Chicago hospitals helping employees in nonclinical, entry-level positions advance their careers1/22/2019
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.
"Rush is among a growing number of academic medical leaders that are taking a broader approach to improving health. These institutions are training residents of nearby communities, investing in local businesses, improving housing stock, and more. Additionally, in 2017, several academic systems joined with other health care leaders to help launch the Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN), a group of more than 40 health systems working together on anchoring efforts that is supported by the Democracy Collaborative." Read the article now. 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."
PAGE points out that the 34 universities and hospitals located in Philadelphia together spend $5.3 billion on goods and services every year, with nearly half of these dollars spent outside of the city and an estimated $530 million of anchor dollars that can be aligned with local market supply. Capturing just 25% of this half-billion dollar opportunity would translate into 1,250 new manufacturing jobs and 4,000 indirect jobs in Philadelphia. Read more: Philly.com | Nonprofit Quarterly | Philadelphia Tribune
 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.
Baltimore's “Old Town” neighborhood near Johns Hopkins Hospital is an example of the myth of job growth curing poverty: "Connecting its residents with employers has proved problematic, as it has in poor communities across the country. The disparity between residents and workers in the neighborhood suggests that the jobs have gone to people who either live in other, more prosperous neighborhoods or who commute from the surrounding suburbs." Healthcare Anchor Network members are utilizing targeted inclusion strategies for local hiring and purchasing, and place-based investing, to support local economic ecosystems and help generate community wealth. Read the article now. 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.
Read TDC's article in The Wharton Healthcare Quarterly now The Wall Street Journal's "Health Care Looks Beyond Medicine to Social Factors" article covered the good work of four Healthcare Anchor Network members in addressing the social determinants of health: Geisinger Health System, Rush University Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente and Boston Medical Center. The article discusses Geisinger's cost-effective program providing free nutritious foods and other health services to adults with Type 2 diabetes; Rush University Medical Center's use of technology to learn about community social needs; Kaiser Permanente's investment of up to $200 million in affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization projects; and Boston Medical Center's $6.5 million investment in affordable housing through community partnerships.
Read the article now
Madeline Bell, CEO of Healthcare Anchor Network member Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), writes for US News & World Report about their work to overcome the negative health impacts of SDOH, particularly for the sake of children. CHOP has teamed with Penn, Drexel and other anchor institutions in West Philadelphia to invest in University City District's West Philadelphia Skills Initiative. This workforce development program connects the un- and under-employed to jobs with local employers.
Through the Spark Philadelphia program, CHOP employees have also provided direct mentorship to middle school students who also get the opportunity to obtain firsthand experience with working in a health care setting onsite at CHOP. CHOP's Homeless Health Initiative provides medical screening, health education and wellness programming for children living in Philadelphia's shelters. Read Madeline Bell's op-ed now
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