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 […]
Continue ReadingAnchor Mission
Investing in local communities to improve health
HAN’s president and founder David Zuckerman talks about the power that health systems have to uplift and stabilize under-resourced communities by becoming anchors of equitable economic growth. David delves deep into the concept of the anchor mission and how it tackles various challenges, from sustainability to workforce shortages, and touches on the pivotal role of executive-level […]
Continue ReadingHow Healthcare Anchors are Improving Community Health Outcomes
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 […]
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 Systems Advancing Digital Equity
When coronavirus caused over 1.5 million people in Ohio to file for unemployment benefits, many did not have a computer or access to the internet in order to apply for benefits. “Several residents came to my house to have me walk them through getting unemployment because they didn’t have a computer, and they didn’t know how to use the internet,” said Jones Home Neighbor Association President Rodney Lewallen.
Continue ReadingHealthy Communities Policy Framework
This document, created by the Aligning to Advance Policy Initiative Group of the Healthcare Anchor Network, outlines the foundational elements of a policy agenda to create equitable, engaged, connected and economically strong communities.
Continue ReadingHospitals Building Healthier Communities
This 2013 report from The Democracy Collaborative explores how health systems are addressing the upstream social and economic determinants of health.
Continue ReadingCan Hospitals Heal America’s Communities?
Healthcare’s role in creating healthy communities through increasing access to quality care, research, and grantmaking is being complemented by a higher impact approach; hospitals and integrated health systems are increasingly stepping outside of their walls to address the social, economic, and environmental conditions that contribute to poor health outcomes, shortened lives, and higher costs in the first place. Can hospitals and health systems heal America’s communities?
Continue ReadingEmbracing an Anchor Mission
Written by Randy Oostra, CEO of ProMedica, with the support of David Zuckerman and Katie Parker from The Democracy Collaborative, this report offers an in-depth look at how ProMedica—a member of the Healthcare Anchor Network —aligned its institutional operations and clinical practice to better tackle the social determinants of health. From an innovative hospital-owned grocery store in a food desert to investments in preserving affordable housing, this playbook details the Toledo, Ohio-based health system’s decade-long journey to understand how their resources could be used for the wellbeing of the communities they serve.
Continue ReadingThe Anchor Mission Playbook
Written by Rush University Medical Center, with support from Chicago Anchors for a Strong Economy, the Civic Consulting Alliance, and The Democracy Collaborative, this playbook offers recommendations drawn from research carried out to help Rush University Medical Center align around its Anchor Mission. These findings are intended to help other hospitals and health systems accelerate their own efforts to drive institutional alignment with community needs.
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