The Health Anchors Learning Network (HALN) is a UK-wide network taking the first step to create an action-oriented, inclusive, and informative network to adopt and apply anchor strategies in order to improve the SDOH and reduce inequalities. HALN will “help [National Health Services] NHS organisations to maximise their ‘anchor role’ in local economies to improve the wellbeing […]
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Health anchors back education, training, and employment
Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) members Baystate Health, Denver Health, and ProMedica are making news with their anchor mission focus of supporting education, training, and employment for lower-income individuals and those with barriers to employment. Denver Health is looking to improve the health and wellbeing of community members, not just with medical services, but with job opportunities. It has partnered with workforce development groups like Activate […]
Continue ReadingHealth systems scale impact by supporting and launching anchor collaboratives
Going beyond their own commitment to anchor strategies, Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) members Advocate Aurora Health, Baystate Health, Intermountain Healthcare, Maimonides Medical Center, and Rush University System for Health are helping incubate, fund, and lead local anchor collaboratives to scale and deepen the impact of these strategies in their communities. Advocate Aurora Health provided $675,000 in grants to develop a diverse health […]
Continue ReadingWorker coop grows with the support and procurement business of health anchors
HAN members Cleveland Clinic and University Hospital, in partnership with the Cleveland Foundation, Case Western Reserve University, and the city of Cleveland launched Evergreen Cooperatives in 2007 as a place-based community wealth building strategy with the help of the Democracy Collaborative. Shelterforce’s article found that since then Evergreen Cooperative has added new co-ops, workers, and strategies. The Coop has […]
Continue ReadingHAN members creating food systems level change
Rochelle, an M Health Fairview patient in Minnesota, was struggling to manage all of her different medications. Her doctors saw that her condition could be improved with access to fresh foods, and so they referred her to the VeggieRx program. Through VeggieRx, Rochelle received fresh produce and was able to not only improve her own […]
Continue ReadingHealth anchors join commitment to create a million jobs for Black Americans over 10 years
Healthcare Anchor Network members Cleveland Clinic and Intermountain Health joined 35 companies to announce the formation of OneTen, an organization that will work with these companies to train and hire one million Black Americans over the next 10 years into family-sustaining jobs with career ladders for advancement. OneTen will work with these major employers, along with non-profits and other skill-credentialing organizations, to “create a more flexible talent pipeline and practices that will allow employees and employers to thrive by shifting to a skills-first paradigm.”
Continue ReadingHealth anchors tackling systemic racism
HAN member Mass General Brigham created the “United Against Racism” initiative to better to tackle and overcome the barriers to equity that exist in the institution. The system-wide plan includes specific timelines and metrics of success in its journey to becoming an anti-racist organization and includes changes in leadership, culture, and patient care. It also expands efforts to address housing, hunger, and job opportunities outside hospital walls.
Continue ReadingStaying strong & committed to the anchor mission and communities during COVID-19
Hospitals and health systems have been put under immense pressure, treating COVID-19 patients during the surges and throughout the year, while also facing financial challenges due to the precipitous drop in surgeries and elective medical procedures. Despite this, Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member systems have looked to maintain and sometimes even strengthen their anchor mission activities. Kaiser Permanente, Intermountain Health, and Cone Health have continued focusing on affordable housing, training and hiring local workers, and purchasing from local and minority owned businesses.
Continue ReadingMaximizing housing for health through partnerships with community development finance
Healthcare Anchor Network members Anchorum St. Vincent and RWJBarnabas Health are leveraging their funds to maximize their impact on community health and support their communities. Anchorum St. Vincent and Enterprise Bank Trust have committed $10 million to a new Community Catalyst Fund for affordable housing. Affordable housing developers such as Homewise, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) can draw on the fund to purchase, rehabilitate, and redevelop residential as well as commercial properties in the Santa Fe region in New Mexico.
Continue ReadingReimagining PPE production to build a resilient & sustainable supply chain & create good jobs
The Healthcare Anchor Network’s (HAN) Anchoring Resilience: Aligning Supply Chains and Impact Purchasing for Community Health summit catalyzed the conversation around how the healthcare sector could collaborate to more intentionally onshore and localize production of PPE and other important supplies with an emphasis on equity, sustainability, and supply chain resilience. The summit was supported by HAN member Kaiser […]
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