Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2011, 5:15 PM     Updated: Tuesday, December 13, 2011, 6:28 PM

By Peter Goonan, The Republican

SPRINGFIELD – The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded a $200,000 grant to Partners for a Healthier Community in Springfield, aimed at creating new jobs in the inner-city neighborhoods seen as critical to the health of the city and its residents.

The grant, one of 12 nationwide, was announced during a press conference Tuesday at City Hall, attended by city and state officials and representatives of some of the institutions and organizations that are involved in the local “Wellspring Initiative.” The initiative is designed to create stable, long-term employment and improve the health and living conditions in Springfield neighborhoods, officials said.

Frank P. Robinson, executive director for Partners for a Healthier Community, said he is optimistic the effort will ultimately create “hundreds of jobs,” in part by working with institutions such as hospitals and universities, to shift more of their spending on local goods and services. In addition, the initiative will strive to create an employee-owned company, and the framework for others, to address that shift in spending, he said.

“This initiative grew out of a concern that many of our center-city neighborhoods lack employment opportunities, and many residents are not making a living wage,” Robinson said. “Lack of employment has a known detrimental effect on health, now and later in life.”

The initiative is also assisted by $200,000 in matching funds from Springfield institutions and organizations. The local funding consists of $100,00 in cash and $100,000 in in-kind services.

To build demand for new jobs, Wellspring is coordinating with the region’s largest employers to identify key areas where goods and services are needed and could be shifted and met by companies in inner-city neighborhoods, Robinson said.

One idea being explored is to create a “food hub” to provide a major source of local food products for large institutions, officials said. A second idea is to provide for construction needs.

Partners for a Healthier Community is the lead agency with the University of Massachusetts of Amherst in the two-year collaborative. The initiative is shaped after a similar successful program in Cleveland called Evergreen Cooperatives, said Fred Rose, a consultant from the University of Massachusetts Center for Public Policy and Administration.

Local anchor institutions – such as hospitals and colleges, now spend $1.5 billion on goods and services annually, with 90 percent spent outside the region, Rose said.

The Cleveland project has created models of job creation, wealth building and sustainability, Rose said.

Steven F. Bradley, vice-president of government and community relations for Baystate Health, said Baystate contributed $50,000 to the initiative, based on Baystate’s “overall mission to improve the health of our community.” The hospital system will strive to spend as much locally as it can.

Rose said the initiative must identify products needed and where those products can come from locally. The first phase will be a feasibility study and creating a business model for that desired shift in spending, he said.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said that when you have a job, you gain self-identity and empowerment.

Bringing jobs to people in the inner city helps combat poverty and public safety issues, he said.

Key partner organizations include the region’s largest employers, educational institutions and nonprofits.

In addition to Baystate Health and the University of Massachusetts, funding partners include MassMutual Foundation, Providence Health System, the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, Springfield Technical Community College and United Way of Pioneer Valley.