HAN just released a case study on HAN member Intermountain Health’s Place Based Investing program, a strategy embedded across six states: Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming. The program deploys low-cost, longer-term capital to address social drivers of health such as housing stability and financial wellness. By committing up to two percent of its long-term investment pool, Intermountain has directed $105 million to mission-aligned projects. These include the preservation and production of more than 2,600 affordable housing units and the expansion of access to small business loans, low-cost mortgages, and down payment assistance for more than 1,000 people. The objective is to strengthen local communities, advance the health system’s community health priorities, and build economic pathways that promote long-term health and stability.
From the HAN Intermountain Health case study:
Nicholas Fritz, Intermountain Health’s Director of Place Based Investing, worked in collaboration with Intermountain’s Investment and Community Health Departments to design and expand the program. To build internal support, Fritz and senior leaders engaged the executive team early, emphasized alignment with community health needs assessments, and highlighted lessons from peer health systems. These efforts helped normalize place-based investing as a viable strategy to deliver both social impact and financial returns and secured an allocation of investment funds from the board. By pairing catalytic capital with intentional community engagement, Intermountain has been able to finance projects that traditional investors often view as too risky, filling gaps in the funding marketplace and advancing health equity in under-resourced communities.