PASADENA, Calif., July 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HealthBegins, the organization empowering transformational healthcare leaders to address the social needs and conditions that put people in harm’s way, today announced the launch of HealthBegins Academy. The online learning platform is designed to help health care, public health and community leaders develop the skills necessary to address social determinants of health, improve health equity and sustain upstream care models at scale.
The Academy uses a flexible, practice-oriented approach to translate decades of field-tested frameworks, consulting tools and successful real-world implementations into accessible learning experiences. Courses combine masterclass-style video instruction from HealthBegins leaders and expert partners with concise modules, interactive assessments and downloadable tools, templates and reference guides. In addition to self-paced online courses, HealthBegins Academy will support shorter “lightning lessons,” team-based and facilitated programs that include live office hours, deep-dive sessions and cohort-based implementation support for organizations seeking a higher-touch experience.
“Health care and community leaders have long understood that upstream quality improvement is essential to better outcomes, but many teams have lacked a practical path to make the work sustainable,” said Glasha Marcon, Vice President of Products & Programs at HealthBegins. “We’ve worked with health equity leaders and organizations for nearly 15 years and understand the obstacles and demands they face. We designed the HealthBegins Academy coursework to support their needs and foster successful, scalable outcomes. This structure allows them to learn at their own pace and gather actionable insights, grounded in real implementation challenges, from experts who have done this work in the field.”
HealthBegins Academy builds on a limited collection of stand-alone instructional videos and is designed to meet universal demand for more robust, professionally produced and consistent content that will continuously empower teams and individuals. As part of the Academy’s launch, HealthBegins is introducing Billing Medicare for Social Care, a timely course that helps healthcare and community partners apply underutilized billing codes to recoup lost revenue due to government funding cuts. The curriculum helps learners define service categories, identify eligible patient populations, understand the workforce roles involved and secure reimbursement for social care delivered by community health workers, care navigators and peer support specialists. Designed for directors, senior managers and operational leaders, the self-paced course consists of 10 modules, video lessons, interactive knowledge checks, an implementation plan template and a reference guide.
“HealthBegins Academy introduces a new way to build the practical capabilities needed to move care upstream at scale,” said Dr. Rishi Manchanda, CEO of HealthBegins. “Launching the Academy with Billing Medicare for Social Care is extremely timely because of the policy-driven economic headwinds health systems are facing. The course helps health care and community leaders move from awareness to implementation by giving them the tools, resources and guidance needed to make social care part of everyday care delivery. This is an important step toward recognizing the value of the workforce and partnerships that help people stay healthy outside the clinic.”
At launch, the HealthBegins Academy offers four courses consisting of 155 lessons and more than 12 hours of instructional video. Future coursework will be developed based on the timely, relevant and in-demand topics HealthBegins is addressing in the field through consulting engagements with health care and community organizations. HealthBegins plans to release new Academy courses quarterly, expanding the platform with practical learning opportunities focused on health equity, social needs, community-clinical integration and more. Select courses will be available as self-paced learning experiences while others will consist of live or cohort-based support.
To learn more about HealthBegins Academy, enroll in the Billing Medicare for Social Course or inquire about group and facilitated cohort options, visit https://academy.healthbegins.org/.
About HealthBegins
HealthBegins empowers transformational healthcare leaders to address the social needs and conditions that put people in harm’s way. A defining voice in the Upstreamist movement since 2012, HealthBegins guides industry vanguards with practical strategies, training, and field-building expertise to unlock and optimize investments, integrate and improve care, and shape policies and power structures to generate better health for patients and communities. Headquartered in Pasadena, California, HealthBegins is a public benefit corporation serving health systems, health plans, and community-based organizations nationwide. For more information, visit HealthBegins.org.
Media Contact:
Geoff Lopes
Marketbridge for HealthBegins
healthbegins@marketbridge.com
