Healthcare Anchor Network
Join a growing national collaboration of 70+ 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 70+ 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
Higher education’s anchor mission imperative
The Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) and the Coalition of Urban & Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) released Higher Education’s Anchor Mission: A Sharpened Imperative & A Framework for Action. The paper rearticulates the anchor mission goals and positions it so that higher education institutions can achieve their public good goals of contributing to more equitable local economies.…
Continue Reading Higher education’s anchor mission imperative
Facilitating purchasing from local, diverse & disadvantaged companies
HAN member RWJBarnabas Health for launching BuyLocal to facilitate local companies doing business with the health system. Local, minority, veteran-owned, and women-owned businesses can register online to be considered for purchasing contracts. Read the becker’s hospital review article
Continue Reading Facilitating purchasing from local, diverse & disadvantaged companies
16 HAN member systems sign Climate Change Pledge
Healthcare Anchor Network members Advocate Aurora Health, Ascension, Baystate Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston Medical Center, CommonSpirit Health, Hackensack Meridian Health, Henry Ford Health, Kaiser Permanente, Mass General Brigham, Providence, Rush University System for Health, RWJBarnabas Health, Seattle Children’s, University of California Health (with HAN members UC Davis Health, UCSF Health & UCLA Health), and…
Continue Reading 16 HAN member systems sign Climate Change Pledge
The Role of Health Care Systems in Bolstering the Social Safety Net
HAN member UCSF’s Rita Hamad, MD, PhD, wrote The Role of Health Care Systems in Bolstering the Social Safety Net to Address Health Inequities in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic, which includes a recommendation to lean into policy advocacy and recognize that a holistic view of health, beyond solely healthcare systems, is critical for…
Continue Reading The Role of Health Care Systems in Bolstering the Social Safety Net
Hospital and Health System Members of the Healthcare Anchor Network include:
Affiliate Members in the Healthcare Anchor Network include:
“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
