Dr. Thomas Dean Sequist, Chief Patient Experience and Equity Officer at Healthcare Anchor Network member Mass General Brigham, testified at the U.S. House of Representative’s hearing on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color. He spoke about about the impact the pandemic has had in Chelsea, MA, as well as on the Navajo reservation in Shiprock, New Mexico.
Continue ReadingHAN collaborating with Modern Healthcare for the Social Determinants of Health Symposium
The Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) is a promotional sponsor of the Modern Healthcare virtual Social Determinants of Health Symposium on June 2, 2020 with HAN member Intermountain Health as the lead sponsor. With COVID-19, our nation has a glimpse into how deep health disparities run. The SDOH Symposium will cover actionable takeaways for addressing health disparities and solutions to ensure health equity.
Continue ReadingVideo: The Anchor Learning Network
The Democracy Collaborative and the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities co-coordinate the Anchor Learning Network, which is designed to facilitate a more rapid and effective advancement of the anchor mission within its member institutions, in their home communities, and across the higher education sector. In this video, members of the Anchor Learning Network share why the anchor mission matters to their urban and metropolitan campuses.
Continue ReadingSome cities have re-localized industry in response to COVID19
COVID-19 has revealed that outsourcing medical equipment supply chains to other countries can lead to significant shortages. As a result, hospitals and health systems are looking to local vendors for PPEs and other needed supplies. For example, HAN member Trinity Health contracted with a local woman-owned and -led company, Detroit Sewn, to produce 50,000 masks for the pandemic, leading to 13 new expected hires.
Continue ReadingHAN members addressing health disparities, social determinants of health & anchor mission goals during COVID-19
Long-standing racial and income disparities are being illuminated in this pandemic, with disparate impacts on people of color, immigrants, and those without access to healthcare. Nationally, Black Americans are dying of COVID-19 at a rate of more than twice their population share (black individuals represent 13% of the population in states releasing data, but 28% […]
Continue ReadingKaiser Permanente pledges $1M to treat homeless for COVID-19
Healthcare Anchor Network member Kaiser Permanente is supporting National Health Care for the Homeless Council as a community intermediary to fund at least four housing activist groups in California, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, areas hard hit by COVID-19, having nearly half of all coronavirus cases in the nation. Kaiser Permanente’s $1 million will help prevent and treat COVID-19 cases for homeless individuals. The health system wants to tap into and support the capacity of infrastructures that already exist, including those with national reach, in order to most effectively and efficiently meet community needs.
Continue ReadingAnchor procurement to build community wealth by supporting local, minority, women, and worker-owned businesses
Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) members Advocate Health Care, AMITA Health, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and Rush University Medical Center, along with the City of Chicago, other anchor institutions and companies, are members of Chicago Anchors for a Strong Economy (CASE). CASE aims to generate inclusive economic growth through anchor procurement.
Continue ReadingNew worker-owned and health anchor-serving laundry facility breaks ground in Texas
The North Heights Linen Service is a 25,000-square-foot facility that will serve local and regional linen needs for hospitals, and will be a worker-owned cooperative business. The project funding is spearheaded by the Amarillo Area Foundation, as well as many local banks. The business is projecting to hire 40 nearby resident employees, eventually expanding to 100 employees.
Continue ReadingHAN members draw attention to the need for stable, affordable housing
On March 12, 2020, the Healthcare Anchor Network convened its members in Washington, D.C. for its second Housing for Health Policy Day, an event on Capitol Hill which saw Congressional staff, national healthcare associations, and housing advocacy groups attend a federal policy briefing about the impact of structural determinants of health and the universal need for stable, affordable, and healthy housing. 19 HAN member health systems participated in the event either in-person or virtually, and 22 health systems signed onto a Principles for Healthy and Affordable Housing document that was shared with Congressional members.
Continue ReadingAnchor institutions working with diverse entrepreneurs to build wealth, improve food access, and create jobs
HAN members Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital, along with other Boston anchor institutions, are procuring local and unique products from diverse, locally owned food start-up businesses. CommonWealth Kitchen, a nonprofit kitchen in Dorchester, MA, is incubating more than 50 small, mostly minority-owned, and community-based food start-up businesses. It adopted a strategy to help grow the start ups by connecting them to the product needs of Boston’s 20 hospitals and 31 universities, that comprise 18% of Boston’s employees.
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