958.
The Columbus Medical Association Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Columbus Medical Association. Since 1958, we have served as a trusted steward of physician-led philanthropy, investing more than $40 million in programs and organizations that improve health and strengthen communities across central Ohio.
Our ability to create lasting impact expanded significantly in 1993 with a $22 million endowment established through the sale of Physicians Health Plan, an insurance company created by local physicians. That investment continues to support community health initiatives and physician-led innovation today.
Funding Priorities
As a 501(c)(3) organization, we help individuals and organizations invest in better health by supporting key community priorities and establishing funds that reflect their own philanthropic interests.
Transforming clinical healthcare delivery
Supporting and improving health care safety net clinical services to uninsured and underinsured populations
Saving and improving lives through the coordination of trauma and emergency health care resources
Teaching physicians to improve the patient/provider relationship by combining wellness with leadership
Encouraging leadership among youth by engaging in health philanthropy
Impact in Action
In 2025, we provided more than $1,800,000 in funding to impactful organizations and programs.
The Power of a Healthy Idea
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Physicians CareConnection
Physicians in Columbus banded together to close gaps in care for homeless and uninsured residents who lacked access to coordinated health services. The Physicians CareConnection started with a 1993 proposal for a walk-in clinic and grew into an organization built by physicians to link low-income patients with medical homes and specialty care they couldn't otherwise reach.
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COTS
In 1995, Columbus physicians alarmed by preventable trauma deaths and uncoordinated, competing hospital systems formed a task force to find ways to get injured patients the right care faster. That effort grew into COTS, a nonprofit now coordinating regional disaster preparedness and trauma care education across thousands of physicians, nurses, and EMS providers.
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Physicians Leadership Academy
In 2012, interviews with fifty central Ohio physicians revealed they were burned out, thrust into leadership roles without training, and rarely heard in decision-making despite being their patients' best advocates. In response, the Columbus Medical Association Foundation created the Physicians Leadership Academy, a program built by and for physicians to develop leadership skills and reconnect them with their original sense of purpose.
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Made for Medicine
Dr. Laura Espy-Bell had a vision of a future where the medical field reflected our society, where health equity was fully realized, and where every individual, regardless of their background, had equal access to quality healthcare. In 2021, Made for Medicine launched its first cohort of students receiving foundational knowledge, hands-on learning, and job shadowing to prepare them for a future career in medicine.
