Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) members CommonSpirit Health and Intermountain Health invest in Denver-based nonprofit Elevation Community Land Trust (ECLT), that provides permanent affordable housing by purchasing land and reselling or renting the homes on the land. The ECLT model keeps the home affordable by providing residents long-term leases on the land where their homes are located. ECLT also places maximum […]
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Aligning values to invest in communities
HAN member Intermountain Health’s Nick Fritz, director of place based investments, shares insights in this video on:
Continue ReadingReliable housing is essential for good health
Modern Healthcare recognized HAN member Kaiser Permanente for its investments in affordable housing through its Thriving Communities Fund. A recent change in the tax law provides a permanent 12% increase in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which creates an opportunity for health systems to partner with states to invest in affordable and supportive housing. From the Modern Healthcare […]
Continue ReadingEnsuring affordable housing in perpetuity
HAN members Beth Israel Lahey Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston Medical Center, and Mass General Brigham, along with the City of Boston and other institutions, are investing in and providing financial contributions to the Boston Acquisition Fund (BAF) that was just awarded the 2026 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability in the Finance category. BAF is a public-private revolving loan fund that preserves naturally occurring affordable housing and prevents residential displacement.
Continue ReadingHealth systems turning hiring into community impact
The Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) released the Impact Workforce Toolkit, a practical resource that captures a decade of learning on how health systems can use their hiring and workforce practices to create meaningful economic opportunity in their communities. The results are that community members get a fair shot at a good job with career pathways and health systems […]
Continue ReadingFlourishing communities thanks to anchor investing
Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member Intermountain Health addresses structural issues through its place-based investing that “lead to people being integrated more fully and healthily into their community.” The Catholic Health Association of the U.S. article details the positive impacts of the investments in financing construction of permanently affordable homes through community land trusts, preserving affordable housing, and lending to people […]
Continue ReadingCommonSpirit Health’s $5 million investment builds childcare access
HAN member CommonSpirit Health’s Community Investment Program recently provided a $5 million bridge loan to Step By Step, a Washington State organization that supports new mothers overcoming trauma and poverty. The loan funded construction of The Barn, a 14,000 square foot early learning center that opened in March 2026 and serves 200 children. The investment came at […]
Continue ReadingHousing stability strengthens the workforce, economy, and overall community health
HAN member SSM Health is partnering with Dane Workforce Housing Fund II and Lake Ridge Bank to invest in the construction of The Bankston Apartments, an $11.2 million, 40-unit workforce housing development in downtown Madison, WI. The apartments will help address the city’s growing shortage of affordable housing, with 30 of the units slated for […]
Continue ReadingAnchor collaboratives & economic opportunity
Anchor collaboratives are a place-based network of anchor institutions that utilize an anchor mission framework in partnership with the community to promote strong local economies through increased economic opportunity, community development, and community wealth building. HAN member health systems continue to amplify their anchor mission strategies through anchor collaboratives. West Side United (WSU) is an anchor collaborative on Chicago’s West Side whose members include HAN […]
Continue ReadingLocal food ecosystem building
Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member Trinity Health is working at the intersection of food production, economic development, and community cohesion—functioning as an anchor institution that circulates resources within a community. The Food is Medicine strategy entails the ownership and operation of multiple hospital-based farms in 25 states where it has hospitals and health services. The […]
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