 HAN is highlighted in this Shelterforce article, along with Enterprise Community Partners, the Center for Community Investment, and the Nonprofit Finance Fund, as organizations working with health care institutions, community development organizations, and other stakeholders to invest in the health of a community.
The piece included the good work of HAN members Dignity Health, ProMedica, Bon Secours Mercy Health, and Boston Medical Center. “We’re very focused on human resources, the supply chain, and core businesses practices that could more powerfully address the issues of poverty and other disparities,” says [David] Zuckerman, HAN Director. “These are systemic problems, and we’re not going to address them by writing a few more checks. It’s about aligning and leveraging resources differently.” The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a report, "Economic and Social Impacts and Benefits of Health Systems," which provides evidence and practical methods to show that the health sector is essential to a stable and functioning economy. This report seeks to assist European policy-makers by providing guidance and tools to engage in stronger dialogue and prevent disinvestment in health.  HAN member Fairview Health Services' Health East is working with the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) in St. Paul, Minnesota to provide access to healthy food for families experiencing food insecurity who are economically challenged to put healthy food on the table. This is particularly vital for people struggling with chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Veggie Rx serves disadvantaged individuals including refugees who are referred to the program by HealthEast doctors by delivering free Community Supported Agriculture vegetables to four HealthEast clinics where patients can pick them up. By partnering with HAFA to supply these vegetables, the program's procurement design also helps address underlying economic determinants of community health. HAFA was created to address economic disparities for immigrant and urban farmers. For instance, Hmong farmers have less access to land and on average make $5,000 in sales per acre, compared to white farmers who make $8,000 per acre. Veggie Rx has been tremendously successful and is a win-win for the patients, farmers, and community.  Photo Credit: The Sorenson Impact Center Intermountain Healthcare announced a commitment to local impact investing as a part of its commitment to improving health in the communities it serves. Marc Harrison, MD, Intermountain’s CEO and president, and Mikelle Moore, Intermountain’s senior vice-president of community health (pictured above), made the announcement at the Sorenson Impact Winter Innovation Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Intermountain’s impact investing could be utilized to address community projects that work with the social (or non-medical) determinants of health. Those are the community conditions that can affect someone’s overall health, including housing instability, food insecurity, education, and transportation.  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.
HAN members spoke powerfully about the connection between housing and health outcomes. Dr. Samuel Ross, Chief Community Health Officer with Bon Secours Mercy Health; Dr. Thea James, Associate Chief Medical Officer, Vice President of Mission, and Director of the Violence Intervention Advocacy Program with Boston Medical Center; and Dr. Bechara Choucair, SVP and Chief Community Health Officer with Kaiser Permanente presented on the work their health systems are leading to invest in housing in the communities they serve and the need for further funding of affordable housing programs. Two Congressional members spoke about the need for affordable housing: Rep. Jim McGovern, Chair, Rules Committee and Co-Chair, House Hunger Caucus, and Rep. Katie Hill, Co-Chair, New Democrat Coalition’s Housing Task Force. Here are some highlights about Policy Day from Twitter. Read the Healthcare Anchor Network's "Principles for Healthy and Affordable Housing" document. Read about how HAN members are investing in affordable housing. Investing in broadband internet access to better connect healthcare providers and patients2/18/2019
 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. The funding will build the infrastructure for internet service in the area:
"This week, Geisinger and Driving Real Innovation for a Vibrant Economy — DRIVE, the economic development entity for Montour and Columbia counties — announced a partnership to put broadband into 90 percent of homes in the county and neighboring areas. “This has never been done before around here,” DRIVE executive director Jennifer Wakeman said. “I am over the moon about this. It’s very exciting. This is as important as water and sewer and good electrical services when companies look to come here.” “Geisinger has actively supported the communities we serve since our founding with both health care services and broader programs,” said Timothy Fitzgerald, vice president of treasury and financial systems for Geisinger. “We know that healthy economies support healthier communities and this project does just that. Among other benefits, it will allow providers and patients to better connect remotely to health services and address many social determinants of health.” Read the article now. 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."
In addition, Kaiser Permanente is a member the Partnership for the Bay's Future, a new group that is creating two funds and will be committing hundreds of millions of dollars to expand the availability of affordable housing in the Bay Area. Read more about these exciting initiatives: CNBC | Fast Company 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. This is a part of Dignity's participation in the Accelerating Investments for Healthy Communities initiative, for which it worked to design interventions to improve the community investment system. Dignity Health committed a $1.2 million bridge loan to help fill the affordable housing project's funding gap—and helped spur further support from other community stakeholders.
According to Pablo Bravo Vial, vice president of community health at Dignity Health, “As a large employer and anchor, we understand that investing in projects like Arrowhead Grove can help bring stability to San Bernardino neighborhoods and transform lives.” Read the Shelterforce article now. |
