The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, Inc. was formally established in January, 1999, with initial assets of approximately $60 million. These assets resulted from the sale of Central Massachusetts Health Care, Inc. (CMHC) a physician-initiated, not-for-profit health maintenance organization. The trustees of CMHC envisioned a philanthropic organization dedicated to improving the health of the people in the region as a fitting legacy to those physicians who founded and then supported the original organization in 1977.