BILH Health Equity Internship / Fellowship Program

BILH Health Equity Internship / Fellowship Program

Program Overview

The Beth Israel Lahey Health (BILH) Health Equity Fellowship Program is an unpaid internship and coop opportunity housed within the BILH Community and Health Impact Office. The program is designed to provide undergraduate and/or graduate students with hands-on experience in how a large, integrated health system identifies, measures, and addresses health disparities across clinical care, quality, population health, and community impact.

BILH is the second largest healthcare system in Massachusetts and a leading academic health system, comprised of academic medical centers, community hospitals, and outpatient practices serving over 1.7 million patients across the Commonwealth. Through this year-round, applied learning opportunity, Fellows work alongside multidisciplinary teams and gain practical experience in data-informed decision-making, quality improvement, population health strategy, and system-level equity governance, while contributing to priority initiatives across the organization.

Program Purpose

The Fellowship Program aims to:

• Provide students with real-world experience in health system operations applying a health equity and quality lens
• Build foundational skills in disparities analysis, quality improvement, and population health
• Support the organization’s efforts to identify and address meaningful, measurable disparities
• Foster interest in careers in healthcare delivery, public health, quality, analytics, and health equity leadership

Program Sponsorship & Location

Housed within the BILH Community and Health Impact Office, the program is coordinated centrally by the Health Equity team. Fellows may be assigned to projects in collaboration with:

• Health Equity and Community Partnerships
• Quality and Safety
• Population Health Management
• Clinical Operations
• Health Informatics and Analytics

Program Structure

Placement Options

• 10-week Summer Fellowship, as well as 3-month or 6-month engagements
• Rolling start dates offered throughout the year
• Extensions possible based on mutual interest and project needs

Time Commitment:

• Flexible and aligned with academic requirements. Typically, 16–40 hours per week.

Compensation:

• This is an unpaid fellowship
• Intended to support academic credit, practicum hours, or field placement requirements

Location:

• On-site presence preferred to support mentorship, systems learning, and exposure to healthcare operations.
• Hybrid and/or remote options considered case by case.

Applied Learning Experience

Fellows receive structured mentorship and professional exposure, including:

• A primary project supervisor for day-to-day guidance
• Opportunities to engage with subject matter experts across public health, clinical operations, data analytics, and community engagement
• Exposure to system-level decision-making, governance, and implementation
• Exposure to enterprise committees or governance forums, as appropriate

Applied Health Equity Project & Program Conclusion

Each fellow will complete one primary project, scoped to be achievable within the fellowship period. Fellows are encouraged to ensure that the project is aligned with their academic program requirements and competencies. The program culminates in:

• Participation in an end-of-program presentation and recognition ceremony

Fellowship Focus Areas

Fellows are matched to one or more focus areas based on their academic concentration, interests, and system priorities.

• Health Equity Research, Evaluation & Quality Improvement: Applied research, program evaluation, performance improvement initiatives, and equity-focused measurements to assess disparities and inform system change.
• Population Health, Access & Community Engagement: Preventive care initiatives, outreach to underserved populations, care transitions, and efforts to reduce barriers to access across the continuum of care.
• Health-Related Social Needs (HRSN) & Social Determinants of Health: Screening workflows, referral processes, closed-loop systems, and strengthening linkages between healthcare and community-based resources.
• Language Equity, Health Literacy & Patient-Centered Communication: Language access initiatives, culturally and linguistically appropriate communication, and health literacy improvement across clinical and operational settings.
• Health Equity Strategy, Policy & Systems Management: System-level equity planning, regulatory alignment, grant support, and operationalization of equity goals within a large academic health system.
• Data, Analytics & Population Health Informatics: Equity-focused data analysis, dashboards, data quality assessments, and translation of data into actionable insights.
• Education, Training & Workforce Development: Development and evaluation of equity-focused training, educational materials, and staff-facing tools.

Who Should Apply

This fellowship is intended for:

• Undergraduate students (e.g., public health, health sciences, social sciences, data analytics)
• Graduate students (MPH, MHA, MS, MBA, MSW, Nursing, Data Science)
• Professional students (medical, PA, NP, pharmacy, psychology)
• Students participating in formal academic internship or co-op programs
• The program is open to students with a demonstrated interest in:
• Healthcare delivery and improvement
• Health equity and quality measurement
• Population health and community impact
• Data-informed problem solving

Program Outcomes

For Fellows:

• Practical understanding of health system equity and quality work
• Exposure to interdisciplinary teams and leadership
• Career exploration and professional skill development

For the Organization:

• Increased capacity to support equity and community health initiatives
• Fresh perspectives and analytical support for priority work
• Strengthened relationships with academic partners