Intermountain Health’s mission of Helping People Live the Healthiest Lives Possible extends beyond the walls of our hospitals. We know that social determinants of health – things like food security, mental health resources, economic stability, access to healthcare, and more – play a huge role. These non-medical factors – the conditions where people are born, grow, live, work and age, profoundly influence health outcomes.
Because of this, Lutheran Hospital’s Community Health team listens to and collaborates with the communities we serve to understand their unique health needs and address health disparities that impact their well-being.
For the past five years, Lutheran has supported CrossPurpose, a nonprofit organization abolishing relational, economic and spiritual poverty through career and community development. CrossPurpose serves individuals who, by federal definition, are living in poverty. They aren’t unhoused or chronically unemployed. They are the working poor, people juggling hourly jobs, family responsibilities, limited access to childcare, and a lifetime of systemic disadvantages.
The CrossPurpose program begins with six weeks of intensive personal development. Participants, called Leaders because they are taking ownership of their future, learn the soft skills that many workplaces assume but rarely teach, including conflict management, professionalism, reliability and communication. Without these foundations, careers can stall before they ever start.
From there, Leaders begin career training in high‑demand fields. Certificates in healthcare, trades, logistics, dental tech, medical billing and coding, and many other industries offer a path to real, livable wages — often $45,000 to $65,000 a year or more. Many Leaders receive job offers as early as their 10th week in the program.
“The work creates a realistic pathway to true financial freedom and breaks the cycle of generational poverty,” said Bryce Lopez, VP of Partnerships at CrossPurpose. “We’re able to get people in a place where they can achieve economic and social independence and be able to give their children opportunities that mom or dad simply did not have access to.”
Graduation isn’t the end of the CrossPurpose journey. After six months in the workforce, alumni are invited to join the Legacy Program, a 15‑week deep dive in financial education, mentoring, credit repair and long‑term planning. CrossPurpose walks with alumni for three or more years, helping them budget, eliminate debt and ultimately reach milestones many once saw as impossible: buying a reliable car, securing stable housing, or even becoming first‑time homeowners.
“CrossPurpose’s work succeeds because it does not stand alone,” Lopez said. “It relies on a three-part model: the public, the program and strong employer partners. Lutheran Hospital is one of those key partners.”
Through a long‑standing annual investment and consistent engagement, Lutheran supports career pathways into healthcare roles, opportunities for continuing education, including support for alumni pursuing nursing or higher degrees, and more.
Last year, Lutheran gave CrossPurpose $75,000 for this work. To date, Intermountain has hired more than 20 CrossPurpose graduates, individuals who are not only skilled but extraordinarily resilient. CrossPurpose’s retention rates are significantly higher than industry norms across all career tracks, and partners like Intermountain see firsthand the dedication and long‑term commitment of these graduates.
Since CrossPurpose opened its doors 13 years ago, more than 1,400 alumni have completed the Leader program, approximately 600 new Leaders will graduate by the end of the year, and 3,000 individuals each year are supported through the Launch program, a partnership with the State of Colorado.
“Intermountain is the engine,” Lopez said. “They provide the wages and the benefits that allow families to change their lives.”
“CrossPurpose isn’t just helping people find jobs; it’s helping families rewrite their future,” said Chuck Ault, Intermountain Health Community Health program manager. “We’re proud to support this work because when individuals secure stable careers with benefits, children grow up in more stable homes, families can afford healthcare, individuals shift from needing public support to becoming taxpayers and contributors, and communities become safer and healthier.”
For more information on CrossPurpose, visit https://www.crosspurpose.org.
