Healthcare Anchor Network
Join a growing national collaboration of 65+ leading healthcare systems building more inclusive and sustainable local economies
You can’t create equitable health outcomes for America’s communities without tackling the underlying economic and racial disparities that drive them—the structural determinants of health. Healthcare Anchor Network members are committed to making sure their institutional and operational resources are aligned with their clinical mission.
It is undeniable: Racism is a public health crisis
40 health systems in 45 states and Washington, DC have committed to addressing racism and the public health disparities caused by racism. “As members and leaders of many healthcare organizations across the nation addressing the disproportionate Black and Brown mortality of the COVID-19 pandemic, we say without hesitation that Black Lives Matter.”
“Systemic racism results in generational trauma and poverty, while also unquestionably causing higher rates of illness and death in Black and Indigenous communities and communities of color. We must double down on our efforts. We stand united as frontline organizations against racism, injustice and inaction and commit to specific steps to help overcome the healthcare disparities in the communities we serve.”
Join the Healthcare Anchor Network to…
With 65+ health systems (and counting) represented in the Network, we bring together anchor institutions from across the country that together employ more than 2 million people, purchase over $75 billion annually, and have over $150 billion in investment assets.
The Healthcare Anchor Network spotlighted in the New York Times
Featured News: When a Steady Paycheck Is Good Medicine
The New York Times traces the genesis of the Healthcare Anchor Network model for anchor institution engagement with the democratic economy from its origins in Cleveland with the Evergreen Cooperatives. It follows this thread through the creation of the Healthcare Anchor Network, which brings together hospitals and health systems in an increasingly impactful collaboration to align the nonprofit healthcare sector as a whole with what we have called the “anchor mission.”
The latest news from the field
Building the anchor mission movement
HAN Executive Director, David Zuckerman, presented testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Rules Committee for its Roundtable on Ending Hunger in America: Local Innovations to Inform a National Strategy. He shared how the anchor mission framework can help to address hunger by addressing its root causes through good jobs with training and career ladders, supporting local and minority, women,…
Investing in affordable housing to improve health
HAN member Kaiser Permanente’s impact investments in affordable housing continues with project in New Mexico and California. In California, Kaiser Permanente has committed $50 million to the SDS Supportive Housing Fund, an innovative real estate impact fund that is seeking to build up to 1,800 financially sustainable permanent supportive housing (PSH) units for people experiencing homelessness in…
Continue Reading Investing in affordable housing to improve health
Health anchors are vital place-based investors
Healthcare anchors have a unique role to play as investors in their communities to improve community health and well-being, particularly for those impacted by a legacy of divestment and discrimination. Many HAN member health systems have committed to redirecting a portion of their investable assets toward impact investments that are place-based and address community conditions that…
Continue Reading Health anchors are vital place-based investors
UMass Memorial Health Care Community Investing Program
UMass Memorial Health (UMMH)’s Community Investing Program is explored in a new case study. The case study covers the program’s inception and design, strategies employed, and key stakeholders involved. It also discusses several of the program’s projects, including Worcester Common Ground (WCG), Creative Hub Worcester (CHW), the Finally Home Fund, and the Tiny Home Village. …
Continue Reading UMass Memorial Health Care Community Investing Program
Hospital and Health System Members of the Healthcare Anchor Network include:
State Hospital Association Affiliate Member in the Healthcare Anchor Network includes:
“An anchor mission means sustainably investing in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, addressing not just health disparities, but economic and racial inequities as well.”
–– David Zuckerman, Executive Director of the Healthcare Anchor Network
