HAN member Bon Secours Mercy Health provides community investment funds to support the purchase and renovation of homes in Ohio. The program is aligned with other housing initiatives that the health system supports in these communities. Bon Secours Mercy Health also looks to support employees’ well-being by providing down payment support along with helping to “build up homeownership in local…

This roadmap collects common milestones in the Anchor Mission implementation journey and shares examples of how health systems have educated staff on community needs and the Anchor Mission vision, created new staff positions to advance anchor strategies, developed dashboards to track progress, and more.

Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member Rush University System for Health with the support of HAN, shares new insights, implications, and tools to aid in the execution of the anchor mission framework in the Anchor Mission Playbook: New Learnings & Findings in Anchor Mission Execution. The original Anchor Mission Playbook outlined strategies and insights to execute an anchor mission approach when the field was developing. Six…

University of Vermont Health Network (UVMHN) is the most recent signatory to the HAN Impact Workforce Commitment (IWC). The health system has had broad success building outside-in and inside-up professional development pipelines and educational partnerships to grow local talent that includes current and future employees amid a workforce shortage. UVMHN is committing to hire employees from economically disadvantaged areas who connect to…

HAN member Intermountain Health’s pilot graduate nurse group mentorship program looked to address the lack of qualified mentors to provide one-on-one support for their new graduate nurses. This situation was partly due to high nursing turnover and the increased number of novice nurses. The new group mentorship model enables small cohorts of new graduate nurses to receive the mentoring support…

HAN’s Policy Day 2025 will be held on May 7, 2025, from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. in person at the Capitol Visitors Center (CVC) in Washington, D.C., and online.  This is a year of uncertainties at the federal level. Still, working together, we will protect and advance meaningful solutions to the nation’s immense shortage of affordable homes and lack…

HAN member UMass Memorial Health (UMMH) recently celebrated the grand opening of its new North Pavilion, an acute-care facility. This marks UMMH’s first significant capital project, which utilizes local businesses directly as part of one of the system’s four anchor mission pillars. From the Worcester Business Journal article: As of mid-2024, UMMH reported 22% of the conversion projects contracts were…

Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member Endeavor Health announced $8.8 million of Community Investment Fund (CIF) awards to 44 local organizations and partnerships in the Chicago area to address social drivers of health and remove barriers to care. The awards include funding for workforce development and housing insecurity. From the Crain’s Chicago Business article: One example, Jeff Zakem [Endeavor’s…

HAN’s Policy Day 2025 will be held on May 7, 2025, from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. in person at the Capitol Visitors Center (CVC) in Washington, D.C., and online.  This is a year of uncertainties at the federal level but working together we will protect and advance meaningful solutions to the nation’s immense shortage of affordable homes and lack…

HAN member Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is an anchor partner of the Economy League’s PAGE Initiatives (Philadelphia Anchors for Growth & Equity) along with many other anchor institutions, community partners, and funders. PAGE helps local businesses develop and grow relationships with hospitals and universities. One such business is PRIDE Enterprises, which has grown by nearly 100% over the past 3 years thanks in…

View Past Issues of our Newsletter Catch up on past issues of our newsletter. Our newsletter archive features a deep well of articles that detail how health systems are strategically leveraging their purchasing, hiring, and investing power to improve health and well-being by addressing economic gaps in the communities they serve. View Past Issues of…

Avera Health is a faith-based health ministry comprised of 315 locations in 100 communities in five states across the Upper Midwest. Avera’s 22,100 physicians and employees serve a population of 1 million people.

“We are able to take care of business like we’re supposed to. We’re able to see our goals being fulfilled with this building. We’re able to breathe a little easier and not have those high-interest loans hanging over our heads. We were able to believe in the banking system again,” said Deborah James of Freddie…

HAN’s president and founder, David Zuckerman, shared his perspective on how health systems can be part of the long-term solution to community disinvestment and economic insecurity through leveraging their place-based economic power. From The Health System CXO podcast: One of the things that we’ve talked about a lot on this podcast is really putting concepts focused on…

HAN’s Policy Day 2025 will be held on May 7, 2025 from 9:00 am to 11:30 am in person at the Rayburn House Office Building, Foyer in Washington, D.C. and online. Please save the date! A registration email with the event agenda and speaker lineup will be sent out in later this month.  This is a year of uncertainties at the federal…

HAN member Stanford Health Care hosted a Health Equity Symposium that highlighted the importance of partnerships in addressing disparities. When Martin Luther King Jr. alluded to disparities in income, housing and education during a speech at Stanford University in 1967, he was referring to what physicians today would recognize as social determinants of health, said Joyce Sackey, MD, chief equity,…

The Healthcare Anchor Network defines place-based investing (PBI) as an impact investing approach that generates positive social and economic impacts in historically disinvested communities and geographies, while achieving a modest financial return, or at least preserving the principal of the investment.  Place-based investments address financing gaps in the marketplace by providing affordable and flexible capital…

A new Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health case study, Navigating Change: Sustaining the Anchor Mission Amidst Leadership Transition at UMass Memorial Health, details HAN member UMass Memorial Health’s accomplishments over the first five years of anchor mission implementation. The groundbreaking initiative focused on leveraging UMMH’s economic power to improve community health and well-being through local sourcing, local hiring, and investing in…

Thanks in part to three HAN members, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston Medical Center, and Mass General Brigham, along with the Boston Foundation and other institutions, the Boston Acquisition Fund (BAF) was launched to provide $25 million for a revolving loan fund. The fund will provide low-interest loans to mission-driven developers to purchase occupied multi-family housing in the city of Boston to protect…

HAN member Advocate Health organized 20 listening sessions to develop a bold new vision to provide $1 billion to reimagine a healthier future for the South Side of Chicago. The health system will allocate $25 million for workforce development and hiring more than 1,000 new teammates within the next three years. There will also be additional training…

The anchor mission is a place-based ethos and intentional values-driven approach to leveraging the assets of health systems and other mission-driven, large employers, to strengthen their local economies and improve economic mobility for low-income individuals and families. This collaborative common-sense strategy, which could include multiple anchors working together to scale impact, fosters resilience and delivers…

In 2021, Healthcare Anchor Network president and founder David Zuckerman appeared on an American Hospital Association panel, “Insights from Experts in the Field of Community Investing,” alongside Robin Hacke, executive director and co-founder, Center for Community Investment; and Doug Jutte, executive director, Build Healthy Places Network. These leaders discussed and shared examples of how hospitals…

HAN members SSM Health and BJC HealthCare recently broke ground on St. Louis Healthcare Support Services, a new regional laundry facility in the Soulard neighborhood. The facility will process 35 million pounds of linens for the health systems each year, using a newly refurbished warehouse owned by BJC HealthCare. In addition to providing essential services, the facility will stimulate economic…

Overview of place-based investing with case studies, key strategies, and tips for getting started.

Overview on impact purchasing with case studies, key strategies, and tips for getting started.

Overview on Impact Workforce with case studies, key strategies, and tips for getting started.

Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member Rush University System for Health tells the powerful story of how it implemented the anchor mission to support employment, economic security, and health. By investing in Chicago’s West Side, the health system helps ensure that community members can work and play in the healthiest environment possible. watch the rush university system for health video now…

Congratulations to the three HAN members, Kaiser Permanente (Hawai’i), Memorial Hermann Health System, and SSM Health who completed the Expanding Place-based Investing Cohort (EPIC), co-led by HAN and the Center for Community Investment. EPIC teams worked together over 18 months to understand community investment needs and frameworks, develop impactful community partnerships, and build a place-based investing strategy that advances positive community…

HAN member Dartmouth Health participated in a webinar on how place-based investing can support affordable housing and workforce development. The health system has provided $5 million of investment in the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund to support affordable and safe housing, including for Resident Owned Communities (ROCs).From the webinar: I first got involved with impact investing through my job…

Saint Joseph’s Health System (a part of HAN member Trinity Health) is a project partner in the McAuley Station project, which recently celebrated the grand opening of Phase I. Mercy Care, Pennrose, and project partners are proud that the $50 million project will deliver 170 high-quality, mixed-income apartments adjacent to the Mercy Care campus in the Sweet Auburn…

Kaiser Permanente’s Diverse Business Growth Strategy aims to support small businesses in historically disinvested communities by partnering with business support organizations (BSOs), community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and other nonprofits. The Urban Institute’s full evaluation of the strategy provides key considerations for localizing a national strategy, including the role of regional staff in program design and…

HAN is thrilled that Northwell Health has joined our network! Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals and more than 85,000 employees. The health system cares for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond. 

HAN member Allina Health is a signatory to the HAN Place-based Investing Commitment and has committed 1% ($30 million) of its total investment portfolio for place-based investing to address issues intersecting with social determinants of health, such as affordable housing for homeless households. The health system invested $3 million with the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund (GMHF) to build affordable…

HAN member Dartmouth Health invested $5 million with the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund to support affordable and safe housing. ​The Fund provides financing and education ​for a variety of community development and wealth building services, including support for residents of manufactured-home communities to purchase their land and become Resident Owned Communities (ROCs), such as Derry Oaks that is featured in the video.  Watch the derry oaks video…

Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) is thrilled and proud that HAN member systems Intermountain Health and Cleveland Clinic achieved Gartner Healthcare Supply Chain Masters status and 19 of our HAN members were included in Gartner’s Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 for 2024: AdventHealth, Stanford Health Care, Bon Secours Mercy Health, Corewell Health, Banner Health, Rush University System for Health, BJC HealthCare, CommonSpirit Health, Advocate Health, Ochsner Health, Sutter…

HAN member University Hospitals’ recent $236 million expansion of UH Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood, Ohio shows how large-scale investments in health care infrastructure can address community health needs and spur economic development. From the Crain’s Cleveland Business commentary by Heidi L. Gartland, chief government and community relations officer at UH:  UH is expanding health care access…

HAN President and Founder David Zuckerman presented at the Vizient ESG Impact Spend Summit. He stressed the importance of taking action to be part of the solution through every day operations, providing inspiring HAN member systems’ examples in this area, and shared some key success factors. From David Zuckerman’s TED Talk: Perhaps most importantly, every single individual in this room needs to…

HAN members are leveraging spending with existing suppliers in the communities they operate in to build community wealth through employee ownership.  Building Resiliency through Employee Ownership (BREO) is a three-year joint initiative with HAN and OBRAN Cooperative where HAN health system members aim to create better health and economic outcomes for local employees and their families. BREO participating systems are identifying…

Evergreen Cooperative Laundry (ECL) is expanding its facilities in the Glenville neighborhood through the acquisition of eight vacant lots next to the existing facility, and the construction of a 5,000 square foot building. The expansion will create 10 to 15 new full-time jobs at ECL. There are currently 210 ECL employees who receive annual distributions averaging $9,000-$10,000 per employee-owner. …

HAN member Hawai‘i Pacific Health partnered with the Hawai‘i Department of Education to establish the new Waipahu High School Academic Health Center, which they believe is a first of its kind in the nation. The center allows more than 500 students to get direct, first-hand experience in healthcare, working alongside and shadowing medical professionals. From the Hawaii News Now interview with Dr. Leslie Chun,…

HAN is delighted to have Mercy health system join our network! Mercy is the 6th largest Catholic health system in the U.S. with 32 acute care hospitals, and 17 specialty hospitals; and over 45,000 employees across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. 

Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member Rush University System for Health greeted the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to Chicago with a large banner on its hospital that read, “Who gets the chance to be healthy?” to raise awareness that policies at both the local and federal levels impact population health. Rush also penned a Chicago Sun Times op-ed on this topic,…

HAN and HAN member Kaiser Permanente’s Housing for Health Fund were cited as healthcare sector institutions that are helping to create housing programs through place-based investing and partnerships. Kaiser Permanente has invested $50 million into the fund since it was created in 2019, which has resulted in the preservation of more than 1,200 housing units.From the Modern Healthcare…

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Mercy is the 6th largest Catholic health system in the U.S. with 32 acute care hospitals, and 17 specialty hospitals; and over 45,000 employees across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

Across the country, Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) members are shifting their resources for community giving to align with their anchor mission strategies and support community wealth building. This edition of our newsletter highlights examples of HAN members going upstream with their community giving to better address root cause issues and strengthen their neighborhoods. HAN is curious…

Kaiser Permanente: Since 2020, LISC and its affiliate Broadstreet have deployed $23.5 million in grants and support from Kaiser Permanente and leveraged an additional $48.9 million in funding. These funds have advanced inclusive economic development activities in more than a dozen cities such as access to good jobs, wealth building, and supporting locally-owned businesses. Examples…

HAN members Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center provided a combination of low-interest loans and grants totaling $1 million to City Fresh Foods to buy and renovate an 18,000 sq. ft. building in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood in order to expand its operational capacity. The company is the only minority- and employee-owned, and minority-led food service company in Massachusetts. From…

HAN member Sentara Health is the founding partner of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s (LISC) Hampton Roads chapter. In 2019, Sentara contributed $10 million to launch LISC Hampton Roads, which provides essential funding to address pressing issues such as access to quality affordable housing and financial stability for families. Its programs are driving health and wellness in…

HAN affiliate member Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. (MHM): In 2024, MHM provided $181.1 million in funding to advance health equity, strengthen communities, and impact systemic change across its 74-county service area. Nearly $28 million of the MHM funds support approaches that address the root causes of poverty and health inequities, such as cross-sector partnerships, community…

HAN member Cleveland Clinic, along with the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition and Starting Point, launched the Lead Safe Child Care Pilot Program, which will award 30 area child care providers with around $12,000 in grants and free services to remove lead hazards. Of the $52.5 million in grant funds that Cleveland Clinic has committed to the Lead Safe Cleveland Home…

For the fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024), Trinity Health developed an innovative community impact measure which couples community benefit with additional indicators that measure: 1) work, 2) education, and 3) investments that achieve results above and beyond community benefit. Trinity Health’s Transforming Communities Initiative in 2022 funded nine multisector collaboratives to advance health and racial equity through policy, system,…

National Voter Registration Day – September 17, 2024 Celebrate democracy by helping to get every eligible American registered and #VoteReady for their next trip to the ballot box in 2024 and beyond!Vot-ER has free customized digital materials to print and use in your facilities and an email template to send to your staff for National Voter Registration Day. View Vot-ER’s upcoming webinars and trainings.

Hospital and health system board members can be transformative leaders through a demonstrated commitment to health equity and diversity. This report contains case studies of executives and board members of organizations that are prioritizing diversity and health equity and inclusion, including interviews with HAN members UMass Memorial Health and Corewell Health.

West Side United (WSU) is an anchor collaborative on Chicago’s west side whose members include HAN members Rush University System for Health, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and Ascension. WSU members discussed the anchor collaborative’s strategies for the AMA Prioritizing Equity Series. Dr. David Ansell, Rush University Medical Center: Structural racism, economic disinvestment, these are historical trends, but they’re perpetuated in the day-to-day, and we had…

HAN member systems Corewell Health and Henry Ford Health joined the Detroit Chamber of Commerce to discuss how businesses are leading the effort to connect workforce shortage challenges with the half a million working-age adults in the Detroit Region who are disconnected from the workforce.From the Detroit Regional Chamber article: Regardless of the approach, all three panelists had a similar…

HAN member Maimonides Medical Center is a co-founder and member of Brooklyn Communities Collaborative (BCC), a nonprofit that convenes community and institutional partners to strengthen health, wealth, and leadership in Brooklyn communities. BCC just launched its second workforce training pilot program for previously incarcerated individuals for full-time employment in healthcare.  From the New York Nonprofit Media article: “We…

Patrick T. Harker, President & CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia spoke at the Anchor Economy event hosted by the agency and HAN: “It is about spurring the imagination of leaders throughout the anchor economy to envision how their impacts can be multiplied by working with other anchor institutions in their own backyards. It is about spurring engagement to collaboratively tackle long-standing…

HAN welcomes Indiana University Health to our network! Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, with dozens of facilities statewide, IU Health has 38,000 staff and serves more than 1.2 million individuals. 

Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, with dozens of facilities statewide, IU Health has 38,000 staff and serves more than 1.2 million individuals. 

 Kansas City University (KCU) has a long, rich history of osteopathic medicine. Founded in 1916, KCU is the oldest medical school in Kansas City and the largest medical school in Missouri. KCU also has programs such as the Clinical Psychology Doctoral program, an MS in biomedical science, and a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree. 

Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) is excited to share Activating Place-based Partnerships for Equitable Economic Development: A Playbook for Anchor Collaboratives, which contains a comprehensive set of learnings to date from anchor collaboratives nationwide about their collective strategies, and provides key success factors that need to be present for an anchor collaborative to get started, build momentum, and…

HAN member UCSF Health is building the new UCSF Health Helen Diller Hospital in San Francisco, a 15-story, 880,000-square-foot, $4.3 billion facility. The health system has adopted a 30% local hiring target for construction workers for the project and will also include new and expanded job training programs.  read the becker’s hospital review article now

HAN member systems SSM Health and BJC HealthCare are partnering with Mercy, St. Luke’s Hospital, and Shriners Children’s St. Louis on their Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) to have a focus on upstream determinants of health and community involvement, which will include community surveys and a series of community listening sessions.From the St. Louis Public Radio story: Dr. Alexander Garza, the chief…

Welcome to Kansas City University (KCU) as a HAN affiliate member! KCU has a long, rich history of osteopathic medicine. Founded in 1916, KCU is the oldest medical school in Kansas City and the largest medical school in Missouri. KCU also has programs such as the Clinical Psychology Doctoral program, an MS in biomedical science, and a Doctor…

HAN member SSM Health’s president and CEO Laura S. Kaiser writes that “it takes bold change and leadership to truly impact those things that contribute the most to health equity: the moral, social and structural determinants of health” and how the adoption of the anchor mission has paved the way for the health system to conduct equitable…

June is National Home Ownership Month and the Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) commends our health system members for their investments in and support for affordable housing, including ownership and permanently affordable housing strategies such as Community Land Trusts and Resident-Owned Communities. One recent example is HAN member UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh donating land to create…

HAN member AtlantiCare announced VISION 2030, a 6-year plan to improve social determinants of health (including reducing food insecurity by 6 percent and unsheltered homelessness by 20 percent, while increasing life expectancies by 5 years) and expanding medical education opportunities (including YOUniversity, a clinical career program to grow talent locally that educates and trains students by providing…

Lynn Todman, vice president of health equity and community partnerships at HAN member Corewell Health spoke with AHA Chair and HAN member Dartmouth Health CEO and president Dr. Joanne M. Conroy. The discussion focused on how hospitals and health systems can advance health equity and address social determinants of health by working with community partners. From the AHA Leadership…

May is National Affordable Housing month and we celebrate the HAN member systems that are investing millions of dollars so that children and families in their communities can live in safe, healthy, and affordable homes! One example is HAN member Dartmouth Health’s work with other local businesses to incubate the $10 million Upper Valley Loan Fund, with Dartmouth Health as…

HAN is excited that Jackson Health System has joined the network! The Florida health system is a nonprofit academic medical system that is anchored by Jackson Memorial Hospital and includes six community hospitals and acute care facilities, and has 15,000 employees. 

Jackson Health System is a nonprofit academic medical system in Miami-Dade County employing over 13,000 staff. Jackson Health System ensures that all residents of Miami-Dade County receive a single high standard of care regardless of their ability to pay.

This playbook details how groups of anchor institutions are building effective place-based partnerships together with community partners to improve individual and family well-being and build equitable local economies. View the Playbook

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The Healthcare Anchor Network just released Activating Place-based Partnerships for Equitable Economic Development: A Playbook for Anchor Collaboratives, which captures a comprehensive set of learnings to date from this growing body of work on anchor collaborative’s collective strategies, including key success factors that need to be present for an anchor collaborative to get started, build…

The Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) and HAN member systems Kaiser Permanente, Boston Medical Center, and Trinity Health are covered in the New York Times article on how health systems are increasingly investing in affordable housing—and are seeing the benefits with improved community health.  From the New York Times article: Health systems are, however, not acting as banks, said David Zuckerman, Healthcare Anchor Network’s…

Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member systems BJC Healthcare and SSM Health in St. Louis, MO and anchor collaborative West Side United in Chicago, IL have helped to bring place-based economic development and jobs to their cities.  BJC Healthcare and SSM Health formed a joint venture, St. Louis Healthcare Support Services, LLC , to build and operate a regional…

HAN’s president and founder David Zuckerman spoke with AHA Chair and HAN member Dartmouth Health CEO and president Dr. Joanne M. Conroy on how hospitals and health systems are building healthier communities through impact investments that improve upstream determinants of health while also creating economic opportunities in the community. From the AHA Leadership Dialogue interview: David explains…

HAN’s Project Manager for Workforce & Community Engagement Initiatives Lauren Worth authored Hiring Untapped Talent: ‘Anchor’ Organizations Share Ways to Diversify, Localize Workforce about health systems building healthy and equitable local economies through their hiring and workforce development programs and policies.  The article also covers the HAN Impact Workforce Commitment’s core goal of reaching at least 10% of new hires annually by…

HAN partner Health Care Without Harm urges health systems to take climate action to protect health and health care delivery. The health care sector, as with all industries, must halve their emissions by 2030 on the road to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. One way to achieve this is to evaluate their financial investments and examine…

Please join us for the  2024 Anchor Economy Conference in Philadelphia on on May 15–16, 2024. Cohosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and the Healthcare Anchor Network, this event brings together healthcare and higher education institution leaders, community development practitioners, researchers, experts, and others to share and discuss anchor strategies and best practices, as well…

HAN’s Policy Day 2024 will be held on May 1, 2024 in person at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. and virtually. Please view the Agenda and Register for the event. HAN supports federal workforce development and affordable housing programs to help create the healthy community conditions needed to keep people well, including after they return home from the hospital. Please…

HAN welcomes University Health to the network! University Health is the only locally owned and operated health system in San Antonio and Bexar County in Texas. The system has 10,000 employees and includes University Hospital, which serves as the region’s only Level I trauma center for both adults and children, and the Women’s & Children’s Hospital. There is…

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HAN member Dartmouth Health has provided an additional $2 million investment in the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund to support affordable and safe housing. The Fund provides financing and education to help homeowners in manufactured-home communities and mortgages to other low-income home buyers. From the WCAX story: “The more challenging that sort of entire collection of those financial needs are, the…

HAN member BJC HealthCare is providing below-market, permanent financing to build 36 new single-family affordable homes in St. Louis County, Missouri. The $12 million project is also financed by low-income housing tax credits. Roanoke Construction, a project partner, is very committed to minority- and women-owned business participation, projected to be 22% and 7%, respectively. After a 15-year compliance period as affordable…

HAN member Trinity Health in Grand Rapids reacquired property that had been used as a COVID-19 isolation unit but laid empty post-pandemic. Trinity Health worked with Dégagé Ministries to turn the 28,000-square-foot facility into housing for homeless individuals and donated the furniture as well. It is the first housing program in Michigan for women experiencing chronic homelessness. The 25 residents will…

Infographic: A Framework for Impact Hiring and Workforce Development Seventeen Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) health system members signed the “Impact Workforce Commitment” (IWC) to build healthy and equitable local economies through their hiring and workforce development programs and policies. The commitment includes aligning hiring and workforce power with clinical and community efforts to provide opportunities for individuals from underresourced…

The Community Engagement Spectrum highlights different access points and opportunities that may exist for community stakeholders to engage a health institution in identifying community needs, developing strategies, implementing solutions, and evaluating progress. Case studies show how health systems have collaborated with community stakeholders around anchor mission implementation.

We are excited that Beth Israel Lahey Health has joined HAN. The Massachusetts health system brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, specialty and community hospitals, and has more than 4,800 physicians and 38,000 employees.

Five HAN members—Ascension St. Vincent, Baystate Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Trinity Health Michigan, and The University of Vermont Health Network—were recognized by the National Fund for Workforce Solutions as the 2023 Frontline Healthcare Worker Champions.

HAN member The University of Vermont Health Network received a $1.5 million grant from Vermont’s Agency of Human Services to provide individuals with non-nursing-related training a 15-month pathway to earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) to help address Vermont’s labor shortage.

HAN member Maimonides Medical Center helped to found Brooklyn Communities Collaborative (BCC), a nonprofit that convenes community and institutional partners to strengthen health, wealth, and leadership in Brooklyn communities. BCC just launched a Health Worker Training Program for formerly incarcerated Brooklynites.From the BK Reader article: “Community health workers are trusted advocates for health and wellbeing in their own communities,” said…

HAN members Ascension, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Memorial Hermann Health System along with several other health systems have received funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies to prepare high school students to start health care jobs upon graduation. The health systems will work with education partners to train students for careers in nursing, emergency medicine, lab science, medical imaging, and surgery. From the…

HAN just released a case study on HAN member Baystate Health’s Impact Workforce program that focuses on a number of zip codes and census tracts in the Springfield, MA area with some of the highest poverty in the country and a high concentration of employees earning the lowest wages. The formalized inclusive, local hiring strategy incorporates new, intentional,…

NEJM Catalyst held a webinar on How Anchor Institutions Improve Patient, Community, and Workforce Health, which featured executive leadership from several HAN member systems: Dr. Omar Lateef, President and Chief Executive Officer, RUSH John Vu, VP of Strategy for Community Health, Kaiser Permanente Dr. Fred Cerise, President and Chief Executive Officer, Parkland Health The sessions covered: Engaging With the Community, Engaging…

HAN member UC Davis Health’s Using Social Determinants to Diversify the Health Care Workforce Playbook describes how the health system initiated an anchor institution strategy and utilized social determinants, rather than race and ethnicity categories, to enhance diversity in its workforce.

In our latest case study we feature Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member Baystate Health, a nonprofit, integrated health system serving over 800,000 people across western New England. Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, it is the largest healthcare organization in western Massachusetts, with a workforce of over 13,000 employees across its four hospitals.  , CommonSpirit aims to improve the “health of…

HAN members BJC HealthCare and SSM Health are playing important roles in Delmar DivINe, a place and space in St. Louis, MO for nonprofit tenants, co-working space, and community services, including the St. Louis Community Credit Union (a partner with BJC HealthCare and MFH), GreaterHealth Pharmacy, an SSM Express Urgent Care Clinic, and an Edward Jones office. The campus…

HAN and CityHealth developed a partnership to explore how health systems can work with cities to improve community health through policy change and place-based investments. HAN members Boston Medical Center, Intermountain Health, and Trinity Health participated in a pilot learning cohort. From the CityHealth article: As health systems are increasingly, addressing health factors outside of…

HAN is thrilled that 20 of our HAN member systems were included in Gartner’s Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 list this year! Congratulations to Cleveland Clinic, Corewell Health, AdventHealth, Stanford Health Care, Advocate Health, Banner Health, Allina Health, BJC HealthCare, Bon Secours Mercy Health, UPMC, Rush University System for Health, Trinity Health, Geisinger, Sutter Health, Ochsner Health, The John Hopkins Health…

In our latest case study we feature Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member Dartmouth Health (DH), a nonprofit academic health system that serves rural communities in New Hampshire and Vermont through six hospitals, a visiting nurse and hospice program, and numerous clinics. Dartmouth Health is the largest private employer in the state of NH with just…

With more than 42,000 employees, the system is the second largest employer in Philadelphia and the largest health system in the Philadelphia region.

Welcome UCI Health to the HAN membership! The health system is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine and has over 8,000 employees. The UCI Medical Center is a 459-bed acute care hospital. UCI Health provides over 1 million outpatient visits annually.

HAN member Bon Secours Mercy Health’s impact workforce program’s career pathways and education and skills initiatives help lead to a diverse workforce and can improve health equity.  From the Forbes article: “Providing our employees opportunities to learn, grow and advance within the health system has enhanced our culture of belonging and boosted retention rates,” says Stapleton, Chief Diversity…

HAN member Maimonides Medical Center helped to found Brooklyn Communities Collaborative (BCC), a nonprofit that convenes community and institutional partners to strengthen health, wealth, and leadership in Brooklyn communities. BCC’s participatory action research provides insights from Black entrepreneurs and business owners on their successes, challenges, and potential to become healthcare suppliers and contractors. Maimonides Health and One Brooklyn…

As part of HAN member Boston Medical Center’s (BMC) Clean Power Prescription program, BMC will use energy credits generated from a new solar array on its administrative building to help reduce patients’ electric bills. BMC was able to make this happen through the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which offers subsidies for more than half the cost of installation of…

October is National Employee Ownership Month, which provides an opportunity to get the word out about the benefits of employee ownership to employees, companies, local communities, and the nation. From The Hill Op-Ed: Employee ownership also benefits communities. Led by Industrial Commons, communities such as Morganton, N.C., are using employee ownership as a strategy to revitalize industry and economic…

HAN member Kaiser Permanente announced new work with the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) to build and expand the evidence base of solutions to protect against climate change’s impacts on health and health equity, and to inform future investments in climate research, strategies, and policies. hear more about the project on health views now read the world economic…

Thanks to our health system members and convening co-sponsors for making the Healthcare Anchor Network 2023 Annual Convening: Los Angeles full of learning and positive energy! HAN member health systems convened to fully activate their organization’s unique platform as a leading local institution to meaningfully address economic and racial inequities in community conditions that create poor health. We celebrated…

We’re happy to share that NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health has joined HAN! The health system is the third largest healthcare delivery system in Illinois and includes 9 hospitals, 25,000 team members, and more than 6,000 physicians, serving an area of more than 4.2 million residents across six northeast Illinois counties.

Community Advisor Search HAN seeks to engage community stakeholders through a national Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to support the development of anchor community engagement metrics (partnership measures) that can be used by its member health systems and community engagement practitioners to assess the relationships between hospitals and health systems, the organizations they collaborate with, and…

Dr. Geoffrey Gusoff with HAN member UCLA Health co-authored with HAN and Gery W. Ryan a just-released study on healthcare partnerships with community wealth building (CWB) organizations. The article includes mostly HAN member system initiatives with community land trusts, resident-owned communities, and worker cooperatives. These are key CWB strategies because they allow for local residents to gain ownership and control over their housing…

HAN member Hawai‘i Pacific Health partnered with Kamehameha Schools to make over $1 million in joint place-based investments in Feed the Hunger Fund, a community development financial institution (CDFI), that provides loans and technical assistance to small food businesses in Hawai‘i. The investment includes helping small farms in Hawaiʻi— where 80% of farmers make less than $25,000—with $260,000 in loans…

HAN just released a case study on HAN member University Hospital’s Impact Workforce program that covers intentional hiring pipelines and paid training programs that help to address business needs while connecting residents from nearby neighborhoods in Cleveland with jobs and career ladder opportunities. From the HAN University Hospitals case study: UH’s inside-up programs include a…

HAN member Intermountain Health announced a $10 million investment in a partnership with NewWest Community Capital, a community development financial institution (CDFI), to develop affordable housing. NewWest has projects in Utah, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada. In Utah, 40,000 renter households earn less than $24,000 a year so they struggle financially, having to…

HAN member RUSH University System for Health was interviewed about health disparities in Chicago and Rush’s work to solve them within and beyond its hospital walls. From the AMA Update interview: Dr. Omar Lateef, president, RUSH University Medical Center: The only point I would accentuate on that is, this is a monumental challenge for an entire community. It’s not going…

Recompete Pilot Program will fund $200 million toward interventions that create, and connect workers to good jobs in geographically diverse and persistently distressed communities across the country. Anchor institution partnerships, inclusive hiring & purchasing and aligning investments and program are grant focus areas. View a summary that HAN created on how anchors are highlighted.Application deadline: Oct 5, 2023 read the…

HAN welcomes Allina Health to the network! The health system is based in Minneapolis with 13 hospitals and 30,000 employees throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Learn more about allina health

The American Medical Association (AMA) is a key partner to West Side United (WSU), an anchor collaborative on Chicago’s west side whose members include Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) members Rush University Medical Center, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and Ascension. AMA has provided $5 million to WSU’s multi-pronged social impact investing approach. From the AMA…

HAN member UMass Memorial Health’s Doug Brown, President of Community Hospitals and Chief Administrative Officer, shares how the health system reimagined its role in the community by leveraging its economic and intellectual power as an anchor organization and adopting the anchor mission to lift up the community. watch the aha leadership dialogue now

HAN member Bon Secours Mercy Health is partnering with Springfield Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Ohio to invest $1 million towards a new low-interest loan program for small and minority-owned businesses to build community wealth and improve the health of residents. From the Springfield News-Sun article:Adam Groshans, president of Mercy Health, said the hospital…

HAN members BJC Healthcare and SSM Health are members of the St. Louis Anchor Action Network (STLAAN), which won the St. Louis Business Journal’s Innovation in Philanthropy Award. The award celebrates “local partnerships for going above and beyond standard philanthropic practices in new and creative ways.” Read the usml Daily ARTICLE NOW

Community health and well-being are impacted by each and every community initiative—planning, development, housing, education, transportation, and more—even when the work is not implicitly “health related”. This NEW website enables researching existing Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) from around the U.S., so policymakers and community organizers can maximize resources, build on others’ work, and move more…

HAN welcomes Methodist Healthcare Ministries, Inc. as an affiliate member! A strategic goal of the not-for-profit organization is to contribute to the overall health and well-being of communities through long-term and sustainable collaboration and developing Communities of Solution that foster equitable access and opportunity for all. Learn more about methodist healthcare ministries

The anchor mission and community wealth building efforts of Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) members Rush University System for Health, BJC HealthCare and Trinity Health are spotlighted in a STAT article. The article details Rush’s anchor mission journey, including the founding of West Side United (WSU), as well as BJC HealthCare’s and Mercy Health’s (a part…

HAN just released a case study on HAN member Rush University System for Health’s Impact Purchasing program that covers its key strategies, program design and impact, and lessons learned. From the HAN Rush case study: Ultimately, Rush is able to align their procurement efforts with their institutional operations because they approach this work “as a strategic initiative,…

HAN’s 5th annual Policy Day was held on Capitol Hill and focused on affordable housing and workforce development. We were joined by a bipartisan group of congressional members who spoke about the importance of affordable and healthy housing and workforce programs for unemployed and underemployed individuals. Liz Osborn with Enterprise Community Partners, spoke about the need…

The Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) article discusses the powerful effects of people leading together and includes HAN as an example of an entity that creates the conditions for change through health systems leading together and committing to shared and deeply held goals. Read the ssir article here

HAN is excited to have our third affiliate member, Health Foundation of South Florida join us! The organization focuses on improving the health of South Florida communities, with a focus on vulnerable, low- to moderate-income populations and works with regional anchor institutions to build a more inclusive local economy. Learn more about health foundation of south florida

HAN members Boston Medical Center, UPMC, and Trinity Health discuss their impact investments in affordable housing. Saint Joseph’s Health System’s (a part of Trinity Health) McAuley Station project is a $50.5 million, 170-unit affordable housing complex. Mercy Care will pay the rent on 10 of those apartments for people waiting for permanent affordable housing. Pennrose,…

The place-based investing of HAN members BJC HealthCare, Boston Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, Rush University System for Health, and UCSF were spotlighted by Financial Investment News. From the Financial Investment News article: “When [HAN] first started, it was really a small group. We would have these convenings and didn’t call them conferences even, but they were not pretentiousness, everybody was warm,…

Baby boomer business owners (who own nearly half of small businesses) are near retirement but most don’t have succession plans. At the same time, their workers could face unemployment and reduced prospects for living wage jobs. Ownership is key to community wealth building and healthy communities. The Business Resiliency through Employee Ownership (BREO) pilot initiative, funded by HAN…

University Hospitals’ (UH)’s intentional hiring pipelines and paid training programs are explored in a new case study. The case study covers the program’s inception and design, strategies employed, and key stakeholders involved. Outside-in programs are external facing, intentional programs that source candidates from specific, high-poverty neighborhoods. Inside-up programs are for current UH employees, connecting them to career…

Fairview Health Services is Minnesota’s choice for healthcare.

Sutter Health serves more than 3 million people in Northern California.

HAN members Bon Secours Mercy Health, Boston Medical Center, and CommonSpirit Health shared their place-based investment strategies and community partnerships in a series of “Partnering for Health Equity” workshops at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s (NCRC) annual conference. The HAN member speakers were joined by others from the nonprofit and government sectors to discuss the interconnectedness of SDOH and…

The Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) and HAN member Kaiser Permanente are cited in a Health Affairs article as examples of leadership by using a “both-and” mindset versus an “either-or” approach. The co-authors supported the co-design of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation next-generation leadership program and consulted with more than 230 health system professionals, patient advocates, and patients.  From the Health Affairs article:…

HAN members Baystate Health and UMass Memorial Health are leaders of the North Central Massachusetts Anchor Collaborative (NCMAC) and the Western Massachusetts Anchor Collaborative (WMAC), respectively. NCMAC is a partnership between six anchor institutions and focuses on the anchor mission pillars of workforce, purchasing, community giving, policy advocacy, and volunteering. WMAC works on developing career pathway programs by hiring local citizens and…

Seventeen Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) health system members signed the “Impact Workforce Commitment” (IWC) to build healthy and equitable local economies through their hiring and workforce development programs and policies. The commitment includes aligning hiring and workforce power with clinical and community efforts to provide opportunities for individuals from underresourced communities who may face barriers to employment. The health systems adopting the…

Seventeen health systems, including Cleveland Clinic and Advocate Health, have pledged a commitment to make 10% of all new hires “impact hires” – meaning employees hired from economically disadvantaged areas. The “Impact Workforce Commitment,” designed in partnership with a leadership group of Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member health systems and the National Fund for Workforce…

Seventeen health systems including big names like CommonSpirit Health and Providence have signed onto a pledge that at least 10% of their new hires will hail from “economically disadvantaged areas” by 2027, according to a release from social determinants of health leadership organization the Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN). Read the Fierce healthcare story now

Seventeen health systems have signed a commitment to help boost hiring and training of lower-income individuals. The organizations signed the “Impact Workforce Commitment,” designed in partnership with a leadership group of Healthcare Anchor Network member health systems and the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, according to a May 9 news release from HAN. read the becker’s hospital review…

One of the largest hospital networks in northern New England, Dartmouth Health, joined 16 other health networks across the country in a new workforce commitment. The network has pledged to hire 10% of new employees from economically disadvantaged areas. watch the NBC News5 story now

UC San Francisco has committed to hiring 10% of new employees from economically distressed communities by the end of 2027, as part of its continued commitment to creating greater economic opportunity for the local community. The commitment is part of UCSF’s work with the Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) and the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. HAN announced May…

Developing strong community partnerships is critical to building a more dynamic and resilient workforce that better represents local and rural communities. As part of the Impact Workforce Commitment with HAN, Intermountain Health and University of Utah Health have recently partnered with the Utah Office of Refugee Services and other community-based organizations to develop pathway programs…

A New England Journal of Medicine article shares how hospitals that support community health equity can reduce barriers to good health, such as addressing inadequate housing and poverty. HAN members Boston Medical Center and Memorial Hermann Health System are showcased as examples. Read the new england journal of medicine here Congratulations to four HAN member…

Welcome Ochsner Health to the HAN network! Ochsner Health is a not-for-profit health system with more than 36,000 employees and it operates 47 hospitals and more than 370 health and urgent care centers across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Gulf South. Learn more about Ochsner Health

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. 

HAN member Sentara Healthcare announced an $11 million investment into the Marshall-Ridley revitalization project in the southeast community of Newport News. The housing development will include an open-air community terrace and lounge, outdoor space with a walking trail, retail space, and an early childhood development center.   From the story: “Sentara’s support of the Marshall-Ridley Choice Neighborhood Initiative is another…

Frontiers of Health Services Management is publishing a three-part series on ESG (environmental, social, and governance). The second series on the social strategies includes HAN members Boston Medical Center, BJC HealthCare, Henry Ford Health, and ProMedica as healthcare organizations focused on undoing “entrenched health inequities and deliver[ing] whole-person care.” The first series on environmental strategies includes HAN members Kaiser Permanente and Ascension. Read the Frontiers of Health services…

HAN is happy to welcome Parkland Health to the network! The health system is based in Dallas, Texas and is one of the largest public hospital systems in the country. The hospital averages more than 1 million outpatient visits annually and includes a network of community-based health centers. Parkland is the primary teaching hospital for the University of…

The Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) wrote a commentary in AHRMM’s magazine to urge health system supply chain leaders to leverage their purchasing power more intentionally to address economic, racial, and environmental inequities in communities with the greatest health disparities. From the HAN commentary: Today, health systems continue to move to value-based care wherein hospitals are…

HAN is thrilled that 15 of our HAN member systems were included in Gartner’s Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 list this year! Congratulations to Cleveland Clinic, Banner Health, Corewell Health, Advocate Aurora Health, AdventHealth, UPMC, BJC HealthCare, Geisinger, Trinity Health, Bon Secours Mercy Health, Rush University System for Health, Ascension Health, CommonSpirit Health, Sentara Healthcare, and Providence. Gartner’s…

We are excited to welcome OSF HealthCare to HAN! The health system is an integrated health system owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. OSF HealthCare employs over 24,000 Mission Partners in more than 350 locations, including 15 hospitals, more than 45 urgent care locations, and two colleges of nursing throughout Illinois and Michigan….

by Emily Hough, 2021-22 Harkness Fellow and Senior Fellow at Brown University  It is now well evidenced that the health services people receive are a relatively small contributor to their overall health outcomes.  Up to 90 percent of an individual’s health outcomes are driven by wider social determinants of health (SDOH), so what role should…

Thanks to our health system members and supporters for making the Healthcare Anchor Network Annual Convening: Detroit 2022 such a success! HAN member health systems convened to deepen their anchor mission approach, a community asset- and place-based transformative strategy for addressing economic, racial, and health inequities to create inclusive, prosperous communities. It is precisely during these challenging…

HAN members Advocate Aurora Health, Ascension Health, Froedtert Health, and SSM Health that have operations in Wisconsin were spotlighted in a special report on the role of anchor mission strategies in addressing upstream conditions that impact health. Other HAN members’ activities to address the social determinants of health were also covered, including CommonSpirit Health, Kaiser Permanente, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. …

HAN member BJC HealthCare is investing to expand the scope of nonprofit lender Justine PETERSEN’s DRIVE auto refinancing loan program, an innovative program that assists low-to-moderate income drivers who may have challenging credit situations or may have been victims of predatory lending. The drivers can obtain a competitive interest rate compared to financing terms that can be as…