On February 28, 2019, the Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) convened its members in Washington, D.C. for “Housing for Health” Policy Day, an inaugural event on Capitol Hill which saw Congressional and Administration staff, national healthcare associations, housing advocacy groups, and philanthropy organizations attend a federal policy briefing about the impact of economic determinants on health and the universal need for stable, affordable, and healthy housing. 17 HAN member health systems attended the event, and 21 health systems signed onto a Principles for Healthy and Affordable Housing document that was shared with Congressional members. Together, these health systems represent more than 500 hospitals in 37 states.
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Investing in broadband internet access to better connect healthcare providers and patients
Geisinger, a member of the Healthcare Anchor Network, will provide a $300,000 forgivable, interest-free loan to fund fully the start of a new groundbreaking high-speed broadband internet access project which is expected to serve about 90 percent of Montour County, Pennsylvania’s population.
Continue ReadingKaiser Permanente’s Bernard Tyson: “Housing security is a crucial health issue for vulnerable populations.”
Healthcare Anchor Network member Kaiser Permanente’s chairman and chief executive Bernard Tyson, along with other Kaiser Permanente leaders and joined by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, announced three major initiatives to improve health outcomes by creating safe, stable, and affordable housing in Oakland and across the country, explaining that “access to affordable housing is a key component to Kaiser Permanente’s mission to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve and to advance the economic, social and environmental conditions for health.”
Continue ReadingDignity Helps Unlock Capital—and Convening Power—for Housing
An article in Shelterforce article details how Healthcare Anchor Network member Dignity Health (now CommonSpirit Health – a merger between Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives completed on January 31, 2019) stepped in to fund a stalled affordable housing project in San Bernardino’s core neighborhoods.
Continue ReadingChicago hospitals helping employees in nonclinical, entry-level positions advance their careers
Healthcare Anchor Network members Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Rush University Medical Center, together with NorthShore University Health System and the University of Chicago Medicine, and in collaboration with community groups (such as Westside United) and public institutions, have created the Medical Assistant Pathway Program to give employees the opportunity to complete certification programs to fill high-demand registered medical assistant and phlebotomy technician jobs.
Continue ReadingAAMC: Breathing Life into Local Economies
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) News covered how medical schools and teaching hospitals are increasingly collaborating with local communities to improve health by dealing with economic barriers. HAN and HAN members Rush University Medical Center, University Hospitals and Evergreen Cooperatives (formed by University Hospitals, the Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University, and the Cleveland Foundation) were highlighted.
Continue ReadingThe Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is an anchor institution member of the just-launched Philadelphia Anchors for Growth & Equity (PAGE)
PAGE is a recently-launched partnership between the Economy League, the City of Philadelphia, Healthcare Anchor Network member Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and more than a dozen Philadelphia-area institutions. PAGE looks to “increase local purchasing by large institutional buyers to grow Philadelphia businesses, strengthen the local economy, create jobs, and build wealth.”
Continue ReadingProMedica’s “Market on the Green,” a full-service grocery store, offers fresh and affordable healthy food choices in a designated food desert
The Wall Street Journal’s “Take Two Aspirin—and a Serving of Kale: Wielding food as medicine, hospitals are focusing on nutrition, sending patients home with prescriptions as well as bags of good food” article covered the important work of Healthcare Anchor Network member ProMedica and other health systems and hospitals taking measures to prevent and treat illness through diet. They are looking to meet the nutritional needs of patients through a variety of innovative ways, including providing access to fresh fruits and vegetables. This project was one of the case studies in The Democracy Collaborative’s “Place-based Investing” toolkit.
Continue ReadingNew data tool shows that job growth alone is not a cure for place-based poverty
The Opportunity Atlas, a new data tool, allows us to answer the question: Which neighborhoods in America offer children the best chance to rise out of poverty? The big news is that the data found no association between job growth and economic mobility for poor residents. What ended up happening when there were hiring booms is that disadvantaged local residents were bypassed.
Continue ReadingThe Role of Healthcare Institutions in Building Community Wealth & Addressing the SDOH
In a new article published in The Wharton Healthcare Quarterly, David Zuckerman and Bich Ha Pham of The Democracy Collaborative discuss the smart, bold leadership that Healthcare Anchor Network members are engaged in with their anchor mission work. The Democracy Collaborative urges other health systems from across the country to join the effort to do forward-thinking work in order to address the systemic nature of economic inequities and their impact on health and well-being.
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